Nicoli’s Grill & Sports Bar
17880 SW Mcewan Rd, Lake Oswego, OR, 97035
Nicoli’s Grill & Sports Bar Menu
Sorry, We are updating this restaurant menu details.
Visit below restaurant in Lake Oswego for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Lake Oswego for healthy meals suggestion.
Visit below restaurant in Lake Oswego for healthy meals suggestion.
Sorry, we don't have Q&A for this restaurant.
Sorry, No Coupons available for this restaurant.
-
Address :
17880 SW Mcewan Rd
Lake Oswego, OR, 97035 - Phone (503) 726-4263
- Website https://sportsatnicolis.com
- Click To Get Directions
Opening Hours
- Mon :11:30 am - 10
Specialities
- Takes Reservations : Yes
Delivery : No
Take-out : Yes
Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
Good For : Dessert
Parking : Private Lot
Bike Parking : Yes
Wheelchair Accessible : Yes
Good for Kids : Yes
Good for Groups : Yes
Attire : Casual
Ambience : Casual
Noise Level : Average
Good For Dancing : No
Alcohol : Full Bar
Happy Hour : Yes
Best Nights : Mon, Fri
Coat Check : No
Smoking : No
Outdoor Seating : Yes
Wi-Fi : Free
Has TV : Yes
Dogs Allowed : No
Waiter Service : Yes
Caters : Yes
WE SERVE THE FOLLOWING STATES
Looky Weed - Buy Marijuana Online
Looky Weed is here to help you navigate the maze of legalized marijuana. We provide you with a complete dispensary directory.
Jane C.
Yum yum! WE loved the half chicken, it was really good with a dry rub. The menus were a bit sticky and wet., and the baked beans were a bit awful. But, great atmosphere and fun time with friends!
(4)Paul G.
oklahoma sooner football fans come to every game this season and support your sooners!!!!!!!!!
(5)Kelly W.
Great place for groups of friends!!
(4)Jody I.
Had a great time for my husband's birthday! Enjoyed the VIP bowling room and outdoor patio. Excellent service! Our group was well taken care of by management and our waiter, Justin. Thanks for making it such a great experience, guys!
(5)Kelli M.
Great spot to hang, watch games and eat some good food, the pizza is really good even though it's a buffet. They also have lots of arcade games and a bowling alley. Classy sports bar.
(5)Paul H.
I booked our staff Holiday party here last year and I'm planning on doing it again because Nicoli's totally knocks it out of the park. Great group pricing, private rooms that hold large and small groups alike. The beer, the food, the service were all fantastic! This year I'm working with Nicki to confirm my holiday party and I'll be telling the decision makers at my corporate office about the great things they do at Nicoli's! It's definitely a relationship that I'm looking forward to continuing....at least until my bowling score gets better. Did I mention they have bowling!
(5)Monica C.
We spent 15 glorious minutes seated here. I wish I could tell you how the food tasted. But, I never got a chance to eat the food. In fact, I couldn't even tell what kind of food they serve - we never had the pleasure of looking at menus. Perhaps I could tell you about their refreshing complimentary water. But, sadly, we were never offered any. It's not that I can't sit and wait for service, but at this rate, I didn't have time for a leisurely 3 hour meal at a bar and grill. I will say, the various restaurant employees did make sure the other empty tables had silverware and they were nice and straight. I love that level of service and attention to detail! Maybe next time they will pay attention to their actual paying customers. Won't be a next time for us, though.
(1)Hilary M.
Nice atmosphere and great service. It also always seems to be empty during game time which is nice. Having said that, the food and menu was seriously lacking. We order the worst nachos my husband and I ever had and the burger was over cooked and over priced. On top, of that the food menu is tiny with little variety. They do have a good list of beers and drinks on tap.
(2)Corrina C.
We did this event Monday and it was a blast! The host was great and made it pretty easy. We will definitely will do it again.
(4)Al S.
I booked our 40th High School reunion for 100 people at Nicoli's. The entire event (Saturday, August 22nd) was an absolute success, from the food, to the drinks, to the service and the prices. The staff was absolutely on top of everything from the moment I walked in the door, thinking of our needs and arranging it all perfectly. The back patio was a really nice venue, affording plenty of seating, just the right mix of privacy and openness, and fresh air without traffic noise. I should also add that the food was plentiful and much better than I expected, and that the price was extremely affordable for a big group. (Pizza, chicken wings, hummus trays, veggie trays, fruit trays - I recommend ALL of them!) I want to sincerely thank the Nicoli's staff for everything they did for us. I am the most inexperienced event planner ever, and your team made me look like a genius. If you are planning an affordable big birthday party, anniversary, reunion, or other fun event, there is no place in Portland I would recommend more highly.
(5)Joel D.
I was here a couple of months ago for a meeting and had an amazing burger. It had a great brioche bun and the meat patty was thick, had nice color, was juicy and had a perfect char flavor from the deep grill marks. I had been looking forward to coming back just for that burger. But tonight I found that they had changed the menu. I was told that the bacon cheese was the best and that it came with a brioche bun. Sadly, when the burger arrived with the sad little piece of grey meat, there were no grill marks at all - no char of any kind. The bun was just a typical ordinary bun. Which was sort of just what this whole burger almost but not quite achieved - ordinary. I was saddened. So I'm giving this a three star review which is an average of one great burger and this one.
(3)Andrew T.
Huge sports bar with tons of space, and tons of big HD TVs! They have seating both indoors and outdoors (including fire pits), arcade room, bowling lanes, full-size shuffleboards, corn hole... Great place to go for happy hour, catch a game, or to just meet up with some friends for a good time. The food is decent, with most running in the $11-13 range. I got the jalapeño pepper jack burger, which also had avocado and bacon. Came with your choice of tots or fries (I went half and half). The burger as a whole was great, but the meat was kinda dry and overdone. Being generous with their table whiskey BBQ sauce solved this problem for me, no prob! The tots were awesome, with just the right amount of crispy exterior and starchy innards. The fries were mehh.. also kinda dry. We ended up getting 2 rounds of their 120oz (yup.. 120oz!!) beer towers. Awesome deal and you can take your pick of any of their beers, of which they offer a great selection. A lot of IPAs though.. Lastly, expect service to be slow, even on a Thursday night /=
(4)Ka'imi L.
Awesome sports bar/restaurant and arcade near my work. Went in for lunch with my coworkers last week and i thought it was fun. In terms of food, it was alright. Just your typical bar food with appetizers, pupus, and burgers, nothing too fancy. Drinks were pretty good, I ordered an appletini and a mojito off their specialty drink menu. Very delicious. I didn't get the chance to play the games there so I'll look forward to that on my next visit.
(4)Chelsea W.
Only giving 1 star because I have to. Worst. Service. Ever. We were the only ones in the restaurant and the service was awful. Our server was rude, didn't smile once, took forever. Then! Sits down at a table facing us and eats her dinner. We had to flag down another server to get help. The food definitely did not make up for it. Ordered a veggie and cheese tray, the it was all warm and the cheese was sweating from sitting under the heat lamp. The beer was flat. The pizza was way under cooked and had a very thin crust. The kids corn dogs are on sticks that are pointy at the end that the kid puts in their mouth. There is no changing table in the bathroom! I could go on and on. I will never go back or say a nice thing about this place. Absolutely awful. I couldn't believe it.
(1)Connie C.
On our way home we decided it wasn't time for home and we wanted to pop in somewhere mellow for a drink. We had stopped by a while back for a Yelp event when this place was called "Gametime." This place is HUGE. There's two sections of bowling lanes, a whole restaurant sports bar seating area, and arcade with its own ticket prize shop and last time our event was upstairs and there is a ton of rooms for private parties and what not. We started off in the arcade. Checked in on Yelp and the manager was nice enough to bump our 2 free games up to 5. You get a game card at the counter and you can refill the card with machines in the arcade. It stores your money and your tickets. No more stuffing rolls of paper tickets in my purse not that that happens very often, but still! After that we went for cosmic bowling $10 (with shoes) to have the lane until 1am when they close. They only had pizza on their late night menu and it was decent. We saw that they had a whole patio area with wood chairs around a firepit. Awesome! I don't know why more people don't hang out here. Groups of people could be hanging out here and never run into each other. The staff is super nice and checked up on us throughout the night in both the arcade and at the lanes. We can't wait to go back to work on our bowling...we were horrible and to hang out at the firepits outside.
(3)Sarah R.
I really appreciate the staff at Nicolis and making sure we felt comfortable with our time at the restaurant and bowling. Even though we had disruptive people bowling next to us, Nicolis managers still came to check on how we were doing, even tho it was not their fault that that we were having a difficult time. I will keep coming back to Nicolis just for the staff and management and how they take care of their customers.
