I’m always on the lookout for places to grab a bite to eat when we’re doing the wine tasting runs around Sonoma and Napa. I first tried food from Diavola when we were doing the Wine & Food Affair, and the food they supplied to one of the wine tasting rooms was the absolute best bite of food we had the entire weekend. It was a pork adobo over a creamy polenta, and the pork was so soft and so flavorful, I immediately felt the need to add Diavola to my list of places to head to. And luckily, it’s quite close to one (although maybe now two) of the wineries we are members of, so it was really easy to stop in for lunch when we were nearby. On top of that, lots of different people recommended it, and they claimed it had some of the best pizza in the area, so we kind of knew pizza was going to be one of the things we had to try.
The restaurant itself is just a tiny spot in a strip mall with a couple other places to eat, and several different tasting rooms (I think possibly four). We got right in for lunch on a Tuesday, but if you were going on the weekends or during the evening, it’s possible that a booking might be a smart idea. They have those long, thin breadsticks that are always obnoxiously fun to eat at the table waiting for you when you sit down as well. I think they are homemade, and they were plenty delicious to snack on.
I was pushing for the Braised Beef Tripe (because I always want offal), but I also really wanted the Boscaiolo pizza with sausage, mushrooms, pork belly, peppers, winter greens and creamed onions. However, the other half wasn’t feeling that pizza, so I compromised on the Elmo pizza with Prosciutto Cotto, garlic, olive oil, gorgonzola and red onions in order to get that beef tripe. Both of the dishes arrived, and they did look fantastic. The tripe wasn’t quite as good as I was hoping, as it felt like it needed something, but it was really well cooked and melted in the mouth. The pizza was really the winner though. The crust was really thin with a great bite to it, and there were just the right amount of toppings available. There was also so pretty tasty, and not too spicy, chili oil to drizzle.
Even though the tripe wasn’t amazing, it was still good, and I’m still dreaming about that pizza as the rest of the pizza I’ve tried since moving to the bay area was no where as good. And while the other mains and starters they have do look fantastic, I’m certain that on my return, pizza is definitely going to be ordered again. The prices really weren’t outrageous for being in the heart of wine country, and the food was really tasty.
Score: 4/5
Recommendation: Pizza, pizza and more pizza. Then have some pizza. And maybe some wine.
Diavola
21021 Geyserville Ave
Geyserville, CA
