The food is impressive. Ok ok so the pictures on the wall include 5 of my seven siblings and my Uncles Ray etc. and Aunt Janet and Grandma. The really cute little girl with the crossed eyes is my big sister. The restaurant owners are indeed my 4th cousins but that doesn't change the fact that the food is impressive. Our Grandmother and her Sister had a restaurant too......but in my book, this one is better. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. The food is both timeless and modern. The service in my experience was impeccable. It was a joy to go back home and partake in such a memorable dining experience. BTW: Nobody makes Lasagna better than my family, nobody. I hope this review helps you. Oh yeah.....we make great meatballs and sausage too. Doesn't get any more authentic than that. read more

We were in the area because our son was being treated at Walter Reed. He asked for Italian and we found Olazzo. The food was great and the staff so nice. Even our sons chemo taste loved the food so much we were back three days later for more! read more

Arancini, goat cheese walnut salad, and grilled eggplant. All very tasty and fresh. Cozy neighborhood spot, recommended over the other Italian places nearby. Could hear the chicken/veal being pounded in the kitchen, patrons looked around with quizzical looks, wait staff came out and told us the source of the noise. We chuckled. The interior is a bit kitchy with faux brick and fireplace, but that doesn't take away to much from the food. Helps keep the price point down. read more

I'm not sure what the buzz are all about but this place is just okay to me. I got pasta with dried tomato and chicken and I wish they only gave me a quarter of their pasta and more dried tomato. Typical pasta. I feel like my boyfriend could make better pasta then this. Not horrible tho. read more

I went last weekend after an evening downtown. It was crowded, but they seated us pretty quickly. It's a bit loud, but not so loud that you can't hear the people at your table. Service was fine, but there were a few times I had an empty water glass. Food is good -- decent bread, good salad, and the Chicken Cardinale was good. I totally enjoyed my Malbec -- get the Malbec; it's good. Celiac/Gluten Review: The menu warns you there can be cross-contamination, and they were right. My dining companion found a glutenous spaghetti noodle in his gluten-free penne after he had eaten a bit. He has had a full-on celiac reaction this week. (We didn't make a stink, as the menu had warned us -- and it was too late to do anything at that point.) The upshot: they don't have good cross-contamination procedures if your gluten avoidance is an allergy, not a preference. read more

I was meeting my friend for lunch. They tuck in all the customers in one corner and our table was buried behind a big group. It was hard to get attention from the server and our lunch break became longer due to that. I had tortellini and the food was good. It has a good combination of sweetness and saltiness. read more

I came here for lunch with close friends today. Greeting & Service: The service was quite nice; when I first walked in, servers asked me if I wanted to sit at the bar, and offered me something to drink. (I was waiting for a friend coming from work and another who I was giving directions to from the metro). The order: I ordered a delicious eggplant salad priced around $9; eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables but it's a peculiar thing to cook--one must have the precise steaming, frying/baking, what-have-you. Eggplant: Olazzo cooks the eggplant well; the texture is soft, and not greasy (a common mistake amongst restaurants serving the stuff). There is fine breading; I wish the eggplant were a tad softer for slicing purposes, but they did fine otherwise. Salad: The salad was delicious too--and generously portioned; I'm a light eater so I could only finish 1/2 of my plate but it was good. Quick Service: My friend and I were in a hurry because we were volunteering at a MLK event, and Olazzo promised they'd have the dishes out quick (and they did). Overall: Impeccable, friendly service, filling (& delectable) lunch food, and in good company. Four stars. read more

Bad food, bad service, bad seating :(. -food very bland no seasoning -inattentive servers, left my finished appetizer plates and salad bowls on my table until my food came out and even then i had to ask them to remove the dirty plates. -they messed up my order And my fried calamari came out waaaay too quick to be just made. -never got my free bowl of bread like everyone else did until i asked lol - seating was terrible, tables no less than a foot away from each other. read more

