According to Oakland Magazine, the brick and steel building that houses the restaurant used to be a spice factory and it still has a bit of a slightly chilly industrial feeling due to the high ceilings and exposed ceiling.

The hostess was an extremely friendly young woman with long red hair and our waitress was also pleasant and attentive in a casual way.
She brought us large glasses of lemon water and a plate of good bread with the most amazing rosemary infused olive oil. It was really addictive stuff - luckily, they offered to bring us more after we'd polished off the first round.

Insalata da Bietole ($9) - roasted organic red and gold beets, romaine lettuce, red onion, in a red wine vinaigrette.

The salad was very good - the dressing balanced the diced beets perfectly and the whole effect was delicate and yummy. Our only criticism was that we'd have preferred the whole affair to be a bit less chopped as the cubed beets and sliced lettuce put me in mind of a Del Monte fruit cup.
Tagliatelle Bolognese ($13) - Fresh pasta with traditional pork, beef and tomato sauce, and parmigiano.

The fresh noodles and hearty sauce (which was pretty much all meat) were simple and tasty, as they should be.
Papardelle Alle Castagne ($14) - Chestnut pasta with porcini and crimini mushrooms, red onion, butter, and ricotta salata.

Despite the reasonable portion sizes, we were too full to order dessert (I blame the bread and rosemary olive oil) though they had some nice offerings.
Our meal cost $48 with tax and 20% tip.
I'd recommend giving Riva Cucina a try.
Web site: http://www.rivacucina.com/
800 Heinz Avenue, Berkeley, CA
(510) 841-7482
Hours
Monday - Friday: Breakfast 8 - 11:30, Lunch 11:30 - 3:30, Dinner 5 - 9
Thursday - Friday: Aperitiva (Happy Hour) 4-5:30
Saturday: Dinner: 5-9
Sunday: Closed
1 comment:
Vi piace la cucina italiana eh... ;O)
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