Barlago Italian Kitchen

Barlago Italian Kitchen Restaurant Review:

Barlago is a friendly neighborhood trattoria sporting a warmly illuminated bar and sidewalk tables with keen Lake Merritt vistas (hence its name: "bar" + "lago," which is Italian for lake). It infuses a family-friendly feel into flatbread-like Roman-style pizza, generously portioned pastas (try the white-on-white, pecorino-forward cacio e pepe), brunchtime’s pancetta hash, and side dishes such as creamy-crunchy baked cauliflower. Nearly everything is house-made; one rare exception is a chocolate fondant cake imported from Italy, as tender and fresh-tasting as if it had just come from the oven. More than two dozen, mostly Californian and Italian wines are served in three different carafe sizes. Italian-inspired cocktails include the hauntingly floral Fair Verona with Aperol, Prosecco and St-Germain. Happy hours six days a week invite festive sampling, paired nicely with bar fare (think pickled onion bruschetta). Sound-absorbing ceiling panels allow diners to actually hear themselves talk.