Hands down my favorite date night restaurant in DC. Consistently delicious food, great service and friendly staff.

Delicious food and great service -- one of the best spots in Eastern Market. Try the blueberry steak.

Went here a few days ago with my boyfriend to celebrate our anniversary. I love the atmosphere of the place, very fancy but still causal (all the staff are in jeans and they have hand painted plates decorating the walls). We had a 6:45 reservation on a Wednesday and got seated immediately. Little did I know, my boyfriend had informed the staff that it was our anniversary, and wow, they treated us so well! Right as we sit down, we were greeted with glasses of champagne and wished a happy anniversary. So nice! Our waitress was very attentive and the food was amazing. We got the steak special for two, which was super delicious, the steak was so tender it almost melted in your mouth. So overall a great experience. Definitely made our anniversary even more special. The one negative comment I'll make, and the reason they are only getting 4 stars, is the price of certain things is expensive and very surprising. The steak special was almost $40 per person, just for the meat. And another time I have been here, just to visit the bar, a small bottle of beer cost $16. So just be careful and make sure to ask the prices of the specials before you order. But I love the energy of this place and will definitely be back! read more

We made a reservation but still had to wait 15 minutes - but that was well worth it. This place is incredible! I had the filet mignon with the blueberry reduction and it changed my world. I literally dream about this meal. I just can't wait to make up a special occasion to go back! read more

I am generally not a fan of Italian, but this place was pretty damn good (plenty of non-cheesy options). I had the swordfish pasta for a first course, and with an appetizer I was barely hungry when my main came around. My only issue with the restaurant is they tended to be a bit grabby with the clearly not quite finished drinks and it was a bit loud in the place due to close proximity to other tables. read more

I really wanted to like this restaurant since they had another in SD and I have heard pretty good reviews. Unfortunately, I didn't get to eat any of their food (except their bread) since the waiter didn't bother bringing my order out, which I ended up finally cancelling after an hour of waiting. If I was with another group, I would have piped up much sooner but didn't want to seem unprofessional. They would have received no stars, except the bar (where we sat while we waited for a table) had a good selection and the bartender was pleasant enough. The ambiance is nice too, especially the patio outside, assuming you actually received food. read more

Love this place! We live in the neighborhood and have been here around 5 times since it opened, everytime we receive the same consistent great service, delicious foods, and exciting cocktails. I always reccomend going with the Pasta Sampler and also love their steaks. This time around we tried one of the black truffle pastas, it was amazing! We also took my parents who live in NY and come visit DC every couple months, they raved it was their favorite restaurant in the City, made them feel like they were on vacation in Italy. Definitely one of my top 5 favorite restaurants in town. read more

Wonderful new and authentic Italian restaurant. Everything is handmade. Don't expect American-sized portions, but do expect a great food experience. The steak carpaccio was exquisite, and my main course was a mushroom ravioli and beet sauce (one of the day's specials) that had been invented just that morning. I can't recommend Acqua Al 2 highly enough, and you can be sure that I'll be making many return visits. read more

What a terrible place! I was expecting something decent, but its mediocrity is shocking and the service is equally horrible. The pasta I ordered was overcooked and the sauce was without flavor. Service was non-existent except for the platitudinous, "How is your food?" that's spilled out when diners are normally in the middle of a meal. Zero stars befit this place. read more

The food is delicious. The ambiance is dark and warm, very nice atmosphere for a date. They have an amazing pasta sampler and a pretty good selection of wines. As a non-Italian speaker, I always need a translation for the wine list, but haven't been disappointed yet. The service is usually pretty good, but when they are really busy it's a little less enjoyable. I love the plates on the wall, too, a great touch! Definitely check this place out, it's worth it! (FYI they originated in Florence, so you KNOW it's good!) read more

So good it's absurd! I went here this past weekend after Harold Black (which is great too) and LOVED it. It's really spectacular italian food even with all of the hype. We stuck to the pasta, cocktails, and dessert - but next time I'll have to explore their menu more. Great stuff! read more

One of my (and my girlfriend's) favorite restaurants in DC! Great food (highly recommend the balsamic or blueberry steak), great service (our first time there, the owner came out and made sure everything was perfect, even shared the story of how the restaurant came to be!), and great atmosphere (especially in the warmer months when you can sit outside). Highly recommend! read more

Came here as a plan b after my wife and I were severely disappointed by the dining choices in the eastern market. I ordered the leek soup and the farfalle with porcini mushrooms. My wife had the caprese salad with the gnocchi in vodka sauce. Both pastas were very good. My wife loved her gnocchi. She said it was one of the best she has ever had. My only complaint was the smaller portions relative to the price. Otherwise this was a nice meal. read more

I tried the pasta tasting and the porterhouse special here and let me tell you it was fantastic. The porterhouse came out and was sliced and then put on my hot plate to continue cooking it to that perfect rare medium. The pastas tasting showed strength in a variety of pasta types and also in vegetarian friendly preparations. Oh I almost forgot we tried the desert platter as well and I think my favorite even though I am not a cake person was the flour-less chocolate cake. read more

Top notch service and exceptional food. Love the fillet with balsamic reduction. The chefs choice pastas are great too.

