Ottavio

My husband and I went there for Valentine’s Day. It was a fixed four course menu. I wish I could describe the food that has been much hyped online however, we never received it! We were there 30 minutes before we had our order taken. Finally, the Sommelier came to our table and we were able to order some wine. Overall, he was helpful and informed. 20 or so minutes later, they brought us some bread, thankfully as we were starving by that point. We asked the tables around us if they had been waiting long. Two couples said they had been waiting almost an hour for their second course. Finally, we saw some first courses leave the kitchen and to our dismay, they were given to a table who had arrived at least 20 minutes after us! We decided to call it an evening.
The hostess did pay for our wine and apologize when we told her we were leaving. Very nice but, we had not had any communication from anyone the entire time we were seated. If the had told us they were running late, we might have waited beyond the hour plus we had already been there. Really poor performance all around. I realize that it was a busy night but I would expect a seasoned chef and staff to be better prepared to handle it.

My husband and I went there last night. We checked the reviews before and it looked really good. While the ambiance was nice the food was not worth the $ 230 bill we paid.
Each course was under seasoned, unoriginal and felt like it was all reheated food that had been made a day earlier.
I would say the scallop appetizer was the best item we ate besides the dessert course.
The boar appetizer was slimy and needed a texture component to give it some crunch. Maybe toast points or some type of roasted nuts?
That lasagna was extremely dry and tough to eat. The tuna was rubbery and had very little flavor and the risotto looked nasty. It tasted ok if you could get past that it looked like something else. What ever meat was added was so tough I could barely chew it. The beef again tasted like it was just being reheated from an earlier preparation.
The service was very unorganized. They seemed to lose track of what course each table was on at one point. I personally saw two different set of diners get up and leave for lack of service. They each waited a considerable amount of time for their food that didn’t come and they gave up and left.
We waited way too long for each course and severs just walked by. The gal who was seating asked us 3 times what course we were waiting on during our experience.
There was one guy in a jacket who was asking about drinks but wasn’t doing much else which was a waste of man power. He really didn’t add anything to the experience.
Once our dessert came we asked for coffee that came 30 mins later at which time we were trying to leave. Took forever to get our check.
Not a great experience for the extremely high price we paid.
Overall, I was very disappointed and wouldn’t recommend this restaurant to anyone.

I’ve been back to Ottavio several times since my last review but never bothered updating that review because things hadn’t changed. However, after my most recent visit, I am sad to report that — like some other past favorite restaurants — Ottavio’s has apparently gone downhill. Service was still good but the food was not pleasing. Had dinner there w/​my sister on short notice. The restaurant was not busy. We ordered salads, which were fine and 2 entrees. My sister ordered an octopus/​calamari risotto and I ordered the duck breast. The risotto looked unappetizing and my sister said the octopus was overcooked (tough). The plate of duck breast I was served looked like a hot mess and the duck was also overcooked. It was served on a bed of pureed cauliflower (which resembles mashed potatoes and is a something I have prepared at home myself) along w/​figs, some broccolini and cauliflower florets and a balasmic reduction. It was simply awful. I just ate the duck breast and left the rest on the plate. This is the worst food I have had at Ottavios. I didn’t bother to complain because I didn’t want to get into it w/​the chef/​owner and just wanted to spend time visiting w/​my sister. We nursed our wines over conversation and had an otherwise fine time. There aren’t many fine dining locations in Walnut Creek. So, I may try Ottavio again despite this poor experience and, if it is better then, I will say so, BUT, for now, I have to say that I have definitely «experienced better» elsewhere.

You know those fancy places you make reservations for weeks in advanced only to be disappointed because the food was sub par, this isn’t one of those places.
This place is imitate and cozy. The kind of place you take that special person you want to impress. The food is indescribable, as if it dances in your mouth.
The atmosphere is a bit rough, the chef is on display first thing but that’s only because you won’t believe how amazing the food is.
We started off with the calamari and grilled octopus. The name pales in comparison to the passion you will feel when the food actually hits your palate. It’s one of the best dishes on the menu.
The pork chop, you can’t even call it a pork chop, it’s more of meat for gods. Someone came down from heaven and blessed the chef with greatness to create this ultra fine dish.
The wild boar will melt in your mouth, coupled with noodles that are soft and inviting. You won’t stop eating it.
The sea food stew is pretty good as well. The monkfish in the sea food stew is some of the best fish I’ve ever had.
Do not skip the desert. The pancetta a latte is by far one of the best deserts I’ve ever had the pleasure to experiences in my life.
Book your table ahead of time, take your favorite person and experience a once in a life time dining experience. You won’t be disappointed.

