Open: 11:30am - 2:30pm for lunch, 5:30-9:30 for dinner. Open late on Fridays and Saturdays for pizza and drinks
Reservation required? No, but recommended. Click below to reserve a table:
Last barlinwine.com visit: 2012 (May 15, 2012 Itinerary)
Directions:
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The Meal:
When Steph and I were in wine country in April, there was one restaurant everyone asked us if we had been to: Oenotri. We weren't able to work it in to the April schedule, but when I returned during my mini retirement in May, it was the first place I scheduled for dinner.
Like many restaurants in the area, Oenotri embraces farm-to-table. To further their quest for ultimate freshness and local ingredients, chefs Tyler Rodde and Curtis Di Fede have launched their own 4-acre culinary garden from which they source much of the produce used in the restaurant. The menu changes daily and focuses on the freshest local products available. The restaurant makes every effort to replicate authentic Italian cooking, right down to the pizzas baked in a 100-percent wood-burning oven imported from Italy.
I arrived at Oenotri embarrassingly late, having confused my reservation time. After killing time taking notes for the blog, alone in Fuller Park and buzzed from my day of tasting, I leisurely made my way over to the restaurant, thankful that no parents had called the cops to report a strange looking man with glazed eyes and a laptop lounging around in the park. Arriving at Oenotri comfortably early for my 7:15 reservation, I was not-so-nicely informed that the reservation was for 6:45 and they would see what they could do. There were several open tables, but I assume those were being held for more responsible patrons than me. I waited for around 20 minutes and was eventually seated.
The Oenotri menu features wood-fired pizzas, often ordered as a starter for the table, antipasti, fresh pastas, and a few select secondi. Most dishes are smaller and set up to allow you to try multiple items on your visit. With so many options to choose from and only my gullet to fill, I elected to try a pizza and a pasta and take the leftovers home. For the pizza I tried a traditional Margherita pizza and added delicious Calabrian peppers. For my pasta I went with freshly made Bucatini pasta carbonnara, tossed with black pepper, egg, and (unmentioned in the menu) onion. Both were quite good and definitely had me excited to try more items on a future visit.
The restaurant sports an open kitchen with a full-length hanging pot rack, an average-sized dining room, and a small outdoor dining area. They were heavy on team-based service, with no fewer than five servers waiting on me during my short meal. The service was attentive, almost to the point of obnoxiousness. They seemed overly eager to box my leftover pizza and asked me at least three times, the first time while I was still actively eating. I don't know if they couldn't wait to get rid of me (likely) or were just overly anxious to please, but either way their failure to pick up on some straightforward dining clues ("He's chewing -- do you think he's finished? I'm gonna ask him") detracted a bit from the ambiance. That being said, I'd rather have overattentive service than absentee waiters, so I can't fault them too much.
Oenotri does take themselves quite seriously. One local who lives around the corner later told me that they refuse to take to-go orders for their pizzas. Because of his proximity, he had a special dispensation, but most patrons are forced to eat the pizza there. Traditional Italian pizza gets worse very quickly once it leaves the hot wood-fired oven, but that's still pretty extreme.
Overall, the freshness and the quality of the food was outstanding. Oenotri is like a smaller, more pretentious version of Bottega. The food is comparable -- maybe even better at Oenotri -- but where Bottega has just the right blend of class and casualness, Oenotri is a bit too uptight. Prices are in the mid-teens for most pastas, pizzas, and antipasti, with secondi priced in the mid-twenties -- fairly reasonable for the area and for the farm-to-table freshness of the food. I would definitely recommend Oenotri if you're staying in Napa and have a hankering for some great, fresh Italian food, and especially if you have at least four people with whom you can share a number of different dishes. The food is definitely worth a stop, and if they can loosen up a bit, this could be an elite dining destination in Napa.
Ratings (out of 5):
Like many restaurants in the area, Oenotri embraces farm-to-table. To further their quest for ultimate freshness and local ingredients, chefs Tyler Rodde and Curtis Di Fede have launched their own 4-acre culinary garden from which they source much of the produce used in the restaurant. The menu changes daily and focuses on the freshest local products available. The restaurant makes every effort to replicate authentic Italian cooking, right down to the pizzas baked in a 100-percent wood-burning oven imported from Italy.
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| Taken while I waited for 20 minutes to be seated. Note the open tables |
Oenotri does take themselves quite seriously. One local who lives around the corner later told me that they refuse to take to-go orders for their pizzas. Because of his proximity, he had a special dispensation, but most patrons are forced to eat the pizza there. Traditional Italian pizza gets worse very quickly once it leaves the hot wood-fired oven, but that's still pretty extreme.
Overall, the freshness and the quality of the food was outstanding. Oenotri is like a smaller, more pretentious version of Bottega. The food is comparable -- maybe even better at Oenotri -- but where Bottega has just the right blend of class and casualness, Oenotri is a bit too uptight. Prices are in the mid-teens for most pastas, pizzas, and antipasti, with secondi priced in the mid-twenties -- fairly reasonable for the area and for the farm-to-table freshness of the food. I would definitely recommend Oenotri if you're staying in Napa and have a hankering for some great, fresh Italian food, and especially if you have at least four people with whom you can share a number of different dishes. The food is definitely worth a stop, and if they can loosen up a bit, this could be an elite dining destination in Napa.
Recommended food:The pizza was good -- not quite Rosso-good, but close, and superior to Redd Wood. The pasta was incredibly fresh.
Ratings (out of 5):
 FOOD | 4.75 |  SERVICE | 4.25 |
 ATMOSPHERE | 4.00 |  VALUE | 4.00 |
 OVERALL | 4.25 | ||
