Good, reasonably priced Italian in Berkeley/Rockridge

[wannab]

I have visitors from out f state and we will be in Berkeley Saturday night. My guests want to treat for dinner, but one of them just lost their job I don't want anything expensive. I am just looking for a comfortable place with decent Italian food.

Thank you.

[Robert Lauriston]

The silver lining of Holy Land closing suddenly was that we ended up down the block at Trattoria la Siciliana for the first time in ages. Thanks to the Giants we got seated right away.

The melanzane impanate (fried eggplant stuffed with mozzarella) was as good as ever, maybe better. Their simple tomato sauce is the best. Good light appetizer for two.

The pappardelle al ragù di maiale was fantastic. Great deep-flavored sauce from several different kinds of pork including ribs, guanciale, and sausage (my east coast friends would call it Sunday gravy), not too much of it, generous portion of what I'd have called maltagliati since they weren't super even. Seriously, this was as good as that kind of pasta ever gets, it would not have been out of place on the table at Oliveto or Chez Panisse Cafe, or at nonna's house.

Drank a nice inexpensive Alcamo. Split a great housemade pear frangipane tart for dessert. Friendly service. Overall delightful.

Still cash only.

[chocolatetartguy]

On my way to Ici I passed La Siciliana Saturday and they had crab on the menu.

[Robert Lauriston]

I think they've had the "fresh crab and lobster" sign out every time I've been there.

[jaiko]

Does Trattoria La Siciliana still have that tasty olive oil dipping sauce? We haven't been there in ages but I remember it because it was the first time my spouse approved of using EVOO on this bread instead of tons of butter! They sold it also, so I gave some as Xmas presents that year.

[Ruth Lafler]

Yup. It was delicious.

[Glencora]

Nothing I've read here about Corso mentions that there's a TV above the bar. I probably wouldn't have gone on Super Bowl Sunday had I known that, since I found the ads distracting. After the game, they switched it to a Cary Grant/Sophia Loren movie (sound off) that didn't really bother me, but still... Other than that, the meal was fine. The crostini (or crostino, I guess?) with hedgehog mushroom conserva and ricotta was my "best bite" so far this year. My companion said the cherry sundae was the best sundae he's ever had in his life. It amused me that it was served in a slightly too small dish that meant a lot of drips. Shades of Fenton's?

[Robert Lauriston]

Normally the TV is showing old Italian movies. I don't think I've ever given the TV a thought except for a couple of times when I looked up the movie on Netflix and watched it later.

[Helene Goldberg]

Have they gotten rid of the nasty manager. I used to go to Corso regularly until she made dining so unpleasant I gave up on it.

[Glencora]

I remember reading your posts. You mean the woman at the hostess stand? Was she Asian? The woman last night seemed perfectly nice, though we had very brief contact with her so it's hard to say.

[Helene Goldberg]

I'm glad you had a good experience. Perhaps someone has talked to her. I'll just wait until she leaves to return though.

[peppino]

I know they're Dopo's sister restaurant/bar (and they don't exactly a full dinner menu ) but no one mentioned Adesso ;) I like going there for a good salumi fix and some good Italian wine.

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Dopo
4293 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, CA 94611

Adesso
4395 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, CA

[MagicMarkR]

Though a bit farther North, I always have liked Lo Coco at Shattuck and Rose.
They have a very pleasant atmosphere where you can have a conversation, staff is friendly, and it is affordable. Food is pretty good to --pretty standard trattoria style.

http://www.lococospizzeria.com/

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Lo Coco's Restaurant
4270 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, CA 94611

[Robert Lauriston]

Lo Coco's has decent pizza. I used to go there for the La Puzzola with morels and Gorgonzola but they took it off the menu.

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Lo Coco's Restaurant
4270 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, CA 94611

[Glencora]

But Sportivo (Fratelli Lo Coco -- related, I assume) has it on the menu. I haven't tried yet, but want to.

[Robert Lauriston]

Where is Sportivo?

[Glencora]

2132 Center Street. I've looked in and it's pretty noisy, with TVs. I'd get the pizza to go.

[Rapini]

It can be noisy; but the food is surprisingly good, prices reasonable, and the service friendly.

[Robert Lauriston]

Oh, the old Raphael space.

[kellylee]

Can anyone speak to the style of the pizza? Wood fired?

[Robert Lauriston]

I don't think they could have a wood oven, I'm pretty sure Raphael came after the ban on new installations.

[Glencora]

I tried the Puzzola (the skunk) last night: morels, marscarpone and gorgonzola. I can't remember Lo Coco's crust. This was thick and chewy, but not underdone, with a bit of char. This pizza might be too salty and greasy for some people. I enjoyed it. There's something addictive about the combination. (I had a bite of the carnivoro, but it was boring by comparison.)

