Oliver's Osteria — Restaurant in Laguna Beach

This was a good visit to Oliver’s but had some room for improvement. It was a Thursday evening, not packed and we were seated promptly. We started with the peach & burrata salad- fresh summer flavor- creamy burrata, an almost pickled- like peach, sweet balsamic reduction, and I’m a sucker for the light play of arugula that gives that little bite. We also had the octopus appetizer- a bright dish with fresh microgreens atop the squid, another great summer starter. Next, we went for the evening’s specials- both with truffles. I had the scallops with truffle over spinach and light cream sauce. This was good but the cook or sear on the scallop was missing. I had hoped for a nice sear with that light outside crust, and the dark truffles overpowered the dish at times. My husband had the white truffle risotto and this is the dish that shined! Risotto is an art form- too thick and it’s gummy, too wet and it’s soggy. This was neither. An absolute stunner- The risotto was velvety, creamy, rich in flavor and paired perfectly with light/white truffles that adorned it. It was such perfection it didn’t even need a protein. Here’s what took the rating down one notch. We were excited for desert and ordered two affogatos (cup of espresso w a scoop of vanilla ice cream). We didn’t see them for about 25+ minutes. This just felt too long to wait for a simple desert drink at $16 a cup, and made the evening experience drop. We may give it another try and go for the chef’s tasting...

Honestly, I found it overrated. This place is in the top 3-5 restaurants in Laguna Beach on all lists I've seen and always recommended by locals so maybe my experience was atypical. The waiter seemed straight off the plane from Italy with an accent so thick we needed him to repeat half of what he said. They are definitely trying for a legitimate Italian vibe here. He kept pushing this mushroom fusilli special, praising it as his favorite dish. It tasted like squishy cardboard, was horrible. Always trying to upsell the wine. The tiramisu was surprisingly bad for an Italian restaurant. Whole Foods has better tiramisu, honestly. The dining took place outside, by outside I mean in the parking lot under a tarp which was strange AF. It appeared all the tables were in the parking lot. It was completely packed though, so they must be doing something right, and maybe I just came at a time when they were overwhelmed, had a new chef, and scheduled the douchey waiters. The highlight was at a nearby table, where a golden retriever was sitting in a seat having deep discussion with the owners. They let that happen and it was a joy to watch. Would go back just for that. It was honestly disappointing but I'll give it another shot because of the constant hype and try for a less busy time, be sure they've booked at least one doggy reservation, and request a table not in the...

The food was fantastic! The atmosphere was a tent with heaters so it was pretty hard to get excited. The service was on point but he had a bit of an attitude. The wine list was pretty extensive with a good selection of wines from most regions of Italy. They did offer a limited selection of California wines. We split a salad SPINACI PERE E CAPRINO Spinach salad with red wine marinated pears, goat cheese, caramelized walnuts. It wasn't a huge salad but was plenty and the flavors were terrific. I loved the pears, a nice touch. For my entree I had the lasagna classica which was amazing, some of the best lasagna I've ever had. The portion was large, I managed to finish it but I was stuffed. My wife had the TONNARELLI AI CROSTACEI Homemade thick spaghetti, lobster, prawns, lightly spicy cherry tomato sauce. I'm not a big fish lover but my wife thought it was really good. I liked the thick spaghetti and the sauce was light and flavorful. We had a couple of Americana coffees and gelato. The coffee was excellent but the gelato was so good. We actually ate 3 huge scoops (chocolate, vanilla & pistachio). When you order you don't have an option for just 1, so it's 3 scoops or none. Add a bottle of $60 wine and a tip and you're all in for $250+. Definitely not something we do often but no regrets for an...