Osteria Fasulo

Totally unexpected!
On a Friday night my husband called and snagged reservations. We took a gamble and brought our 8 month baby and 3 year old with us as we didn’t know what to expect. The restaurant isn’t large (or at least during winter) but it’s cute and quaint.
Now on to the food. The grilled crab salad was a standout, and my son’s butter pasta made the night.
The service was excellent and my son can’t stop asking about the delicious butter pasta. Needless to say, we can’t wait to go back.

The food was ok, I’ve definitely had better for the price.
I got an over priced octopus salad which consisted or a giant pile of raw onion, 2 slices of boiled potato and 2 extremely salty baby octopus tentacles. I had the gnocchi of the day, that was reasonably priced and tasty but can you really make anything with truffle bad? The polenta lasagna was mediocre and very heavy, not a lot of flavor. And lastly the cannoli made me want to cry… it was thick and hard I had to use all of my weight to crack it into edible pieces, it was filled with chocolate «mousse» that was more like pudding and rediwhip.
The restaurant was cramped and as a result kind of loud (at least if another table was). The wait staff didn’t seem to know how to be «high end» waiters.

I booked a table for 15 of us to have lunch, after a small funeral ceremony. Not overstated, we sat out doors, and it was nice and unassuming — and perfect for the mood we were in. Staff were pleasant and knowledgeable. The lunch menu offered an ample selection if items, and we did the lunch special, which included a salad and a dessert for an additional $ 5. The food was delightful — balancing some traditional Italian fare, with some new combinations. The setting, food and atmosphere made our otherwise somber day more manageable. I want to go back for dinner, as I think the outdoor setting, with the string lights wld make it a beautiful place to go. Definitely will go again.

We loved our server, Alexandra. She was professional and charming and truly a fine person. We didn’t love the food. A couple of the appetizers were good, but the main courses were amateurish. Gummy pasta with overly sweet sauce. Good filet mignon accompanied by a mess of steamed baby carrots that looked like they’d simply dumped one of those supermarket bags into a steamer. The presentation was silly. Salad was old and wilted. Desserts ranged from pedestrian to awful. This is not haute cuisine.

Service was great. Our waitress was very attentive and easy to talk to and the atmosphere was lovely. The food and pricing on the other hand was another matter. I ordered a $ 45 filet mignon which is expensive even for San Francisco pricing, so when it arrived with a side of baby carrots bought from save mart, boiled mildly and thrown on the plate I was less than impressed. You don’t pay $ 45 dollars for less than perfect plating and certainly not for cheap chlorine soaked baby carrots. But I must give credit where credit is due, the steak was wonderful. They know how to cook a true medium rare. I truly had hoped this place would meet the standards their pricing and reviews reflected.

It is a gem and it is looking lovely, and probably food is excellent, but I can’t believe what the experience we had today. After a long day at the Davis University we came to this restaurant and manager ask us to wait for an 1.5 hour (even the restaurant was at 10% occupancy). And we asked, if we can wait and have a glass of wine and water, they said NO, even having over 20 tables open. And when I said that I will be forced to write this review, the floor manager said you can write 3 and he doesn’t care about customers. I hope this message will be read by the owner. You have a lovely place, romantic restorant, excellent food, but you have people who don’t care about customers. I never experienced been forced from the restorant, that I been driving for a while, without even a glass of water.

The service here was amazing. Our waiter was extremely thoughtful and had a great understanding of the menu. Definitely one of the best restaurants in Davis! The pasta was extremely good.

Found this cute place on Unilocal ! It’s the PERFECT romantic date night spot! We got there at sunset and sat under the grape vine trellis outside! It’s quiet and not packed at all! The food was amazing I defiantly recommend the oysters and tiger prawns, the plates are big enough to share! I’m so glad we found this spot. Our waiter was Matteo who was extremely informative and broke the menu down to us! Recommended some really good dishes to us. I will be recommending this place to all my friends and family.

With only two nights in Davis, we were told Osteria Fasulo was the only «must-​go» in town. We had a wonderful meal with a picturesque, relaxing outdoor seating area — best for a romantic dinner or family-​style gathering. I was impressed (though not blown away) with the trio di fichi (figs), caprese and pasta alla norma. The backyard-​grown tomatoes in each dish were fantastic. Not a fan of the carpaccio, which lacked flavor. Great service!

Met friends here for dinner during a heat wave. We decided to eat outside as it seemed a bit stuffy inside. A good choice. The misters over the tables kept us comfortable. My 9 yr old granddaughter loved the menu. (Our waiter kindly offered her several simple pasta choices not on the menu in the event nothing on the menu appealed to her but this was not an issue for her.) All 5 of us loved everything we ordered. my only criticism is that the mussels were slightly overcooked as they shrunk down to nothing, but the amazing sauce made it up for it! I sopped up every bit with the excellent bread. The 9 yr. pronounced the crème brûlée the best she has had.
Our waiter, Amir, was charming, friendly and very attentive without being intrusive.
I plan to return soon.

