A Cozy Night at Nido

I always enjoy checking out neighborhood restaurants in neighborhoods with which I’m not very familiar. Nido in Woodridge is the perfect example, the cozy and welcoming sort of place you can imagine must have hoards of regulars.

The space is colorful, bright and fun – the sort of place you want to settle into and stay awhile. I assume that was intentional, since the loose translation of Nido is “a place to sit down”.


The menu is straight forward and covers all the bases. Whether you want a light snack and a drink or a giant bone-in ribeye, you can find it at Nido.
We were somewhere in between, and opted to order a snack and a couple of small plates to share starting with the Sicilian chickpea puree with olive oil, sea salt and roasted garlic.

I’m not usually a big fan of hummus, but I’d read good things about Nido’s version and wow, they were right. It was smooth, rich and creamy and tasted delicious on chewy bread loaded with tangy kalamata olives. Hearty and filling, it could be the world’s perfect bar snack.
We also tried the seared Chesapeake scallops with a gold beet-fennel puree and strawberry compote.

This was my favorite dish of the evening. The scallops were tender and sweet and paired perfectly with both the beet puree and the strawberry compote. There was a hint of bitterness from the fennel and an acidity to the compote that kept the sweetness from becoming cloying. What could have been an overly complicated dish came together in a completely surprising way.
We continued to be impressed with our next order, braised pork shoulder with patatas bravas and Mahon cheese.

Again, so many complex flavors that manage to work together in a beautiful way. The bravas sauce was beautiful with a subtle, building spice that tasted equally delicious in bites of potato and tender pork. The salty melted cheese took the dish from good to great. We used hunks of bread to fight over the remaining sauce herbs – highly recommended.
The grilled asparagus with artichokes and a lemon aioli was tasty enough but paled in comparison to our other choices. Everything on the plate was a little too soft begging for a nice crisp to the artichokes or maybe some sort of crunchy topping. But my complaints end there.
We watched as the couple across from us devoured a thick, juicy ribeye for two and as the group next to us toasted over dessert and digestifs, wishing we had more room in stomachs to keep eating.
Although I rarely find myself in Woodridge, this is a restaurant I’d go out of my way to visit again as much for the ambience as for the food. Our server was helpful and friendly, the dishes were affordable and delicious, and true to its name, the seats were actually quite comfortable. Is it weird to consider moving to a new neighborhood because you have a crush on a restaurant?