OSTERIA OLIO (355 Oneta St., 762-316-1818): Is there still room for more high-end restaurants in Athens? Sure, why not? Osteria Olio, the brand-new swanky restaurant that’s part of the brand-new swanky boutique hotel Rivet House, is the first place in 28 years of living in this town where I have had my car valet parked. There is no other option unless you park around the corner sneakily and arrive on foot. Given that the parking lot is right there, it can also feel silly; previously free for those dining at the restaurant, it seems to have been updated to a $5 charge, plus tip. Credit where credit is due: The decor is higher end than anything in Athens, with curvy poured-concrete banquettes on the gorgeous patio, chunky slabs of wood creating a partial screen and gigantic arrangements of dried flowers that hang from the ceiling. It feels like Atlanta, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. There is something a bit conservative about the vibe (aesthetically, not politically), but the atmosphere is still very nice.
The hospitality group, nominated for a James Beard Award as a restaurateur, knows its stuff. Not every staff member does—no great surprise in a town never known for great service—but they’re trying. On the other hand, if you compare it to The Dining Room in Madison, a labor of love attempting to recreate the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead’s restaurant that was once Atlanta’s gold standard, Osteria Olio is less obsessive about the details. Everyone will be sweet and polite, but they also might plop your dessert fork to the right of your plate. Eating in the dining room, which generally requires a reservation, is smoother than eating in the lounge.
The bar program is nicely managed, with a list of cocktails that rotates seasonally but includes many that stay the same. The Grapefruit Groves (gin, acid-adjusted grapefruit, sugar, mint) is no longer available, but it was subtle, simple and drinkable. At brunch, the house Bloody Mary avoids the trap of excessive creativity that many restaurants in this range fall into. It relies on Sister’s Sauce, a small-batch mix out of Atlanta, and it’s neither too sweet nor too bitter. The nonalcoholic ones are nice, too, with the new Everything Nice making fine use of fall-evoking spices while countering them with some acidic zip.
Enough about drinks. How’s the food? Some of it is very good indeed, and textural awareness is clearly a specialty of the kitchen. The meatballs, available on both dinner and brunch menus in slightly different iterations, are right on—not the dense, clumpy, bland creations you often get, but as light as being whisked around a dance floor by someone who knows what they’re doing. They’re one of the best things I’ve had in Athens. Similarly, the ricotta fritters, essentially a paper cone of mini doughnuts dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with a berry jam and tantalizingly toasted sorghum caramel, basically gave me a Proust moment, calling to mind the ones served at the Lakewood Antiques Market from a truck when I was a child, only better. Again, they’re light. They know just where to step on your tastebuds.
Nothing else is as good as those two dishes, and the strengths appear to be in execution more than envelope-pushing creativity, but there are real highlights. It’s fairly easy to be a vegetarian, or even accidentally order vegetarian, and eat well at Osteria Olio. Among the pastas, the agnolotti di mais features little purses stuffed with creamed corn and mascarpone, in a delicate brown butter sauce, but what makes it work are the tiny, somewhat pickled mushrooms throughout, little jabs of acid that undercut the sweetness of the pasta filling. Grilled artichokes, in the sides section (the secondi are served steakhouse style), don’t need more than the spicy breadcrumbs that play against their natural vegetal delicacy. The pizzas are good, too, including cold from the fridge the next day, although the standard deviation of the dish is low. At brunch, the new potato hash plays around with streaks of salsa verde and pickled red onion without forgetting its central ingredient. On the other hand, the market fish is a dud. It’s so simply cooked that you have to do it perfectly, and if you don’t nail the texture (they didn’t), it’s a disappointment. The Italian chopped salad is adequate. The focaccia, made in house, is too close, perhaps inadequately proofed. The fried mortadella sandwich is a good hangover dish, but it needs more oomph.
The price point isn’t cheap. It’s in a comparable range to ZZ & Simone’s, but with a more formal feel. Looking for a special occasion place that feels objectively fancy? It’s a good fit for that, and your odds of eating something genuinely good ain’t bad at all.
Osteria Olio is open for dinner from 5 p.m. every night and for brunch from 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
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