Had a great night Acqua Al 2, everything from the service to the food was perfect! We started with one of the appetizers they had on special which was great as well as the spinach and ricotta appetizer which was amazing! Warning: the pasta tasting will fill you up! They bring what looks to be 5 very small portions of their signature pastas, but by the time I was done eating these delicious pastas, I could barely touch my entree. I really liked the tasting because some of my favorites were pastas that I wouldn't have considered ordering separately. My boyfriend had the blueberry steak which by reading the reviews, you already know is great! The timing of the food service was perfect which was key since we were sitting outside on a chilly evening. Will definitely be back! read more

Went there when it first opened. Service was a bit dissappointing and the sauce on the pasta could have been from a jar.

My wife and I just celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary here. It was fantastic. When we arrived, the ambiance was nice -- warm but not overly formal. There were families, business partners, people on dates, etc. We were seated within a few minutes at a nice table. Our waitress, Ariadna, was excellent. She was friendly but not overly so, helped make recommendations but wasn't pushy, and clearly knew the menu well. She noticed I had a sore throat (I lost my voice earlier that day!) and brought me three servings of hot water, honey, and lemon over the course of the meal -- very nice! Ok, the main point - the food and drink was delicious. My wife commented that her gin martini was very good, and we both liked the Chianti (or perhaps it was a Nebbiolo?) we picked. We had the Riso ai Carciofi and the shrimp linguine daily special to start. The risotto was just right, and my wife loved the linguine. I was worried the risotto would be overdone, but it was fine. Then we each had the chef's steak sampler, medium rare. The blueberry sauce was amazing, and the steak was not overdone. Instead, each piece was extremely tender - they really know how to prepare steak there. And it wasn't a case of using sauces to cover up mediocre cuts, either (I'm looking at you, Medium Rare!). Again, Ariadna helped us by recommending a good substitution for the third steak (I believe the balsamic reduction sauce instead of a straight-up grilled steak). Finally, toward the end of the night, Ariadna found out it was our anniversary, and she surprised with two complimentary flutes of champagne at the end of the meal. A great way to end the night. We'll certainly be back. read more

It was fresh. We selected a chef selected trio of salads and then special meat pasta. The salads were all made of in-season vegetables and the pasta was homemade. DELISH! The have peroni on tap too. read more

SO GOOD. Found this place 'cause of Yelp and the positive reviews were spot on. Tuscan food is my favorite kind of Italian and this place did not disappoint. Our two hour dinner reminded me of being back in Florence. Great service, delicious Tuscan wines, and the food is excellent. read more

Amazing restaurant - perfect for a special occasion! A friend of mine came here the night she got engaged the celebrate, and then recommended it to me. I came here for Valentine's Day and had the pre-fixe menu, and we loved every course. The decor was also amazing and reminded us of a recent trip to Tuscany - it felt very authentic. The bar in front was also very cool looking, and the drinks were great. The food was a bit heavy and very expensive, so this is a good spot for a special occasion or celebration. read more

My fiancé took me the night of my birthday. As simple as it got--reservation and seated right away. The atmosphere was completely my style. I was extremely stoked that my babe took me here. We had became acquainted with the owner of the establishment and he was so sweet! Such a gentleman. He caught the fact it was my birthday and had a dessert plate sent out to us. And food wise?! Oh my. It's amazing! It has SO many vegetarian dishes! I can't remember the exact name of the dish but it was a corkscrew pasta with artichoke hearts in some sort of garlic, spinach sauce. Oh my God. It was amazing. As soon as I took a bite, I absolutely fell in love. My fiancé had taken a bite and had the same reaction! Service was superb, no complaints what so ever. Everyone was super nice. I would sincerely contemplate moving to D.C. solely to have the option of eating at Acqua al 2. read more

Every dish was delicious. The timing of the dishes were great-no bringing the next course before you are done with the current one. The combo of food that we ordered was so yummy. We would go there again in a heartbeat! read more

Ok.....I was here the night before and was so amazed, I came back tonight. The decor and service is exceptional. The food truly represent Italian cooking at its finest. Last night I had the ribeye.....tonight the veal porterhouse. Well prepared and perfect temp and flavor. Price points are well in line with the product and far less than foo- foo Italian restaurante in the city. Great vibe.....the bar looks like the perfect place to eat. Try the secret saloon upstairs. Truly an event....if it is a warm night, sit outside. You can't go wrong here. Please don't review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you're connected in any way to the owner or employees. read more

