Avoli Osteria is Dundee’s answer to the question of where to eat when it matters. Chef Dario Schicke and his wife Amy opened it in 2013 — the name honors their daughters, Ava and Olivia — and it’s been the neighborhood’s special-occasion standard ever since. Northern Italian cooking, done with patience: handmade pastas like spaghetti carbonara and bolognese bianco, grilled octopus, and a wine list drawn entirely from Northern Italy.
The room is intimate and warm, the patio is lovely in summer, and the whole experience feels unhurried in the way good Italian dinners should. It’s dinner-only, Wednesday through Sunday, and it fills up — reservations are smart.
Dundee has good restaurants; Avoli is the one locals choose for anniversaries. That tells you everything.