I sat on the porch and it was beautiful - peaceful, quiet, a perfect setting for a meal. The server…read morewas pleasant, informative, and professional. The food was really good! They make their own pasta and bread in-house, and use fresh, locally sourced produce. What more could you ask for? This was my second time visiting; the first time, several years ago the service was really slow and I'm happy to report things seem to have improved and it's now a really solid option. Not cheap, but what is any more? Well worth a visit.

chose this restaurant because of its strong ratings and decided to take my husband there for his…read morebirthday. Unfortunately, the experience was underwhelming overall. We started with the Grand Caviar tasting, which was the most expensive caviar option on the menu. For the price, I expected much more. The caviar was extremely salty, to the point where it felt like additional salt had been added on top. The tasting included three varieties of caviar. The caviar they used on one was the exact caviar they used in sushi. Our second appetizer, the tuna dish, was significantly better. While the presentation could have been more refined and visually appealing, the flavor exceeded expectations and was one of the stronger dishes we tried. For my entrée, I ordered the branzino. The fish itself was decent, but def not crispy but it was salty. The sauce was salty and the fish was salty making the entire plate feel like salt layered upon salt. Additionally, the skin was advertised as crispy, but it lacked the crisp texture I was expecting. My husband ordered the rainbow trout stuffed with crab. It was enjoyable and probably the most balanced entrée of the evening, though it wasn't particularly memorable. For sides, I ordered the wild mushrooms, and my husband chose the risotto. The risotto had good flavor but seemed slightly undercooked. The mushroom side was also on the salty side, and despite being described as "wild mushrooms," it consisted primarily of portobello mushroom.

Representing 2025 for alphabet series, the runner-up to out of town pick for the letter M, going…read morefrom Toronto to Olney, M is for Mamma Lucia. In December 2025, my girlfriend & I had a White Elephant holiday party my friend was hosting at lunchtime. It had been years since I went to a Mamma Lucia. I had been to the Hanover location in 2013 & Bethesda in 2016, so it had been almost 10 years since I went. I was never terribly impressed with Mamma Lucia. In 2013 I did a lunch buffet, which was pretty good, but nothing to write home about. In 2016, I had a date, and we split a pizza. Pizza was good, but again nothing to write home about. Olney location overall exceeded my more mediocre expectations. We were a separate large room from Gen Pop, which was nice. Servers were nice, but a couple times were a little slow but mostly did a good job. My girlfriend & I decided to split an entree as we had a BOGO deal only good that day we were going to do for dinner; so we didn't want to overeat. We got a seafood pasta, Seafood Asphargus, which includes some crab, shrimp, scallops, mushrooms on penne, which was excellent exceeding my expectations. The only thing was that it was a lunch sized smaller portion. We are thinking Italian are large portions. The server should've warned us, and she apologized for failing to mention this. The community bread for the table was outstanding too. Because splitting the lunch sized portion wasn't much food, we were pretty hungry at 4:30 and ultimately left our other event much earlier than anticipated, got our BOGO deal around 5 PM, and then came back over there since it was near our other event. We might've been eating dinner at 6 or 7 something if it had been splitting based on the dinner-sized portion. Overall, Mamma Lucia was more good than bad. There were close to 20 of us there. I saw some people hadn't seen in a while and met some nice people including another couple at our table, who became friends. As for the White Elephant, I did well getting an Elijah Craig Kentucky bourbon whiskey. We had a glass on new years. I enjoyed, my g/f didn't like; we doctored hers up to make better for her. I don't think that much at home; so 6 months later I still have half of it left.

