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Issue date: September 08, 2000
Owner John Akkaya has created one of Mountain View's most popular upscale dining spots in Don Giovanni on Castro Street.
@vcredit:Matthew Walker
Consistency and atmosphere account for Don Giovanni's success
Consistency and atmosphere account for Don Giovanni's success
(September 08, 2000)
By Jim Harrington
The best Italian restaurant in Mountain View keeps getting better.
Ristorante Don Giovanni was a winner from the start as thankful diners embraced the upscale Italian option in the midst of Castro Street's mostly Asian restaurants. In the four years since Don Giovanni opened, the newness and novelty of the place have worn off, and another outstanding Italian place opened across the street (Vaso Azzurro), but the crowds at Ristorante Don Giovanni haven't dwindled a bit.
The secret to Don Giovanni's continued popularity is consistency. The service, food and atmosphere are consistently superb. I've never had a bad meal there, and I don't expect to. The owners have set the bar high and they continue to reach it.
Ristorante Don Giovanni is one of the most attractive restaurants in Mountain View. It's a fairly large and open space, yet it manages to feel intimate even when crowded. During the late evening hours, the house lights are so dim you need the candlelight to read the menu. There is a small bar at the front of the restaurant, the kitchen is hidden in the rear, and the walls are pretty bare accept for a few tasteful paintings of grape vines.
The restaurant is a perfect spot to share a bottle of wine. The house list is fairly short but offers a wide variety of price ranges and styles -- from sparkling wine and California chardonnay to Italian reds and a few French wines. During my most recent trip, I selected a nice bottle of 1997 Kunde cabernet sauvignon, a dry wine with a good nose that enhanced the evening's meal.
There's probably no better antipasti dish to start with than the antipasto misto figaro per due ($10.95). This bountiful appetizer is a great way to acclimatize your palate. It offers bits of tomato, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, olives, pepperoncinci, nicely grilled vegetables, fried calamari, and marinated baby shrimp. Another find is the
melenzane all'agro dolce ($7.95), grilled eggplant topped with capers, feta cheese, and a sweet-and-sour sauce. Don Giovanni does a great job with the grilled eggplant, and I highly recommend that you try it in at least one of your dishes.
Another favorite starter is the grigliata di polenta ($6.95). The long, deep piece of rich polenta is topped with generous portions of sliced mushrooms, sauce, and feta cheese.
For a good salad, leave the boot-shaped country behind for a moment, and order the Greek salad ($6.95), which is a nice combination of fresh baby spinach, calamata olives, feta cheese, fresh basil, and roma tomatoes tossed in balsamic vinaigrette.
If you happen to be at Don Giovanni for lunch, try one of the fine panini sandwiches such as the vegetali misti ($6.95), with zucchini, eggplant and bell peppers; or the prosciutto e fresca mozzarella ($7.95), Italian ham with fresh mozzarella cheese.
My favorite pasta dish is the Tortellini alla Michelanglo ($12.95). Handmade pasta shells are stuffed with a tasty blend of chicken and veal and served in a creamy white sauce with pancetta and peas. A fine, although simpler, choice is the ravioli con salsa bolognese ($12.95), pasta stuffed with ricotta cheese and served in a meat sauce.
Don Giovanni also serves some of the best risotto on the Peninsula. The risotto al carciofi e zafferano ($11.95) is a flavorful dish of rice cooked in chicken broth with saffron and artichoke hearts. The risotto al frutti di mare ($15.95) is rice cooked in fish broth featuring a mix of seafood, saffron, and marinara sauce.
Beyond pasta and risotto, the restaurant does a wonderful job in preparing veal. Perhaps the best veal dish is the simple cotolette di vitello impanate ($15.95), breaded veal cutlets cooked in olive oil. Another winner is the vitello aromatico ($16.95), veal scaloppini with capers, olives and sun-dried tomatoes, served in a balsamic vinaigrette.
For those who prefer steak to veal, try the charcoal-broiled New York steak ($17.95), served in a red wine and black pepper sauce.
For dessert, don't miss the creme brulee, which is one of the biggest and tastiest you will find in the entire Bay Area.
If you really like Ristorante Don Giovanni -- and who wouldn't? -- also try its sister restaurant, Cafe Figaro, in Burlingame.
Ristorante Don Giovanni, 235 Castro St., Mountain View; (650) 961-9749. Call for hours. Credit cards are accepted.
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