(5)Aaron E.
Treats people badly. Wouldn't recommend this place to anyone who has a problem with canning a struggling mother for trying to do the right thing.
(1)Jim H.
Don't trust the website. They advertise sporting events, but do not actually show them. If you call to verify, you get an automated response instead of a real person to talk to. I would not waste my time with this establishment.
(1)Trevor H.
Went here on a Saturday afternoon with my nephew to bowl. Didn't have high expectations of the place prior to going, but left feeling pleasantly surprised. Positives: - Everything was very clean and entire place looked brand new - Great selection of micro brews on tap (went with the Worthy IPA out of Bend, OR) - Lanes were very nice - liked how there were faux leather couches in the seating area - Arcade was a lot of fun; had a good mix of sport games (basketball, football, toss the ball, etc.) and video games Negatives: - Prices seemed a little high at the time (was $30 for three games), but since looking around they seem very fair ($3 for shoes, $4 per game)
(5)Sunny F.
My kids love this place: the game room, and bowling, plus the make your own ice cream sundae with each kids meal. Their food menu has changed with much better options, healthier and tastier. A great place to have a party with a separate bowling room. Only reason I didn't give 5 stars is somewhat slow service.
(4)Jessica B.
Ample parking and easy to get to. I stopped in the dining area to have happy hour edibles while waiting for Paint Nite to start. The lighting is the type that makes everybody look good; low and golden luminescent. The service was friendly and pretty quick although they looked understaffed. This is on a Monday evening though so not bad. I ordered the egg rolls and Caesar salad. The Caesar salad was labeled "GF" for gluten-free, but it had croutons so I don't know how that works, but I'm not complaining! It was one of the best Caesar salads I've had in a while. The dressing was prime and the croutons were buttery yummy. I ended up getting two orders! The egg rolls were too salty and left more to be desired. Then again, I am also a snob when it comes to egg roll quality. Unless it is from a Vietnamese or Thai restaurant, or an Asian family's kitchen, it's hard to impress. The menu lacked desserts and non-alcoholic beverages. This is not the ideal place for vegans. Almost everything on the menu or dairy. Makes sense for bar food; can't ding them for that. The gluten-free labels are very helpful, however. The upstairs is very spacious and perfect for Paint Nite. I would only go to Nicoli's again if another Paint Nite event was hosted there, but I get its appeal.
(3)Jolene R.
Sensory overload!!! In a GOOD WAY. Bowling, video games, kids, 24,763 tv's, all playing a different sport. Food, beer, outdoor patio, TONS of parking. Did I mention they had a few tv's? Great for a beer, good for large groups.
(5)Laura C.
Loved the Fish n Chips ... The fried pickles were yummy. The hot wings were delicious but the Sweet Thai Fire was only sweet no heat. Could offer a bit bigger dipping sauce cups. Played in the arcade, which had lots of games to choose from. There was TV screens all over so you can watch your sports action anywhere in the restaurant or in the sports bar. They could offer more drink specials in the sports bar though. Also some older bartenders with some sports knowledge but other than that the place was great. We surely will return to drink, eat, play and be merry.
(4)Kelly R.
What a great place! I was recently up in Portland on a visit and stopped in here. They have made some awesome and creative renovations to the place since I used to live up there! This has really become a place that is great for all ages with a lot to do and tremendous food (not to mention the portion size). LOVE the campfires on the patio! See you next time I'm in town!
(5)Kristin S.
Update: added a pic of their menu; lots of smaller plate options. Not sure if that's new, or I just missed them before. HTH
(4)Deb F.
Nicoli's is the closest sports bar to my house that shows the Winterhawks away games. We've gone a couple times, and the place is usually packed. The games are shown via the internet and a number of times there was quite a lag in the stream, which made it hard to watch. But at least they have the Hawks games on TV! Food-wise, it's the standard bar food. Not horrible, but not great either. The onion strings on the HH menu are good, and I enjoyed my Northwest salad (greens, apples, cranberries, gorgonzola, chicken). Burgers are only ok. One visit they did not have any cider on tap, which was disappointing. Service is friendly and they kept up with the crowds pretty well. They also have bowling, and an arcade. I played some air hockey with my son and the table was in horrible shape. The paddles were sticky on the bottom so they did not move the puck well at all, and there was barely any air coming out of the table holes. Other games were typical arcade video games and some other sports games and a room full of made-in-China junk to trade your game coupons for. The place is clean, staff was friendly enough, and they had the games I wanted to watch. I can sure think of worse places to spend a few hours with a drink and a game!
(3)Christian M.
Great wings! Pretty good service. There's amazing beers on tap, shuffle board outside and table inside, and an arcade. What else can you ask for? Oh, how about a zillion TVs, bowling alley and beer pong video game? This place is great and I'm glad I found it while in the area. I'll be back soon.
(4)Cody F.
Had an event in the upstairs recently renovated room. It was perfect! The size of the room was right, and it even had a nice TV where we could show a presentation. Also had a mic and speaker for announcements, we ordered the Nacho's, corn dog bites (the best for $10) and some cheese and vegatable platters. Got beer right at 6 PM, then food at 6:15 PM, night went off without a hitch, thanks Nicoli's!
(5)Kelsie V.
cute place to grab some beers and watch the games or relax, bowl. I've been to all the different gaming places under the different names, and this has made the most impact. Added taps, firepits and seating outside. Looks like a winner, I hope they do well as the server was exceptional. We had a couple after dinner drinks only. Food seems like it'd be legit, but didn't try. Brunch? perhaps.
(3)Tyler C.
Came to watch some football, eat and drink. Football... Great. Drinks, slow and infrequent. Food... Well? It took 90 minutes to get nachos and when they came they were someone else's, cold and terrible. 10 minutes later we got what we ordered and they were boring, cheese not melted, basically sucked. It was like the kitchen was making tickets on a lottery system, if your ticket got pulled you might get food. Otherwise you starved. Great setup, horrible execution.
(1)T H.
I've come here with my family and friends on multiple occasions. I've even attended a company party here. The food is great. The service can be slow, but is always accurate. The lanes are fun and reasonably priced. Overall the atmosphere is great and family friendly. I am only writing because last night was the one time we had a bad experience. The place was dead except for an event that was occurring outside on the patio. Our server was sllllllooooowwwww and very forgetful. We asked for water and well, let's say it took a couple reminders to get that. I'm not sure why this server was so slow and distracted, maybe he was new? The manager randomly came to us and asked how our service was. We gave him honest feedback and you know what he did? Comped our food and even gave us credit to visit again. It gets better.... When we tried to purchase tickets for the gaming area the manager would not take our money and gave us credits instead. To be clear, my experience prior to the manager taking care of us would not have been one to deter me from returning-bad service happens. However, the way this manager made it a point to ensure our future patronage was above and beyond and I just had to share. They clearly appreciate their customers and want you to have a good time and keep coming back. It says a lot in this day and age for a manager to really care about their customers. Thank you! We will be back many many more times :)
(4)Andy Z.
I do bowling with my kids and get lunch one Sunday a month. We have fun and I get to watch some sports too.
(4)Ryan M.
This is my 3rd time coming in here for lunch in the last 6 weeks. Each time the service was poor and the food was overcooked. I kept an open mind each time I came in, hoping it was just a fluke. Sadly, I was wrong. The servers are very friendly, but rarely check up on you. I would understand if it was extremely busy, but it was not. Non of the times was it busy. I had a burger twice, each time I was asked how I would like it cooked. My reply is always medium, which is pink in the middle. Both times the burger came out well, or no pink. The other time, I had fish and chips. The breading on the fish came out a very dark brown (almost burnt), instead of a golden brown. The fries were generally ok, but two of the times they were over salted. Basically, 3 strikes and you're out. Or in my case, I'm out, because I won't be coming back.
(1)Ryan P.
This place is like an adult playground! Wanted to meet a friend in the area after work for a beer. Was a little hesitant after reading some reviews but we had great service and enjoyed exploring the arcade and relaxing by the fire pit! Looking forward to going back when the weather is nice to play some shuffleboard outside!
(5)Heather G.
Update (12-31-13): Two hours after we sat down, we got two plates of food - one of them an order of homemade BBQ chips with blue cheese dressing and then a plate of nachos that per our waitress were "not what they wanted - they took a looked and saw it was chicken and not beef so we thought we'd give them to you since it's been so long and you still have no food." WHAT.THE.HELL! First of all, completely unsanitary. Secondly, my father in law had ordered nachos for his meal and didn't want repurposed recycled and reused nachos. The manager shows about 10 minutes later with my father in law's legitimate nachos. At this point, I lose my cool with her and told her that we've been there for two hours and had exactly 2 sodas, 2 beers, and no food other than some recycled nachos. I told her it was absolutely disgusting that we had been treated this way. She apologized saying that they had six people call in that evening to miss work . I asked her why they didn't pull more staff from the downstairs area which was DEAD and overstaffed - she had no answer. From talking to the original waitress, two of those six people had quit earlier in the week. The manager eventually ended up comping our meals (as well she should because I certainly wasn't going to pay full price for it). I am not in the restaurant biz but this is clearly a poorly run establishment that no one should waste their hard earned money on. Zero stars is my real rating but Yelp doesn't allow that
(1)Alyssa S.
