Enoteca Molinari

I had the swordfish which was wonderful. It was fresh meaty and had a tangy olive sauce which was perfect. Two friends had the pork ragu pasta. It was dry (the ragu). Not a dish for me but I think normally from the pics I’ve seen it’s not dry but more stew-​like. My other friend got the orecchiette. I used to make my own pasta with only egg and it can be like that, kind of rubbery. Another friend got the gnocchi which was succulent and potatoey. I could have eaten the whole thing. The portions are smallish what my husband and I would normally eat for dinner.

Fantastic neighborhood bar. Love the wine list and the attention these guys pay to their guests.

We had a nice weeknight meal here! Good food and wine, attentive service, and a warm, inviting atmosphere.
My husband and I enjoyed our meal, which consisted of the following dishes (we shared everything):
1) Squid appetizer (our least favorite dish — I was not a fan)
2) 3 meat salumi plate (delicious! I especially loved the soppressata)
3) house made tagliatelle pasta with meat sauce (tasty!)
4) salted caramel budino (awesome!)
The service was good overall, and our waitress was very helpful! Her wine recs were great and she was attentive and friendly. We were disappointed that they forgot to put the cheese on the side of our pasta after we explicitly asked (we explained that my husband doesn’t eat cheese), but they were apologetic and fixed their mistake quickly.
The setting is lovely — intimate, warm, and inviting.
This is a great little spot!

Pasta was a small plate, salty and pretty flavorless for $ 18 (broccoli rabi). Appetizers were not memorable and super tiny for $ 10 a plate. The wine was good, but anyone can pick decent wines. Service was good but the boring fare took away from the otherwise pleasant ambiance.

I think this is my favorite new discovery in Oakland. The food and service are excellent and non-​intrusive and the environment is cozy. I loved sitting at the bar with my husband watching the cook. From just driving by, it looked underwhelming and I was ready to go elsewhere, but once you enter the doors it is wonderful. My only recommendation, and it’s because I over-​salt, is to put salt out, but my husband thought everything was perfectly prepared.

Based on the reviews I was anticipating a nice meal but i found the foods over salted, clunky, and not satisfying. They would also do well to have a chicken dish and not have all of the vegetarian dishes be with broccoli rabe. So guess I would say pass.

Delicious house wine (I’m not a wine snob so most red wines are good for me). Delicious pork tenderloin with prosciutto. It had purple potatoes on the side that were seasoned just perfect… Delicious house made pasta… Delicious potatoe cake… My bf and I were walking around college avenue and decided to stop in here for dinner. We were very happy with the food. The server was friendly, however she just started the job and didn’t know what anything was on the menu… I loved the small quaint bar/​restaurant atmosphere… dimmed lights… very small tables and bar seating.

Love the ambiance. Wine situation looks great. Overall, wanted more flavor from the food. Not enough umami. Service was good.

Love this place — quaint neighborhood gem that transcends you to Italy but with a California touch. Food and wine selections are fantastic, service friendly — always a great experience. Glad to hear they might be expanding — keep the charm!

Great little place, my husband and I love to sit at the bar and watch the chef cook and listen to everyone speak Italian. The ragu is fantastic and the wine and appetizers all go well together. They are also genrous with fresh bread to soak up the delicious sauces. I hear they’re expanding to the building next door and hopefully none of the charm is lost.

My favorite east bay Italian restaurant. It is a very small room, so it is a tough place to drop in without reservations with a group of 4 on prime nights, but we have been lucky early in the week. It has an great and reasonably priced, Italian wine list. The waitresses are friendly, the food is great. The room is simple and clean, very quiet and calm, and is in a safe neighborhood. The appetisers change seasonally, but the entrees stay pretty constant. My favorite item is the tagliatelle al ragu, which is really delicious, and comes in an appetizer size and a full size — the full size is a generous, but not huge, portion for an adult man. We visit about once a month, and often walk the two miles, sometimes with the kids, on nice warm nights. Great for locals, and visitors. Strongly recommended.

We were disappointed in our meal after reading such great reviews. The wine selection was excellent, but the service was incredibly slow for such a small restaurant. They forgot our soup and the dishes were certainly nothing to write home about — though the ragout was cooked for many hours, it was lacking in flavor. They did accommodate a vegan-​gluten free diet, which we appreciated.
Updated: the owner reached out to us explaining that a server was in training and that they would offer us a soup and suggest other menu items. We won’t be returning, but appreciate the prompt customer service and responsiveness.

