After reading all of the rave reviews locally and nationally, I was very excited to dine at Volterra. It was my birthday last weekend and my husband made reservations several weeks ago to get a few of my closest friends together. I'm pleased to report that our dining experience exceeded our expectations.
The restaurant is beautiful with rich wine colored walls, dark wood and a gorgeous stainless steel bartop. We were seated in the dining room which displays black and white pictures from Volterra and the owners wedding. Our server, Anthony, provided impeccable service and shared the story of the restaurant with us. The wine steward, David, helped us pick a reasonably priced Brunello from the wine list. He was very knowledgable and professional.
We started with the Bruschetta, Wild Mushroom Tart, and Mussels with Sausage. The bruschetta was like none I've had. Instead of tomatos and basil, it was topped with wild mushrooms and truffle puree and grilled artichokes. The mussels with sausage were fresh and the spicy sausage and tomato broth were delicious. We also tried the Wild Mushroom tart topped with Truffle Cream. Can you tell we are mushroom fans? The tart was my favorite of the appetizers and simply sinful.
For salads, we tried the sauteed spinich with pine nuts and currants which was a nice combination of savory and sweet. We also had the prawn salad which was topped with jumbo prawns and had been seasoned with Volterra's Fennel Salt. I bought the Fennel Salt at Metropolitan Market a few weeks ago and have been experimenting in the kitchen with it. Great stuff.
Entrees, we had a variety of dishes. Everyone devoured their meals. I think the favorites at the table were the Wild Boar Tenderloin, Kobe Beef Sirloin, Tagliolini with Wild Mushrooms and the Veal Chop.
We were too full for dessert but we did have a lovely bottle of Dinderello to top off a wonderful meal.
I will definitely recommend Volterra to all my friends.
more