[drewskiSF]

the website says "Wood fired pizzas"

"This is not your typical sports bar. Wood fired pizza, the finest hand crafted pasta dishes, hand selected meats, freshest fish, not to mention those select Sicilian specialties sure to appease even the toughest critic."

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Sportivo
2132 Center St, Berkeley, CA 94704

[kellylee]

We tried Sportivo last night. The space is nice and the server was a dear but the food was mediocre at best. We had the wood fired asparagus appetizer which was limp and seemed over boiled rather than crisp as we were expecting. Served in an odd fennel broth that reminded one of us of sauerkraut. Three pizzas followed: Margarita, Carnivoro and La Puzzola. Too heavily topped and very oily. The crust edge had a nice flavor but the rest of the pie was soggy due to the excess oil.

[wannab]

Thank you for all the recommendations, so far Trattoria La Sicilianais on the top of the list.

[dcfb]

I would read deeply about wait times at TLS. The two times we went, it took much longer for us (no reservations) and for some of the people who had them. We stopped trying, but if we had some time to hang out (even with a res), we would go back. The food is delicious and the space is hopping and comfy. Service warm. Again, it's been a while.

Corso is a favorite. An app and the popular butter-cooked chicken dish they have with a shared salad might work. Larger portions at TLS but both are delicious.

Also to add that Corso has 3 sizes of wine pours: taste, half, full. We've enjoyed having just a sip of wine to try something new here and there.

[Robert Lauriston]

Trattoria la Siciliana didn't used to take reservations at all, so long waits were unavoidable.

[wolfe]

This reservation business is not new but apparently you needed at least 4.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/3673...
Psst, RL you are on that 6 year old thread.

[Robert Lauriston]

Three, but time was they didn't take reservations at all except for large groups.

[wolfe]

Your taste memory is matched only by your eidetic reservation memory.

[rccola]

Wolfie! It's "reservations for 3 or more" online or "call for smaller parties," I guess so they can pick and choose if they want to honor reservations at a particular time. That would mean they may or may not save a table for 1 or 2.

How do I know? Website!

[salumigirl]

I like Enoteca Molinari. A small, cozy place. Tasty food for reasonable prices:

5474 College Avenue
Oakland, CA 94618
[phone]
http://www.enoteca-molinari.com/index...

Enjoy!

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Enoteca Molinari
5474 College Ave, Oakland, CA 94618

[Robert Lauriston]

Stopped in at Molinari for a drink. Really nicely chosen all-Italian wine list, I had tastes of half a dozen, all delicious. The chickpea fries were good though I like Plum's better. Liver pâté was excellent. A small appetizer of fat asparagus spears and prosciutto was very good. The tagliatelle with beef and pork ragù looked delicious, I'll have to go back to try some pasta.

[escargot3]

I really like Corso, but you have to tiptoe thru the menu more carefully than at Trattoria La Siciliana to keep the price down. So i vote for the latter.

fyi Pizzaiola can be really expensive if you're aiming for a chicken dish (instead of pizza/pasta) -- it was $26 a plate when I was there the other day for yummy morning coffee.

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Trattoria La Siciliana
2993 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

[Robert Lauriston]

Dopo, Corso, Trattoria La Siciliana, Riva Cucina, Paisan

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Trattoria La Siciliana
2993 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

Dopo
4293 Piedmont Ave, Oakland, CA 94611

Riva Cucina
800 Heinz Ave, Berkeley, CA 94710

Corso
1788 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709

Paisan
2514 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA 94702

[kellylee]

Trattoria La Siciliana is a nice choice as they offer "family style" platters with very generous portions for the price. The last time I went they were cash only- just so you know.

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Trattoria La Siciliana
2993 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705

[Robert Lauriston]

I see that Siciliana takes reservations now, so that's a big plus.

[Pius Avocado III]

La Siciliana definitely fits the bill for the price point. It's a narrow space so your comfort criterion would depend on the size of the party- I've eaten there with 8 and it was pleasant enough if a tight fit. Family-style service a big plus as kellylee noted.

[bythebay]

I second or third or whatever number it's on the recommendation for Trattoria La Siciliana. I think they're great and price is reasonable, depending on how much you order of course.

[Ruth Lafler]

We went to Trattoria La Sicliana last night for dinner (early, no reservations, waited about 20 minutes, and the hostess was very apologetic). We ordered mostly off the November specials menu, and one dish really stood out: the ragu d'Maiale (over pappardelle). There were several different kinds of pork, and it was richly meaty and delicious.

[moto]

trattoria Corso on Shattuck, just north of University Ave. in berserkley. if you wish to go in the Cal-Ital vein, Pizzaiolo on Telegraph, oaktown/temescal. neither is inexpensive, but reasonable for their high quality, and informal/casual.

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Pizzaiolo
5008 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, CA 94609