This is another Branch of business restaurants i like thats in the Olney Town Village Square in…read moreOlney, Maryland area in one of my favorite places there . This Place is Called Mamma Lucia's Italian Restaurant . This place is a place od Tradition , Culture, And more . This place has a huge parking area its next door to Giant , And other stores. As you enter in the have an outside porch before going in the two woods doors and small hallways to the place . As you enter in you see in the left side a huge barista area that serves drinks exotic drinks and Sodas and more. To having a somewhat concealed kitchen where they perform their magic to make your best foods you could ever want or ever find anywhere else. They have great menus here full of the best foods of your choosing. The hsve regular menus for eating there . They have paper ones or you can find their menus online in your cell phones . I love the pizzas and Speghetti and other dishes as well there . Their wine collections are certainly impressive. Tis place has the pool of traveling back to the Early 19th to 20th century. Filled with Culturecand Traditions and more. I applied there on ocassions with no word . I reapplied recently . I want a jib there to be a bridge for all worlds of every walk of life that comes there . I love customer service interactions to mak everyone fel welcomed , At Home , And feel like family there . To bring them back as full time patrons and have them have the greatest time possible . In this place you get become something much bigger than yourself to exoeriences another culture and more . This place has a huge three arwa of duning ti sit whther it fir regular ostrons or family parties . They have great winecselection racs too to make the place look lije traveling back to the late 29th to early 20th century. This place has a great crew there but management needs changing to give people like me and more a chance to work there make a difference and be a good asset to the Teams there . I want the job there without being feared , jusged abd used bad politics against .. This place has a great family and community oriented atmosphere to be at . This is one of kt favorite places to cone too . I hadn't been there since my last birthday . Today will be my second return back after 7 years . What happened during the Covid Pandemic was inexcusable unjustifiable Reprehensible unlawful and down right wrong. It should never be tolerated again in any place of Business. Since business is slow is because as Americans communities need to finda a way to bring back business in a big way to bring business back as it should and must be again as the patronage all once were and shuld be again. If you love this place as do, This place is for you. We all look forward to seeing you all there very soon once again. Bon Appetite Everyone !

First rate in every way!…read more The restaurant has a pleasant, stylish decor. It's not great on the acoustics but was not overly loud despite being completely full. Our server was perfect. Friendly, attentive, got every part of our order correct. The food was delicious too. We ordered the burrata salad as an appetizer and loved it. We got a Margherita pizza and thought that it was tasty (a little chintzy with the toppings). We will definitely be back in the future!

Closer to 3.5, I got the burrata appetizer to go and it was solid. Just a lil pricey so probably…read morewould not order again. Feel like the tomatoes and other stuff could've been roasted/caramelized more. The cheese was fantastic and so was the bread. I ordered for pick up and it was ready within 30 mins. The inside looked very nice and Italian as it should. Will need to come back and try their pizza.

07/31/2026 We came in tonight for my birthday. My mom came…read moreover from Delaware, and I wanted to bring her here to try the food. My wife and I are always talking about the different locations where we dine, and she kept saying, "I can't wait to try it." It was a little busy tonight. There were only a few tables left when we arrived, and shortly afterward they were all filled. We ordered drinks, and I also ordered the Baby Kale Salad. It had fresh apples that were sweet, crisp, and cut perfectly. The vinaigrette complemented all of the ingredients without overpowering them. It was a great way to start dinner. If I had one small suggestion, it would be just a little more dressing, but it was still wonderful. The three of us shared it. For dinner, my wife had the evening special--chicken with pappardelle pasta, asparagus, and a delicious sauce. My mom and I both ordered the Lasagne with house-made pasta, beef, fresh mozzarella, and tomato sauce. The meals came out looking fantastic, as they always do, and everything was excellent. My wife's chicken was incredibly tender and full of flavor, and it paired perfectly with the pappardelle pasta. I already knew the lasagna was going to be outstanding, and it certainly didn't disappoint. The service here continues to be exceptional. Our water glasses were always kept full, empty plates were cleared promptly, and everyone worked together to make it a great dining experience. For dessert, my wife and I ordered our favorite, the Lemon Cheesecake, and my mom chose the Apple Bread Pudding. The cheesecake was excellent, as always, and the bread pudding was also very good--my mom absolutely loved it. Overall, another outstanding meal with excellent service. We will definitely be back.

Il Gusto Ristorante, located in La Plata, MD, offers plenty of parking and a wide variety of…read moreItalian dishes. I had been hearing good things about it, so I decided to give it a try. We visited around 1 PM on a Saturday and were seated immediately, which was a great start. For appetizers, we ordered the Caesar salad and calamari. The Caesar salad was surprisingly small and came with only two croutons. The calamari was a decent portion size, but the flavor was just okay, I've definitely had better elsewhere. For our entrée, we ordered the fettuccine Alfredo. The flavor itself was very good, but the noodles were extremely watery, almost giving the dish a soup-like consistency. The portion size was also extremely small, especially considering the price point. Overall, I found the restaurant to be quite expensive for both the portion sizes and the overall dining experience. While the service and seating were fine, the food was ultimately underwhelming for me. Unfortunately, it's not a place I would return to.

