I used La Collina for my son's rehearsal dinner last weekend. Planning it from 3,000 miles away was difficult but Natalie and her team were fantastic to work with. The food was even better than we had remembered from our first tasting (especially the Florentine steak). They were so accommodating in helping us make the room feel personalized and festive for the bride and groom. When I was looking in DC for medium rental places, they were hard to find, but we struck gold in La Collina. read more

I liked the ambiance of this place, and I am always looking for good Italian (with vegan options) in DC. Came for the last night of restaurant week. The hostess was immediately either rude or maybe just awkward, but she startled me without a greeting upon entering & impatiently asking what we needed when it was clear we were there for a table(?). I thought it was just me but after we were seated, the person I was with also asked if I thought she was rude to us. Just an unpleasant and odd encounter. Food- loved that each course for restaurant week had a vegan option. I got the white bean salad which was delicious, cauliflower entree, and apple sorbet. I liked the cashew formaggio in the entree. We also had a nice glass of white wine. Despite the awkward initial interaction with the hostess, every server was very kind and I would love to see how this place may expand their vegan options over time. read more

We went there for our anniversary. The food was great and a reasonable price for the size. You don't need a lot of appetizers. Staff is reasonably friendly. read more

Phenomenal food, ambiance, and service! I came here with a group for a private event in a side room and we enjoyed a feast of dishes. Burrata, salad, arancini, and garlic bread for starters... all were delicious and a bit different than in other restaurants. For main dishes, we had salmon, radiatore pasta with shrimp, chicken with broccolini, a delightful gnocchi in a quattro formaggio sauce, and a side dish of cauliflower. The shrimp and gnocchi were crowd favorites. For dessert we had the lemon dessert (olive oil cake with basil cream and lemon curd) - hands down one of the best desserts I've ever had! Will definitely be back. The atmosphere, service, and drinks were all delightful! read more

Came here with a large group of 25. We made a reservation ahead of time over the phone where the manager told us that we would need a $600 deposit to "hold the room" where they wanted to place our group, which we kindly agreed to. She assured us that we would not be charged, it was just a deposit. At the end of the meal we were told that there was a "miscommunication" and we were being charged the $600 for the room. Our bill was $1800 in total so we spent a good amount of money at the restaurant, but they were not willing to cooperate with us to lower the price of the room due to their "miscommunication". read more

I found an article that highlighted La Collina as a cute neighborhood, family friendly restaurant. A spot on description by the magazine! The arancini were crispy and had just the perfect amount of parmesan. Definitely make sure you get a couple of these. The burrata and tomatoes with balsamic glaze were a nice, fresh farewell to summer. The bucatini cacio e pepe was definitely my favorite dish - creamy and cheesy without being overpowering with a touch of pepper. The bucatini was al dente. The heritage pork milanese was perfectly cooked. The pork is crispy, crunchy and very sizable. Perfect to share with a couple of people. The snap pea and mint salad gives the pork additional contrast and definition. Finally, the grilled branzino with herb gremolata salsa was well-prepared with crispy skin and moist, flaky meat. The moist kumquat olive cake was a perfect end to a tasty meal. There was ample outdoor seating and numerous heat lamps for when the weather gets chilly. Otherwise, the lighting and decoration is very romantic and cozy. One word of caution, they have an automatic 22% service charge only detectable in the fine print of the menu. This is the first time I've seen an automatic service charge of greater than 20% across the board. read more

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La Collina is the type of gem that makes you feel like you've traveled outside the Beltway for a few hours. The inside of the restaurant feels like a fine dining experience, but the cuisine is cozy and familiar in just the right way. We ordered several appetizers (the burrata and tomatoes, arancini, and meatballs) to start and loved everything- the meatballs are so flavorful and the arancini were probably some of the best I've had. But the real standout was the pasta. The sweet corn tortelloni is incredible- cannot recommend ordering this enough while sweet corn is still in season before the fall menu rolls in! The bucatini was also excellent, although both were pretty rich and buttery. You can really tell the pasta is housemade, as the quality is excellent. We ended the meal with the sans rivale cake, which was a birthday treat (thank you!) that almost read like a unique take on a tiramisu. It was a nice, light way to end the meal after lots of pasta and other good things :) We went to celebrate a birthday and the entire staff made us feel so welcome and celebrated- it was an incredibly special night. This would be an equally excellent option for a special occasion or just looking to enjoy a weeknight out. read more

