text: Being a closet fan of Jaimee Roses Azcentral blog I had heard about Noca a few weeks ago I always enjoy trying out new restaurants and admit to still being very unfamiliar with many of the well known establishments here in the ValleyTrusting her taste and the pictures and descriptions of the items I was keen on going and what better a time than my birthday We were a party of and had the followingnParents Kampachi and a suggestion from the waiter not on the menu but very tasty linguini with shrimpnGirlfriend PappardellenSister DucknMyself Spinach mezzalunannI have to commend our waiter Very friendly but not overbearing She was very familiar with the menu and was able to recommend some wines which is usually something I do not do but felt comfortable doing with her She was able to answer all our questions regarding some of the dishes we were unfamiliar with as wellnnPositives nVery class cozy ambiance Restaurant was smaller and not exactly what I thought it would be with the bigger is better mentality I am used to in the US but that takes nothing away from it on the contrarynnService is excellent for the most part Never had to ask for water and the bussers and waiters always seem to have the right timing to refill your water or assist you nnThe quality of the food was exceptional though the star penalty goes towards the portions or bang for your buck I would have wished for a few more mezzalunas and other than my girlfriends reasonable portion they did seem to be a bit too european even for my tastennThe desserts really were the cherry on the cake Perfect portions very creative and tasty You actually receive cotton candy at the end of your meal regardless of a dessert or not I am cannot be sure I really enjoyed the milk and cookies excellent chocolate chip cookies provided with a cup of delicious vanilla milkshake We also enjoyed the cheesecake dessert which consisted of rolled balls of cheesecake with a strawberry coulis and the small doughnuts with jelly were delicious as well The best part was not footing the billnnNegatives few but could use some improvingnnThe delay between our order and receiving our food was probably minutes I am used to having some bread in restaurants that I would consider classy or expensive and that was lacking here They did provide an amuse bouche that was original but for some could be considered a bit odd It consisted of a spoon of mintmelon and pop rocks quite the party in your mouth and refreshing but not very filling for the waitnnI definitely look forward to returning and trying out some of their other dishes The desserts were exceptional and I am quite certain a few clients came in just for those similar to what I do with out of town visitors at Oreganos All in all a pleasant and welcome surprise to the dining scene here in the valley