Ospi Dallas

My favorite thing to do for date night is to try out new restaurants. Whether they are new to me or just new to the area, I love discovering different cuisines and experiencing excellent service when going out for a special occasion. Ospi Dallas has recently come to the area from California and offers southern Italian style cuisine that is perfect for a date night experience. Whether you are looking for a spot for lunch, dinner, brunch, or happy hour, I highly recommend heading to the Design District to check out this hot spot off Oak Lawn Avenue.

Since we were coming on a busy weekend, we decided to make a reservation. Upon arriving at the restaurant, you will be greeted by their gorgeous decor and moody setting that is perfect for date night. The host was quick to welcome us and got us seated at our table immediately. Our server came by shortly after to greet us and get our drink orders started. I had heard great things about their bar and was eager to try a dirty martini that was perfectly crisp, chilled, and served with delicious blue cheese stuffed olives. I loved that my drink came filled to the brim and even some additional sips with the shaker served tableside.

My cocktail was perfect and a great way to start off this special meal. While their appetizers looked amazing, I knew I didn’t want to spoil my appetite for the selection of pastas we decided to try. Since we were sharing and couldn’t decide on just one, we opted for their iconic spicy rigatoni with vodka sauce, mandilli with silky almond-pine nut pesto, and the scarpinocc stuffed with braised beef and served with a brown butter sage sauce. Their pastas definitely felt like the right thing to order as they are made from scratch and from local ingredients.

Once our dinner came out, they looked almost too good to eat. Though we were very hungry and couldn’t wait to dive in. The color of the pesto sauce was beautiful and bright, which matched the beautiful flavor that paired beautifully with the fresh pasta. The spicy rigatoni may have been my favorite and one of the best I have tried in the area. And the stuffed scarpinocc was savory and filling but ended up being a touch too rich for me. The plates were all served hot and were a great amount of food for us to share and even bring some leftovers home. We were extremely impressed with the high quality of each item and the exceptional service we received. While the prices felt a bit high for our normal dinner out, we know that everything was well worth the price and the perfect way to treat ourselves for a special occasion.

Checking out living in the Dallas Design District in Dallas TX? View the home listings at Texas Pride Realty Group.