Nestled along Old Dominion Drive, The Italian Oven is the kind of neighborhood trattoria that…read moretrades culinary theatrics for something far more enduring--warmth, familiarity, and a deeply satisfying sense of Italian home cooking. The restaurant describes itself as a place "where guests feel like family," and that ethos permeates the entire experience, from the convivial dining room to the hearty, classic dishes that arrive at the table. This is unapologetically a family-style local Italian restaurant, the sort where dishes are generous, conversations linger, and regulars greet the staff like old friends. The menu leans toward comforting Italian standards--pasta, seafood, and classic parmigiana dishes--prepared with an emphasis on simplicity and satisfying flavor rather than modern reinterpretation. The Oyster Chowder makes for a particularly inviting beginning. Velvety and indulgently creamy, the soup carries a gentle brininess from the oysters that balances the richness of the broth. It is the kind of starter that quietly sets the tone for the meal--comforting, generous, and thoughtfully seasoned. Among the entrées, the Eggplant Parmigiana stands out as one of the finest renditions in town. The eggplant is delicately breaded and cooked to a tender, almost silky consistency before being layered with marinara and melted Italian cheeses. The result is deeply satisfying without feeling heavy, a classic executed with admirable restraint. Equally impressive is the Calamari Marinara. The calamari itself is remarkably tender--no small feat in a dish where rubbery textures are all too common. Here, the seafood is perfectly cooked, lightly crisp where it should be, and paired with a bright marinara that adds just the right acidity. To conclude, the pistachio gelato offers a gentle, elegant finish. It leans toward the creamy side with a subtle pistachio fragrance and only a restrained sweetness--refreshing rather than cloying, and an ideal palate cleanser after a hearty Italian meal. In an era when many restaurants chase novelty, The Italian Oven succeeds by doing something far more meaningful: delivering dependable, soulful Italian comfort food in a welcoming neighborhood setting. It may not strive for haute cuisine, but its warmth, consistency, and well-executed classics make it a quietly cherished staple of McLean's dining scene. If anything, the experience feels less like dining out and more like being invited to a generous Italian family table--exactly the kind of restaurant every neighborhood hopes to have.

I first heard of The Italian Oven around the time that the owner of Esposito's restaurant in…read moreFairfax was being forced to close her restaurant. This was due to the landlord telling her she had two weeks to close her place, as he intended to put a car wash in its spot. I kept an eye on this story. That's how I discovered that Maria Esposito ended up working at her cousin's restaurant, The Italian Oven. Thus, the place had been on my radar, and finally, we got there. We were here on a Saturday for an early dinner. The place was almost empty at the time, so we were told to pick whichever table we wanted. We chose a booth that was by a window. The place does have an Italian restaurant ambiance, complete with checkered green and white tablecloths. Our server was prompt in getting to us. We gave him our drink orders. I had water while my husband had a Heineken Zero. At that time, we placed our appetizer order, which was fried zucchini. Their menu is overwhelming. It was tough trying to figure out what to try. Finally, I decided to try their spaghetti aglio e olio, and my husband had spaghetti with Italian sausage. We both chose to have side salads. The salads had a nice creamy, garlicky dressing. However, they also had an overabundance of button mushrooms, as well as pickled beets. I'm no fan of either of these items, so my husband gladly took them from my salad. As for the zucchini, we got spoiled after all those years of having it at Esposito's. The Italian Oven's version was a close second to Esposito's. My spaghetti aglio e olio was well seasoned. It contained plenty of sautéed garlic, just enough olive oil, and a sprinkle of black pepper. The spaghetti was cooked al dente. My husband liked his dish.

Quality is always solid here. And the folks that work here are good people too. It's exactly what…read moreyou expect from a Papa John's.

Worst pizza delivery experience I have ever had. Made order via app and asked for 11:00 delivery…read more(important because the kids have a very short lunch break), which was confirmed. I waited until 11:10 to call about the late delivery, and got to listen to an abundance of voice mail options. The robot assured me that my delivery was 4 minutes away. I called again at 11:15, and it assured me that my delivery was 4 minutes away. I tried to talk to a person, but got sent to voice mail hell again. The manager I finally got on the phone began talking over me almost immediately and would not stop talking. He told me that I had ordered for 11:15 delivery. No acknowledgment of his error, just telling me I was wrong to expect delivery when promised. I'm not sure what the $5 delivery fee is for if the store just brings your stuff when *they* decide it's convenient. Driver was rude, when he finally got here. If I could UN-tip, I would. The pizza was tasty, but I'll never order from you again, Papa John's McLean.