Cibo delizioso e servizio fantastico! We came to the Osteria on Saturday night to celebrate our friends’ silver anniversary. And we couldn’t have gone to a better place. Tonya who waited our table was very knowledgeable and responsive and took excellent care of us. Each and every entrée — the lamb, beef, tomato soup, rigatoni and ravioli everything was cooked to perfection. It’s only at an authentic Italian place you can find the perfect taste as they use only the best ingredients some of which are from their home grown garden.
We took Tonya’s recommendation on a bottle of Chianti and it was definitely an excellent recommendation.
We finished the meal three hours later with desserts — the crepes, crème brûlée and dolce Neapolitana. Crème brûlée was for sure heavenly. None of the desserts was overly sweet or heavy.
This Osteria deserves its five stars *****

This Italian restaurant is a stellar gem in West Davis. I came here for my brother in law’s law school graduation.
This place has a lot of outdoor seating, make sure you bring a sweater when you come here.
They have local wines from Putah creek and they are great. I had a Sauvignon blanc by Putah creek that was light and delicious.
Their bread is from village bakery, best baked goods in Davis. They include salsa verde made of capers and olive oil for your bread. It was amazingly delicious and they brought several rounds of the bread and the salsa.
Don’t fill up on the bread though, you want to have room for everything.
Their menu is divided by course: insalata, antipasto, pasta, and entrée.
The salads are creative. The antipasto includes Parma prosciutto, yes please.
Their pasta dishes were numerous. Linguini with clams, lasagna. I had pesto gnocchi that was melt in your mouth amazing. I also tried the handmade asparagus ravioli that had a tang of citrus. It was to die for.
They have a range of entrees, including prime steak with foie gras.
Many people got the fish of the day choice which was amazing.
The main courses are cooked with care, so prepare to wait if you didn’t order many courses. Queue the salsa verde refill!
Everything was plated beautifully, desserts included.
They had coffee drinks including cappuccino that was to die for. Old fashioned sugar lumps as well.
I had a chocolate mouse layered dessert. It was chocolate and white chocolate mouse with fresh strawberry and kiwi. It was lied with crunchy pasta wafers and arranged in the Italian flag colors. It was to die for. The crepes and crème brûlée was also amazing.
This place is a gem. Don’t miss the beautiful outdoor area and the amazing food.

It’s my favorite place for a tasty and romantic dinner. Last year I celebrated my B’Day here with 12 of my girlfriends. The service is amazing and the owner is very warm. My favorite dish is linguini with clams and pana cotta. Every time I choose to sit outside it always feels like an Italian village. Especially when the vines are ripe.

Great food and great service. Mateo was our waiter, he was awesome! Props to the chef also. Yeee!

I was here on a Saturday night with a friend, super early graduation treat for her and myself. This is probably the most I’ve ever spent for a meal on myself but it was definitely a good experience. The place itself is beautiful with theater masks and different pieces Parmesan the wall. It is smaller than I thought but has good outdoor seating.
Our waitress was Patricia and she gave really good recommendations for wines and was well informed of every ingredient on the menu (since I have an allergy and have to be super careful). We were started off with a complimentary fresh herb crostini that was topped with an english pea purée with Parmesan cheese. I kind of reminded me of baby food for a bit but definitely taste nothing like it. The basket of bread that we got was from the Village bakery (delicious and very fresh) with their version of a salsa verde mixed with extra virgin olive oil. It has a refreshing bite to it.
For my appetizer, I had the caprese crêpe. It was much sweeter than I expected but nevertheless, it was delicious. There was a slight crunch to the crêpe, crispy on the sides and melty goodness in the middle. I loved the balsamic sauce that went with it (balsamic if I remember correctly…). The heirloom tomatoes are actually from their own garden that they grow themselves. They put it in the jar to preserve form their summer crop to use during the winter.
As for my main course, I had the Braised duck with a blueberry sauce. I didn’t expect the sauce to be sweet but kind of did at the same time… which it came out to be pretty savory. The duck was done medium (should have chosen medium rare, but still good), there was a good bite to it. I actually reminded me of Chinese roasted duck for a bit but with a lighter flavor. For the green beans that was a side, I liked it since it has a nice crunch and a delicious salty coating on the outside, but was a bit oily for me personally. The mash was put on the plate beautifully and I had a hard time putting my fork into it. When I did eventually, it was perfection; a little buttery and very fluffy, I could eat it forever.
All in all, it was a wonderful experience to be able to dine at a place like this. I had part of my crêpe to-​go since I didn’t want to be full from the appetizer, which they held up front for me. It was about a $ 60 dollar meal (which a typical meal for is usually under $ 10), but I definitely planned for this and saved up a bit. It’s nice not needing to look at the price tag to pick a plate but only for occasions.
Final Thoughts: A wonderful place to come for a special occasion or event. You can always expect delicious food and wonderful service.