I find it incredibly sexist that photos of half naked women are displayed in the men's restroom, but they don't have photos of half naked men displayed in the women's restroom. Instead, we have to read about how you can get free credits for games by checking in and posting a review. Other than that, is a great place. Good food, friendly staff, and they have no problem changing the games on the screens around so you can watch your team.
(4)J J.
I've witnessed a female employee being violated, and sexually harassed by the owner himself. Some of the servers look strung out on drugs. I've witnessed the owner, and some employees be extremely vulgar and shout inappropriate things with children around. There is no structure here. The food is horrible. I used to think this place was cool, now all the cool people got "fired" after new management took over or they all quit. I highly recommend avoiding this place. What these people do here and treat their employees is not right. I'm sure justice will take it's toll eventually. I can already see this place failing just like Players, and Gametime did before that.
(1)Katie M.
Wow, this place has really improved. Since we've lived in the neighborhood it has changed owners three times and it seems like they've found a good one now. We went for drinks with a few friends on a Saturday night. And spent the evening on their newly remodeled back porch. Its so neat out there. Covered porch, with fire pits, heat lamps and big TVs to watch the games. The drinks are good. I didn't have any of the food. We will be back for sure. I love the idea of sitting around a fire pit with friends and a drink. Now its no longer reserved for the summer.
(5)Ashley P.
I went there with some friends to catch the blazer game and have a beer. All of us have never been here and I recently moved to the area so, we decided to check it out. We ordered our beers and some food. I ordered the fish and chips and was disappointed and could not eat very much. The waitress came to clear our plates out of the way and she asked me if there was something wrong with my dish as I was the only one who barely ate anything. I told her my issue with it and she said she was going to inform her manager. The night manager came over shortly after and introduced himself and asked me what was wrong with my dish. After he listened, he apologized and explained they had recently hired a new head chef. He proceeded to say that he wanted to invite me to have another experience with them and have me his card and explained, the next time I come in, he would like to buy my next entree. Even though I was disappointed with my dish, the service and attention I received was well deserving of the 5 stars I am giving this establishment. The staff paid attention to detail and made sure that I come back to have a better experience. That's what I call excellent service and I will be returning as I did have a great time other than my food! Thanks so much for employing great staff who understand the importance of customer service!
(5)Ramie M.
Good selection of drinks, and surprisingly good food for a sports bar. The service has always been really friendly and fast. The mini corn dogs are great!
(4)Leah S.
Four strikes.... This place is out. No one returned calls for a party reservation. Then no return call for dinner reservations. Changing the sign outside doesn't change the past.
(1)Dan C.
Cool location 2 min from home nice bartender and even a waitress came by and said hi how's it going. Nice draft beer selection and bowling big tv's should be fun for when football comes around or baseball playoffs Well done
(5)Mariellen R.
We stopped in for a quick lunch and the food and service were outstanding. We had the classic burger with fries and a wedge salad with caesar dressing and blue cheese on the side. Sports on TV everywhere. Arianna was great. We'll be back for happy hour!
(4)Matt J.
I have come for lunch only a few times and the service is slower than snot it took almost 20 min to get my drinks and almost 40 min to get my food. All of this when their was only 2 other customers in the building. If I hear the service speeds up I may try again as the food is good. Update: today's lunch was was not cooked to order and even slower than before. Will not be going back now.
(2)Jose R.
Poor service. Business was slow, they were over staffed. Still sat for long periods of time before i was brought a refill. My order was wrong. Took way too long for food to arrive. Then when i informed the server of my concerns, all she said was "oh".
(2)Deb C.
Terrible service and blah food. We went to watch football and waited 30 minutes before any one took our order. After we ordered it took another 30 minutes to get two draft beers. Club sandwich came 30 minutes later and we never did get the second beer we ordered.
(1)Ryan F.
This place is awesome! It has everything you want from a sports bar! I don't YELP, but this place was worth me signing up on yelp to leave a review! I was able to see all tv's to watch multiple games comfortably with out trouble from where I was sitting! Food was great service was awesome too! Was totally surprised with bowling, arcade and all the private rooms for groups! This place is hands down the ultimate sports bar!
(5)Eric S.
I like it, clean and good atmospher.I am picky when it comes to my beer I love import but it's kind if hard to find out here (I'm from chicago) and this place has an awesome selection on draft import and local micro. Although I'm used to paying $3.50-4.50 for a Stella I did pay a little more $5.50. Plenty of tv's football season will be lovely here oh and bowling bout 5 lanes and a private room you can rent with a few more lanes.Over all nice place the only reason I didn't give 5 stars is that I didn't try the food just drinks tonight!!
(4)G S.
I was contacted back in January by the owner (Dave Nicoli) after my review was posted. He didn't bother to reply to a direct email. You can see his Yelp reply below where he says: "Please except my apology for dropping the ball in communicating with you immediately I would really like a second chance with you so if your willing reach out to me and I will insure you a quality experience." I did reach out to David and via email he told me the new bowling systems would be installed in April and he would contact me first of May to arrange for us to revisit. I agreed we would give it another try and would await his contact. Well it's mid June and guess what? I would love to have been able to say that we went back and that Nicoli's has turned a corner but I can't because the owner can't do a simple follow up, after failing to respond already. What can I say? (UPDATE) Mr Nicoli did actually respond today (6/13) but since I wasn't patient enough for him (I waited 6 weeks before doing anything) he claims he's afraid he won't be able to please us now so he's not even going to try. So much for "insuring" that we have a quality experience. Please turn in your integrity card sir! All it would have taken is a quick message saying things we're delayed, etc. Instead Mr Nicoli has chosen to leave our memory of Nicoli's as a terrible one with an owner who claims to care and want to fix problems but in the end simply doesn't follow through. I am sure he will reply here with some sob story about his delayed remodel and all but again...delays are expected. When you tell someone you will contact them at a certain date you do it, even if it's to say that you need more time. My recommendation: Avoid any place run by this owner.
(1)Lisa C.
I went to the restaurant last year to watch the Winterhawks games and was not impressed with the service or the sound of the game. I tried it again this year and the wait staff are great, managers are very attentive at meeting the needs of the customers and the sound system was improved immensely. The menu has changed this year as well which is a great addition. Keep up the great work and improvements Nicoli's!
(5)Lori H.
What a disappointment. There aren't many great spots in the area, so we were looking forward to our visit - hoping to find a new regular hangout. First of all, I will say it is a great looking sports bar inside. We loved the bowling alley, tv's, off-the-beaten-path-arcade (so the noise level was decent), but that is where it ends. The bar was only about half full, so we grabbed a table (by the way, the bar stools were very comfortable!) We sat there for about 35 minutes before we waved down a waiter and asked for a drink and menus. Another 35 minutes later I asked if we could please order! Then, no kidding, 45 minutes later we had to ask where our food was. Someone brought it right out, but of course, by now it was stone cold. My big complaint was the service was SO bad, the worst I have ever experienced, and it wasn't even busy. They had one gal in the bar, taking care of 20 tables (we counted) and acting as bartender. There is obviously an issue with the management and staffing. The food was so cold, it is hard to say if it was any good. The selection of beers was good, although we were never asked if we wanted another. The evening ended out $50 and two hours of my life that I cannot get back. NOTE - I did write to the management the minute I got home, as well as posted on their Facebook page. Not only did I not get a reply, they deleted my comment. It is clear the management doesn't care what customers think.
(1)Andrea M.
I heard it was under new ownership so I wanted to check it out. Waitress was very friendly and great with my kids. She even "decorated" their cholocate milk glasses with chocolate swirley designs. I ordered the NW chicken salad. It was great. No shortage of the tasty tidbits (cranberries, cheese bits, walnuts) and all the good parts of the greens. Dressing was just the right amount of sweet. My son had the chicken tenders. First time I have EVER tasted tasty bready. Not boring at all. My daughter had the nachos. It was huge. After we finished the meal, the owner gave my kids a couple of game cards and said we should go check out the arcade. It worked. All of it. New games, nice and clean. I even enjoyed it. My kids now what to come back for the birthday parties. We all had a good time. Good food, great service and clean. Ample tv's if you are coming there for sports. And I guess we're having a birthday party there (acording to my kids)--I'll let y'all know how it goes . . . .
