Last week the brand new Roberto's Ristorante Italiano (robertosva.com ) opened on Church Street in Vienna, VA without much fanfare. This new venture is already a smash hit as we witnessed last night with a full house dining on some of the best Italian food around. For us, it was a grand reunion seeing Roberto's lovely wife Nancy welcoming everyone at the door with open arms to the elegant space she decorated with tons of Murano glass and even a huge wooden table her father gave her as a gift. The gray clapboard walls make a fine background for the artwork of plates, glass and more. Crisp white linens, nice crystal and silver make a cozy warm setting that is just right for this upscale neighborhood.
Many faces we knew were there to help coming from Roberto's locales of the past and we were blessed to see Debbie who served us back at Galileo and later at A La Lucia in Alexandria.
We ordered a bottle of Le Sabbie dell'Etna Etna Bianco 2020 from Firriato in Sicily which was nice, crip. refreshing and with mineral notes and then took the suggestion of Dmitri (the sommeilier) for the red, a Nero d'Avola from Gulfi 2019 from Rossojbleo which was perfect despite its youth.
Bread arrives in the form of peppery crunchy breadsticks that are irresistible, as well as regular crusty bread with olive oil for dipping and focaccia.
The menu is simple and i am sure will grow, but for now there are 4 starters, four pastas and four mains. I shared the Risotto al Gorgonzola, as I do not know a chef that makes a better risotto. Al dente to perfection the dish was mild on the blue gorgonzola and enhanced with a beet puree dotted on top as well as pistachio and parmesan. The portion was just perfect to share as a starter and might have been a tad too rich for one main course indeed(photos on FB always). Burrata di Bufala came with Charred Broccolini, Roasted Fennel, Pepperoncino for spice and egg (in the dressing, we were told). The Yellowfin Tuna Crudo had a kick from Calabrian chili, and came with pistachio, Castelvetrano olives and garlic aioli.
The Fettuccine Verde alla Bolognese Biano is a novel dish using the green pasta with a 50/50 blend of pork and beef with sage and Parmigiano Reggiano for the divine sauce.
Gnocchi alla Caprese is a take on the salad with the gnocchi served in a mozzarella and tomato sauce with toasted basil bread. My Mulard Duck Breast was cooked to perfection medium rare and served with roasted parsnips, celery root, carrot and turnips in a Salsa Modenese, a divine rich balsamic reduction and then topped with crispy parsnip shavings. There was a white root veggie sauce(celery root?) as well to balance the richness of the balsamic.
We could not leave without trying the desserts so the four of us split two: Castania is a chestnut confit with chestnuts, vanilla ice cream, hazelnut meringue and lemon custard which I loved and for the chocoholics there is Chocolate Mousse of 70% Cordillera single origin chocolate with diplomat cream and a fleur de del caramel sauce!!
Chef Roberto makes the rounds of the room regularly and his always amazing jovial attitude and warmth makes this the perfect place for ANY occasion. We can't wait to return!
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