A personal favorite in Bethesda for sit-down Italian in a casual and cozy atmosphere and a popular choice with all my co-workers for staff lunches. + The bread here is outstanding and worth noting. Crusty on the outside, soft on the inside, and served warm and wonderful. I would take a loaf or five home with me if I could. + Half-price wine bottles on Mondays and $5 martinis on Tuesday. I'm just sayin'. + The vast majority of the food is prepared well and served in ample portions. I really enjoy their Chicken Cardinale, Linguini with Clams and the Chicken Parm sandwich. No special frills or high-end foodie Italian here, just solid recipes with ingredients that seem fresh. + I mostly come for lunch (so I can't speak for the restaurant when they're at their busiest), but I've always had excellent service here. Bread and beverages are refilled with a smile, orders are taken expediently, the staff know the menu well and are pleasant and accommodating. + A few tables of outdoor seating are available when the weather is warmer. + Being completely secure in my masculine heterosexuality, I feel it's my duty to inform the ladies out there what a few of my dining companions have consistently noticed and commented on: that is, the hosts/owners are quite handsome (I believe "hot" is the word that was actually most used) and very nice. Do with that what you will. - It is a small place that goes from cozy to cramped very quickly. Our big lunch crowd once trapped two poor ladies at their table and it took a lot of shuffling of chairs and jostling to get them out of the restaurant and on their way. - Some of the dishes were misses for me. I enjoy a little spice, but I thought the Roman salad just tasted kind of weird. I'm also not a huge fan of their Alfredo sauce, which was a tad too creamy (to be fair, it is advertised as just that) and heavy for my tastes. read more

My husband and I tried this restaurant together tonight. It is very popular on weekends and they do not take reservations. Fortunately when we got there we were given the last table. We had calamari for appetizer. The fish was fried so crispy but the inside is soft and juicy. I had spaghetti with mild Italian sausages. A plus. They also have a decent wine selection and the desert menu is quite tempting. It was a relaxing experience with excellent food. The service was fast as friendly. read more

Pretty good Italian fare. I have to admit I have high standards for Italian, so maybe I'm being a bit harsh, but the food is average and so is the service and atmosphere. We went on a Monday night so it definitely wasn't busy. They won't take reservations, even for a party of 7 on a night that was slow. Hard to find because the street number is not on door. Food is a bit overdone. Pasta a bit mushy. Appetizers were basic. Coffee was good, cannoli overly sweet. Bar area seems nice and cozy. Will try again next time I'm in town. read more

I'd walked by this place so many times before ever eating here, but now that I have, I think I'll have to make a trip back soon. It's a cute spot for a date. It is on the smaller side, so you might have to time it right if you don't want to wait. The place was pretty packed when we went, but we were there for a later dinner so only had to wait about 10 min for a table (conveniently enough time to get our drinks started at the bar). Fresh, warm bread, great start, followed by salads. I decided to go with the shrimp rose--shrimp, penne, in a tomato cream sauce--simple but delicious. Very generous portions, which I struggled to finish (ok, I failed... but that means leftovers!), and very reasonable prices, what's not to like? Hopefully next time I'll have room for dessert! read more

Never trust someone who doesn't eat to recommend a restaurant. The atmosphere is cute and cozy and the food is adequate. It's certainly not mouth-watering good as some people friends note though. They have a very limited menu and the only thing they seem to do right are the salad and the penne rosa pasta. That's the only dish I now get when I go because everything else is just mediocre and will adequately satisfy a grumbling stomach. read more

This place serves traditional Italian food and it's pretty good. I got the eggplant parmesan and it was pretty standard. The space is really tiny with little standing room area, so hopefully you won't be waiting long. I think the best thing about this place is their extensive martini and drink menu. The drinks we got were really good. Oh and the canoli was yummy too! I would definitely rather go to this place than a large chain Italian restaurant that serves the same quality food. It's all about the ambience...even though there was a TV in the fireplace with a picture of a roaring fire on. It was kinda funny. read more

Love the always excellent cuisine and cozy atmosphere. The rose sauce is to die for. Olazzo's is our family's go-to dining out and carry in place when we guaranteed deliciousness. read more

