Housemade Pasta & Delicious Italian at Tampa's OLIVIA
Oh, Tampa. This wonderful city of ours has not ceased to amaze me with its incredible food culture and the number of new restaurants that keep popping up around the area. One of the latest? OLIVIA, an Italian restaurant helmed by Chef Chris Ponte and named after his daughter.
Before OLIVIA officially opened, we had the opportunity to get a sneak peek at the menu at a Friends & Family Night hosted by the restaurant. There was zero disappoint; the dishes we shared were absolutely delicious and full of thought and flavor. Keep scrolling to see images from our evening!
All of these dishes are must-orders. Really, all of them. For starters: the yellowtail crudo was incredibly fresh and the slices of tangerine gave it a lovely touch of sweet citrus. And I don’t think I ever want to eat burrata without a basil pesto pairing ever again, and the blistered tomatoes were a nice surprise, with bursts of sweet, juicy flavor. The housemade mini rigatoni had a great texture and perfectly al dente, with the ragu bolognese hearty and comforting. And finally, the apple butter torta. There are not enough adjectives to give a justified explanation of just how wonderful this dessert is. Just order it and know that it tastes like home, and pair it with a cappuccino if you’re a coffee fiend like me.
Also: if you get the opportunity to dine in the lounge area, I 100% recommend you do so! You’ll be treated to a neat view of Chef Ponte preparing fresh pasta with his team.
OLIVIA is located at 3601 West Swann Avenue in South Tampa. The restaurant is open from Sunday through Thursday from 5-10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5-11 p.m. For more details and updates from OLIVIA, follow along on Facebook and Instagram.
