Food was amazing and service was really impressive. Alexa C was our server and she was very kind…read moreand attentive and provided wonderful service. We sat outside and the ambiance was great.

I am officially obsessed with Mia's. It is my go-to for anything Italian. You legitimately can't…read morego wrong here. The food is divine - house made pastas, fluffy pizzas, simple yet sophisticated salads (strawberry arugula with the straciatella is chef's kiss). This place is no secret. I highly recommend getting a reservation. Don't be deterred if OpenTable doesn't have availability. If you call and are kind to the host staff, I have found that they can sometimes squeeze you in. The downstairs is loud and vibrant, while the upstairs is a bit sexier with velvet drapes, paintings, and dim lighting. It can get a little loud, but you will be too busy eating the best Italian food around to really notice. It is a must-go.

We went for restaurant week! $55 a person includes appetizer, entree, and dessert…read more Cesar salad was flavorful. Angel hair was the perfect amount of spice. And chocolate budino was rich and creamy. Will be back!

Interesting concept. 3.5 rounded to 4…read more This is family style serving with the exception of mains. Recommend the meatballs and the cucumber salad for starters. I very much enjoyed the arctic char as a main. Perfectly cooked and lots of flavor from the fregola, fennel, preserved lemon, olives, and roasted pepper romesco. Wine and drinks options were limited. Misc: It was super loud there. So much so we couldn't have normal conversations at our table. Online to go ordering via Toast at https://www.toasttab.com/thomspon-italian-old-town-1026-king-st. Reservations via Resy.

I am remiss that I never created a review for Aldo's Italian Kitchen, because this is one of my…read morefavorite hidden gems in the DMV area. Locked away in a comforting space within an office building, it always feels like I stepped into a mom and pop style restaurant. The hosts, servers, chefs, and owner are just incredible- super friendly, knowledgeable, and they really treat you like family here. Now the food. The food is so delicious here. Some of my s/o and my favorite dishes are the cheese pizza (you seriously cannot beat the price), and gnocchi, which is covered in a creamy tomato sauce with chunks of onion and warm tomatoes, and the chicken pesto pasta. Honestly, I've never had a bad meal here. Everything is portioned perfectly, and I swear you never leave hungry here. They also went viral for their chicken caesar wrap too, and I can attest that it's yummy! I'd ask for extra sauce on the side if possible though, but that's because I'm a caesar lover! I'd highly recommend everyone checking out Aldo's. The owner is the sweetest, most caring man and he really is so appreciative of all the customers. If you have a craving for some italian food, go here! And also, don't leave without trying their tiramisu or walk out with their rainbow cookies!

Located outside the Old Town area in an office park setting, this shop is serving…read more Fantastic homemade Italian fare to a good mix of locals and visitors to the area. The Lasagna is made-to-order and is served with generous portions of house marinara sauce and cheese. Pepperoni pizza has a great ingredients from the crust to sauce to the pep. So many great items on the menu to try on my next visit. Service team is excellent and friendly. The ambiance is very office park Italian but it works. Outdoor seating on a nice day will let you enjoy great food with your dog.

Rosemarino D'Italia is the rare neighborhood Italian spot that plays it straight -- no gimmicks,…read morejust a kitchen that knows what it's doing and a floor staff that makes you feel like a regular on visit one. You feel it walking in: past a pink-trimmed doorway strung with fabric roses, a small "please wait here to be seated" placard doing its quiet job, and a narrow hallway that opens into a dim, close-quartered dining room with tufted burgundy chairs and a TV keeping half an eye on tennis for the bar crowd. It's an intimate room, pleasant if a touch under-scored -- the ambient music sat low enough that a notch or two more volume would have filled the space better. We started at the bar menu. My Pisco-licious ($16) -- Barsol pisco, mint, blackberry puree, sherry, lemon, and egg white -- arrived under a dense, well-set foam cap with a charred, dehydrated citrus wheel balanced on top. It poured tart-forward, with the blackberry rounding out the back end, and the foam held its structure to the last sip. My friend's cocktail moved just as fast. Bread came warm and unfussy, gone before the entrées landed. For the main course, I went with the Scallops e Funghi ($28): four pan-seared scallops over a creamy saffron arborio risotto with mushrooms, finished under a heavy hand of grated parmesan. The risotto was the real star -- properly cooked, well-seasoned, rich without tipping heavy -- and the scallops, while a shade past their ideal sear, still made for a genuinely good plate. My friend's Spicy Sausage & Leeks ($24) -- fusilli in a creamy parmesan sauce with spicy Italian sausage and sautéed leeks -- brought real heat that never crossed into overwhelming, and the bowl didn't last long. Portions ran generous for the price point, and nothing at the table tasted like it was built to a budget. We both closed with the Spumoni ($10): strawberry, pistachio, and chocolate ice cream dipped whole in a chocolate shell and finished with a white and dark chocolate drizzle. The shell cracked clean on the first bite, kept the ice cream from turning to soup, and tasted enough like a house-made batch that I'd bet on it without confirming. Service is what pulled the night together -- our server was warm without being performative, checked in at the right intervals, and never let the table run empty on water or attention. Rosemarino D'Italia earned every bit of a five-star night: a kitchen showing more technique and ambition than its casual, happy-hour room lets on, a cocktail list worth ordering from twice, and a floor staff that made it effortless. It's not tasting-menu territory, and it doesn't need to be -- it's a neighborhood trattoria doing its job better than most in the category. I'll be back to work through the rest of the pasta list. Order type Dine in Price per person $60-70 Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 4 Wait time No wait Seating type Indoor dining area, Bar area, Booth seating, Counter seating