(4)Dan P.
Food was good but service was non existent. Why is it so difficult to pay attention to your customers. There was literally 3 customers to each server and yet half of them were sitting in booths chatting with each other including my server. Owner these stars are deserved. Won't be back for a 2nd visit id rather spend an extra couple bucks elsewhere
(2)Christopher C.
I always like this place to bring my kids here because it is really kid- friendly. The food and service is good. It is an all-around nice place to take the kids on a rainy day. The gameroom is nice for the size.
(4)Hannah J.
The food was good and the setting is really nice and new. It would be a good hang out spot. Only problem I had was the service was so slow. We were the only people in the bar and it took almost an hour to get our food. After it took forever for the waitress to get our check.
(3)David S.
This is a great place for kids and a casual experience. We have free bowling for both kids the entire summer which is fantastic. We also got free games for checking in. The food prices for kids is also very reasonable with free frozen yogurt for desert. So all and all a cheap way to spend some fun and time with the kids. We will be. here a lot this summer.
(4)Hanadi A.
Idea is great, nice to bring kids to play while adults watch game. However, food is consistently horrible, orders are made wrong every time, service was better this time however. Server did not ask if food was ok even though all plates were full.
(2)Nicholas D.
I've been here a few times now and I have been thoroughly impressed each time. Friendly service and staff working in a modern and clean venue with private bowling, delicious food (you gotta try to club sandwich - one of the best I've ever had), a patio with flat screens and fire pits, and a game room with four man air hockey! I've never even heard of 4 man air hockey, but Nicoli's has it. This is fun for your entire family or corporate meeting/retreat on a level that far surpasses that of a Dave & Buster's or a Chuck E Cheese. Seriously, this place has got it going on! Oh, also, they have a brand new Cosmic Bowling setup installed now! So much fun!
(5)Mary P.
Great place to take family and friend. Staff super friendly, good food, bowling and the arcade was a lot of fun.
(4)Calli A.
Good football but horrible food and horrible service. We waited forever to get simple waters. We were checked on maybe twice. My husband had to walk back our undercooked nachos to the kitchen himself. And then they severely over cooked the nachos. Seriously....how do you go from no melted cheese to burnt chips?!? There were 4 tables seated a at least 4 servers sitting around chatting by kitchen. We heard the table next to us complaining as well. My husband is a regional manager for a chain of restaurants here in OR and pointed out several small things I wouldn't have noticed, but any decent restaurant should address- employee smoking out front, an employee washing the front door and not opening the door, 2 of the servers talking about a boy problem in our hearing. This place could be great if only they would make semi decent food and overhaul their entire serving staff. As is- we won't be back. Too many other places to watch football that may actually want us there- instead of feeling barely tolerated.
(1)Alex P.
In terms of a venue for watching Sunday sports, I would choose to go to another location. I have been a regular customer at this location over the years: when it was Players (under multiple owners), Gametime and Nicoli's. I only feel compelled to write a review now in light of the abysmal service there. The food options on Sunday mornings are limited to 3 menu items (all of which aren't that appetizing) and last Sunday (12/1) the wait staff never checked in on our table after serving me and my group. I eventually had to walk over to the counter and check myself out rather than waiting forever (at least 40+ mins) at the table for my bill. Nicoli's has done a lot to improve the atmosphere at the establishment and the place looks nice, but aesthetics were the least of its problems. The service and quality of the food stop me from coming back.
(1)Ms. J.
Went here for a birthday party. Most of the group including us waited over an hoi r for food. Service was subpar and they mandated tip. Will never go back!
(1)Molly R.
Love the firepit! Great burgers and service! Come visit! Huge tv's and friendly waitress who kept asking if we needed anything
(5)Carissa B.
I love this place. When it comes to customer service, they go above and beyond. I went there to watch a specific game, and it turned out that it was on one of the only channels they didn't get. They picked up the tab for the glass of wine if already ordered. As I was finishing my drink, a man approached me and started talking to me about the game I wanted to see and apologized for not having the channel. After a couple of minutes, he introduced himself as none other than Dave Nicoli, the owner himself. He said he was going to see what he could do, and after a few minutes, my attention was directed to the screen I was hoping to watch the game on. There was my game! They bought a streaming package to be able to screen every game for the year and so I could see my game. Dave as well as the rest of the staff continued to check on me throughout the rest of my visit. Nicoli's has earned a customer for life! Thanks!
(5)Erin M.
Food 7/10, Service 0/10. It wasn't particularly busy, went to watch a Winterhawks game. Took 40 minutes to get drinks, food came wrong. Waitress really didn't give a crap. Never again. Don't waste your time.
(1)Joshua R.
Nice upgrade over the previous two businesses in this same location. Love the outdoor patio!
(4)Mike P.
Great place to watch a game! Lots of TVs, very open feeling and a cool outdoors eating area . I like the floor plan a lot better than the previous restaurants in this space. One of the better sports bars in portland.
(5)Tina C.
So we seriously considered not coming here because of the reviews, but we took our chances and expected the worse because it's so close to our house. I don't know if it was because there seemed to be 2 managers there, or because of the yelp reviews, but the service was great. We had more than one server helping us but they were all great. They gave us cards with 5 free games for the kids and we also bowled and were consistently helped and waited on. We will be back for sure. I guess that will be the true test. But I was highly impressed.
(5)Brandy S.
The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is consistency. We had two completely different Bloody Mary's in the same visit. While the first was good the second was awesome. Complete with a piece of bacon! The food was fantastic. Fresh, hot and lots of flavor. I had fish taco's and they were yummy. There are lots of mixed reviews on here. I hope this place works on there service. Ours was wonderful, but took awhile to place an order. 30 second greet, it's a must for good service. Good job on remodel. We will be back!
(4)Audrey L.
This place was awesome. we had a blast, the food was good, and Garrett the manager was great. The waitstaff was also fantastic. I highly recommend it for family fun!
(5)Cindy M.
I have been there twice in the past 3 months. Once for a Happy Hour on a Friday night with a group of about 10 and another time for our company Christmas Party on a Friday afternoon. Both times, the service was HORRIBLE! At HH, I waited 30 minutes for the waitress to come take my order and then I waited almost an hour for my drink and food! Yes, an hour! The bar was full but not overflowing with people. Then for the Christmas party for roughly 70 people: There was NOTHING set up when we arrived except empty tables. We waited 45 minutes for the food to arrive. The food that should have been hot was cold. Literally cold! There was 1 bartender for the entire venue which simply was not enough for the amount of people. And she was so ADD that she would just serve the first person she saw as opposed to the line of 10-15 people that had patiently formed. Truly frustrating. While this venue has great potential, unless the owner retains the appropriate amount of staff to serve the amount of customers, I will not be returning.
(1)McKenzie C.
Nicolis is a really fun establishment that has something to offer everyone. I've been in to watch a sporting event, have happy hour with my friends or taken my sports team for bowling. Great service and inviting atmosphere!
(5)Angie W.
First time back since it changed from Game Time. Waited at the bar for over 7 minutes while the bartender asked to see my ID just to go wait on 2 other tables after she asked. I ordered 1 shot of tequila, she left 4 times acknowledging me all 4 times just to run off to another customer, she never did check my ID. Everyone in our group had the same issue. Our "server" at the bowling table forgot a few things each time. The service ruined our overall experience... staff seemed to be running around like they were short staffed. If they fix staffing it could be a great place. Until then I probably won't be back.
(1)Ashley S.
We met some friends here to watch some college football on a Saturday night. Got a table right away, but then it went downhill from there. It took over 30 minutes to get our drinks (beers and a vodka soda) and then TWO HOURS for our food!! We got there at 6:20, ordered drinks and food shortly after and didn't eat until 8:45! The manager came by to apologize mentioning they were short staffed and said the food was on the house. The service was absolutely horrible, but the wings were great, and since they didn't charge us for the food, I'm giving them 3 stars. I may give them another chance on a not so busy night.
(3)Myra V.
Poor service. We waited 15+ min. before a server approached us. Waited about 45 min. before receiving our food. We didn't get our appetizer until rest of our food arrived. The homemade BBQ chips were stale and didn't taste that good. Food was okay. We had three different servers. It seems that there is not a clear direction on which server has certain tables. I give this restaurant a month or two before they close doors. Several patrons were complaining. Won't be back.
(2)Morgan S.
Fun place to take a group, especially with kids. Close to my house and convenient to everything. Friendly staff and good service
(4)David C.