Good- not great Italian. I came here with friends for restaurant week and went for the deal. Starting with the caprese salad which has copious amounts of mozzarella to tomato ratio and started off the Meal on the right foot. My entree was delicious I had their filet with a blueberry purée which is not something I have ever had and everyone at the table was afraid to try, but honestly it was worth the price of admission! Not at all particularly sweet like you would expect blueberry to taste like, it accented the steak perfectly and went great with my chianti, cannot recommend this dish enough for adventurous diners. The cheesecake dessert was again good - not great but my biggest failing was the pasta which wife ordered which was rather plain and uninspiring. Could have been the rush of the night, but all the dishes lacked the consistency and allure of my filet. Definitely will come back and try again read more

I had the most delicious and romantic meal at Aqua al 2 thanks to @Bumble! I would recommend this restaurant for first dates and for any date, but I will tell you, you will not go wrong here. read more

Amazing!! This spot is so charming and the filet mignons are by far the best tasting ones I've had in D.C. We went all out and got the chefs 5 vegetarian pastas tasting and 3 steaks tasting. The pastas were very good, we particularly enjoyed the ragu one. However, the steaks were definitely the show stoppers. Please do yourself a favor and do not leave this restaurant without trying the blueberry reduction filet mignon. SO GOOD. read more

I don't yelp too often, but my experience last night deserves a review. I've heard great things about Acqua Al 2 from friends so had to try it with my gf and another couple. I read about the horror stories about the long waits even with a reservation, and it is true! The full hour wait was made much more bearable though when my friend asked the hostess how much longer it would be after 40 minutes and we were given a free round of drinks by the manager - great customer service! The food was great, not drop-dead amazing, but some of the best Italian I've had in DC. We split the pasta sampler (absolutely the way to go) and ordered two steak samplers for the table and one dessert sampler. It is the perfect amount of food (definitely not too much) and really isn't that expensive. The filets melt in your mouth and the pasta is cooked to the perfect al dente with some great sauces. Definitely recommend it and 100% recommend going the sampler route, it is great to get a taste for all they have to offer. read more

I was hoping for better. Our server needed to be prodded to give us decent service, but she certainly got us to pay for still bottled water when all we wanted was DC tap. The three salad sampler was good, but our pasta portions were woefully small for the price. Everyone liked their dish, but needed more. The tiramisu is delicious (deconstructed) and the chocolate-strawberry mousse satisfying, but my husband's cheesecake was not a dense, NYC-style, but fluffy and served with a strawberry-jam like garnish. We will not rush back. read more

The food was excellent. Judged solely on that this Florentine restaurant would get a 5. Our steaks were prepared perfectly and they also served what may be the best pasta dishes in DC BUT, the wait staff was inattentive and dismissive, we had to ask if there were specials and she seemed occupied with other things. There were also other patrons being excessively loud (drunk loud) behind us to the point where we were interrupted every few minutes. Over all this place has amazing food in a disappointing restaurant. I am normally not so picky on the staff or ambiance, but when you pay $180 for a meal, I expect more than just food. read more

I have been here twice and think it's a great Italian restaurant. Both time I have done with the waiter has suggested: between 2 people, split 1 appetizer, 1 pasta dish, and then each order an entree. The appetizers and pasta dishes have been delicious. I ordered the filet (in the balsamic sauce, but I have also tried the blueberry) and it was good, not great. It's just so much sauce that dominates the taste of the meat. Also, none of the entrees come with sides so you will have to order a side. We shared the roasted potatoes as a side and they were good. We had the cheesecake for dessert and while it was good, it was more like a cheesecake mouse (sp?). Very spongy. read more

Since I moved to DC a year ago, I've been searching for a great Italian restaurant. I finally found one! The cocktails and food are both fantastic, and they have tasting menus available which makes this the perfect date restaurant. Go there with your special someone and order 2 pasta tasting menus (5 courses), 1 steak sampler (3 amazing steaks, one with port-balsamic reduction, one in blueberry sauce, one over arugula), and 1 dessert sampler. With drinks this should run you about 130$. This was an absolutely perfect evening for us. Definitely check them out. read more