Last time i went there. I ordered a beer with my dinner and the waiter only poured half of the bottle into my glass and then he walked away went to the kitchen drank the rest of my beer. in full view of me… VERY UNPROFESSIONAL!!! God damn drunk… the food was good tho…

I booked a dinner reservation for a party of 10. Due to people cancelling and illness I had to cancel the reservation. I called 24 hours in advance, not only were they extremely rude to me on the phone they also charged me $ 300.00. I was totally shocked by the charge as a fee was never mentioned.
I called the restaurant and asked to speak with the manager… I explained the situation and asked him to refund the charge. He said that the fee was common. I then told him that I would be reporting this to my credit card company and I was hung up on.
This behavior is appalling. My husband and I frequent many restaurants in the area and I have never come across such poor customer service. I will never eat here nor will I ever recommend this restaurant to anyone.

A small place. The wood chair is very uncomfortable. Small service. Has an octopus appetizer salad dish. It was ok. Then has ricotta gnocchi with duck. Not my taste. Very smoky. My hubby has salad and steak.

Very over-​rated on Unilocal.Not sure how they can be this far off.
* Atmosphere — 2 stars. Very tiny place with very hard chairs. Tiny kitchen you can see as you have to walk sideways to eek by the other tables.
* Service — 1.5 stars. The server was almost useless. Slow, somewhat rude, no suggestions or opinions on any of the dishes.
* Food — mine was 3 stars, my wife’s 1.5 stars. She couldn’t finish it…
* Drink — I know Italians are known for wine, and they had an extensive list of over-​priced wines, but I prefer beer. Unfortunately, they only had two; both were Moretti. I tried the La Rossa after checking both on Beer Advocate. Almost undrinkable. Seriously, they need to wake up here and stock some local microbrews. This is 2016, not 1986.
* Price/​Value — overpriced for what you are getting.
Overall, a very disappointing experience for an anniversary meal. We will definitely not be back.

It’s OK, but definitely not worthy of a spot as a top Restaurant in Walnut Creek. Flavour was a little boring. With so many great restaurants around, we won’t be back. Service was great though.

Food 5 stars! service — 2 stars, and thats genrous.
Finally tried Ottavio for dinner and loved the small restaurant/​quaint ambiance, and northern Italian food — att definitely home made and delicious.
We had the carpaccio to start (could have eaten 2, it was a bit small but the truffles were such a nice touch and complement to the light balsamic dressing.
I got the Gnocchi with smoked duck sugo — DEFINITELY the winner of the night. One of the best gnocchi I’ve ever had and I grew up in Jersey/​NYC with amazing Italian food on every corner. Seriously melt-​in-​your-​mouth pillowy yum. The sauce wasn’t too smoked and had a bit of cream and was just the right amount of everything.
My husband got the tagliatelle with Wild Boar Ragu. the pasta was also super fresh, and the wild boar was whole peices/​fall of the bone, rather than mince. The only complaint he had was that there was not enough actual «ragu», the sauce was mostly meat and no sauce, leaving the pasta a little dry, but he loved it taste wise.
The service however, left much to be desired. Our waiter forgot everything we asked for e.g. balsamic vinegar, more water, etc. Any request he just completely ignored. This got very annoying. Another waiter got our pepper and parmesan for our meals. Then our server all but disappeared. The owner/​hostess finally noticed our finished plates were sitting there for like 20 min, and cleared, asked if we wanted dessrt menus etc. She came back a few min later, and took our dessert order because he was still MIA. about 15 more min passes and she comes again– almost forgetting she had taken the order herself and was like «can I get you anything else?» YES, the peice of cake and cup of tea we just ordered. She had put it in and expected the waiter to serve it but he still has not shown up at this point. Finally it comes (20 — 30 min for a slice of cheesecake and some hot water for tea).
This is a classy restaurant. The food was amazing. Maybe it was just our server, and we got unlucky — probably. The service expectation is so much higher for this type of place than the reality. At the very least they could have offered to take the dessert off the bill that took 30 min to come out that the owner had to get, as a nice gesture, but they did not. I’d come back for the food, but hope they take note and improve their staff!

Meh. Nothing special. I had the seafood stew. It was more like Seafood Bath. I told the server that I don’t really like claims and he said he would sub them out for more fish or calamari– nope. Got like 25 claims no joke. And it was so freakin spicy. My mouth was on fire. And I tapatio the crap out of my food. I sadly will not be returning to this place.

It is amazing how little and special the place is. Foods were fine, not remember so much. We enjoyed the ambience, small & crowded for weekend. Appetizers were great, although we thought the grill octopus was another salad since there were mostly green and a couple pieces of octopus. However, they cooked it very well, soft & tasty. Duck breast entrée’ was tasty, pork chop was sweet spicy taste which I didnt have more than a bite since I guess it wasnt my type. I left and remembered of the dessert and wine were favorite of the meal.
Recommendation: Must. Make. Reservation.