Giving them a guarded 3 star for now. For those that remember this place as Players or Gametime, the changes to decor and the layout have been greatly improved. And the food is a world of difference better than it was before. The homemade flat bread is spectacular. The pizza has been upgraded and the burgers appear to be top notch. So we come to the service. The servers I have encountered have been friendly and seem willing to please. However, I have waitedrepeatedly been made to wait for drinks, food and service beyond the reasonable amount of time. On one occasion, I waited way too long for my bill while my server stood at the bar. I handed the server a $10 bill for a $5 tab and was asked how much change I wanted back. Don't put me on the spot like that. I said bring me 5 ones, and the server then had a prolonged conversation with the cashier. I had to approach them and needless to say I took my change and left. On another occasion, I waited way too long for an appetizer to come out. Finally, the manager did come over and made good by buying me a drink. I think the foundation is there to make this a great destination, just a little tweaking on the service will put them over the top. And I would mention, the current staff is still a major upgrade over the staff of the previous incarnations of this location. Hope to upgrade my rating soon.
(3)Joel D.
I was here a couple of months ago for a meeting and had an amazing burger. It had a great brioche bun and the meat patty was thick, had nice color, was juicy and had a perfect char flavor from the deep grill marks. I had been looking forward to coming back just for that burger. But tonight I found that they had changed the menu. I was told that the bacon cheese was the best and that it came with a brioche bun. Sadly, when the burger arrived with the sad little piece of grey meat, there were no grill marks at all - no char of any kind. The bun was just a typical ordinary bun. Which was sort of just what this whole burger almost but not quite achieved - ordinary. I was saddened. So I'm giving this a three star review which is an average of one great burger and this one.
(3)Paul H.
I booked our staff Holiday party here last year and I'm planning on doing it again because Nicoli's totally knocks it out of the park. Great group pricing, private rooms that hold large and small groups alike. The beer, the food, the service were all fantastic!
(5)Kelli M.
Great spot to hang, watch games and eat some good food, the pizza is really good even though it's a buffet. They also have lots of arcade games and a bowling alley. Classy sports bar.
(5)Hilary M.
Nice atmosphere and great service. It also always seems to be empty during game time which is nice. Having said that, the food and menu was seriously lacking. We order the worst nachos my husband and I ever had and the burger was over cooked and over priced. On top, of that the food menu is tiny with little variety. They do have a good list of beers and drinks on tap.
(2)Andrew T.
Huge sports bar with tons of space, and tons of big HD TVs! They have seating both indoors and outdoors (including fire pits), arcade room, bowling lanes, full-size shuffleboards, corn hole... Great place to go for happy hour, catch a game, or to just meet up with some friends for a good time. The food is decent, with most running in the $11-13 range. I got the jalapeño pepper jack burger, which also had avocado and bacon. Came with your choice of tots or fries (I went half and half). The burger as a whole was great, but the meat was kinda dry and overdone. Being generous with their table whiskey BBQ sauce solved this problem for me, no prob! The tots were awesome, with just the right amount of crispy exterior and starchy innards. The fries were mehh.. also kinda dry. We ended up getting 2 rounds of their 120oz (yup.. 120oz!!) beer towers. Awesome deal and you can take your pick of any of their beers, of which they offer a great selection. A lot of IPAs though.. Lastly, expect service to be slow, even on a Thursday night /=
(4)Mary P.
Great place to take family and friend. Staff super friendly, good food, bowling and the arcade was a lot of fun.
(4)G S.
I was contacted back in January by the owner (Dave Nicoli) after my review was posted. He didn't bother to reply to a direct email. You can see his Yelp reply below where he says: "Please except my apology for dropping the ball in communicating with you immediately I would really like a second chance with you so if your willing reach out to me and I will insure you a quality experience." I did reach out to David and via email he told me the new bowling systems would be installed in April and he would contact me first of May to arrange for us to revisit. I agreed we would give it another try and would await his contact. Well it's mid June and guess what? I would love to have been able to say that we went back and that Nicoli's has turned a corner but I can't because the owner can't do a simple follow up, after failing to respond already. What can I say? (UPDATE) Mr Nicoli did actually respond today (6/13) but since I wasn't patient enough for him (I waited 6 weeks before doing anything) he claims he's afraid he won't be able to please us now so he's not even going to try. So much for "insuring" that we have a quality experience. Please turn in your integrity card sir! All it would have taken is a quick message saying things we're delayed, etc. Instead Mr Nicoli has chosen to leave our memory of Nicoli's as a terrible one with an owner who claims to care and want to fix problems but in the end simply doesn't follow through. I am sure he will reply here with some sob story about his delayed remodel and all but again...delays are expected. When you tell someone you will contact them at a certain date you do it, even if it's to say that you need more time. My recommendation: Avoid any place run by this owner.
(1)Carissa B.
I love this place. When it comes to customer service, they go above and beyond. I went there to watch a specific game, and it turned out that it was on one of the only channels they didn't get. They picked up the tab for the glass of wine if already ordered. As I was finishing my drink, a man approached me and started talking to me about the game I wanted to see and apologized for not having the channel. After a couple of minutes, he introduced himself as none other than Dave Nicoli, the owner himself. He said he was going to see what he could do, and after a few minutes, my attention was directed to the screen I was hoping to watch the game on. There was my game! They bought a streaming package to be able to screen every game for the year and so I could see my game. Dave as well as the rest of the staff continued to check on me throughout the rest of my visit. Nicoli's has earned a customer for life! Thanks!
(5)Christopher C.
I always like this place to bring my kids here because it is really kid- friendly. The food and service is good. It is an all-around nice place to take the kids on a rainy day. The gameroom is nice for the size.
(4)Hannah J.
The food was good and the setting is really nice and new. It would be a good hang out spot. Only problem I had was the service was so slow. We were the only people in the bar and it took almost an hour to get our food. After it took forever for the waitress to get our check.
(3)David S.
This is a great place for kids and a casual experience. We have free bowling for both kids the entire summer which is fantastic. We also got free games for checking in. The food prices for kids is also very reasonable with free frozen yogurt for desert. So all and all a cheap way to spend some fun and time with the kids. We will be. here a lot this summer.
(4)Trevor H.
Went here on a Saturday afternoon with my nephew to bowl. Didn't have high expectations of the place prior to going, but left feeling pleasantly surprised. Positives: - Everything was very clean and entire place looked brand new - Great selection of micro brews on tap (went with the Worthy IPA out of Bend, OR) - Lanes were very nice - liked how there were faux leather couches in the seating area - Arcade was a lot of fun; had a good mix of sport games (basketball, football, toss the ball, etc.) and video games Negatives: - Prices seemed a little high at the time (was $30 for three games), but since looking around they seem very fair ($3 for shoes, $4 per game)
(5)Sunny F.
My kids love this place: the game room, and bowling, plus the make your own ice cream sundae with each kids meal. Their food menu has changed with much better options, healthier and tastier. A great place to have a party with a separate bowling room. Only reason I didn't give 5 stars is somewhat slow service.
(4)Jane C.
Yum yum! WE loved the half chicken, it was really good with a dry rub. The menus were a bit sticky and wet., and the baked beans were a bit awful. But, great atmosphere and fun time with friends!
(4)Paul G.
oklahoma sooner football fans come to every game this season and support your sooners!!!!!!!!!
(5)Kelly W.
Great place for groups of friends!!
(4)Jody I.
Had a great time for my husband's birthday! Enjoyed the VIP bowling room and outdoor patio. Excellent service! Our group was well taken care of by management and our waiter, Justin. Thanks for making it such a great experience, guys!
(5)Ryan F.
This place is awesome! It has everything you want from a sports bar! I don't YELP, but this place was worth me signing up on yelp to leave a review! I was able to see all tv's to watch multiple games comfortably with out trouble from where I was sitting! Food was great service was awesome too! Was totally surprised with bowling, arcade and all the private rooms for groups! This place is hands down the ultimate sports bar!
(5)Lori H.
What a disappointment. There aren't many great spots in the area, so we were looking forward to our visit - hoping to find a new regular hangout. First of all, I will say it is a great looking sports bar inside. We loved the bowling alley, tv's, off-the-beaten-path-arcade (so the noise level was decent), but that is where it ends. The bar was only about half full, so we grabbed a table (by the way, the bar stools were very comfortable!) We sat there for about 35 minutes before we waved down a waiter and asked for a drink and menus. Another 35 minutes later I asked if we could please order! Then, no kidding, 45 minutes later we had to ask where our food was. Someone brought it right out, but of course, by now it was stone cold. My big complaint was the service was SO bad, the worst I have ever experienced, and it wasn't even busy. They had one gal in the bar, taking care of 20 tables (we counted) and acting as bartender. There is obviously an issue with the management and staffing. The food was so cold, it is hard to say if it was any good. The selection of beers was good, although we were never asked if we wanted another. The evening ended out $50 and two hours of my life that I cannot get back. NOTE - I did write to the management the minute I got home, as well as posted on their Facebook page. Not only did I not get a reply, they deleted my comment. It is clear the management doesn't care what customers think.