Seriously, I'm generally unhappy with DC dining on price vs. food quality. Ate there this evening with a guest from out of town and it was fabulous. It's only my 3rd time here but man did they bring on the goodness. The only negative is we started with a martini and the pour was a bit anemic... but for the quality of the vodka it was a fair deal. The salad sample course was very solid, two phenomenal salads (the third, I believe radiccio - meh). Steak sampler - great. The blueberry filet I dreaded until it came and it was the hightlight. The balsamic reduction on the other filet was perfect. The strip on arugula with cherry tomatoes and parm.. well start with that one. It would be divine, but paled after the other two. The server was at a 9 on the attentive scale. I prefer an 8. He was very, very good at working with us on the wine list and brought a great bottle at the price point we were looking at. As someone in the business, I can attest he was very good at upselling without needlessly upselling a bottle and got us into a good bottle that was worth every dime. If the owner reads this, I spent more on wine than I normally do, yet didn't feel coerced like you generally do. And we happily had a great bottle that cut that blueberry sauce perfectly. Thank you, thank you for being part of our Cap Hill family. read more

Service - Excellent Food - Excellent. Had the pasta and dessert samplers and brother-in-law had the steak special. Atmosphere - Excellent. Warm and classy. We had our 3 and 5 year old boys with us so the restaurant was smart and put us in a semi-private room that was perfect for containing our children. DC seems to be full of great restaurants with service staff that are professionals. Maybe it is the competition with so many nice restaurants but more so than any other city NY, San Francisco, and Honolulu included, DC is consistently on top. read more

Phenomenal! This place is on the pricey end (for Capitol Hill) but is well worth it. I took Joe for his birthday, and we LOVED it! The atmosphere is lovely both inside and on the patio, although it can get a bit noisy. Don't miss the hand cut filet in blueberry sauce or balsamic reduction. Both are absolutely divine. Really, you can't go wrong with anything on the menu. Great restaurant for a date night, birthday, or group outing. Make sure to make reservations in advance as they are difficult to get last minute. This is one of our favorite restaurants on the Hill! read more

After a quick stop at Harold Blacks, decided to wander downstairs and see what the fuss was about. Glad I did. There is something about this "Italian" restaurant that feels genuine, instead of a forced gimmick to sell overpriced wine. The staff was very knowledgeable and took pride in their menu, and the manager stopped by several times to check in and make sure our night was going well. Dish to try: Farfalline alle Zucca. Note: Even if you don't normally order appetizers, I encourage you to try the L'Antipasto Toscano. The spiced Salami is a wonderful blend of holiday spice and salami sweetness, and it pairs well with the bread. read more

The food here is absolutely delicious. The hand-made pastas are all perfection. The sauces are divine. The beef is succulent! The atmosphere is comfortable, yet romantic. And best yet: It's hands down the most consistently good place I know in DC. My suggested menu for two (split it all! with a bottle of wine!) - Antipasti of the spinach ricotta balls - PASTA - Love the sauce variations with eggplant - Blueberry encrusted filet Mignon. It's killer. Really. read more

After reading so many stellar reviews, it was a really disappointing experience. The restaurant is quaint and cozy, a nice date spot. The appetizers were good, nothing stellar. Arugala salad was fresh, nicely seasoned, the pears were delicious. The buratta was fresh but it was not as creamy as some other burattas I have had. It was odd that it was paired with grapefruit. The pasta took forever to come out, the kitchen was very slow. The eggplant pasta was awful, the pasta was very al dente aka undercooked, the sauce was pure tomato paste, it was as if they forgot to finish the sauce, and there were maybe 3 pieces of eggplant in the actual dish. The gnocchi itself were huge and well made however the marscapone sauce was loaded with salt and parsley and was barely edible. Did not stay for dessert. Maybe it was an off night but there are much better italian places in the city... read more

The restaurant was very accomodating to my companion who insisted on bringing his own wine in spite of the expansive wine list. The menu is predictably good, with the exception of the mozzarella and tomato salad, which was composed of large clumps of cheese and three infinitesmal slices of tomato-- this on a 90 degree summer evening when beautiful tomatoes are available in abundance. A diner expects a salad to feature fruit or vegetable, so I wouldn't order this again, unless I wanted a cheese course. read more

This is the difference between 4 stars and 5 stars: When I made a reservation I mentioned it was our anniversary and that I'd like a a quiet table. We were greeted by being wished a happy anniversary, given a private table in a romantic booth and given free champagne. THAT's great service v. good service. It's adorable inside, very florence but not in a campy way. The pasta was perfectly al dente, flavorful and meaty. The Bresola with arugula and tomatos was delicious, perfect and simple the way great Italian food is, very high quality ingredients that are allowed to shine on their own with good but minimal technique. The steak was flawless. A perfect medium rare, flavorful almost buttery and with just enough dense woody herbs. It was a steak for two with a filet, a strip and the bone. It was fantastic - but I wish they'd told us it would come with just the steak and to order veggie sides. The desserts were also great, we got the sampler, and each of them was lovely, although the panna cotta with passion fruit was my favorite. We will be back for our next big occasion! Also a 3 course meal with wine for 166 bucks? Not bad at all! read more