I've only been to Olazzo twice, but I cannot wait to go back again & again. First time was a Tuesday night before they expanded - delicious, good service. But the second time was this past Saturday night, after the expansion and I was blown away! My mother was in town and wanted to treat me, my boyfriend and roommate to a nice meal. I was in a comfort food mood so we went with Olazzo. Got there at 6:30 pm, just before the rush & the wait. The tables at Olazzo are crowded in and it's loud, but it's one of those places where the noise around you settles into a din - it was loud, but I couldn't make out conversations. I could perfectly hear those at my table thought. The lighting is just a touch too low for my taste, but it wasn't outrageously dark. Our server was fantastic. I didn't catch his name, but he wears glasses, shaved head, goatee and tattoos. He was the perfect amount of conversational - lingered at our table for a few moments each time to converse, but knew when to leave us alone. He also made great suggestions as to what to eat! We started with a bottle of wine, dates stuffed with cheese and wrapped in pancetta and the calamari. The dates were amazing, but you can't really go wrong with something like that. The calamari was excellent. Succulent, the breading was not too light, not too thick and very flavoral. And the marina dipping sauce was sooo good, I kept dipping my bread in it. My mother had the gnocchi bologense after our server sold her on it. The bologense sauce was so chunky and thick, each gnocchi was covered in meat and tomato sauce. Awesome. My roommate had the linguine and clams. He said there were the perfect amount of clams and that he could taste the briny-ness, which he enjoyed. My boyfriend had the shrimp pesto. The pesto sauce tasted like it was made to order, like the basil had just been chopped. It was sharp and delicious. I normally choose a more adventurous dish, but I could not deny the siren call of the fettuccine alfredo with chicken milanese. I was served 2 large pieces of lightly breaded and fried moist chicken on top of a perfectly size portion of lightly dressed fettuccine alfredo. Normally alfredo dishes are almost soupy, but the noodles were just lightly coated in a cheesy cream sauce. Best fettuccine alfredo I have ever had. Next time I want to try the spinach and roasted garlic tortellini! We splurged and got all 3 desserts to split - tiramisu, cannoli and NUTELLA CHEESECAKE. Nutella cheesecake was like a gift from the gods - those are two of my absolute most favorite things. The cannoli and tiramisu were classic and perfect - not overly sweet and they held up well. The cheesecake was amazing. Not too sweet, a perfect blend of cheesecake flavor and nutella flavor. And the crust was almost the best part. The service at Olazzo is spot on - it was a busy Saturday night, but we never felt ignored. The staff was clearly helping each other out - the busy boys were on top of filling up our waters, the managers were clearly helping out and engaging customers and the servers were all checking on each other's tables. It was such an enjoyable experience with simple, perfectly prepared pastas at extremely reasonable prices - dinner for 4 with 2 appetizers, 3 desserts and 1 bottle of wine came to about $200, with tip. I plan to become a regular! read more

Olazzo is my new favorite Italian restaurant. It is a family and locally owned restaurant that is wrapped in charm. The ambience was relaxing, and the family pictures that decorated the walls were beautiful. Our waiter was so kind, and we experienced very attentive service for the duration of our stay. He even took time to write us a list of apartment suggestions, as we were in Maryland/D.C. apartment hunting for our upcoming move. The food is made from scratch, and perfectly done-so. I had the ricotta gnocchi which I am still swooning over. The white wine sauce was made in house, and the plate was filled with the perfect amount of made-to-order gnocchi. The house-made tiramisu was WONDERFUL, and I highly recommend it for dessert. The free bread with olive oil and balsamic for dipping was the perfect way to start our dining experience. We will most certainly return when we make our move. read more

I always get the Pasta Alla Checka and it's amazing every time. Caprese salad and calamari are fantastic apps. The place is small and cozy. Service is great. Love it here! read more

I love Olazzo. Really good and cheap italian food. It's small with very few tables and limited outdoor seating. What got me addicted was the loaves of fresh-baked, warm, crusty bread which you can slather butter on...so good! My favorite dish is the Pasta all Checca for $7.50 and they'll add shrimp for a few extra bucks. You'll have garlicky dragon breath for hours after but it's worth it. read more

I had to order dinner for 20 relatives with about 90 minutes notice. Olazzo came through in the clutch with three full pans of food cooked perfectly. Thanks for saving the day! read more

Awesome restaurant! Service was fast and efficient. The food was good! Got fettuccine Alfredo and was made absolutely perfect! Def a place I will come back! read more

Finally, a decent Italian place! Wanted to try this place for the longest time after hearing about it from my friend that raved about it. Went here on Friday for lunch. Service was quick and friendly. This definitely isn't the biggest place so seating can be tight. I ordered the chicken cardinale and it was baller. Ingredients were fresh and the portion was huge. Lots of chicken in it. The other 5 people I was with liked their food too. This place definitely cares about their food and it shows. Definitely will come back. It's become my go to Italian spot. read more

