Fearless Critic
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Fearless Critic restaurant review
Food
9.0
Feel
9.0
Price
$40
Dolce Vita
Breathtakingly authentic, affordable regional Italian that’s flawed in all the right ways
Italian, Pizza
Casual restaurant

Hours
Tue–Fri 5:00pm–10:00pm
Sat noon–11:00pm
Sun noon–10:00pm

Features Date-friendly, good wines, outdoor dining
Bar Beer, wine, liquor
Credit cards Visa, MC, AmEx
Reservations Not accepted

www.dolcevitahouston.com

Montrose
500 Westheimer Rd.
Houston, TX
(713) 520-8222

Like an old lover, we keep coming back to Dolce Vita, again and again, forgiving every one of its faults. The crust is perfectly seared one night, but it’s too thick, doughy, and undercooked the next. Yesterday, orecchiette with escarole and sweet sausage was the porky, glutinous, slightly bitter pasta dish of our dreams; today, a plate of spaghetti, clams, and chickpeas is dry and incoherent. On one evening, our waitress is perfect; on another, she goes AWOL for 45 minutes.

Yet still we love Dolce Vita with all our hearts. Granted, the whole thing is a carbon copy of Mario Batali’s Otto. But we love Otto, too—so what’s the problem?

Sometimes the very qualities that most attract you to lovers, or restaurants, are the same ones that irritate you. Maybe the service is spotty because they cram in so many tables, so that they can keep down waits and accommodate as many people as possible. Maybe the kitchen is occasionally inconsistent because they’re operating on a cost base that allows them to keep nearly every item on the menu under $15. The truly unusual thing about this restaurant is its principled devotion to certain priorities, like preparing strictly authentic Italian dishes, without a single concession to American tastes; serving them in a warm, bustling, effortlessly enjoyable two-story space with a patio; and doing it at prices that are accessible even to starving students.

As such, we take an off-night at Dolce Vita as just another excuse to come back the next: to dip another piece of crunchy fennel into bagna cauda, the vegetable dip to end all others, made simply and gloriously from garlic, anchovies, and oil; to revel in another plate of spectacular marinated whitefish, or of delicately fried baby artichoke; or to relax once again with a simple pizza margherita, made with buffalo-milk mozzarella, which—when it’s on—is rivaled in Houston only by the pizza at Marco Wiles’ other restaurant, Da Marco. And then there is the truffled-egg toast, whose elemental pleasure can only be experienced, not written about.

As with any rocky relationship, drinks help. The wine list is exemplary; it’s all Italian, all small-production, and more about terroir than they are about emulating big California styles. For under $30, you can have an evocative, balanced wine.

Oh, Dolce Vita, you know how to keep us hanging on.

Comments (1)
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