Wonderful small neighborhood restaurant where you can pop in without a reservation and usually get served. Recently had the melon and prosciutto– both perfect quality; burrata with grilled zucchini, also outstanding. Very good vegetable soup. The tagliatelle is always wonderful– and the pannacotta was out of this world. The only problem was that there was no room for the caramel or chocolate budino, which the folks at the next table said was divine, or the cake with pluots.
Truly a little gem.

with all of these great reviews I wonder, did we do something to piss them off?
went for an impromptu dinner on a Tuesday night and was treated with indifference if not borderline hostility throughout the meal.
i am not looking to be your friend folks, but a bit of eye contact with your customer helps.
it was also weird that my salmon with peas came drowning in a soup like sauce when the order next door, which inspired me to order it, looked completely different.
even the owner who served us the wine did not answer our questions.
we left shaking our heads wondering…
Updated: In fairness, the owner of the restaurant has contacted me offering have me come in for dinner and find our what happened during our meal.

I hate to write a less than stellar review of this place because we really wanted to love it…
Pros:
— absolutely charming, intimate, airy, romantic atmosphere.
— waitresses are friendly and helpful
— great wine selection
— great dessert (we had the flourless almond cake, which was melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious)
Cons:
— Our main dishes, specifically the «Salmon with Pea/​Pear Purée». Visually stunning dish, unfortunately the salmon was mostly raw (and completely raw in the middle) which would have been fine, except the resulting texture ended up being strange. The fish would have been much better off grilled, but it was poached and unseasoned. Bland comes to mind.
— Gnocchi: the gnocchi by themselves were good, light with a beautiful texture but were in an unseasonably creamy sauce which also seemed to lack seasoning.
Does the chef hate salt? … Small suggestion: please provide salt and pepper shakers at the table.

Wonderful people. Quaint and small.
Food is tasty and seasonal. Wine selection is great, Amaro selection is great! They are generously comfortable offering you tastes of wine/​amaro before you order.
Definitely a local hangout. Great for a date or just because. Share small plates you you can taste and order different stuff.

This is far from a wine bar and definitely a complete Italian restaurant with a qualified Sommelier behind the bar.
The menu may be smallish, but each dish has received its due devotion from its chef both in preparation and appearance.
Sit at the comfortable, counter seats if you want to have a truly through discussion with the Sommelier, tasting to the expertly selected wines as you sample the impeccably prepared small dishes or mains.
Quite simply, you can not find the quality of food, wine and service on College Avenue these day. It’s the very best of its kind.
Don’t fret if reservations are not readily available, the wizened staff always keep a few seats open for walk-​ins. Just give them a ring a few minutes prior to your arrival.

I always walked by drawn to its lighting and quaint space. It looked so intimate. I see people with their wine and their food. I finally made it in. And it was good. We share a bottle, and the waiter was great about letting us try 3 wines before deciding. We shared a few apps and entrees. Rice croquettes, Fennel salad, Gnocchi and the pork tenderloin. Chocolate mouse for dessert. It was good. Waiter was great.

This place is so good, they do very authentic simple food that reminds me of the food in rome or naples. Everything I have had has been super fresh and perfectly cooked.
Their vegetable sides and salads are always so good you can tell they put a lot of attention into every aspect of their food. Every time My wife and I have been to Enoteca Molinari the same people have been working there with the same two cooks cooking everything in the kitchen, which is in the dining area so you can see them prepare everything.
I am not a wine enthusiast or expert but they seem to have put the same amount of thought and care into the wine list as the food. Every wine I have had has been amazing and they use this device on the open bottles that reseals them after every glass so the wine is fresh even when you just order a single glass.
The service is great, very friendly and welcoming without being overbearing. The atmosphere is intimate and modern without being pretentious or stuffy.
This is my favorite italian restaurant in the east bay by far, I highly recommend checking it out.

After a spontaneous dinner at Cheeseboard, my honey surprised me by taking me to a wine bar. We got the corner table near the window and was able to cozy up and listen to the rain fall outside while wrapping up our Friday night date night with a glass of wine. The service was friendly, the wine was amazing and the list of wines they had was impressive. Mostly European wines and plenty of organic choices to choose from. Our 2 glasses costed around $ 27 total which I deemed a bit on the pricey end.
The inside décor was interesting. A mixture of modern and organic seemed a bit clashing for me. If it was me, I would tone down the shiny metal feel in the bar area and dim the lights. Voila, now you have ambiance.
Overall a great little place to stop by and have a glass of wine. I was delighted to find that it’s next door from my favorite restaurant in Rockridge, A Cote. Will have to stop by again when I’m in the area.