Bottega: it is hard to stay away from the really good food.
One note about Bottega: even with a reservation, plan on waiting 15 to 30 minutes for your table. You don’t mind waiting, especially near the outdoor fireplace with the cushioned outdoor sofas, a nice bottle of sparkling wine, and good friends with whom to enjoy the evening. We tried 4 appetizers: the caprese salad with heirloom tomatoes, the deep fried foccacia that is wrapped with prosciutto and served with melon soup/sauce (everyone’s favorite), the crispy calamari, and the house-cured olives. I decided to have the grilled octupus salad, with perfectly charred octupus tossed with greens and lemon vinaigrette, and a pasta, fettucine with bolognese. I chose the pasta purposely because I had ordered it once before and was disappointed; it was under-seasoned. Not so this time. It was, as Tony the Tiger would say, “Great!!!” Jamie allowed me to bite into his roasted quail, and our friends allowed me to enjoy a bit of their risotto with quail. All of it was delicious. As if that wasn’t enough food, we had to order to chocolate lava cake. We weren’t disappointed. Rolling ourselves out of the restaurant we all agreed that Bottega is still a local favorite spot for unique Italian food different from any other in the Napa Valley.