O
L I V E T O ' S
5655 College Ave
Oakland
510.547.5356
Oliveto's has won many culinary awards for its simple and fresh Italian cooking.
From the outside to the inside this restaurant looks and feels like dining
in Tuscany. The menu changes weekly and that is very ambitious for a restaurant
which nears perfection on many of its dishes. My only complaint has to do
with an occasional aura of arrogance from the wait staff who appear to be
baffled that I don’t know certain words on their menu such as sformatino,
arrabbiata among others. Throw out the silly words and just print the English
translation and your guests will feel more comfortable. Having said this,
I always enjoy the chef’s simple preparations for what might appear on
the menu to be rather complicated items.
Beautiful presentation and absolute freshness of ingredients resulting in
some of the best Italian cooking describes your meal at Oliveto’s. For
starters, try the asparagus with anchovy, lemon and parmesan or the Belgian
endive salad with North Carolina white shrimp, avocado and chives. Pastas
should not be missed including potato gnocchi with sugar snap peas and proscuitto
or spaghetti with Monterey bay squid.
I usually concentrate more on the grills, sautés and rotisserie items
for my main course. One of my favorites that manages to survive the weekly
changes is the charcoal grilled Niman Ranch Beef ribeye cooked medium rare
and sliced into individual portions with arugula and parmesan. Fish is usually
spectacular such as roast California sea bass with spinach and morel mushrooms.
Also, don’t forget to review the list of a la carte vegetable side dishes.
These side dishes can be the perfect compliment to your meal and can be shared
with others at your table.
Oliveto’s is also one of those restaurants where you want to linger and
have dessert. From crème brulee to fresh sorbets and gelato’s,
you can always expect great choices.
Bon Appetit!
M Y T O P T E N
1.
Chez
Panisse - Berkeley
2. Rivoli - Berkeley
3. Oliveto’s
- Oakland
4. Chez Panisse Café
- Berkeley
5. Baywolf - Oakland
6. Citron
- Oakland
7. Soizic
- Oakland
8. Garibaldi - Oakland
9. Dona
Tomas - Oakland
10. tie:
Liaison
- Berkeley
Le Cheval - Oakland
HONORABLE MENTIONS