(1)Deb C.
Terrible service and blah food. We went to watch football and waited 30 minutes before any one took our order. After we ordered it took another 30 minutes to get two draft beers. Club sandwich came 30 minutes later and we never did get the second beer we ordered.
(1)Calli A.
Good football but horrible food and horrible service. We waited forever to get simple waters. We were checked on maybe twice. My husband had to walk back our undercooked nachos to the kitchen himself. And then they severely over cooked the nachos. Seriously....how do you go from no melted cheese to burnt chips?!? There were 4 tables seated a at least 4 servers sitting around chatting by kitchen. We heard the table next to us complaining as well. My husband is a regional manager for a chain of restaurants here in OR and pointed out several small things I wouldn't have noticed, but any decent restaurant should address- employee smoking out front, an employee washing the front door and not opening the door, 2 of the servers talking about a boy problem in our hearing. This place could be great if only they would make semi decent food and overhaul their entire serving staff. As is- we won't be back. Too many other places to watch football that may actually want us there- instead of feeling barely tolerated.
(1)Alex P.
In terms of a venue for watching Sunday sports, I would choose to go to another location. I have been a regular customer at this location over the years: when it was Players (under multiple owners), Gametime and Nicoli's. I only feel compelled to write a review now in light of the abysmal service there. The food options on Sunday mornings are limited to 3 menu items (all of which aren't that appetizing) and last Sunday (12/1) the wait staff never checked in on our table after serving me and my group. I eventually had to walk over to the counter and check myself out rather than waiting forever (at least 40+ mins) at the table for my bill. Nicoli's has done a lot to improve the atmosphere at the establishment and the place looks nice, but aesthetics were the least of its problems. The service and quality of the food stop me from coming back.
(1)Ms. J.
Went here for a birthday party. Most of the group including us waited over an hoi r for food. Service was subpar and they mandated tip. Will never go back!
(1)Molly R.
Love the firepit! Great burgers and service! Come visit! Huge tv's and friendly waitress who kept asking if we needed anything
(5)Eric S.
I like it, clean and good atmospher.I am picky when it comes to my beer I love import but it's kind if hard to find out here (I'm from chicago) and this place has an awesome selection on draft import and local micro. Although I'm used to paying $3.50-4.50 for a Stella I did pay a little more $5.50. Plenty of tv's football season will be lovely here oh and bowling bout 5 lanes and a private room you can rent with a few more lanes.Over all nice place the only reason I didn't give 5 stars is that I didn't try the food just drinks tonight!!
(4)T H.
I've come here with my family and friends on multiple occasions. I've even attended a company party here. The food is great. The service can be slow, but is always accurate. The lanes are fun and reasonably priced. Overall the atmosphere is great and family friendly. I am only writing because last night was the one time we had a bad experience. The place was dead except for an event that was occurring outside on the patio. Our server was sllllllooooowwwww and very forgetful. We asked for water and well, let's say it took a couple reminders to get that. I'm not sure why this server was so slow and distracted, maybe he was new? The manager randomly came to us and asked how our service was. We gave him honest feedback and you know what he did? Comped our food and even gave us credit to visit again. It gets better.... When we tried to purchase tickets for the gaming area the manager would not take our money and gave us credits instead. To be clear, my experience prior to the manager taking care of us would not have been one to deter me from returning-bad service happens. However, the way this manager made it a point to ensure our future patronage was above and beyond and I just had to share. They clearly appreciate their customers and want you to have a good time and keep coming back. It says a lot in this day and age for a manager to really care about their customers. Thank you! We will be back many many more times :)
(4)Al S.
I booked our 40th High School reunion for 100 people at Nicoli's. The entire event (Saturday, August 22nd) was an absolute success, from the food, to the drinks, to the service and the prices. The staff was absolutely on top of everything from the moment I walked in the door, thinking of our needs and arranging it all perfectly. The back patio was a really nice venue, affording plenty of seating, just the right mix of privacy and openness, and fresh air without traffic noise. I should also add that the food was plentiful and much better than I expected, and that the price was extremely affordable for a big group. (Pizza, chicken wings, hummus trays, veggie trays, fruit trays - I recommend ALL of them!) I want to sincerely thank the Nicoli's staff for everything they did for us. I am the most inexperienced event planner ever, and your team made me look like a genius. If you are planning an affordable big birthday party, anniversary, reunion, or other fun event, there is no place in Portland I would recommend more highly.
(5)Monica C.
We spent 15 glorious minutes seated here. I wish I could tell you how the food tasted. But, I never got a chance to eat the food. In fact, I couldn't even tell what kind of food they serve - we never had the pleasure of looking at menus. Perhaps I could tell you about their refreshing complimentary water. But, sadly, we were never offered any. It's not that I can't sit and wait for service, but at this rate, I didn't have time for a leisurely 3 hour meal at a bar and grill. I will say, the various restaurant employees did make sure the other empty tables had silverware and they were nice and straight. I love that level of service and attention to detail! Maybe next time they will pay attention to their actual paying customers. Won't be a next time for us, though.
(1)Ka'imi L.
Awesome sports bar/restaurant and arcade near my work. Went in for lunch with my coworkers last week and i thought it was fun. In terms of food, it was alright. Just your typical bar food with appetizers, pupus, and burgers, nothing too fancy. Drinks were pretty good, I ordered an appletini and a mojito off their specialty drink menu. Very delicious. I didn't get the chance to play the games there so I'll look forward to that on my next visit.
(4)Corrina C.
We did this event Monday and it was a blast! The host was great and made it pretty easy. We will definitely will do it again.
(4)Sarah R.
I really appreciate the staff at Nicolis and making sure we felt comfortable with our time at the restaurant and bowling. Even though we had disruptive people bowling next to us, Nicolis managers still came to check on how we were doing, even tho it was not their fault that that we were having a difficult time. I will keep coming back to Nicolis just for the staff and management and how they take care of their customers.
(5)Deb F.
Nicoli's is the closest sports bar to my house that shows the Winterhawks away games. We've gone a couple times, and the place is usually packed. The games are shown via the internet and a number of times there was quite a lag in the stream, which made it hard to watch. But at least they have the Hawks games on TV! Food-wise, it's the standard bar food. Not horrible, but not great either. The onion strings on the HH menu are good, and I enjoyed my Northwest salad (greens, apples, cranberries, gorgonzola, chicken). Burgers are only ok. One visit they did not have any cider on tap, which was disappointing. Service is friendly and they kept up with the crowds pretty well. They also have bowling, and an arcade. I played some air hockey with my son and the table was in horrible shape. The paddles were sticky on the bottom so they did not move the puck well at all, and there was barely any air coming out of the table holes. Other games were typical arcade video games and some other sports games and a room full of made-in-China junk to trade your game coupons for. The place is clean, staff was friendly enough, and they had the games I wanted to watch. I can sure think of worse places to spend a few hours with a drink and a game!
(3)Chelsea W.
Only giving 1 star because I have to. Worst. Service. Ever. We were the only ones in the restaurant and the service was awful. Our server was rude, didn't smile once, took forever. Then! Sits down at a table facing us and eats her dinner. We had to flag down another server to get help. The food definitely did not make up for it. Ordered a veggie and cheese tray, the it was all warm and the cheese was sweating from sitting under the heat lamp. The beer was flat. The pizza was way under cooked and had a very thin crust. The kids corn dogs are on sticks that are pointy at the end that the kid puts in their mouth. There is no changing table in the bathroom! I could go on and on. I will never go back or say a nice thing about this place. Absolutely awful. I couldn't believe it.
(1)Connie C.
On our way home we decided it wasn't time for home and we wanted to pop in somewhere mellow for a drink. We had stopped by a while back for a Yelp event when this place was called "Gametime." This place is HUGE. There's two sections of bowling lanes, a whole restaurant sports bar seating area, and arcade with its own ticket prize shop and last time our event was upstairs and there is a ton of rooms for private parties and what not. We started off in the arcade. Checked in on Yelp and the manager was nice enough to bump our 2 free games up to 5. You get a game card at the counter and you can refill the card with machines in the arcade. It stores your money and your tickets. No more stuffing rolls of paper tickets in my purse not that that happens very often, but still! After that we went for cosmic bowling $10 (with shoes) to have the lane until 1am when they close. They only had pizza on their late night menu and it was decent. We saw that they had a whole patio area with wood chairs around a firepit. Awesome! I don't know why more people don't hang out here. Groups of people could be hanging out here and never run into each other. The staff is super nice and checked up on us throughout the night in both the arcade and at the lanes. We can't wait to go back to work on our bowling...we were horrible and to hang out at the firepits outside.
