RESTAURANT
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS. HONEST COOKING. FRESH THINKING.
Exceptional ingredients from farmers we know and trust: the point of departure for all our food. Carrying that tradition forward, Chef Peter Jackson’s menus coalesce classic Italian cooking with intelligent innovation.
We use whole animals, from pig to beef, breaking down and curing the meats ourselves. Best-of-season vegetables, wood-fired meats, and homemade pastas are the basis of Brian’s reasoned approach to what is succulent and modern. Red wines from Piedmont, grass-fed beef from Mendocino — we age them both ourselves. Annual Special Dinners — Truffles, Tomatoes, Whole Hog, Oceanic — feature seasonal harvests at their peak. Elegant, rustic, refined, honest, delicious food, in a fine-dining atmosphere without pretense.
We use whole animals, from pig to beef, breaking down and curing the meats ourselves. Best-of-season vegetables, wood-fired meats, and homemade pastas are the basis of Brian’s reasoned approach to what is succulent and modern. Red wines from Piedmont, grass-fed beef from Mendocino — we age them both ourselves. Annual Special Dinners — Truffles, Tomatoes, Whole Hog, Oceanic — feature seasonal harvests at their peak. Elegant, rustic, refined, honest, delicious food, in a fine-dining atmosphere without pretense.
ROSTICCERIA – CAFE
Blends the warmth and style of a European-type neighborhood cafe with rustic, homemade Italy-based food – morning, noon, and night. Great espresso, morning pastries, pizzas, panini, antipasti, main courses, and desserts made with ingredients from local farmers; artisan cocktails; excellent, well-priced wines and beers.
WINE
The Oliveto Wine Program aims to shift the point of view away from the wine consumer/wine critic and towards the person who understands wine on a more intimate level, the wine maker.
We are interested in a larger conversation predicated on the belief that the “art of wine-making” is an extension of the relationship between the people and the place where it is created.
By place, we mean terroir as well as a wine’s place within a lineage, the evolution of wine-making practices within that lineage, the personalities, the communities, and the myriad relationships that exist between food, family, and tradition that ultimately bring a wine to life. We also offer an extensive list of aged wines that are available in the restaurant with advanced notice.
We are interested in a larger conversation predicated on the belief that the “art of wine-making” is an extension of the relationship between the people and the place where it is created.
By place, we mean terroir as well as a wine’s place within a lineage, the evolution of wine-making practices within that lineage, the personalities, the communities, and the myriad relationships that exist between food, family, and tradition that ultimately bring a wine to life. We also offer an extensive list of aged wines that are available in the restaurant with advanced notice.
GIFT CERTIFICATES
A PERFECT MEAL MAKES A PERFECT PRESENT
Oliveto Restaurant and Cafe gift cards
Send an instant gift card, create and print a gift card, or pick up the check
PRIVATE DINING
The Siena Room in the upstairs dining room at Oliveto Restaurant is a refined and handsome backdrop for any occasion, providing the perfect setting for business gatherings, anniversaries, birthdays, graduations, wedding celebrations, or send-offs. Hosts can conspire with Executive Chef Brian Griffith to create a menu like no other and consult with our wine buyer for a special pairing of wines.
- Room accommodates 12 – 28 people
- Standard format four-course menu with choices for dinner; three-courses with lunch (menu decisions are flexible, we welcome your collaboration)
- Special-order cakes available through our pastry department
- Full buy-out with advanced notice
- AV equipment available
Contact our events manager, Kaitlyn Hanson, for more details.
COMMUNITY GRAINS
Originally conceived as The Oliveto Grain Project back in 2009, Community Grains has evolved into its own exciting endeavor, working with local farmers, millers, bakers, and eaters to help build a thriving, self-sustaining grain economy here in northern California. Offering a full line of whole grain flours, cornmeal polentas, dried pastas, and hearth bread, Community Grains is committed to an information-based understanding of grains, milling, and flour use. We aim to facilitate the development of local grains that are healthy and delicious, and educate by sharing information, forming relationships, and strengthening our local community here in northern California through good food.
ABOUT US
Situated in the popular East Bay neighborhood of Rockridge in the landmark Rockridge Market Hall, Oliveto Cafe & Restaurant has a twofold identity: as a familiar, rustic Italian Cafe (downstairs), hub of a busy neighborhood, directly across the street from the Rockridge BART Station, and as an unforgettable Restaurant upstairs, where modern and classic Italian dishes, inspired by the best from northern California’s farmers, combine in an incredible blend of tradition and originality.