This is quite a find in Walnut Creek for a special dinner. My husband and I dined her for our 16^th wedding anniversary. We were seated in a cozy nook table for 2 in the front of the restaurant.
We were greeted and chatted with the owner and chef of this wonderful restaurant. Beautiful ambiance, great selection of wines and the food, the food YUM!
We started our meal with a shared plate of the in-​house cured meats of boar, pork and lamb. This plate was accompanied with cheese and a lovely apricot spread. Each of the cured meats had a distinctive taste perfectly seasoned and went well with the cheeses and Prosecco we were drinking. We went on to share the Heirloom Tomato salad with a delicious balsamic dressing. My husband ordered and ate Pappardelle with Boar Sugo and I had the Duck Breast with fig and balsamic reduction over polenta. The owner helped us to select a wine to perfectly pair with our dinner which was the Bardonlino wine which perfectly complemented both of our dishes. Dessert was delicious as well, I had the goat cheese panacotta and my husband the cheesecake. The owner sent us Limoncello in honor of our anniversary which was the perfect ending to our meal and time at this restaurant.
The service at the restaurant, its ambiance and coziness added to our dining experience.

Chose to eat here for Friday date night and thought we wouldn’t be able to get in but fortunately we like to eat dinner early and thy were able to accommodate us at 6pm.
Our Italian waiter was hilarious although i don’t think he meant to be. Not only was he super helpful and gave excellent service, but knew the menu real well along with the wines they offer.
We ordered the first salad on the menu with the pear and walnuts as well as the calamari salad. Both salads were completely different experiences but altogether amazing.
Highly recommend!

really love the vibe here. and the food is excellent. it’s family run and it shows, in a good way. the space is small and you can see what’s going on in the kitchen, which is really impressive because the tiny kitchen puts out incredible dishes with a rich variety of choices.
we love most seafood and there was a sardine special the night we went which was awesome. btw, real sardines are nothing like the salty, oily canned things you might think. real sardines are maybe four inches long and the whole fish is edible, bones and all. don’t bypass these sardines if you can find them. everything we had was delicious and we can’t wait to come back to try everything else on the menu. I only wish I had discovered this place earlier.

Simply incredible. Located in downtown walnut creek, I took my boy there for his birthday dinner. We sat on a side table next to a window that was open to the view of downtown WC. We were greeted by our nice server and then eventually by the incredible owner.
He was not only sweet but also so charming. He shared stories of his time in Italy, his claim to fame, and the how his restaurant came to be. He even brought complimentary wine and showed us the back of the restaurant to prove how fresh his ingredients are.
The food was amazing. We had gnocchi that melted in your mouth, a ribeye and duck that I haven’t stopped dreaming about.
Stop by. You won’t regret it.

What a disappointing meal. And we really wanted to love it. The food was delicious, but the details are found in the service, the attention paid to the customer, and for my mother’s birthday dinner this fell flat. Was it horrific service? No, but with only two waiters for the whole restaurant we were twiddling our thumbs a bit.
We had a reservation for 3 for 8 PM on Saturday, had to wait 30 minutes and ended up getting a table right next to the door and general food run area. Hardly celebratory when I had noted on Open Table that it was for my moms birthday.
Nothing was mentioned or acknowledged about her birthday and when it came time for dessert they were just sold out of the dessert wine. Just a little cherry on that non-​existent birthday cake. While my mom was content with the experience, I had been here for New Year’s and had an incredible culinary experience. I so badly wanted to treat my mom to the Ottavio experience I had before, but alas not this time.
Nonetheless, the food is exquisite, well portioned, and the prices are divine for the heavenly food. The ricotta gnocchi with duck sugo are absolutely luscious. The octopus is well seasoned and expertly cooked. I’ll definitely come back during the week to experience a less busy dinner service.