I think this place is good for the value, but not my favorite Italian restaurant. I had the ravioli rose, which I thought was tasty, but the caprese salad was pretty sad. It was pretty crowded that night, but the waitstaff was very friendly, and accommodating when we wanted to switch tables from outdoor to indoor because it looked like it might rain. Parking, as with any place in Bethesda on the weekend nights, can be a trial. read more

I love love love Olazzo. Italian food is probably my second favorite and this spot is the to go to place for good Italian eats! i would walk by this place almost everyday for the last five years of working in Bethesda and one day decided to go in with my sister and a coworker. I ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken and it was delish! My coworker had the Baked Milanese and my sister had their Greek Salad and loved it as well. I've gone back repeatedly and they never seem to disappoint. When I stopped by last week I saw the new remodel and it looks great. I highly recommend. read more

This review is going under "not recommended" by Yelp due to Yelp's bias towards small mom and pop "foodie" places and against chain restaurants. But anyhoo... I got to sample some Olazzo food due to the fact that they catered a wedding I attended. The food is absolutely terrible. To start with, there was bruschetta...absolutely tasteless and bland. And a hot mess of an antipasto platter. It looked like somebody regurgitated stale cheese and cold meats onto a plate and forgot to clean up. Tasteless meatballs and lasagna. "Rose sauce" tasted like it was made by third graders who just got off the short bus. Grilled salmon had absolutely no flavor whatsoever. I didn't even bother with the chicken parm. It looked inedible. The people serving the food were rude. And they ran out of salmon, chicken parm etc. To be fair, I haven't actually physically dined at Olazzo but having sampled their menu, I am puzzled by all the 3-5 star reviews they're getting. I find myself reading "not recommended" reviews a lot lately... read more

I had a decent meal here with my siblings last night. On Tuesdays, all martinis are $5! I had the Negroni and my sister got the Limontini. The dinner menu is about as long as the list of martinis. We ordered calamari, linguine with clams, chicken parm, and the daily special. All entrees come with salad, which was a nice touch. The bread was warm and crusty. The calamari was cooked perfectly, golden brown, a bit of crunch, lightly spiced. I had ordered the linguine with clams in a white sauce. I had only eaten granola and pancakes that day, so I inhaled nearly everything on my plate. The portions are larger than average, but is enough to warrant a doggy bag. Service was attentive without being intrusive. Dinner for three came up to be about $75 before tip. Good prices, good food, and good service. Definitely worth a return trip. read more

So delicious! The bread for the table comes out fresh and hot. We had the calamari with marinara - probably the tastiest I've ever had. I was already nearly full when my chicken parm came out, but I ended up eating the whole thing anyway. This is definitely my new go-to for Italian! read more

I'm not usually a big fan for italian food, but this place is awesome! Nice decoration inside, and the food is great. Love the mussels and shrimp&crab rose. The only drawback is it's too loud inside, we can hardly hear each other. read more

Awesome Italian!! That about sums it up, we loved the interior and had the meatball sliders... Yum! Then my husband got the chicken parm and I got the Chicken Cardinale ... Holy cow!!! The chicken parm is pretty fantastic, but the chicken Cardinale, I will go back just for this! It was AMAZING!! I don't give five stars to many places but this spot earned it!! read more

Underwhelming service and food. Really sucks because we used to really enjoy this place. Last time I went I got the caprese salad, which was diced, sad looking tomato and tiny bits of cheese. It was so bland. The spaghetti and meatballs were less flavorful as well. Sad to see it going downhill! read more

I met my two best friends there for dinner and drinks. The wait staff was exceptional. They were attentive and didn't get exasperated when we weren't sure what to order the first three times they came around. The food was amazing. I had the Chicken Cardinale, which is a chicken penne pasta dish with a vodka cream sauce and sun-dried tomatoes. I loved the ambiance. Very rustic, warm, and tuscanish (yes, I made up a word). I would definitely go there again. Great for any type of engagement and group. read more

Dinner was great and so were the drinks!! They don't take reservations but the wait was only 15 minutes so it wasn't bad at all. We were able to fill the time with some martinis...yum! read more

I am such an italian food snob...this place is AMAZING. It is so small and so cute. I can't imagine it moving locations or anything like that because the size of the place just makes it. It's so cozy and romantic. Plus, they gave me a delicious shot for free on the night of my 21st birthday. The staff is fantastic. I just LOVE it there. read more