We made quick reservation at this quaint Italian restaurant in the Del Rey area of Alexandria. Not…read moremany people on a Wednesday, but arrived in time to enjoy a few Happy Hour treats (330-630pm), the fried zucchini were tasty and crispy and the marinara dipping sauce was excellent. The wife enjoyed a nice soup and salad, and ravioli, My Piccata Chicken was pan seared, with capers, olives, spinach was delicious. To finish off a great meal the wife ordered the Spumoni that was chocolate dipped, strawberry, pistachio ice cream which was unbelievable great. Staff was super friendly as we enjoyed an intimate dinner.

Tarac (sp?) was awesome and made the meal even better. Great dinner and great service. I'll Porto…read moreis my go to when in town

I came here with my team and able to get a day of reservation for a large group. Once we arrive the…read moregroup size grew, and they were still very accommodating! I'd return based off that alone, but our sever also did a tremendous job and handled our large group very well! Kudos to him (I forgot his name). Now for the food and drinks. Neither disappointed and the whole group enjoyed their meal (which is hard to come by often). I had the Pasta alla Veneziana, which came with lobster, shrimp, and salmon), and it was very good! It was a tad pricy, but I'd order it again. Extra shout out for removing the tails from the shrimp (my coworker also noticed). I love a Smoked Old Fashioned, so ordered one as well, and it did not disappoint. I'll be back to drink and dine on the patio when the weather cools a bit.

Seen on TikTok decided to check it out on their Monday $15 pasta and they did not disappoint!…read moreEverything and everyone was amazing! Service and food 10/10 I WILL BE BACK *I also loved the fact they asked me was it my first time because I think all restaurants should just to make sure you get the best experience

Visited on a Sunday evening with no reservation. Immediately greeted entry and seated quickly in…read morethe front dining area. I like their semi private two seat tables in the center of the front dining room. Our server was friendly and courteous, checking in on us frequently during the meal and we didn't have to wait for service or for drinks to be refreshed, etc. The fresh pasta is always hearty with full flavor - my spouse enjoyed the salmon entree but mentioned that the interior of the salmon was not as flavorful as the outside. The plate portion sizes are great and we didn't leave feeling pasta fatigue. The cocktail that I tried Sorrento was very light and refreshing. One of our local favorites so I will be visiting again. $$ We walked to restaurant but there is limited street parking and free deck parking nearby

My biggest problem with Lena's is that I can never seem to find enough reasons to stop going…read more The servers can be a little slow, but honestly, I don't want to be rushed while I'm eating pizza with kids anyway. The prices are definitely on the higher side, but have you looked at literally anything lately? So I'll allow it. They have this very creative Havana theme that somehow makes me feel like I should be drinking a mojito on vacation, even though I'm actually there with two kids negotiating over cheese pizza. Speaking of the pizza: it's what you should get. I recently ordered the chicken parm, which was good! But the pizza is where it's at. Especially the kids' cheese pizza, which is so good that I consider taking a slice from my children a completely reasonable parenting tax. And the Caesar salad? Weirdly excellent. I order it basically every time. The biggest issue is that Lena's is too family friendly. They are incredibly accommodating to kids, which makes it dangerously easy to keep coming back when I should probably be trying somewhere new. So yes, the service is a little slow, the prices are a little high, and I am apparently incapable of ordering anything besides pizza and Caesar salad. 5 stars. I'll be back.

Heard about the pizza at Lena's but only recently heard of Havana. Visited over the weekend for…read moredinner. We had a reservation and it's recommended or the wait is long. There's a parking lot and a garage but I didn't know and found parking down the street. I like the Cuban/Italian fusion menu. The decor/vibe here is nice! I love Cuban food and felt this place fell short. I ordered the ropa vieja, one of my favorite Cuban dishes. It had fatty pieces of beef and the flavor was lacking. I ordered the spicy pineapple margarita. I tasted zero alcohol. Maybe I got a mocktail. Overall, the service was good but not enough for me to want to visit again.