(3)Aaron E.
Treats people badly. Wouldn't recommend this place to anyone who has a problem with canning a struggling mother for trying to do the right thing.
(1)Jim H.
Don't trust the website. They advertise sporting events, but do not actually show them. If you call to verify, you get an automated response instead of a real person to talk to. I would not waste my time with this establishment.
(1)Christian M.
Great wings! Pretty good service. There's amazing beers on tap, shuffle board outside and table inside, and an arcade. What else can you ask for? Oh, how about a zillion TVs, bowling alley and beer pong video game? This place is great and I'm glad I found it while in the area. I'll be back soon.
(4)Cody F.
Had an event in the upstairs recently renovated room. It was perfect! The size of the room was right, and it even had a nice TV where we could show a presentation. Also had a mic and speaker for announcements, we ordered the Nacho's, corn dog bites (the best for $10) and some cheese and vegatable platters. Got beer right at 6 PM, then food at 6:15 PM, night went off without a hitch, thanks Nicoli's!
(5)Kelsie V.
cute place to grab some beers and watch the games or relax, bowl. I've been to all the different gaming places under the different names, and this has made the most impact. Added taps, firepits and seating outside. Looks like a winner, I hope they do well as the server was exceptional. We had a couple after dinner drinks only. Food seems like it'd be legit, but didn't try. Brunch? perhaps.
(3)Tyler C.
Came to watch some football, eat and drink. Football... Great. Drinks, slow and infrequent. Food... Well? It took 90 minutes to get nachos and when they came they were someone else's, cold and terrible. 10 minutes later we got what we ordered and they were boring, cheese not melted, basically sucked. It was like the kitchen was making tickets on a lottery system, if your ticket got pulled you might get food. Otherwise you starved. Great setup, horrible execution.
(1)Andy Z.
I do bowling with my kids and get lunch one Sunday a month. We have fun and I get to watch some sports too.
(4)Ryan M.
This is my 3rd time coming in here for lunch in the last 6 weeks. Each time the service was poor and the food was overcooked. I kept an open mind each time I came in, hoping it was just a fluke. Sadly, I was wrong. The servers are very friendly, but rarely check up on you. I would understand if it was extremely busy, but it was not. Non of the times was it busy. I had a burger twice, each time I was asked how I would like it cooked. My reply is always medium, which is pink in the middle. Both times the burger came out well, or no pink. The other time, I had fish and chips. The breading on the fish came out a very dark brown (almost burnt), instead of a golden brown. The fries were generally ok, but two of the times they were over salted. Basically, 3 strikes and you're out. Or in my case, I'm out, because I won't be coming back.
(1)Ryan P.
This place is like an adult playground! Wanted to meet a friend in the area after work for a beer. Was a little hesitant after reading some reviews but we had great service and enjoyed exploring the arcade and relaxing by the fire pit! Looking forward to going back when the weather is nice to play some shuffleboard outside!
(5)Alyssa S.
I find it incredibly sexist that photos of half naked women are displayed in the men's restroom, but they don't have photos of half naked men displayed in the women's restroom. Instead, we have to read about how you can get free credits for games by checking in and posting a review. Other than that, is a great place. Good food, friendly staff, and they have no problem changing the games on the screens around so you can watch your team.
(4)Jessica B.
Ample parking and easy to get to. I stopped in the dining area to have happy hour edibles while waiting for Paint Nite to start. The lighting is the type that makes everybody look good; low and golden luminescent. The service was friendly and pretty quick although they looked understaffed. This is on a Monday evening though so not bad. I ordered the egg rolls and Caesar salad. The Caesar salad was labeled "GF" for gluten-free, but it had croutons so I don't know how that works, but I'm not complaining! It was one of the best Caesar salads I've had in a while. The dressing was prime and the croutons were buttery yummy. I ended up getting two orders! The egg rolls were too salty and left more to be desired. Then again, I am also a snob when it comes to egg roll quality. Unless it is from a Vietnamese or Thai restaurant, or an Asian family's kitchen, it's hard to impress. The menu lacked desserts and non-alcoholic beverages. This is not the ideal place for vegans. Almost everything on the menu or dairy. Makes sense for bar food; can't ding them for that. The gluten-free labels are very helpful, however. The upstairs is very spacious and perfect for Paint Nite. I would only go to Nicoli's again if another Paint Nite event was hosted there, but I get its appeal.
(3)Jolene R.
Sensory overload!!! In a GOOD WAY. Bowling, video games, kids, 24,763 tv's, all playing a different sport. Food, beer, outdoor patio, TONS of parking. Did I mention they had a few tv's? Great for a beer, good for large groups.
(5)Laura C.
Loved the Fish n Chips ... The fried pickles were yummy. The hot wings were delicious but the Sweet Thai Fire was only sweet no heat. Could offer a bit bigger dipping sauce cups. Played in the arcade, which had lots of games to choose from. There was TV screens all over so you can watch your sports action anywhere in the restaurant or in the sports bar. They could offer more drink specials in the sports bar though. Also some older bartenders with some sports knowledge but other than that the place was great. We surely will return to drink, eat, play and be merry.
(4)Kelly R.
What a great place! I was recently up in Portland on a visit and stopped in here. They have made some awesome and creative renovations to the place since I used to live up there! This has really become a place that is great for all ages with a lot to do and tremendous food (not to mention the portion size). LOVE the campfires on the patio! See you next time I'm in town!
(5)Kristin S.
Update: added a pic of their menu; lots of smaller plate options. Not sure if that's new, or I just missed them before. HTH
(4)Heather G.
Update (12-31-13): Two hours after we sat down, we got two plates of food - one of them an order of homemade BBQ chips with blue cheese dressing and then a plate of nachos that per our waitress were "not what they wanted - they took a looked and saw it was chicken and not beef so we thought we'd give them to you since it's been so long and you still have no food." WHAT.THE.HELL! First of all, completely unsanitary. Secondly, my father in law had ordered nachos for his meal and didn't want repurposed recycled and reused nachos. The manager shows about 10 minutes later with my father in law's legitimate nachos. At this point, I lose my cool with her and told her that we've been there for two hours and had exactly 2 sodas, 2 beers, and no food other than some recycled nachos. I told her it was absolutely disgusting that we had been treated this way. She apologized saying that they had six people call in that evening to miss work . I asked her why they didn't pull more staff from the downstairs area which was DEAD and overstaffed - she had no answer. From talking to the original waitress, two of those six people had quit earlier in the week. The manager eventually ended up comping our meals (as well she should because I certainly wasn't going to pay full price for it). I am not in the restaurant biz but this is clearly a poorly run establishment that no one should waste their hard earned money on. Zero stars is my real rating but Yelp doesn't allow that
(1)J J.
I've witnessed a female employee being violated, and sexually harassed by the owner himself. Some of the servers look strung out on drugs. I've witnessed the owner, and some employees be extremely vulgar and shout inappropriate things with children around. There is no structure here. The food is horrible. I used to think this place was cool, now all the cool people got "fired" after new management took over or they all quit. I highly recommend avoiding this place. What these people do here and treat their employees is not right. I'm sure justice will take it's toll eventually. I can already see this place failing just like Players, and Gametime did before that.
(1)Katie M.
Wow, this place has really improved. Since we've lived in the neighborhood it has changed owners three times and it seems like they've found a good one now. We went for drinks with a few friends on a Saturday night. And spent the evening on their newly remodeled back porch. Its so neat out there. Covered porch, with fire pits, heat lamps and big TVs to watch the games. The drinks are good. I didn't have any of the food. We will be back for sure. I love the idea of sitting around a fire pit with friends and a drink. Now its no longer reserved for the summer.
(5)Ashley P.
I went there with some friends to catch the blazer game and have a beer. All of us have never been here and I recently moved to the area so, we decided to check it out. We ordered our beers and some food. I ordered the fish and chips and was disappointed and could not eat very much. The waitress came to clear our plates out of the way and she asked me if there was something wrong with my dish as I was the only one who barely ate anything. I told her my issue with it and she said she was going to inform her manager. The night manager came over shortly after and introduced himself and asked me what was wrong with my dish. After he listened, he apologized and explained they had recently hired a new head chef. He proceeded to say that he wanted to invite me to have another experience with them and have me his card and explained, the next time I come in, he would like to buy my next entree. Even though I was disappointed with my dish, the service and attention I received was well deserving of the 5 stars I am giving this establishment. The staff paid attention to detail and made sure that I come back to have a better experience. That's what I call excellent service and I will be returning as I did have a great time other than my food! Thanks so much for employing great staff who understand the importance of customer service!