Went back to Olazzo, and definitely had a better experience. Service was far more attentive, and I avoided the traditional main course, sticking with a mozzarella and tomato salad instead. It is a loud and crowded restaurant, and the servers are busy (but pleasant), but food prices are reasonable and, with half-price bottles of wine, its a steal. read more

We came in for brunch , awesome spot to sit outside, the coffee was great, the omelletes are served with sweet potato and banana was awesome , egges Benedict was tasty, definitely will be back! They were so busy but waitress tried her best! read more

Olazzo - Italian Near Me - Bethesda, Maryland

The booths inside are SO comfortable and chic. I really liked the arancini, which are balls of risotto with melted cheese inside. My grilled eggplant dish was okay.. the eggplant part was good, but the spaghettini felt dry because there was no sauce. They should add marinara to this dish. read more

great italian food. the decor seems very homey. there are lots of black and white family pics hanging on the wall. food: we ordered the linguine and clams in a lemon white wine sauce and the shrimp and crab rose. the shrimp and crab rose was excellent. the sauce was pretty creamy, so if you dont like creamy sauces dont get it. the shrimp was cooked well and there were large crab chunks in the pasta. the linguine and clams in the lemon white wine sauce was amazing. they really let the flavors shine on their own and did not overdo the lemon or the garlic in the sauce. great light pasta dish. the bread they give is super crusty on the outside and soft on the inside, just the way i like it. overall, great food. i would definitely come back and try more food!! read more

This was a very pleasant dining experience. We wanted Italian and wanted to try something new and Olazzo was recommended to us. We came down a on a Wednesday night a bit past the regular dinner rush and were lucky enough to get a table outside. It was an unusually pleasant summer night and even though the outdoor tables are near a street it was not too noisy or smelly or crowded with foot traffic. The friendly wait staff was quick with the menus, water, and bread and oil and kept up the right level of attentiveness throughout our meal. We opted for cocktails: a "prosecco popsicle" (which is a popsicle in a glass of prosecco) and a plain old dry martini. I can't speak for the popsicle (my friend seemed to enjoy it) but the (gin) martini was unexpectedly good. It was golden in color and had a very smooth dry taste. It was also pretty stiff or I would have had another one. Or two. Actually I could happily have knocked back a few of these but that probably wouldn't have been the best idea. Anyways. If you are into that sort of thing, they do have an extensive list of vodka martinis mixed with any variety of fancy liquors and fruit and all. Me, I'm a straight up gin-and-vermouth kind of girl. For appetizers we had the calamari, which was tender but had a pleasantly robust breading, and the arancini, which is not to be missed. Best comfort food ever. They serve the same marinara with these and it is rich and tasty. After the calamari and arancini were gone we used our bread to sop up the rest of the sauce. Small green salads preceded our meals; these were unremarkable but did serve as a refreshing transition between courses. There were several things on the entree menu I wanted to try and I ended up settling on the spinach and roasted garlic tortellini. This is cheese ravioli sauteed with mushrooms, garlic, and fresh spinach in olive oil. The special ingredient is dates and you might think this is odd but it actually was delicious. They were not light-handed with the garlic so every other bite or so, in the middle of all that awesome garlickiness I would bite into a sweet, chewy date. It was a pretty cool juxtaposition of flavors. I had a very nice glass of red wine with dinner; Olazzo has a good selection of wines by the glass, as well as reasonably priced bottles. Despite all this food, we did opt for dessert. Mine was a giant piece of cheesecake with raspberry coulis streaked over the top. I am not a fan of exceedingly sweet cheesecake (ahem...CF) and I tend to like my cheesecake simple and traditional. This was a very good piece of cheesecake. It defeated me though and I was forced to take half of it home and eat it for breakfast the next day. I'm sure I'll be back here soon. There are several more things on the menu I'd like to try. It's only a short train ride away and they have $5 martinis on Tuesdays. Also, cheesecake! read more

Turned onto Elmo instead of Elm yesterday so decided to find a place to eat lunch there. Olazzo's on Norfolk was outstanding. Quick and responsive service, delicious chicken pasta dish. That dish completely satisfied craving for pasta and chicken schnitzel. Tender and cooked to perfection. Parking was easier than what we experienced the last few times in Bethesda when we parked in the garage off of Elm. read more

I could not help but notice the startling lack of beef on the menu. For such a hefty price tag, one should reasonably expect more beef for their buck. read more