Recently, we were treated to Sunday brunch buffet at Fratelli's by friends…read more We had actually been here a couple times previously, but that was a few years ago, so this review is based solely on this Sunday brunch. It was a very good experience. What stood out to me was the excellent service by the professionally dressed servers, especially with the water, champagne and coffee refills. The dishes were all well-prepared, even if the buffet isn't huge. And actually, there was a chicken in cream sauce that was ultra ultra delish. But I understand that Fratelli's rotates dishes in their buffet, so the chicken dish may or may not be in future buffets. The buffet included your typical waffle station. It also included a dessert table, which was cake and pie. Yeah, we'd come back to Fratelli's buffet again.

Representing 2019 for letter F is F is for Fratelli. I went here one time on Monday, May 6, 2019…read moreon a date. I had been a few dates with her in the late winter into spring, and this was our 2nd to last date. The date was pretty good, but the relationship didn't go anywhere ultimately. I lived in Wheaton, and she lived in Arlington, so that posed challenge of seeing each other that much. I got a girlfriend over 1.5 months later, which was good for a while. The food at Fratelli was excellent, best Italian I've had in northern VA except for Scafa's in Spotsylvania County, which is far from the true northern VA. I got some noodle, mushroom, some meat dish, which was excellent. Service was good too. I'd come back here if I was ever along the Van Dorn corridor, but the odds are low of ever being around here these days. In fact, I used to live over here walking distance to here but never ate here when I did, and I've never shown my girlfriend of 1 year 9 months that apartment as we just are never over here and live a bit closer to Baltimore than DC now. Ironically, we were in Alexandria just yesterday (Old Town) for a birthday party, but Alexandria in general is quite rare.

Plenty of parking, this is located in Shirlington and there's both street and garage parking…read more Everyone was so pleasant and so nice and Nino was incredibly sweet and accommodating. He engaged us in conversation and showed us the big parmesan wheel and let us try it. He was so kind to us. The restaurant is quiet and I'm genuinely surprised at how quiet it was because the pasta here is the best pasta I've had since comong back from Tuscany. I got the special of the fettuccine pasta in the parm wheel tableside. My friends got gnocchi, the bolognese and carbonara. All delicious butbthe fettuccine was so good. I definitely plan on coming back, it was absolutely delicious.

The food and ambiance of this place is absolutely wonderful and they have a great happy hour with…read morewonderful food specials. We received some free focaccia and pesto on the side. I ordered the mushroom ravioli, which was wonderful and my friends ordered other varieties of pasta dishes. I would definitely come back for a happy hour at some point. The issue for this place was the service. Some of my friends who were sharing received their eggplant Parmesan quickly but then none of our food came out and they already finished their meal and we still didn't receive our food. There was little to no apology and we weren't even offered any extra bread even to compensate us. They did have a large party and places are understaffed, but we could have been checked up on, even for a minute. Overall, I'd come back for happy hour, but not for dinner.

Landini Brothers is a good option on a very busy street for Italian which also includes Mia's, Il…read morePorto, and even The Wharf (seafood restaurant). I love the outdoor dining space. Even in the rain there are 5 tables under the awning. An interesting hack, especially when Mia's is slammed--and they always are slammed, walk across the pedestrian street and check out Landini. Even on a busy Friday or Saturday night, I've had great luck on the patio: They dont take reservations for the patio. The food is always excellent. I love the Tortellini alla Panna. It is filled with veal. The sauce is so good. Another one of my hacks, which I used tonight, is asking if they have any porkchop which is on the lunch menu. Tonight, I was in luck. It comes with a side of mashed potatoes and broccolini. Superb. Lots of other great choices on the menu too. Definitely give them a try. How do you think they compare to Mia's? Both are faves.

4/4/26 The menu…read moreleans classic, with mixed execution. The Tortellini in Brodo, filled with veal and Parmesan, arrives in a traditional homemade chicken broth that feels comforting yet ultimately lands at an average note, lacking depth. In contrast, the Calamari Fritti is a standout--perfectly fried, delicately crisp, and notably tender. The Suprema di Pollo con Mozzarella offers pleasant flavors of butter, lemon, and chardonnay, though the chicken veers slightly overcooked. More successful is the Piccatine al Limone, where milk-fed veal is bright and balanced with citrus and wine. A special of linguine with scallops on the shell rounds things out nicely, delivering a satisfying, well-executed finish.