Jared S.
Yelp
Violetto. I don't even know where to begin... I'm at a serious loss for words...
If you are looking for an unforgettable dining EXPERIENCE, Violetto is the spot for you. If you want the BEST food you've possibly ever had, Violetto is the spot for you. If you want the BEST service and ambiance, Violetto is the spot for you.
Violetto WILL get that Michelin star soon too. It's just a matter of time...
Violetto is located in downtown St. Helena, California. St. Helena is a town in the northern part of Wine Country. The restaurant is right off Main Street (aka the St. Helena Highway) and just south of Beringer Vineyards.
St. Helena is so small that you could actually walk to Violetto if you're staying in town. The problem for my wife and I was the weather (100+ degrees), so we opted to drive. I believe valet parking is provided, but we opted to park our ourselves.
My wife and I arrived last Friday night for our 7:15pm reservation. We were immediately blown away just walking up to the actual restaurant. Violetto is brand new and opened two months ago. The front of the restaurant is extremely picturesque!
Inside we were welcomed by the friendliest staff I've ever encountered. They treated us as if we were celebrities or incredibly important people! The warmness of the hosts and servers will be a constant theme in this review, so stay tuned!
We were seated in one of Violetto's main dining hall rooms. They do have outdoor seating, but nobody was out there due to how ridiculously hot it was. The ambiance on the inside is INCREDIBLE! You can tell Violetto put so much planning and thought into the restaurant to make patrons feel special! Italian themed interior with white walls; and art everywhere!
Our server then came to take our order. He was EXTREMELY welcoming and assured us we made the right decision to come in that night for dinner. Violetto offers two menus: Prix Fixe (4 course meal) and Tasting (7 courses). We opted for the Prix Fixe as 4 courses seemed more than enough.
To start we added on some olive focaccia bread with lemon butter. When I tell you this bread was the best bread I've ever had... WOW. Buttery, soft, fresh... we DEVOURED the focaccia! Like it was our last meal on earth! I then realized I really needed to slow down and enjoy each bite of each dish, as we weren't at Wendy's or something (lol).
Violetto surprised us and brought out a few small items on the house. One of them was crispy potato skin with chickpeas on it and the other was a small mushroom soup. The potato skin/ chickpea item was incredibly flavorful and I loved the soup (and I don't even like mushrooms!)
Next out was the first official course we ordered, aka the "beginner" course. I chose the Crudo of Wild Salmon and California Cherry. This came with taggiasca olive, pistachio, caviar, and morello cherry succo. INCREDIBLE. If you love the taste of "fishiness" this is the dish for you. The caviar melted in my mouth like butter, with the cherry dressing adding some surprising sweetness to the salmon slices. With the pistachio adding crunch! MMM.
Second was the "pasta" course. I opted for the Rigatoni with Lamb Sugo, which was rigatoni with hand cut lamb ragu, ramps, and ricotta salata. GAME CHANGER. Maybe the best pasta I've had in my life!!! The "meatiness" of the lamb MADE this dish. It was like nothing I've ever eaten before. I savored each bite like nothing else. If you come, you HAVE to get this as your "pasta" course. Servers kept coming up to us saying how it was their favorite menu item PERIOD.
For the main course I went with the Mamasi Wagyu Ribeye with preboggion greens in fontina fonduta, spring vegetable giardiniera, pine nuts and borolo jus. BEST. STEAK. EVER. Period. I had never had wagyu before and WOW the hype is real. Incredibly marbleized steak with streaks of fat running thru... I took my time with this and enjoyed every chew!! My wife even finished her dish before me (she opted for the lamb which was also fantastic). And that never happens!! I was incredibly sad when I had finished everything on the plate, I legit wanted to cry (lol).
Lastly, for dessert, I opted for the deconstructed strawberry cheesecake. It came with strawberries prepared three ways: regular, dehydrated, and pickled. I had never had nor heard of pickled strawberries. But on this dish it worked! It balanced out the sweetness of the others. 11/10!
In the end, I can arguably say this was one of the best meals I've ever had in my life. Everything about Violetto is FIRST CLASS. The service is unbeatable. The ambiance is top notch. The food is to DIE for!! And the price was reasonable at $90/ person. We don't eat like this that often. Maybe a couple times a year. But life is short and sometimes you have to treat yourself!
Best of all we were very full at the end of dinner! And I'm a big eater! This isn't some dainty, high end place where you'll be hungry at the end.
BANGING FOOD. INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE. 100000000000 out of 10!