Enoteca Molinari

Nice neighborhood Italian restaurant. Staff friendly and attentive.

Fairly slow on a busy night, but each dish and drink was meticulous and felt personal. Courteous staff and a vibrant crowd.

We have gone here twice and have enjoyed in each time! Recommend the arancini, it’s amazing!

The Real Thing. Was like being transported to the Amalfi Coast. Food and wine are amazing! Reasonable prices. Recommended: Homemade Pasta Ragu & Nebbiolo from the Piedmont. Wine by the glass list is extensive. Just like in Italy, dishes are made from scratch with one remarkable chef and a small staff. So prepare to sip your vino and relax. Worth the wait. For foodies, Enoteca Molinari is the best dining experience in Rockridge by far!

This is my go-to restaurant. I've eaten here dozens of times over the years, and I have never had anything but stellar food, wine, and service. Enoteca has a smallish menu, preferring to deliver perfection. I've had everything they prepare, always excellent, but my favorite remains the gnocchi, which you have to spear with your fork as soon as the dish shows up, to keep them from floating into the sky and joining the clouds. Joe is always ready to help you select the perfect wine. I've been introduced to many cherished new vintages. The wine and food prices are very reasonable. Don't forget the desserts, a delightfully delicate way to end a gratifying evening. The atmosphere is warmly friendly. The entire staff is working together to give us a delicious and congenial evening. My always favorite.

Micaela Largent

We have gone here twice and have enjoyed in each time! Recommend the arancini, it’s amazing!

Marty Manley

Just great. On a street full of Italian options, EM flies under the radar. Five of us shared five appetizers. Arancini were really great — and we’d all just been to Sicily, so we were calibrated. Pecorino, gem salad, both excellent. Sardines were a bit small, but tasty. Cauliflower was a B. Saltimbocca, swordfish, gnocchi, and oreccietta with rabe were all nicely prepared and the desserts did not disappoint. Service and pace were relaxed. We would all go back — and will.

David Borel

Fairly slow on a busy night, but each dish and drink was meticulous and felt personal. Courteous staff and a vibrant crowd.

Samuel Spencer

What a cute Lil restaurant! They have a small, but utterly delicious menu!!!! I should have taken pics to share in the review but I didn't. At any rate, the food and service was fantastic! Give this place a try.

Matt Feeney

Elegant atmosphere, excellent service, great food, and very good wine. The arancini and ragu are making me hungry as I recall eating them.

AMS

The Real Thing. Was like being transported to the Amalfi Coast. Food and wine are amazing! Reasonable prices. Recommended: Homemade Pasta Ragu & Nebbiolo from the Piedmont. Wine by the glass list is extensive. Just like in Italy, dishes are made from scratch with one remarkable chef and a small staff. So prepare to sip your vino and relax. Worth the wait. For foodies, Enoteca Molinari is the best dining experience in Rockridge by far!

Diane Baker

This is my go-to restaurant. I've eaten here dozens of times over the years, and I have never had anything but stellar food, wine, and service. Enoteca has a smallish menu, preferring to deliver perfection. I've had everything they prepare, always excellent, but my favorite remains the gnocchi, which you have to spear with your fork as soon as the dish shows up, to keep them from floating into the sky and joining the clouds. Joe is always ready to help you select the perfect wine. I've been introduced to many cherished new vintages. The wine and food prices are very reasonable. Don't forget the desserts, a delightfully delicate way to end a gratifying evening. The atmosphere is warmly friendly. The entire staff is working together to give us a delicious and congenial evening. My always favorite.

Food: Good but not great. Was expecting more given we've tried to 'walk in' several times only to find out that reservations were needed...we got lucky this time. Had the Arancini (golden fried croquettes and the Asapragi con burrata (Asparagus with burrata) for apps…both were yum, but ask for bread with the burrata. I had the Tagliatelle al ragu’, which really didn’t pack the flavor that I was expecting. Wife ordered the Orecchiette con le cime di rapa, again…not a meal with WoW. Both were OK/good, but not great. The Pacific swordfish was also ordered at our table, and that was given very positive reviews (thin cut of fish, not your typical thick steak). Atmosphere: Good place for conversation, the meal was quite long (over 2 hours)…the waiter was very friendly and made suggestions as requested, but was in no hurry. That part of the meal does feel a bit authentic Italian. Decent wine list with many Italian options.

They know what they are doing with the food. Very good, authentic Italian. That’s why you might go. The atmosphere is nothing at all and the service is fine. People are nice and relaxed.

Nice place with Italian food. Very delicious cheese and prosciutto. But they need more authenticity to Italian trattorias ..

Patrick H

Food: Good but not great. Was expecting more given we've tried to 'walk in' several times only to find out that reservations were needed...we got lucky this time. Had the Arancini (golden fried croquettes and the Asapragi con burrata (Asparagus with burrata) for apps…both were yum, but ask for bread with the burrata. I had the Tagliatelle al ragu’, which really didn’t pack the flavor that I was expecting. Wife ordered the Orecchiette con le cime di rapa, again…not a meal with WoW. Both were OK/good, but not great. The Pacific swordfish was also ordered at our table, and that was given very positive reviews (thin cut of fish, not your typical thick steak). Atmosphere: Good place for conversation, the meal was quite long (over 2 hours)…the waiter was very friendly and made suggestions as requested, but was in no hurry. That part of the meal does feel a bit authentic Italian. Decent wine list with many Italian options.

