RVA Food Scene: Uliveto
Local Foodie Adventures
—325 N Robinson, Richmond, VA
Another new restaurant by the owners of Gersi and it did not disappoint! From the moment we blew in the door, we were greeted warmly and able to be sat immediately in the cozy area between the bar and kitchen. Atmosphere was quite comfortable even though the seating was tight - funk music and lots of chatter by happy diners. We started with a glass of basic bubbly prosecco to sip while we decided what to choose from their wide variety of menu options. They have a regular menu, seasonal options, and daily specials - we wanted to try everything! The complimentary olive bread and tomato focaccia came with an amazing olive oil to dip (bit of bite!) and a few olives. Very nice with our prosecco, so we stuck with the salty pairing and had the anchovy, garlic, parmigano crostini - wow - something so simple, yet SO good! Also ordered a bottle of the 2021 Pala Cannonau Centosere (Sardinian red) that perfectly complimented the rest of our meal. Appetizer number two was a baked eggplant rollatini. We are a bit picky about this dish, but it was done just right (we had this about 5 times on a past trip to Italy, just sampling which restaurant/city did it best!). Main dishes were the regular menu item veal scaloppini with spaghetti (a bit salty, but the menu does say capers!) and one of the daily specials, pappardelle veal ragu (fantastic - lesson learned, always go for a special!). Finally, a delightful dolce - affogato (gelato is house-made!) and unique trilecce (think super airy tre leches) with caramel, strawberries, and creme.
We highly recommend - reservations are a must - we will definitely return to taste more delicious pairings!