(5)Ramie M.
Good selection of drinks, and surprisingly good food for a sports bar. The service has always been really friendly and fast. The mini corn dogs are great!
(4)Leah S.
Four strikes.... This place is out. No one returned calls for a party reservation. Then no return call for dinner reservations. Changing the sign outside doesn't change the past.
(1)Dan C.
Cool location 2 min from home nice bartender and even a waitress came by and said hi how's it going. Nice draft beer selection and bowling big tv's should be fun for when football comes around or baseball playoffs Well done
(5)Mariellen R.
We stopped in for a quick lunch and the food and service were outstanding. We had the classic burger with fries and a wedge salad with caesar dressing and blue cheese on the side. Sports on TV everywhere. Arianna was great. We'll be back for happy hour!
(4)Matt J.
I have come for lunch only a few times and the service is slower than snot it took almost 20 min to get my drinks and almost 40 min to get my food. All of this when their was only 2 other customers in the building. If I hear the service speeds up I may try again as the food is good. Update: today's lunch was was not cooked to order and even slower than before. Will not be going back now.
(2)Jose R.
Poor service. Business was slow, they were over staffed. Still sat for long periods of time before i was brought a refill. My order was wrong. Took way too long for food to arrive. Then when i informed the server of my concerns, all she said was "oh".
(2)Andrea M.
I heard it was under new ownership so I wanted to check it out. Waitress was very friendly and great with my kids. She even "decorated" their cholocate milk glasses with chocolate swirley designs. I ordered the NW chicken salad. It was great. No shortage of the tasty tidbits (cranberries, cheese bits, walnuts) and all the good parts of the greens. Dressing was just the right amount of sweet. My son had the chicken tenders. First time I have EVER tasted tasty bready. Not boring at all. My daughter had the nachos. It was huge. After we finished the meal, the owner gave my kids a couple of game cards and said we should go check out the arcade. It worked. All of it. New games, nice and clean. I even enjoyed it. My kids now what to come back for the birthday parties. We all had a good time. Good food, great service and clean. Ample tv's if you are coming there for sports. And I guess we're having a birthday party there (acording to my kids)--I'll let y'all know how it goes . . . .
(4)Lisa C.
I went to the restaurant last year to watch the Winterhawks games and was not impressed with the service or the sound of the game. I tried it again this year and the wait staff are great, managers are very attentive at meeting the needs of the customers and the sound system was improved immensely. The menu has changed this year as well which is a great addition. Keep up the great work and improvements Nicoli's!
(5)Hanadi A.
Idea is great, nice to bring kids to play while adults watch game. However, food is consistently horrible, orders are made wrong every time, service was better this time however. Server did not ask if food was ok even though all plates were full.
(2)Dan P.
Food was good but service was non existent. Why is it so difficult to pay attention to your customers. There was literally 3 customers to each server and yet half of them were sitting in booths chatting with each other including my server. Owner these stars are deserved. Won't be back for a 2nd visit id rather spend an extra couple bucks elsewhere
(2)Nicholas D.
I've been here a few times now and I have been thoroughly impressed each time. Friendly service and staff working in a modern and clean venue with private bowling, delicious food (you gotta try to club sandwich - one of the best I've ever had), a patio with flat screens and fire pits, and a game room with four man air hockey! I've never even heard of 4 man air hockey, but Nicoli's has it. This is fun for your entire family or corporate meeting/retreat on a level that far surpasses that of a Dave & Buster's or a Chuck E Cheese. Seriously, this place has got it going on! Oh, also, they have a brand new Cosmic Bowling setup installed now! So much fun!
(5)Erin M.
Food 7/10, Service 0/10. It wasn't particularly busy, went to watch a Winterhawks game. Took 40 minutes to get drinks, food came wrong. Waitress really didn't give a crap. Never again. Don't waste your time.
(1)Joshua R.
Nice upgrade over the previous two businesses in this same location. Love the outdoor patio!
(4)Mike P.
Great place to watch a game! Lots of TVs, very open feeling and a cool outdoors eating area . I like the floor plan a lot better than the previous restaurants in this space. One of the better sports bars in portland.
(5)Tina C.
So we seriously considered not coming here because of the reviews, but we took our chances and expected the worse because it's so close to our house. I don't know if it was because there seemed to be 2 managers there, or because of the yelp reviews, but the service was great. We had more than one server helping us but they were all great. They gave us cards with 5 free games for the kids and we also bowled and were consistently helped and waited on. We will be back for sure. I guess that will be the true test. But I was highly impressed.
(5)Brandy S.
The only reason I didn't give 5 stars is consistency. We had two completely different Bloody Mary's in the same visit. While the first was good the second was awesome. Complete with a piece of bacon! The food was fantastic. Fresh, hot and lots of flavor. I had fish taco's and they were yummy. There are lots of mixed reviews on here. I hope this place works on there service. Ours was wonderful, but took awhile to place an order. 30 second greet, it's a must for good service. Good job on remodel. We will be back!
(4)Audrey L.
This place was awesome. we had a blast, the food was good, and Garrett the manager was great. The waitstaff was also fantastic. I highly recommend it for family fun!
(5)Cindy M.
I have been there twice in the past 3 months. Once for a Happy Hour on a Friday night with a group of about 10 and another time for our company Christmas Party on a Friday afternoon. Both times, the service was HORRIBLE! At HH, I waited 30 minutes for the waitress to come take my order and then I waited almost an hour for my drink and food! Yes, an hour! The bar was full but not overflowing with people. Then for the Christmas party for roughly 70 people: There was NOTHING set up when we arrived except empty tables. We waited 45 minutes for the food to arrive. The food that should have been hot was cold. Literally cold! There was 1 bartender for the entire venue which simply was not enough for the amount of people. And she was so ADD that she would just serve the first person she saw as opposed to the line of 10-15 people that had patiently formed. Truly frustrating. While this venue has great potential, unless the owner retains the appropriate amount of staff to serve the amount of customers, I will not be returning.
(1)McKenzie C.
Nicolis is a really fun establishment that has something to offer everyone. I've been in to watch a sporting event, have happy hour with my friends or taken my sports team for bowling. Great service and inviting atmosphere!
(5)Angie W.
First time back since it changed from Game Time. Waited at the bar for over 7 minutes while the bartender asked to see my ID just to go wait on 2 other tables after she asked. I ordered 1 shot of tequila, she left 4 times acknowledging me all 4 times just to run off to another customer, she never did check my ID. Everyone in our group had the same issue. Our "server" at the bowling table forgot a few things each time. The service ruined our overall experience... staff seemed to be running around like they were short staffed. If they fix staffing it could be a great place. Until then I probably won't be back.
(1)Ashley S.
We met some friends here to watch some college football on a Saturday night. Got a table right away, but then it went downhill from there. It took over 30 minutes to get our drinks (beers and a vodka soda) and then TWO HOURS for our food!! We got there at 6:20, ordered drinks and food shortly after and didn't eat until 8:45! The manager came by to apologize mentioning they were short staffed and said the food was on the house. The service was absolutely horrible, but the wings were great, and since they didn't charge us for the food, I'm giving them 3 stars. I may give them another chance on a not so busy night.
(3)Myra V.
Poor service. We waited 15+ min. before a server approached us. Waited about 45 min. before receiving our food. We didn't get our appetizer until rest of our food arrived. The homemade BBQ chips were stale and didn't taste that good. Food was okay. We had three different servers. It seems that there is not a clear direction on which server has certain tables. I give this restaurant a month or two before they close doors. Several patrons were complaining. Won't be back.
(2)Morgan S.
Fun place to take a group, especially with kids. Close to my house and convenient to everything. Friendly staff and good service
(4)David C.
Giving them a guarded 3 star for now. For those that remember this place as Players or Gametime, the changes to decor and the layout have been greatly improved. And the food is a world of difference better than it was before. The homemade flat bread is spectacular. The pizza has been upgraded and the burgers appear to be top notch. So we come to the service. The servers I have encountered have been friendly and seem willing to please. However, I have waitedrepeatedly been made to wait for drinks, food and service beyond the reasonable amount of time. On one occasion, I waited way too long for my bill while my server stood at the bar. I handed the server a $10 bill for a $5 tab and was asked how much change I wanted back. Don't put me on the spot like that. I said bring me 5 ones, and the server then had a prolonged conversation with the cashier. I had to approach them and needless to say I took my change and left. On another occasion, I waited way too long for an appetizer to come out. Finally, the manager did come over and made good by buying me a drink. I think the foundation is there to make this a great destination, just a little tweaking on the service will put them over the top. And I would mention, the current staff is still a major upgrade over the staff of the previous incarnations of this location. Hope to upgrade my rating soon.
(3)