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Great little Italian spot, absolutely fantastic service and food. The manager was so attentive and Jose was so kind touring us around after our meal. We really enjoyed the whole experience and looking forward to returning. Can't go wrong with any of the dishes, a must try are the lamb bolognese and traditional meatballs & spaghetti. Also, absolutely don't skip dessert it was the perfect end to the night. read more

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Such a fantastic Italian restaurant in DC. I recommend getting the lamb ragu and the meatballs. The inside front area is what I want my dream kitchen to look like. read more

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Fresh ingredients, incredible flavor, friendly staff, comfortable seating. Reservations are recommended.

I stupidly did not snap a picture of the heirloom tomato bruschetta. maybe the best I've ever had. the Cacio e Pepe and the service were dynamite. I will be back during me stay in Capital Hill. fab read more

The food was amazing and authentic and the best restaurant surprise I've had in a while. Everything was perfect.

Pasta dishes were perfect, good wine selection and love the atmosphere & decor. Our server was also very polite and attentive. So happy for this new place in eastern market! A great addition to the neighborhood! read more

La Collina - Italian Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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The food here is always really great. They don't have a big menu so limited options but the options offered were really good. They were able to seat us without a reservation. read more

Fantastic food, amazing drinks, and great service. Definitely try the fingerling potatoes! read more

La Collina - Spicy Lamb Ragu! - Italian Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

The service was very good! From the host to the waitress, everyone was extremely professional and kind... the restaurant was pretty... but much prettier in pictures... but we all know why we actually go to restaurants: the food. The food was so so so so so bad. Like laughably bad. It ruined the rest of my evening. My boyfriend and I made a reservation just before restaurant week by accident, and let me just say that no one should pay full price for this food. We got garlic bread and a bread with ricotta and olive oil dip as a appetizer. Those were oka, but i imagine it is very hard to mess up bread. I got a sangria which was really really good, and my boyfriend seemed to enjoy his drink as well. So kudos to the bartender. I ordered mushroom ravioli, which is one of my favorite meals. It was the worst food I've ever had the displeasure of putting in my mouth. There were so many unnecessary additions that i imagine were meant to be fancy, but the tiny strange (probably fancy) mushrooms were not good at all and tasted like rubber. My raviolis were very tiny and the filling was gross. The food tasted sour, a s if someone finished it by squeezing a lemon on it. Whatever they did, it didn't work at all. I was so disappointed. My boyfriend ordered clams with spaghetti. He was not impressed but didn't seem to have as bad of an experience as me. I tried his pasta and it was... just so underwhelming. I wish i could use the word good. I really do. Because we didn't want to end the experience on a bad note, we got another appetizer. Arancini balls. They were, again SO BAD! The tastes ,the texture, everything was such a let down. I've had some amazing Italian food and this just seemed like one huge joke. We ended the night with coffee and dessert. The dessert was not enjoyable, idk if it is homemade or store bought but either way i beg them to reconsider. My boyfriend and i kept offering each other the last bite because neither of us wanted to finish it. The coffee (latte and cappuccino) with our food was amazing, so whoever they have on the bar is the only one who really knows what they're doing food and drink wise. Overall my boyfriend is a gentleman so he didn't make me feel bad about it, but he spent too much money on this disappointing experience. We left hungry. Also, when we walked in, there was a HUGE family sitting in the middle of t he restaurant with screaming kids running around and they looked like they were having a great time. Suspiciously good time. Like paid actor good time hahaha. I wonder how much their meal cost, but it looked like a dystopian Olive Garden commercial and almost made us turn around. I wish we did. read more

La Collina - Italian Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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Food choice very limited. Random can't get pasta either a different sauce. Our server was great. The drinks were not good Not great ambiance read more