Really surprised by La Speranza,…read more When the waitress said the pizzas were "personal pizza" size; I assumed it's the usual, small Neapolitan style pizzas for a high price, but the pizza came out bigger than I expected. You can taste the quality of the dough and it was nice and firm, but chewy at the same time--very good! The cheese did not slide off upon picking up (had the most mid pie at Modo Mio in Arlington) and the toppings were also pretty solid. Service was not the most enthusiastic, but not the worse; I cared more for the pizza. Thought about whether this place is a 4 or 5 star and what decides that is if I'd come back and I definitely will. We'll give them a 5 star!!

Don't be fooled by this non-descript appearance. My family…read morehad a gathering at the historic cemetery near by and chose to have lunch here after. The food was OUTSTANDING. I was a skeptic. Having traveled and dined across the globe, I did not expect homemade pasta, fresh espresso, and Neapolitan style pizza to be in Rockville MD. If you live within an hour drive, just take the trip and have lunch or dinner here. Try the espresso martini! I shared a cheese pizza with my daughter, my mother had the chicken piccata, my cousin the gnocchi, my father the chicken parm, my cousin had a caprese salad and the further seats I couldn't see. We all shared a few orders of the calamari. EVERYONE raved about how delicious their food was. I agree. Probably the best piccata I've tasted. The pizza was excellent. The tiramisu great. The pistachio gelato was perfect. I sure wish they were closer to Florida!! So good.

Yes, Fratelli's is very good…read more I was wonderfully surprised at a recent dinner for 2 at Fratelli's. We started with a lemon drop martini - delightful. The cream of crab soup was top notch - a bowl would have been a meal in itself. Then came a salad big enough for 4 (delicious) and fresh out of the oven bread (enough for 4 also). The chicken breast with crabcake was massive and very tasty. The veal parm was sooooooo tasty and also massive. We have at least 2 more meals each. We each had a wonderful chocolate martini as dessert. The service was attentive and helpful. The food came out quickly but we were not rushed. The price? To me, unbelievable (in a very good way).

Uh oh! I have found another restaurant that my body will crave and want to come back again and…read moreagain - the fluffy long, soft rolls and wonderful house salad served in a bowl, house made fresh pasta, and delicious cocktails. I really appreciated how far apart the tables are to allow for conversations you can hear and more space in the cold/flu season. I had a Chocolate Martini and my husband ordered a Lemondrop Martini (not on the menu) but was definitely good. The basket of the fluffy, soft, warm rolls were incredible and something I will come back for. I got the Mediterranean bruschetta special which came with feta, crabmeat, tomatoes, balsamic glaze and lots of other yummy things on four pieces of bruschetta. It was delicious. The shrimp scampi over the thin fresh noodles was a pleasure - really loved how big the shrimp were and the large helping of pasta. My husband got the lasagna which was good although they used some different cheeses which made it taste a little different but still good. Amanda our waitress was quick, pleasant, and took good care of us. Fratelli's is a Resy restaurant. Make reservations ahead of time, since on Saturdays even at 4:00 pm, all the reservations are already booked for the night. I have returned to Fratelli's for a work group lunch. Kendra was excellent, taking care of our large group with professionalism, efficiency, and a warm smile and manner. I got the !4" pizza which is a deep dish pizza - just perfect - not too buttery. I got sausage which had the long slices of sausage on it, not spicy. You can only eat one or two pieces out of the thick eight slices, the pizza is thick so expect to share or take it home for several more lunches.

Had lunch at Caruso Grocery and overall had a good experience. The food was tasty, and I ordered…read morethe Gnocchi alla Genovese, which was really good and flavorful. I have a shellfish allergy and also don't eat pork, so unfortunately there weren't a lot of options for me to choose from.... We also tried the Oreo cheesecake. It was good and had a nice flavor, but it was a little too sweet for my taste.

I had no idea they had a location in Bethesda, which is perfect because this spot has been on my…read morelist to try! This time, I didn't dine in--I placed a to-go order, and the young lady at the front was super nice and welcoming. I ordered the Caruso Alfredo, which is made with truffle butter. I tried it in the car and was immediately disappointed that I didn't dine in because WOW--the pasta was fresh, and the truffle butter was a hit! It's such a simple dish, but it has so many amazing flavors packed into it. Easily a 10/10 and definitely going to be my go-to order, especially as someone who is semi-picky. The restaurant has plenty of seating, along with an outdoor bar and seating area. Everything was clean, and I loved the old-school, unique pasta-house feel of the restaurant. I definitely can't wait to go back--and next time, I'll be dining in!