Andrew Hawn

They know what they are doing with the food. Very good, authentic Italian. That’s why you might go. The atmosphere is nothing at all and the service is fine. People are nice and relaxed.

Alexander Chemeris

Nice place with Italian food. Very delicious cheese and prosciutto. But they need more authenticity to Italian trattorias ..

This is a cute little place with a small but tasty menu and food was delicious. Service became bizarrely slow during second half of our meal. After 90 minutes we were done with our entrees and ready for dessert. It took them so long to clear our entrees, so long again to give dessert menus and so long again to bring dessert than dessert alone took another 90 minutes and our meal ended up being 3 hours. An unfortunate stain on an otherwise lovely meal.

Updated April 2024 Food is excellent and some very creative dishes based on Italian classics. Although the menu may seem small there were more than enough options that appealed to myself and my wife. Menu could maybe use some regional focus as it seems to be broadly Italian but dishes were hard to pinpoint their exact origin. Great wine and beverage options as well. The space was very inviting and much bigger than the first time we dined here due to an expansion pre pandemic.

Jessica Spaly

This is a cute little place with a small but tasty menu and food was delicious. Service became bizarrely slow during second half of our meal. After 90 minutes we were done with our entrees and ready for dessert. It took them so long to clear our entrees, so long again to give dessert menus and so long again to bring dessert than dessert alone took another 90 minutes and our meal ended up being 3 hours. An unfortunate stain on an otherwise lovely meal.

Will Geffen

Updated April 2024 Food is excellent and some very creative dishes based on Italian classics. Although the menu may seem small there were more than enough options that appealed to myself and my wife. Menu could maybe use some regional focus as it seems to be broadly Italian but dishes were hard to pinpoint their exact origin. Great wine and beverage options as well. The space was very inviting and much bigger than the first time we dined here due to an expansion pre pandemic.

The good news is this is delicious food at affordable prices. Unfortunately, they operate with a bad system such that when busy the staff gets easily overwhelmed. Their service system, referred to as "casual", entails everyone doing everything: all front of house staff do seating, taking orders, serving food, busing tables, taking payments, etc. This turns into chaos on busy nights; the two or three staff can get easily overwhelmed. They would benefit from a runner system whereby each person has a dedicated role (one person taking orders, another serving food, etc ). Our recent evening there was a disaster, with one of us getting their appetizer and main course at the same time and another waiting 30 minutes to get any food at all. Then another 30 minute wait to get our bill. This was not a question of staff competence: everyone was working their butts off. It's that their system is not designed for big crowds. Maybe this is simply ownership cheapness -- not wanting to invest in a better system or hire more staff -- but my advice is if you must go, go early or on a slow Tuesday night, or be prepared for a goat rodeo.

Pretty underwhelmed when the family came for a graduation dinner. We went nice and early - 6pm, and didn’t leave until 8 not because we were having a leisurely meal but because service was slow and staff was inattentive. Didn’t have silverware, had to ask for a cup of tea several times before receiving it etc - atmosphere also lacking in the space. Lots of cozy Italian spots in Oakland so most likely won’t be coming back here as it was lackluster all around.

D White

The good news is this is delicious food at affordable prices. Unfortunately, they operate with a bad system such that when busy the staff gets easily overwhelmed. Their service system, referred to as "casual", entails everyone doing everything: all front of house staff do seating, taking orders, serving food, busing tables, taking payments, etc. This turns into chaos on busy nights; the two or three staff can get easily overwhelmed. They would benefit from a runner system whereby each person has a dedicated role (one person taking orders, another serving food, etc ). Our recent evening there was a disaster, with one of us getting their appetizer and main course at the same time and another waiting 30 minutes to get any food at all. Then another 30 minute wait to get our bill. This was not a question of staff competence: everyone was working their butts off. It's that their system is not designed for big crowds. Maybe this is simply ownership cheapness -- not wanting to invest in a better system or hire more staff -- but my advice is if you must go, go early or on a slow Tuesday night, or be prepared for a goat rodeo.

Sarah Karlan

Pretty underwhelmed when the family came for a graduation dinner. We went nice and early - 6pm, and didn’t leave until 8 not because we were having a leisurely meal but because service was slow and staff was inattentive. Didn’t have silverware, had to ask for a cup of tea several times before receiving it etc - atmosphere also lacking in the space. Lots of cozy Italian spots in Oakland so most likely won’t be coming back here as it was lackluster all around.

I’m really excited to try this restaurant. The appetizer was ok but the pasta is taste like boiling broccoli I’m so disappointed.

Yanisa Nippaya

I’m really excited to try this restaurant. The appetizer was ok but the pasta is taste like boiling broccoli I’m so disappointed.

The orecchiette was one of the blandest things I've eaten at a restaurant. The ragu was just ok. Everything looked beautiful and the ambiance was great but unfortunately a mound of parm on top of our pasta only went so far.

Eski Lorann

The orecchiette was one of the blandest things I've eaten at a restaurant. The ragu was just ok. Everything looked beautiful and the ambiance was great but unfortunately a mound of parm on top of our pasta only went so far.