All of my friends and family have absolutely raved about Volterra and I finally had a chance to dine there last week. It was everything that I had expected and MORE. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted warmly by the hostesses and our waiter was outstanding. He was able to answer all of the questions we had about the food, wine, and decor. He even shared the story of the restaurant, including the stunning alabaster light fixtures and introducted us to Michelle, coowner and wife of the Chef. We started with the pate palatte, nightly antipasti, and polenta custard with wild mushroom sauce. Each of the starters were great and I wanted to drink the mushroom sauce. We split a Ceasar and a roasted beet salad and shared a bowl of "Oil" soup. WOW! The soup was like nothing that I've ever had. White beans, pancetta, croutons and that grassy olive oil was so simple yet bursting with flavor. However, the highlight for me was the Wild Boar Tenderloin. The waiter suggested it cooked Medium Rare and it was done to perfection. It tasted more like beef than pork to me...not gamey. The sauce was absolutely to die for. A creamy sauce of gorgonzola, mustard and cassis. I admit, I soaked up every drop with my bread. I ordered it with the mashed potatoes which were lightly scented with truffle oil and fantastic. We also had the Beef Tenderloin medallion covered with a thin piece of lardo and had a chianti demi glaze. My husband said it was so tender he didnt' need his knife. Our friends had the rabbit special and the Chestnut fettucine with venison ragu and they were terrific as well. The wine list is probably one of the best values I've seen. We couldn't pass up the Shafer Relentless 2002 for only $95. They have about 150 wines on their list and priced very reasonable. We were too stuffed to eat dessert, but did order espressos so we could check out the coffee service that everyone is talking about. It's served on a small silver tray, with beautiful silver creamers, demitasse spoon, ramekin of brown/white sugar cubes and a cookie. They've covered all of the little details from the beautiful italian salt caddies on the tables, frette napkins, spigeleau glassware, gorgeous steak knives, glowing alabaster and the best coffee service in town. I HIGHLY recommend a trip to Ballard to visit Volterra. In my opinion, they deserve the praise they've received.
