Santa Barbara’s Olio Pizzeria
I’m completely spoiled from the years I spent living abroad in Florence, Italy. When it comes to dining in Italian restaurants in the U.S., it’s a real challenge to find places with true authenticity. It’s not that most Italian restaurants don’t serve tasty cuisine, they definitely do, but it’s the disheartening disappointment I feel when a dish comes and it’s been thoroughly Americanized that deters me. How I wish I could just sit back and enjoy a meal without comparing things to the way they taste back in Italy! And talk about sounding snobby if I were to vocalize my feelings. So more often than not, I simply avoid eating in Italian restaurants, even though it’s one of my absolute favorite cuisines. A sad state indeed.
Enter Olio Pizzeria. I was thrilled to stumble across this tiny gem, hidden away in a quiet little plaza off Victoria Street in Santa Barbara. Just an hour drive from Los Angeles, you’ll find great Italian cuisine well worth the jaunt out of town. At Olio Pizzeria, which translates to (olive) oil pizzeria, you’ll encounter deliciously authentic thin crust pies prepared with abundant portions of olive oil and cooked in traditional wood-burning ovens just like they do back in Italy.
You’ll also discover charming decor that is both rustic and romantic with ample stone work and elegant touches like decorative bird egg wreaths. The atmosphere is great for long conversations, plus the service is benissimo and all the courses are as stellar as the pizzas.
Start out with a bowl of spicy Calabrese-style olives, or a dish of fried squid ink calamari. But leave lots of room, because the pizzas are the stars of the show here and you’ll have both classic combinations and creative innovations to choose from. Mare chiaro is a flavorful burst of seafood and garlic sprinkled with parsley. The capricciosa is delightfully thin, weighted down by huge chunks of artichoke hearts and dripping with a healthy dose of e.v.o.o..
For dessert the cannoli di ricotta is not to be missed, and comes drizzled in chocolate and dusted with powdered sugar and a sprinkling of pistachio shavings. The creamy ricotta filling has just a hint of lemon about it, and is best chased down with a frothy cup of cappuccino, which by the way tastes identical to the way they make it in Italy.
Buon appetito!
Olio Pizzeria
11 West Victoria Street
Santa Barbara, California
805.899.2699
