A Taste of Italy in Yountville

This weekend I finally had the chance to try out the new Cantinetta Piero at the newly opened Hotel Luca in Yountville. This is a great addition to the already stellar lineup of Yountville restaurants and can definitely hold its own with Bottega, Yountville's other Italian restaurant.

The hotel itself is rather charming and although we didn't get a chance to look in any of the rooms, the setting is very Italian with all the rooms looking onto a central courtyard. The courtyard has a comfortable and inviting feel and I hope on a warmer night, you don't have to be a hotel guest to sit by the cozy fireplace.

The menu is Tuscan style with a nice selection of starters, pastas, pizzas and main courses. My husband and I shared the Burrata Cheese topped with a nice olive oil and sea salt and served with crostinis. It went very well with the Italian Pinot Grigio that I ordered. We then moved on to the Pumpkin Ravioli with prociutto and sage - it was delicious! For our main course, we shared carmelized scallops. They were nicely served with potatoes and castelvetrano olives (which I can't seem to get enough of these days). Dessert was a delicious chocolate mousse topped with caramel and sea salt.

The wine list has a nice selection of Italian wines both by the glass and bottle and our waitress was very helpful selecting the right Italian wines for our dinner. My only complaint would be a relatively short wine by the glass selection. But the wines they do have by the glass are great and they offer both 3 oz and 6 oz pours.

I highly recommend this new Yountville hot spot. And if you are visiting from out of town, check out the hotel. It's in a great location and looks to have a nice, charming atmosphere. More information about the hotel and restaurant can be found online at www.hotellucanapa.com.

Written by Linzi