$220 later for a party of 3, I felt underwhelmed. The food was fine although the gnocchi was drenched in butter and they forgot the garlic bread. My friend said the ambience reminded them of a "sterile library". My pet peeve was they charge the tax on the subtotal that included the 22% service charge. It should be on the subtotal prior to that. They also still check for vaccination status which is fine if that's what they want but seems like we are past that point by now. read more

La Collina - Italian Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Love this restaurant. Can't say enough things about how amazing it is. From the food to the staff, it is always top class. I love going here with other people so I can try their dishes. I had the spaghetti and meatballs. My son had the Rigatoni & Lamb, which is spicy lamb ragù, sheep's milk ricotta, and mint. My wife had Wild Mushroom Gnocchi with sage, goat butter, sherry. All three of us were in love with our dishes. We will be back for sure. read more

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I'm not sure where the other 4 and 5 star reviewers ate. I'm only giving this two stars because the staff that worked our event did a 4 to 5 star job. The food in this place is a solid 1 star affair. Yes, it has all of the puffery and pomp of a gourmet restaurant. Where to begin? The chairs are wood and have the comfort and coincidentally the same design as a millennial designed office or more likely a charter school. They were not comfortable. They look and feel like chairs in a school. Sitting in them over a business dinner sucked. The decoration in the room of a broken up car was also confusing. The car was the highpoint. The food was at best garbage. Poorly prepared and seasoned, the flavor was from the arugula salad (aka rabbit food) to the half ass appetizers they rolled out (meatballs that were over-seasoned and gross and salmon with what tasted like salad dressing or seasoned oil on it). The entire meal was served "Italian Family Style" meaning everyone had to share garbage. I'm guessing that this food was produced in mass quantities as the kitchen is supposed be shared between two restaurants? The entre(s): chicken, over-cooked pasta with an incorrect sauces, over-cooked green pasta with incorrect sauce, etc. ran from tasteless to gross (I tried the pasta as much as I could and it was un-edible). The pasta slimy and the sauce was far too heavy for a thick pasta. I think the chicken (and I can't be sure because I didn't want to dwell too long on it) was compressed chicken. The flavor was just off and it was slathered in some kind of sauce that didn't improve or add to the experience. I noticed the other unlucky participants at the table dumping the sauce onto the rest of their food to give it flavor. Oh yes, and there was the white and red wine coincidentally served from a carafe? Why a carafe? I'm guessing because the box it came from would have better articulated the quality of the wine. And for desert, a half ass tart or cake or something. Plus some beignets or something that looked like them dipped in a chocolate syrup. I had one of them and it was "well done" or burned. It sucked and I regretted my own stupidity for putting it in my mouth. I couldn't wait to leave this place. Seriously. It was so uncomfortable and the food so bad that there was no upside. The fact that this place is portraying itself as sophisticated Italian or the like is just not working, they manage to fail on pretty much every culinary front. Please remember, I walk into ANY restaurant with an open mind, 100% ready to accept different thinking and new approaches to preparing meals, food and the culinary arts. This place was a fail. Please, there are good restaurants in this neighborhood. Skip this one unless you want to punish your taste buds and make a run for CVS afterwards. For a restaurant like this, you owe it to yourself to spend your hard-earned dollars elsewhere. read more

Unexpected gem in Capitol Hill. Friday night found it populated with young couples on first dates. Friendly, fast but not rushed, and helpful service. Three-course menu - ordered the arancini (fluffy, delicious, do not skip), burrata (it's cheese served paired with fennel and pear, also very good), and garlic bread (light, great on its own or for dipping in all the exceptional sauces) to start. Shared the house-made Cacio e Pepe pasta course - very nice with exceptional sauce. Entrees - salmon in another crazy good sauce and the rotisserie chicken - the chicken was very high quality, cooked perfectly, meat like butter, but if I had an objection all night it's that the lemon piccata seasoning was a mild choice to showcase this dish. Paired with a half carafe of a nice house Sangiovese, a five-star experience start to finish. read more

