Italian Restaurants and Pizza

Basil Leaf Café

Danville, California
501 Hartz Avenue

The Basil Leaf Cafe is a delicious Italian restaurant in downtown Danville. It’s a little more upscale, so it’s an excellent choice for special occasions. I tried the mushroom risotto without the cheese and was delighted. Creamy, tender, and full of mushroom flavor. They also have a butternut squash risotto which I am excited to try, as well as the Fettuccine Primavera, and traditional Capellini Pomodoro. Italian food is one of my favorite cuisines, and this place does it very well.

Blackhawk Pizzeria

Danville, California
4050 Blackhawk Plaza

I absolutely love this restaurant! I have been eating here for four+ years since I moved to Danville, and have always been delighted. They are very open-minded and accommodating, stating on their website, "All of our Pizzas are hand-spun and made to order. Let us know how you like it. NO SAUCE, NO CHEESE, NO CRUST, HALF BAKED, WELL DONE - WHATEVER." I thought I would take them up on their offer and ordered the vegetable pizza without cheese. Because I had asked for no cheese they loaded it up with extra vegetables at no extra cost. I took it home and threw some arugula on it, and couldn't have been happier. The perfect place to stop after a hectic day.

Piatti

This is a small chain with locations in Mill Valley, Carmel, Sacramento, Santa Clara, Montecito, and La Jolla, California, as well as Seattle Washington, Denver, Colorado, and San Antonio Texas.
www.piatti.com

This is my favorite Italian restaurant in Danville. It’s nice enough for special occasions, but also casual enough for a weekday dinner. The bread is to die for, hot and crispy, and it comes with an herbaceous and spicy dipping oil; I could just eat this for dinner. A good, and moderately priced wine menu, with plenty of options by the glass. They also have plenty of entrée options including, butternut squash tortelli (ask for a tomato sauce instead, they are happy to oblige), polenta with roasted tomato sauce, sautéed spinach, and Pizza Funghi (ask for no cheese). This place has great food, as well as great atmosphere.

Pasta Pomodoro

Many California Locations.
www.pastapomodoro.com

Italian restaurants can be hit or miss for a vegan. It is a cuisine that relies heavily on meats and cheeses, but when done well, it incorporates a huge variety of vegetables. So, I was pleasantly surprised by my recent trip to this restaurant to see so many vegan (and vegetable) options on the menu. I went with a friend, and we started with a cup of the minestrone soup, and then shared the melanzane pasta (sans mozzarella) and the spicy broccoli contorni. Everything was well prepared, flavorful, and satisfying. Our server, Ashley, noting our requests for no cheese on our order, was kind enough to point out the cheese in the salsa verde provided with the bread. Needless to say, we had great food paired with great service that led to an excellent experience.