The heavy, dark curtains at the entrance seemed to promise a rich and exciting evening. Having made a reservation, my family was promptly seated in the back at a half-​bench half-​chair hybrid table. The candle placed there was glowing proudly against the dark backdrop of the restaurant. Not really a child-​friendly place, but there were several groups of boisterous adults.
The main menu is a single page and seasonal specials are supplemented on a separate page. Even with the English translations subtitling the Italian menu items, interpreting the menu required some Google research. We chose our dishes, then settled back with a glass of rich red wine and complimentary bread and pesto. These two started off the meal on a high note. The wine — a Pinot Noir/​Nero — was silky smooth and delicious even after slipping down my throat! Our waiter for the evening was SO kind and attentive, answering all our requests with a smile. Chef Valentino himself came out periodically to chat with the diners. However, the same cannot be said for all of the staff; one waiter refilled only half our table’s water cups. No, his pitcher was not empty but my cup certainly was.):
Now, the actual food:
— Pasticcio di Vitello Tartufato /​Messy Lasagna — The decided favorite of our choices. The ragout contains all the richness of veal without feeling too gamey. It’s a bit runny, which makes the dish look like a gravy-​covered bump, but my brother was scooping up every last drop at the end.
— Pollo Arrosto alla Birra /​Roasted Chicken– Just eh. The chicken looks majestically crispy on the plate, but I found the meat to be a little dry and lacking in flavor. Either under-​seasoned or just not seasoned to my taste. The rest of this dish is a bed of giant beans.
— Brodetto di Pesce misto alla Veneziana /​Seafood Stew — It’s like a tide pool at low tide: lots and lots of seafood stuffed into a shallow dish. I didn’t particularly enjoy the seafood bits but the soup itself is creamy and full-​bodied. PERFECT with the bread.
— Risotto con Piovra e Calamari /​Spicy Risotto with Octopus and Calamari — I’ve said it before, I love risottos. Maybe over the years my standards have been raised too high though since this one was average in terms of texture and flavor. I didn’t feel much heat. And yes, those are full baby octopuses in your dish.
Before tackling dessert, I stopped by the restroom. It’s tucked in the back corner, full of storage shelves and the home of the cash register. This area feels a little like being in a European cottage, and interestingly it was more homey back here than in the dining area.
Dessert:
— Chocolate Torte — My brother said this was his favorite chocolate cake of all time. Potentially an exaggeration, but it’s definitely good. A balanced sweetness, moist, and topped with sweet strawberries.
— Buffalo Ricotta Cheesecake — Having never tasted buffalo milk, I didn’t know how this would go. It turned out to be one of the lightest cheesecakes I’ve ever had. Different, but in a good way!
My expectations were high, but I came out with mixed feelings about Ottavio (especially considering the $$). I probably won’t be coming back soon unless it’s for some wine and dessert.

Really surprised to find such a cute spot in the Creek. We went here to celebrate New Year’s Eve Eve. That’s right, the day before New Year’s Eve. :) The holidays were so busy, we didn’t have a chance to make reservations until the week before, and everywhere was booked. This place was wide open, though.
This place is upscale, but not stuffy. You don’t have to dress up. Portion sizes of main dishes are large. We ordered a salad/​appetizer + main dish per person and had some leftovers. Do NOT order one thing from each menu section… that is way too much food!
The grilled octopus & calamari with fennel and arugula ($ 15) was awesome. I’ve never had octopus so tender before. It was lightly smoky and delicious. The calamari was also very tender. Went well with the crisp fennel and peppery arugula.
The salad ($ 10) was okay, but not quite balanced. This one had a huge mound of arugula, small rectangles of aged piave cheese, pears, and balsamic dressing. The cheese was really hard, the pears underripe, and way too much arugula. Sounded better on the menu.
My main was the Pappardelle with Wild Boar Sugo ($ 23), which is a deal considering the amount of food. The boar was tender. The spice blend they used was nice… not the standard. I think there was some sage in this one. However, it was a bit under salted. They might have done this on purpose, expecting the patron to ask for more grated (grana padano) cheese. This is a salty hard cheese, similar to parmigiano-​reggiano.
DH got a special braised rabbit with artichokes and olives over polenta ($ 24). This one was way over salted. Sometimes that happens when you cook with olives. The dish was still good, though. The rabbit was literally melting off the bones tender. The flavor combo was so hearty and amazing. Seriously delicious eats. They gave us like half a rabbit… so much food to take home.
Since we were celebrating, we splurged and got dessert. It was tremendously better than expected. Our dessert was like a chocolate lava cake, made with good chocolate, not too sweet and covered with a cream and caramel sauce. Check out the photo… it was a great way to end the meal.
Overall, we were pleased with our meal here. It wasn’t terribly expensive either, with one glass of wine & a dessert. They would have gotten 5 stars if every dish was salted properly. We would be happy to return for some good Italian food.

Duck with polenta and figs was divine! The duck breast was extremely tender and full of flavor. The Mission figs were a nice touch and added sweetness that complemented the duck meat well. We also ordered the cheese and dried meats plate for starters. They had venison prosciutto which was interesting as it was my first taste of venison ever! Not bad at all!
The chef/​owner is very friendly and personable. He came a few times to our table to make sure we are having a great experience. The place is also very small and intimate – yet elegant!