Everything was fantastic! Our server, Sophie, was lovely. Very helpful, attentive, and friendly…read more The pasta portions were big; both of us had leftovers. The salads that come with the pastas are the perfect size! Not so big that we weren't hungry, but enough that we felt satisfied with the salad. We ordered the Penne Ala Vodka and the Capellini D' Angelo, with blackened chicken. They were both delicious. The tiramisu was yummy and the Peanut Butter Bomba was wonderful! Would definitely go back to try more.

Updating my review after a visit this evening where we enjoyed two different entrees. I had the…read moreGrilled Salmon and Shrimp over Spinach with Asparagus and my partner got the Chicken Marsala. Both entrees came with a cold, fresh side salad with a tangy Italian dressing. The entrees were very good. The salmon had a nice char, but was moist and flavorful. If you like salmon with a sauce, you'll be disappointed. I like mine simple, and this is a well-prepared salmon. The shrimp (3 large) were good. The spinach had a nice garlic flavor and the asparagus was well prepared - not mushy. The chicken Marsala also was good. The Marsala was light (not thick) and somewhat sweet. Very good. Honestly, the bread service was pretty disappointing. Our last visit the bread was fine, but this basket was pretty dried out and almost seemed stale. The oil accompanying the bread had almost no cheese in it. Essentially, you dipped tasteless bread into oil. Really disappointing. I'm not going to reduce my overall restaurant score for this one thing (because the entrees were very good), but the bread service was not good. The service was good.

There are some nights you know you'll remember long after they're over. This was one of them…read more My wife and I chose L'Ardente to celebrate two of the most important days in our life together: her birthday and our wedding anniversary. From the moment we arrived, we felt like our celebration mattered to the people taking care of us. The food was incredible. We started with the Duck Hunt and Cesare salad, followed by the 40-Layer Lasagna, which absolutely deserves every bit of its reputation. Our cocktails, the Arancia Rossa Margarita and Negroni Fumo, were beautiful and delicious. We finished with the Gianduja S'Mores and Pesca Arrostita, and somehow each course just kept getting better. But as good as the food was, the people are what we'll remember most. Talya was incredible. She was attentive, warm, and genuinely kind, making us feel completely at ease from the moment we sat down until the very end of the night. She made wonderful recommendations, checked on us at all the right moments, and genuinely cared that we were enjoying our night. And then there was Robin, the Guest Relations Manager. She made us feel less like guests at a restaurant and more like people being welcomed into someone's home. She checked on us throughout the evening, celebrated with us, and made sure our night felt special from beginning to end. At the end of dinner, we were surprised with two complimentary chocolate cakes, one for our anniversary and one for my wife's birthday, along with cards celebrating each occasion. Those personal touches meant so much to us and were the perfect ending to an already beautiful night. When you're celebrating the person you love most, you hope the place you choose somehow rises to the occasion. L'Ardente did that and more. The food was exceptional, the atmosphere was beautiful, but the hospitality is what will bring us back. Thank you, Talya, Robin, and the entire L'Ardente team. You helped make a day that already means the world to us feel even more special. We won't forget it.

Celebrated my birthday at L'Ardente and they did NOT disappoint! The lobster pasta and that famous…read more40-layer short rib lasagna were absolutely delicious. My drink was the Pornstar Martini with caviar, cute presentation, but they can keep the caviar next time . The ambiance was EVERYTHING, the customer service was amazing, and they even surprised me with cake and a candle. I LOVE L'ARDENTE!

Delicious and cozy pizza, subs, and other goodies. Shop their market while you wait! I love old…read moreschool places like this that you can consistently count on to be good. Feels like you've stepped back to a simpler time pre Internet! -Italiano sub was perfectly balanced and didn't get soggy on their hard Italian bread. May be the best Italian sub I've ever had- the crusty bread was a first for me! -Tacchino sub was good but would be better with some type of pickle. Felt very rich. -two cannolis hand filled to order! The filling had chocolate chips in it. The pastry shell was perfect and not too fried. We've gotten their pizza before too- def recommend! Fantastic crunch and they make their own mozzarella. We also like to get their homemade pizza dough, pizza sauce, mozzarella, ravioli, and pasta for quick weeknight dinners. Their dried pasta selection is impressive and includes gluten free pasta. They are kind, warm, and knowledgeable- I feel very taken care of when I go! Call in your order bc they don't do online ordering. Don't sleep on this gem!

Great local market with a huge selection of fresh pasta, cheese, cured meats, and pizzas made to…read moreorder! The pizza was great! Can't wait to try the frozen ravioli and tortellini we bought. Will definitely be coming back for pizza dough to make at home as well!