Oenotri
1425 First St.
Napa
(707) 252-1022
Southern Italian Cuisine
Lunch and dinner daily
Entrées: $14-$29
Full bar, extensive wine list
When Chef/Owner Tyler Rodde opened Oenotri in 2010, he created a space that offers a daily changing menu based on local, organic ingredients as well as house made salumi (more than 20 types) and pastas. Pizzas are cooked in a wood-burning oven imported from Italy and the wine list (more like a book) represents both local and Italian wines. There are exposed brick walls, an open kitchen, wood tables, soft lighting and picture windows along the street and alleyway walls.
We started with specialty cocktails, and our favorite was called “Blood & Smoke,” a savory, bright red mixture of tequilas, blood lime, maraschino and falernum. And the house made ginger beer is truly excellent for ginger lovers, as it isn’t too sweet and has tons of ginger in it (delicious).
The citrus salad had three types of citrus, bright baby greens, thin-sliced avocado and speck (a fatty, specialized type of prosciutto). It was fresh and light with a slight hint of sweetness.
The chef’s selection of salumi came with thin, crispy bread. If you like cured meats, this is a must try. There were several slices of each type and the soppressata and lonza were our favorites. Our server, Damien, paired 2008 Nebbiolo (Produttori del Barbaresco) and Rodde Family (yes, the chef’s family) 2010 Chardonnay with the rest of our meal—both excellent choices.
We sampled two side dishes: The fried cavalo nero with hot pepper, Meyer lemon and Parmigiano was well seasoned (building heat), served with a slice of lemon and so good I wished it was available by the bag so I could eat the whole thing. The fried potatoes were cubed, cooked crisp and dressed with chili oil and pecorino—not for heat wimps. Topped with grated Parmigiano, we very much enjoyed them.
The trompetti pasta came with a light fava leaf-pistachio pesto atop Romanesco, chard stems and shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and went exceptionally well with the Chardonnay. We added shaved Perigord truffles to the panna pizza (green garlic crema, mozzarella di bufala, thin-sliced potatoes, asparagus, cracked black pepper and Parmigiano-Reggiano), which had an extra thin crust with puffed edges (an effect of the type of flour used and the high-heat of the oven) and was beautifully cooked and presented.
Pastry Chef Jen Archer created an excellent chocolate bread pudding, which came with a scoop of gelato drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with a small amount of sea salt. The blood orange sorbetto came with fresh orange slices and zabaglione (sweet and tart). Both went great with rich Brazilian coffee to end the meal.