La Collina - Tried to photograph arancini for you, sorry. Such a simple dish but executed perfectly. Fluffy, flavorful, in an exceptional fresh sauce. - Italian Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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So so gorgeous inside and great service. However the cacio de pepe was so salty and the sauce was gritty and thin instead of being luscious and creamy. The color is totally wrong. The tomato sauce spaghetti was much better flavor wise. read more

La Collina - Italian Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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We wanted to love this neighborhood spot but sadly were underwhelmed. Pasta was really undercooked -- sauce was delicious but needed a knife to cut the pasta. Meatballs were raw in the middle. Asked for ice for my water three times -- no ice to be had. Only a few families in the whole place but it was very loud. Could hear poor kids being scolded from the farthest corners of the room. Wouldn't want to be there if it was crowded. Garlic bread & arugula salad were delish but not enough to make up for the rest. So sorry. read more

The food was really good, albeit with a bit of a limited menu and drink options, which I chalk up to being in the middle of a pandemic. We went here on a date night, but I would classify the ambiance as a bit more for a regular night out, rather than a special occasion. We started with the arancini and the focaccia with grilled garlic and both were fantastic, with the focaccia being perfectly warm and crispy. For dinner we split the rigatoni & lamb and the cacio e pepe, which were both pretty rich, so I am glad we split them and got to try each. We also got the chopped salad that was really great and also pretty huge. Overall, really good and we'll definitely be back! read more

Wait Staff Limited attention. Had to ask for water to be refilled. Even with 4 people walking around and "eyeing" the table. Our waiter came by once to ask how the food was and did not ask for anything else. We also had to wait till a food server brought food to our table to ask for salt and pepper. Overall service was slow and the restaurant was not busy. Ordered a dirty vodka martini which was small sized drink and tasted very salty. The waiter never asked how my drink was. The appetizers, Arancini balls and garlicky bread tasted good. However for the Salumi and Jamon, no bread was offered. We had to ask for bread and olive oil. For the main course. The rigatoni had dry and overcooked lamb. The sweet corn ravioli was a very small portion when compared to the price. The cauliflower was undercooked and underwhelming on flavor. The only dish worthwhile was the shrimp diavolo. While I appreciated the upfront notification of the 22% gratuity, the service left a lot to be desired. The standard for 22% should be equivalent to that of a 2-star Michelin. Make a connection with the customers, make recommendations, ensure water glasses remained filled during the entire meal, ask frequently how the food is and recommend a wine pairing for the meal. This meal expensive lacked all those things. It will be interesting to see how long this restaurant will last. read more

I've been to La Collina a few times now and it never disappoints! The homemade pastas are always perfectly al dente and packed with flavor. The corn ravioli was sweet and refreshing while the spaghetti and meatballs had a well balanced sauce with perfectly tender meatballs. Not to mention, the service is top notch. Tonight we had José, who was super friendly, attentive, and gave us great recommendations. FYI before you go: this restaurant does a 22% service charge. The servers always make a point to tell the customers though! read more

We just had a great meal on the patio with our 1 year old. Going right at 5 pm is great for families and we were not the only ones there with a baby, which is always appreciated. One thing we didn't know before arriving is that they ask for proof of vaccination even if you're sitting on the patio - we scrambled a bit once we realized that but were ultimately ok. Appreciate that they have the requirement, as we're still being very cautious with a little one, but we assumed the requirement was just for indoor dining so wanted to give others a heads up before you go. I loved that they had nice new high chairs and brought out the kid's meal super quick - like 5 minutes after we ordered - which kept our little one entertained while the rest of our food came out at a more leisurely pace. The arancini and garlic bread are amazing, as are the cacio e pepe and lamb ragu. We appreciated how kind the staff was, particularly when we needed to prepare for a quick exit at the end of the night with a kid fast approaching bedtime. We'll be back for sure - love having this spot in our neighborhood. read more

