Albi’s Vite thrives offers fresh, scratch-made Italian dishes in Leon Springs, San Antonio.
SAN ANTONIO — As the world shut down in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, a local family opened up shop. Now their Italian restaurant is thriving and serving up more than just pasta.
This week, Neighborhood Eats is checking out Albi’s Vite.
“We got started in 2020 during COVID, a crazy time. We took a leap of faith and somehow it worked out for all of us,” said Owner Albi Zogaj.
Zogaj leads the Leon Springs restaurant, while his mother runs their original location on Northwest Loop 410. The Leon Springs spot is newer and serves a similar menu as 410.
“There are a lot of amazing Italian restaurants [in San Antonio],” said Zogaj. “We pride ourselves on fresh, you saw how we made our dishes. We go from scratch— we put in right in the pan and we don’t like to use too much butter, too much fat. We try to keep it clean for everybody. It’s still delicious, the flavor is all there.”
Our quest for that delicious Italian began in the kitchen. Zogaj made us four dishes on the menu: Sausage Arrabiata, Bruschetta ala Feta, Noli’s Sauteed Chicken and the Pig and Fig Pizza.
The appetizer menu features nine dishes including the bruschetta. It’s a grilled bread marinated with olive oil, salt and tomato topped with feta cheese. Our reporter thinks it’s the perfect bite if you’re looking for something light and fresh.
The Noli’s Sauteed Chicken is Albi’s spin on the Chicken Picatta. It includes a pan-seared chicken with capellini pasta, white wine sauce, capers, olives and sundried tomatoes. We highly recommend this one!
Are you a fan of spice? Give the Sausage Arrabiata a try! This dish has sliced spicy sausage grilled in garlic, tomato and onion creamy sherry sauce with penne pasta. It’s definitely manageable for our spice sensitive folks!
Last but not least is the Pig and Fig Pizza. It’s loaded with prosciutto and partnered with baked fig, arugula, parmesan and balsamic glaze. This is a nice option for those wanting to try something different than the typical pepperoni pizza.
Albi’s Vite Leon Springs is located on 24165 I-10 Unit 433, San Antonio, TX.