Oliveto

Oliveto Upstairs:

This is just a follow-up to my last review of Oliveto. I went there again and this time made reservations for the upstairs area. The upstairs is really nice, and a lot bigger than you would expect from the entrance. It's a more upscale setting, but still not pretentious (this is Berkeley/Oakland, after all...).

The food is what I have come to expect from here: delicious, rich, and flavorful Italian food. Again, this is probably some of the best Italian food I've had in the states. All of the pasta is homemade and the dishes are often quite inventive and interesting. I had a type of pasta that consisted of two spaghetti strands wrapped together and cut into smaller fragments (don't remember the name of the pasta type, unfortunately!). It was served with pieces of lamb in a creamy sauce.

Also, one of the most pleasant things about the evening here was the service. You could tell that the server loved food and was quite knowledgable about it. He was able to explain every dish to the last detail and was quite enthusiastic and helpful with his recommendations. Definitely come check this place out if you are in the East Bay and looking for good Italian food!

Oliveto Downstairs (Cafe):

For some reason or another, I haven't eaten much Italian food since coming back from my time in Rome, but Oliveto reminded me what I've been missing.

The restaurant itself has two parts: the upstairs is a more expensive, finer dining area. The downstairs is a bit more casual, and serves cheaper entrees from a more limited menu yet still enticing menu. We ate at the downstairs portion One thing to note is that the downstairs portion doesn't take reservations (usually a ~30-40min wait).

For the appetizer, I had the zuppa del giorno (soup of the day). It was a hearty vegetable soup, and although it was good, it wasn't amazing. The soup's ingredients were a bit too heterogenous for my tastes, both in consistency and texture.

The main course, however, made up for it. I had penne al ragu - basically penne with a meat sauce. The penne was cooked to al dente perfection, and the creamy, meaty sauce complemented the pasta wonderfully. One of the things I like about Italian cooking is how you can make such rich tasting dishes with only a few ingredients, and this penne dish was a fine example of that.