Love a good Italian place in the neighborhood. Have gone a few times and the highlights were the bruschetta (incredible tomatoes), chopped salad, and Bigoli with Meatballs. Sadly two of those items are no longer on the menu (seasonal maybe?). The bigoli with meatballs might have been the best pasta dish I've ever had, comparable to the best dishes at heavy hitters in the city like sfoglina or Osteria Morini. I'll miss it dearly. One item to avoid at all cost is the cacio e Pepe. I've tried and had friends try the dish on 3 different occasions and it's just not good. It's served with far too much sauce/oil every time and is very one note compared to the complexity of their tomato based sauces. Patio is cute; employees are nice. Will be back again when the craving for some meatballs hits! read more

We finally got to try La Collina tonight and it did not disappoint. The food was amazing and the service was even better. It is a restaurant that just makes you feel comfortable to be there and enjoy some amazing food. The highlights of the meal were the arancini and the sweet corn tortelloni. read more

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We went to La Collina for a nice meal. The ambience was appealing and the food was very tasty. However, what stood out most was the outstanding service that was provided to us by Ms. Jasmine! She was so attentive and friendly. I highly recommend this restaurant and if you're lucky.... You'll get Jasmine as your server!!!! read more

Had an absolutely outstanding experience at La Collina recently during a dinner with a few friends. This was our first time here, and the service, food, and ambience were all top-notch. The restaurant was running just a little late in seating us for our reservation, and although the delay didn't seem particularly significant to us, one of the hostesses out-of-the-blue brought us gratis glasses of white wine as an offering of apology while we waited. Similarly, once seated, our server was running a little behind in getting to our table to take our order. Again, we weren't bothered by it, but gratis dishes of garlic bread were later brought to our table in apology. We were really blown away by how the restaurant staff seemed to bend over backward to ensure that we had a positive experience. Everything else about the experience there continued to be exceedingly polite, professional, and polished without being fussy. All of our wide variety of dishes ranged from 4 to 5 stars in quality. We had one starter dish (white beans) that was a little bland, but everything else that we had was outstanding, from one of the best burrata dishes that we've ever had to several excellent pasta dishes, a very flavorful and tender salmon entree, and a delicious tiramisu. The decor and ambience manage to somehow feel sophisticated but approachable, warm and welcoming. We were again pleasantly surprised when our bill came, which was quite reasonable for the array of food and drink that we had as well as the overall experience. At a time when so many restaurants seem to be struggling to provide a quality experience for a reasonable price these days, our dinner at La Collina stood out as the best dining experience I've had in quite some time. read more

We live in the neighborhood and stopped in for a quick meal and to check out one of our local places. Food was fine. Ok. Service was nice. Then the bill came. The restaurant had the audacity to add a non-discretionary tip to the bill. No advance warning, just a nice surprise to round out your meal and make you feel like crap. And how much was it? 15% so that you might feel compelled to add a bit more? 20% which saves you the trouble of doing the math for the tip you would have left anyway? No, they help themselves to 22% of your bill because apparently they feel they did and especially wonderful job by you. Non-discretionary surprise charge at the end of the meal = fraud. Enjoy your extra 2%. We will never be back. read more

A bright and cute new little spot on Capitol Hill!! I always say that DC needs more Italian, and this place is a hit! Definitely affordable and definitely delicious, I feel like anything we would have gotten here would have been great. An extra touch is that they have house wine that is sold by glass/half liter/ liter which is a simple way to get delicious wine! Will definitely be back. read more

La Collina - Rigatoni & Sausage - Italian Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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I Love Italian - and when I say this place has THE BEST MEATBALLS I've ever tasted - it's saying a lot! The mushroom gnocchi was light and delish! Not to mention the roasted cauliflower, burrata and garlic bread!! It was a feast and worth every bite! The staff was friendly, polite and aimed to please! The decor and vibe super cool. It was recommended to me by a local and when I visit DC again - this gem will be a first stop! read more

