Ottavio in Walnut Creek

1606 N Main St
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
(925) 930-8008


My first critique is an Italian restaurant, which is very fitting because it's one of my favorite types of food! My boyfriend and I came here in October for my birthday and had a very nice evening. I picked this restaurant based on excellent reviews it received and the fact that the chef/owner is actually from Italy. It's also a fairly new restaurant, less than a year old so I wanted to help support them. The restaurant is cute and comfortable with a simplistic and modern design that still feels cozy. The menu is very different than most Italian restaurants in the U.S. It is more authentic with many dishes I haven't seen offered outside of Italy. Fortunately the staff is very friendly and happy to help with ordering.

To start off they serve you 3 types of homemade bread and pesto with olive oil. Very delicious and a nice change from the standard balsamic. For appetizer we ordered the plate with 3 types of Prosciutto that comes with 2 types of cheeses. AMAZING. The cheeses were so flavorful and very different but complemented the prosciutto's perfectly. The chef cures some of the proscuitto himself as well as makes some of the cheeses. Impressive. We both had a glass of the Primitivo red wine and it was excellent. Very smooth, easy to drink and paired well with all the food we ordered. For our entrees, I ordered the special, Spinach Gnocci with Boar Meat. I've never had boar meat so I was a little wary, but it's very tender and was paired nicely with the sauce. My only complaint is that a flavor in the sauce got a little too repetitive for me and I got that feeling of being a little tired of eating it. Not sure what it was, could have been that it's a new meat for my palate in general. My boyfriend ordered the Kid Goat Sugo Pasta, also a first for this type of meat. It was also delicious and our meals actually complemented each other well, we mixed and matched our meats for a few bites.


Kid Goat Sugo

For desert we shared the Pannacotta with fresh berries. It was fantastic, tart at first and then sweet. Very light and very refreshing, perfect ending to a delicious and filling meal. The desert was on the house because it was my birthday, a very nice and appreciated gesture. I would definitely recommend trying Ottavio and I am planning to return and try other dishes.