Belotti Ristorante E Bottega — Restaurant in Oakland

Felicità. Eleganza. Apprezzamento.

Happiness, elegance, and appreciation are the three words that I would use sparingly to describe the experience that I had with my best friend at Belotti Ristorante e Botegga yesterday night. Starting off, the lovely hostess guided my friend and I to our table, where we met with our main host, David. After deciding on what we wanted to order, we were presented with a phenomenal Spritz Veneziano, commonly known as an Aperol Spritz (10/10), I highly recommend. My best friend (who's birthday it was) and I ordered Battuta, Gnocci alla Bolognese, Anatra, and Panna Cotta.

Starting with the Battuta, you feel like you were taken on a delicate trip through a layer of subtle yet pronounced cohesive textures and flavors. The truffle caviar, in tandem with the quail yolk and carasau made the flavors of the beef tartare more pronounced and flavorful. These ingredients were married on the plate and you felt a freshness from each element with every bite.

Moving onto the Gnocci alla Bolognese... my goodness. This dish literally made us absolutely melt--just like each pillowy bundle of gnocci that we put in our mouth. We were transported to the most pure and peaceful ends of our soul. With each bite we closed our eyes and experienced the defined depth of flavor...tasting the warm purity of the bolognese meat sauce, the softness of the potato gnocci (that quite literally melts in your mouth), and the sharpness of the grada padano. I could tell that there was so much thought and love that came with this dish. We were sad with each bite, as we didn’t want that experience to end.

Next, we have another main course... The Anatra. The seared duck breast lined beautifully across the plate with little caramelized and intact cipolline dancing along the top. With each bite, you can fully experience the tenderness of the duck breast, with an element of subtle crunch due to the perfect sear. The caramelized cipolline complimented the duck extremely well and was also a main character in this dish. The purple treviso contrasted the sweetness of the honey in the dish and provided a bitter element overall. It wasn't our favorite part of the dish, but it did serve a purpose. Overall, we enjoyed the cleanliness and elegance in every element of the dish.

Finally, our experience ended with the most intense and creamy panna cotta, which is the sheer epitome of all that is pure and good on this earth. With every spoon, you felt the flavors of the vanilla and raspberry dance on your tongue...bouncing between sharp, yet subtle, tartness from the red raspberry and creamy, rich, silky and smooth white vanilla cream. This desert didn't overwhelm you or make you feel bad for eating it. It was the season finale of this experience and it reminded you to stay present to enjoy every single bite. A refreshingly perfect way to end a wonderful dining experience.

Overall, Belotti Ristorante e Botegga exceeded any and all expectations that I had... My best friend loved every moment and I am so glad that we had such a phenomenal dining experience. Each dish played their own role and added a new defining level to dining. This is indefinitely our favorite spot in the Bay Area, and we will be back (hopefully they'll be ready...

I knew nothing about this place prior to coming here. My wife booked the restaurant and told me that it was Italian once we were almost there.

Now growing up, I used to live in upstate net York and if you didn't know it is littered with Italian restaurants and have also basically identical, typical menus. Once I looked at the menu and didn't see typical "alfredos" and "chicken parmigian" I got really, really excited.

We were served with fresh bread and olive oil quite quickly after being seated. The bread was quite airy and fluffy and the olive oil was absolutely decadant. It was smooth with a dark, Green-yellow color and slight hit of earthy flavor.

We ordered the Battuta and paid extra for black truffles. It tasted amazing and they didn't skimp on the truffles. For a $15 addition, the completely covered the dish. At a Michelin starred restaurant it probably would have cost $60-$80 for the same amount.

I ordered the Casoncelli Bergamashi. It had a wonderfully creamy and salty flavor. I was worried that with the amount of cured meats it would be too salty, but it was actually perfectly balanced with the sauce. The cream sauce also wasn't very heavy, and I liked that the dish wasnt drowned in sauce either.

My wife got the taglioni burro e acciughe. I didn't take a picture of it because it really looked just like pasta in sauce. Presentation was not strong with this dish. However, if you saw my wife's face after she took a bite you would know this dish is amazing. I'm personally not an anchovie fan so I did not try it.

Overall this place is great. I would only dock a star on the environment because it was a tad cold for being inside and would have felt freezing if we took our jackets off. Also just be aware that there is only...

We brought our dear friend to dinner at Belotti tonight to thank him for watching our dog while we were on vacation. It had taken us a while to get a reservation and we’d looked forward to it for weeks. We had pumped up our friend up about what a great restaurant it is. We were all looking forward to a lovely meal and were in great spirits. WE ENDED UP BEING EMBARRASSED THAT WE’D BROUGHT HIM HERE. The service was that bad. After we had drinks at the bar, our guest ordered another from the table, which he got 15 minutes later after we had to ask the bus boy to please remind the waiter about it. Hmm … kind of strange, but whatever. Things happen, I get it. We ordered appetizers and we asked to see the wine list. The appetizers came out and no wine list. We ordered our entrees, then had to ask the bus boy for the wine list. I think if we had been able to order some wine, it would have taken the edge off from having to wait over 25 minutes to get our entrees. Before the entrees arrived, the waiter could see that we were getting concerned about the time. He came over and told us that he was sorry for the delay, but they had gotten “really busy all at once.” Really? This restaurant is booked solid EVERY night and you have to have a reservation to get in, so come on now. We’d been here many times before: always crowded, very busy, but good service. This was crazy. After my husband apologized to our friend and told him he had never had this experience before, a bit of luster was off our fun evening. Our entrees ended up being fine - I would not recommend the spinach gnocchi - but the other dishes were good. I know even good restaurants can have a bad night - nobody is perfect. But this was a real...