Came on a Thursday evening at 7:45, the third time trying it out since the soft opening in the last year. Previous times were underwhelming, but we largely chalked it up to the restaurant working out some of the kinks/growing pains of being a new operation. There's only a handful of other occupied tables when we arrive, so we anticipate no service problems. Once seated, we place an order for cocktails and telll the server we need a bit of time to look over menu before placing a food order. A few minutes later, the server returns and we put in an order for both appetizers and main courses. Appetizers come quickly and are... alright. Fine, even. Pretty standard, 3-4 star stuff. We finish the appetizers and then just... sit and wait for a few minutes before our drinks finally show up. Weird cadence to the order of food delivery. I think it'd be less of an issue if the place wasn't brightly illuminated like an Apple store. The austere feel of the whole place really works against the experience of sitting there for extended periods of time with nothing but a glass of water. Main courses come some time later and are very unremarkable (which is a charitable description). They're brought by a member of the bussing staff. Our server is totally MIA, so no opportunity to place another drink order (we even tried with the bus staff!). I've ordered a basic spaghetti and tomato sauce dish. The sauce has a weird sweetness to it, like a can of Ragu/Prego/generic store mass-market sauce. The noodles soggily clump together like sticky rice (??). I end up cutting the noodles with a fork and eating them in globule chunks. Unappealing. My girlfriend orders the cacio e pepe and likens it to Kraft easy-mac. Less cacio e pepe and more pedestrian "pasta in cheese sauce". Our server is still MIA, so we've long finished our cocktails as we try to reassure each other that our mall-food-court-quality dishes aren't really *that* bad. Of course, we're trying to convince ourselves as much as we are each other. We finish eating, then sit and wait idly for 5-10 minutes. Eventually, a different server comes over and asks how everything was. We're worn out and lie, telling him that everything was good. By now, we just want to be done with this place. This place *isn't* great, nor is it even "good". It's outright bad, in fact. It's been three visits now, over the course of a year. Each time, I'm vastly underwhelmed in similar-yet-novel ways. The pasta is bizarrely sweet and lacking any real sense of savoriness, the service is slow, and the ambiance is like "claustrophobic hospital atrium". Nostra Cucina and Caruso's Grocery are so close in physical proximity to La Collina. I cannot highly enough suggest going to either of those restaurants instead. read more

We had a wonderful evening. Everything was perfect, great food, a warm ambiance, and excellent wait staff. We can't wait to go back!

What a gem in the neighborhood. Service was absolutely excellent - starting from the amazing hostess who helped me after I mixed up a reservation date. They were so kind to accommodate us after clearly my mistake. Our server, Ben, was attentive and helpful and so kind. And wow the food! We got arugula salads (don't sleep on these - a simple but really delicious starter), spaghetti and meatballs and a seasonal morel and asparagus gnocchi. All excellent. Can't wait to become a regular! read more

This is such a lovely place. My wife and I went on a Saturday and loved the vibe, but it would also be a great place for groups. The food and service was all excellent and the manager came by to say hello. We loved the burrata. The amaro Manhattan was delightful. Also highly recommend the roasted cauliflower. read more

I really wanted to love this place but unfortunately our experience was pretty bad. Not sure if this place is new or if it was just busy because it's Valentine's Day weekend, but the food took 40 mins to come out. They brought our entrees out before our appetizers The gnocchi was over cooked and mushy but we ate it because we were hungry, only to find a piece of cardboard at the bottom of the plate....... The Arabiatta was mediocre at best and overcooked. The place is very aesthetically pleasing but that's all it has going on for it. read more

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What a memorable dining experience: excellent service, pleasant ambiance, and importantly excellent food well prepared. We (there were three of us) enjoyed the tomato bruschetta and the white bean salad. Martini was the French gin Citadel ... excellent, bar scotch was Famous Grouse and wine, the Rossi, actually quite pleasing. Best entree is hands down the chicken piccata and my girls praised the lamb bolognese; but the flavor does have a bite. Service provided by Aja could not have been better well deserved the House mandated 22%. She anticipated our needs although she was serving perhaps 6 other tables. What a job. Needless to say we will return. Yes my eye is on the chicken again; but then the salmon puttanesca needs to have a try. Btw pricing is competitive. read more