TL;DR: If you’re restricted to Davis and are looking for a nice meal, this place is for you. It’s not mind blowing but it’s good and the service is excellent. Don’t expect a cheap meal. Probably the best spot in Davis for a nice date.
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Came in on a Saturday night with a friend. Made a reservation for 6:30pm and were seated right away. The server, Patricia, kindly asked us if we were in a rush (movie, show, etc). Patricia was an absolutely wonderful server. She answered any questions, helped me choose a nice wine to pair with my meal, split our checks (despite their old computer system), made light conversation, and was just wonderful in every way.
She started off our meal with some crostinis w/​english pea purée and Parmesan cheese. This was followed by a basket of bread from Village Bakery and what she called their version of «salsa verde.»
I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford this place again anytime soon so I went all out. I started with the baked oysters appetizers. While they were nothing extremely special, they were very good. They just lacked that element that would really set it apart. (⁴⁄₅)
For my main course, I had to celebrate the return of foie gras to California so I ordered the restaurants most decadent dish: veal with truffle sauce and foie gras served over a bed of arugula. I believe I paired it with a Malbec but I’m not sure. The dish set me back $ 85 bucks. Was it worth it? Well kind of. It gave me a very similar feeling to the oysters dish. It was good but at the same time, nothing mind blowing. Each component was excellent and managing to get a bit of everything into one bite was amazing, but nothing sent me to heaven and back. My only issue was the veal was a bit more medium towards the bone but the rest was a nice medium rare. The stars of the plate were the foie gras and the truffle sauce. While I’m not sure if I would get this dish again, I’m glad I got to try it at least once. (⁴⁄₅)
Overall, my experience here was great. The best part was definitely the service. My meal totaled to be around $ 125 before tip. If you have some cash and you’re in Davis, I would recommend checking this place out.

If on a budget, this is definitely not your everyday grub, but a lovely change for a nice evening out.
Service was pretty awesome. Counted 10 tables total and at least 3 waitpeople. If you are in a rush, that may not work. But if you’re looking to enjoy a fairly intimate setting, sit back and relax.
Food was decent. More than decent. I enjoyed the Italian «salsa verde» so much so that our waitress packaged some with bread for me to take home. Who knows… maybe that’s a regular thing they do?
Price– you can complain all you want about the prices, but they’re up there for a reason. And it’s no secret what they are, so complaining about them on Unilocal seems fairly silly.
This is a new contender for «special evening out» occasions!

One of my new discoveries and favorite places in Davis. Very high quality fresh food and not over-​seasoned.
Pack your patience and try all of the courses.
Expect to pay about $ 100 per person.

If I could give it more stars, I would give it a full 10. We went a few years ago before they closed due to a fire. It is a family owned restaurant that uses fresh ingredient from its garden, IN DAVIS. This restaurants a winner, plain and simple. The owners are often around the kitchen too.
I never knew real Italian dining until my partner brought me here for dinner. It was incredibly romantic! They have a nice little patio that overlooks their garden area on the green belt and is decorated in twinkle lights and candles. It is expensive because it is quality food. We had a salad to start us off with a tomato salad with heirloom tomatoes picked from their garden. I didn’t even like tomatoes before this man.
I ordered the Il Pollame which was prosciutto stuffed chicken and fontina cheese in white wine sauce. My taste buds could not handle. It was as if someone had taken everything I thought I knew about Italian cooking and then slapped me across the face with a fat «you dont know nothing!“The flavors are extremely exquisite and I highly recommend everyone try this place at least once during their time in Davis because it is well worth it. My partner had the Le Quaglie which is grilled quail, grilled friggin quail people. Who knew there was this amazing hidden gem in Davis. The portions are not as large as chain Italian restaurants but they do not need to be because they are flavorful and just enough to make you think you are going to pop but must resist to try their saffron sauce gnocchi.
It is a very small seating area but if you came to me and asked what is one restaurant I should try in Davis, I would tell you it was this place. Hands down.
PS. They charge an automatic gratuity for groups of 6 or more.

If only Unilocal could give out .5 stars. Osteria Fasulo get’s 4.5 in my book.
I came here a few days ago with my girlfriend for our anniversary dinner. I’ve heard of this place for a while but never got around to try it. Osteria Fasulo is definitely one of the finer places to dine in Davis. It’s in a quiet area, away from downtown. You could choose to dine either indoors or outdoors, we sat outside. It was a good setup and very nice.
This place isn’t a cheap place to dine, you pay for better experience and food, and it’s definitely worth it. The clams and mussels were delicious, we also got the oysters which were exquisite. The special was a filet mignon with mash potatoes and peas, very tender and juicy. I’ve had my share of steak and this was definitely one of the better ones I’ve ever tasted.
Compliments to the chef, Atilio. I met him a while ago and he recognized me when I came in. He actually made a few appetizers for us on the house, a scallop wrapped in bacon and a homemade ravioli like dish. They were both delicious.
Service here was wonderful. Our server/​waiter made sure we had enough water, bread while we waited for our food. He would come back often to check up on us to make sure everything was good.
Definitely recommend this place for couples for special occasions. Will be going back some day.