Ciccio is run by Chef Christopher and Martina Kostow, the team that is also behind The Restaurant at Meadowood (RIP), Charter Oak, and Loveski Deli. The menu looks deceptively simple, so simple that Bryan initially thought it looked too “boring”, and thought about canceling our reservation.
We’re so glad we didn’t! The deceptively ordinary looking dishes (on paper) actually were fantastic renditions of age old classics.
The menu is a "collaborative effort, developed by Chef Christopher Kostow and Executive Chef Victor Borrayo." The food is Californian-Italian, and they have a massive brick oven for freshly fired pizzas.
It's easy to miss the restaurant, since the sign for MARKET is huge, while the restaurant's actual sign is quite tiny.
A Crazy Surprise!
A really funny thing happened at Ciccio as soon as we walked in. As Bryan and I sat down at our table, the people right next to us said, "why, hello again!"
We turned around and couldn't believe it: it was a couple we'd met just a few days ago at Charter Oak (in St. Helena)! How did we meet? Near the end of our meal, the woman (who was seated at the table right next to us) turned to us and said, "you HAVE to get the burger. It's so good." We ended up chatting a bit, sharing our thoughts about the various dishes we had tried.
Bryan and I had not ordered the burger, but talking to her really made us want to go back! (which we did . . . the next day, lol).
We said our good bys, not really expecting to ever see each other again.
Two Days Later . . .
Crazily enough, two days later in another city at the same time we were seated next to each other, AGAIN! They were finishing their meal, so we started asking about the food.
"The pepperoni pizza is amazing. It's the spicy honey that's really unusual and delicious. The pork chop is also amazing. Honestly, everything is so good."
I asked, "if you had to choose between the pizza and the pork chop, which would you choose?"
They had a really hard time deciding. The guy finally said he would choose the pork chop.
"Why don't you try a piece?" said the wife. "Then you can decide. Please feel free to take some. There's absolutely no way we can finish all this food."
The kindness of food loving strangers! (though at this point they almost felt like friends.) We tried a piece each, and the flavors were indeed special: spicy, sweet, and intense. I did find it to be a tad on the salty side, but the flavor combination was genius. One slice was perfect, and we decided to get the pork chop instead, thanks to our kind friends for helping us with this decision!
At this moment the server came by, seeing us eating our neighbor's pizza. We started explaining the crazy story of how we were seated next to each other at Charter Oak a couple days ago.
"Oh, that's our sister restaurant!" said the server.
WHOA! No way! Even more crazy coincidences! At the time neither of us know that all of these restaurants were part of the Kostow team.
It was such a fun surprise, and we really appreciate having the chance to try the pizza.
What We Ate
We decided to try one of their pasta dishes. Bucatini with burnt peppercorn & pennyroyal ($30) was like cacio e pepe and very good.
The chopped salad ($20) was made with fermented vegetables, California's own rancho gordo beans, and bread crumbs for a lovely crunch throughout. It was refreshing, and I enjoyed the textural contrasts.
We got a side of wood fired beets ($12), were roasted in beef fat (!) and topped with fire charred rosemary. It was nice, though I'm not sure if beets necessarily need beef fat to taste good.
The Star of the Show: The Pork Chop Milanese
The star of the show was the fantastic Pork Chop Milanese ($48). The pork was extremely juicy, tender, and flavorful, with a and perfectly fried crunchy exterior. This was balanced out by a refreshing salad of thinly sliced pear and bitter greens and a light mustard dressing.
It was brilliant. It seems like a "simple" dish, but the combination was outstanding. I can see why this is one of the most popular dishes in the restaurant.
Ciccio can be difficult to book (especially last minute). I actually reserved our spot several days in advance. I remember in the past I failed to book a dinner spot on the same day (especially on weekends).
We left just being very satisfied with the whole experience. The food was excellent, the environment was great, and we had that lovely surprise of running into our "neighbors" from a few days ago.
We definitely plan to come back. Highly recommended!
Ciccio Yountville
6770 Washington St,
Yountville, CA 94599
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