The Bottom Line
Pros
- The experience of a celebrated rising chef in a more intimate atmosphere
- Stylish ambient setting with poolside cabana dining possibilities
- A nice range of menu choices: tapas for cocktailers, traditional eats and unusually inspired dishes
Cons
- The restaurant/hotel’s valet parking pickup/return is in the back alley of the hotel.
Description
- Entree prices range from $16 to $30; appetizers from $9 to $16.
- The ‘60s Italian style decor was fashioned by designer Kelly Wearstler (of Viceroy renown).
- The restaurant serves brunch from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays.
- Cocktails like the Berries & Basil and the Mojito are made with fresh botanicals grown in the rooftop garden.
Guide Review - Restaurant Review of Oliverio at the Avalon Hotel Beverly Hills in Los Angeles
LA loves its Italian food. It also loves Mirko Paderno--whose culinary provenance in this town precedes him. So, if you’re going to ‘do Italian’--food and design--with substance and style, Oliverio is a must.
Upon entrance, your aesthetic sensibilities are piqued by Kelly Wearstler’s Dolce Vita-esque design and flawless date lighting. Oliverio obliges the Fellini film fantasy--Italian gilt ceramic columns, marble-top bar and breezy aqua hues-- while updating the dream.
Chef Paderno’s menu covers a broad range of dishes including ‘greatest hits’ of Italian cuiz like Potato Gnocchetti with fresh tomatoes and smoked mozzarella, for traditional palates. Entrees like the Scottish Salmon with asparagus and wild arugula, and the black cod with garbanzo bean puree rely on the integrity and simplicity of the ingredients. The restaurant grows some of its own vegetables and herbs on its rooftop garden as well.
The menu includes unusual and inventive edible works of art like the spicy tuna tartar on a ‘rice cake’ of saffron risotto, and exotic dishes like octopus carpaccio for more progressive and adventurous diners. Speaking of which, I adored Paderno’s creative use of risotto in the aforementioned dish as well as in one of (what I’m sure will be) his signature desserts.
If you only have time for poolside niblets by the cabanas, go for one of Oliverio's supple, fluffy and flavorful Pizzettas. The ‘secret’ ingredient is potato flour in the crust. My favorites are the Pizzetta Truffle (with goat cheese and truffles) and the Pizzetta Napoletana (with burrata cheese and tomato). They go down delightfully with my new favorite chic and tasty ‘hangover cure,’ the Bloody Gazpacho--a divine Bloody Mary/gazpacho hybrid.
Oliverio at the Avalon Beverly Hills
9400 W. Olympic Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
310-277-5221
www.avalonbeverlyhills.com/dining
