Restaurant Review: DellaVentura’s Ristorante and Pizzeria

If friends had not introduced me to DellaVentura’s, I doubt I would ever have stumbled across it on my own. The one-story roadside ristorante sits on an innocuous stretch of South Buncombe Road, a mile north of the Greer Medical Campus of Greenville Hospital Center.

Joe DellaVentura moved his operation here, to bigger digs, about a year ago. (Previously, his pizzeria occupied a tiny space on the other side of Wade Hampton Boulevard.) The atmosphere in the front room smacks of vintage pizza parlor: wooden booths and tables overlook the bustling open kitchen. The cordial hostess shows our party of four to one of the black-vinyl-upholstered booths that line the far wall in the back room. Here the feeling is cozier, with twinkling white lights strung around the room, and dozens of framed black-and-white family photographs papering the walls.

The menu cites a variety that focuses on pizza and pasta, in generous portions. Spaghetti, penne, or farfalle comes with a choice of house-made sauces: tangy-sweet marinara, hearty meat sauce, olive oil and garlic, vodka sauce—a new addition—and mushroom-wine sauce. Chicken and veal appear in Parmigiana, Marsala, Française, and Romano incarnations. Shrimp headlines as Scampi, Stacey, and Fra Diablo.

There’s not much of a wine selection. The menu lists only generic Chablis, white Zinfandel, or Chianti by the glass, and Merlot or Chianti by the bottle. Your best bet is to bring your own—as we did—for which the restaurant charges a $10 corkage fee (something the menu doesn’t tell you, but our waiter did). The handful of beers available does include one Italian lager—Moretti—among the imports.

To start, we share the mussels napped with marinara, and the fried calamari. Of the two, I prefer the tender rings of golden fried calamari to the slightly chewy mussels. Mounded on a white rectangular platter, the calamari includes a ramekin of marinara for dipping and lemon slices on the side.

Garlic rolls, from a family recipe, come with the entrées—except for pizza, in which case it would be carbohydrate overkill. These soft, white rolls are doused with olive oil and liberally sprinkled with raw garlic—a feisty foil to the slightly sweet, fluffy bread. Be forewarned: It’s not easy to eat just one!

Salads also come with the meal, but I’d gladly skip the standard mix of iceberg and romaine lettuce, red onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes in favor of main courses like Kristen’s Manicotti. Named for Joe’s daughter, who works in the kitchen, this dish is crowned with fresh spinach and Romano cheese. The manicotti swim in a velvety “pink” sauce—if DellaVentura’s has one overall fault, it is that they over-sauce the dishes. Cream softens the acid bite of the sauce’s tomato base.

Shrimp Stacey honors another of Joe’s daughters, who manages the restaurant. Large shrimp (tails removed) rest on a nest of thin spaghetti (not capellini) in a mild butter sauce sparked with lemon, garlic, and fresh basil. Rustic and satisfying describes the tender veal Parmigiana, accompanied, of course, by a side of spaghetti with marinara.

Joe’s pizza is some of the best I’ve had in Greenville. The hand-tossed crust proves chewy inside with crispy, blistered edges; and the long list of toppings ranges from fresh Italian sausage to sundried tomatoes. Personally, I’m partial to the pie with fresh spinach and thin slices of breaded eggplant.

Of the desserts, the zeppoli (fried dough sprinkled with confectioner’s sugar) and the ricotta filling for the New York cannoli are made in-house; the cakes come from Brick Street Café in downtown Greenville. We order a tiramisu and a cannoli for the table. Big enough for two, the cannoli shell overflows with creamy ricotta that could do with a tad less sugar. Luscious mascarpone (and whipped cream from a can) tops the tiramisu, its layers of ladyfingers pleasantly flavored by espresso and tinges of cocoa.

DellaVentura’s serves consistently well-made Italian-American fare, and the owner’s more than thirty years of experience in the restaurant business (he opened his first pizzeria on Staten Island in 1972) shows in the warm, smiling service. If you go on a weeknight, when this family friendly place is not too crowded, you’re likely to meet Joe as he makes the rounds in the dining room, greeting patrons and making sure that everyone is happy.

We certainly are. And I’m indebted to my friends for the introduction. It’s always gratifying to discover a good restaurant, especially one that’s family-run, inexpensive, and off the beaten track.

Location:
337 South Buncombe Rd., Greer

Hours:
Tue.-Thu., 11am-9pm
Fri.-Sat., 11am-10pm

Price of Dishes:
$7-$22
(864) 989-0100,
www.dellaventuras.com