We spent the first hour out on their covered patio until the dark clouds started rolling in. When…read moreit started to look like the rain was imminent, we moved inside and this is where the party was at. We brought our chicken sliders and wings inside and copped a spot on the far end of the restaurant. There were quite a few people already here and it wasn't even 6pm yet. I thought this was a great sports bar and there are not too many like this in the McLean area. We each went thru 3 Coronas a piece, and the chicken that we ordered was mad good. Our server was awesome and always managed to show up at our table whenever we needed something. If you are out this way, I would highly recommend giving this sports bar/ restaurant a tty. Their wings are right on time.

The bottom line: 3.5 stars. Fast and decent chain lunch with friendly staff and relatively cheap…read more The hot honey/pepperoni pizza and Caesar salad express lunch came out fast; but, the pizza was a little greasy and tasted like a chain restaurant pizza despite being baked in a brick oven. The Caesar had limited dressing and also tasted like a chain restaurant salad bar. The flavored lemonades looked good, but I didn't try one. The waitress kindly split the tab without complaint. Nice open room with dark woods. I wouldn't not come here again.

We had a pizza party for lunch at work last week, which meant a long line of overly excited…read moreemployees waiting for pizza and salad from Listrani's. I tried a bit of the CAESAR SALAD, which was pretty standard with a good Caesar dressing. I also had a slice of the MEAT LOVER pizza -- topped with Italian sausage, pepperoni, ham, bacon, meatball toppings -- which was fine but nothing memorable. A few of my coworkers grabbed multiple slices to try different flavors, but overall we agreed the the pizza was more about sustenance than enjoyment and fairly unremarkable.

Happy to be leaving this review. Living in the general northern virginia region I struggle to find…read morea great buffalo chicken wrap or grilled chicken caesar wrap. Whenever I do find one, it's part of an american casual restaurant menu priced at $15+ and mostly lettuce and tomatoes. This place you can grab one for $10 (plus a bag of chips). It comes 12 inches with a solid amount of chicken that's well sauced. Service was quick, think less than 15 minutes. Small place to park and dine in as it appears most people take things to go. However, there was a covered outdoor seating area. Very excited to try more of what they have to offer!

I can't count on fingers and toes the number of deliveries I've had for the past 5+ years. Domino's…read moreis very consistent with fresh ingredients and hardly any grease. Never had an issue with an order and delivery takes 30-45 min. All the food is delivered pipping hot and on point - pizza, cheesy bread, lava cake, wings, etc. The delivery guy even had a smile on his face. A simple hand-tossed cheese pizza with hearty marinara sauce with roasted red pepper and spinach hits the spot! While I enjoy the light and crispiness of the thin crust pizzas, I love the garlicky crust of the hand-tossed pizza. The creamy alfredo sauce is a bit too bland, while the garlic white sauce tastes kind of dry. The Medium Pan Pizza is surprisingly really tasty! It's a bit doughy and has a nice buttery bottom with crispy edges. It's a notch above Pizza Hut! Love the Rewards - spend $60 and get a free Medium 2 topping pizza on the house. You only get a 1 week to redeem - so you gotta be quick! Not getting paid to write this review - just a die-hard fan!

I love Domino's pizza especially when you're having a late dinner. I actually prefer Listrani's…read morepizza, but they were already closed. Though I've been going to McLean Domino's for several years, I hesitate coming back. I may have to go elsewhere due to the not so great customer service experience I had this evening. NOTE: My daughter has a food sensitivity to dairy. Important thing to remember for this story. I placed our normal order of extravaganzza and meatzza pizza (half with cheese and the other NO CHEESE). However, as you can see with the photo below that didn't happen. I get it; sometimes this happens with special orders. But normally there's an apology involved and a quick resolution, basically a new pizza is made. This time we got into a much heated debate that provolone cheese IS a cheese. Though the manager did agree that he wouldn't add sausage to a "no meat" pizza. The debate kept going on and on. Basically I had to ask him if he was going to fix this issue. That's all I really want. Mistakes happen, but then the right thing to do is to fix it. The wrong thing to do is argue with a hangry customer by denying her feeding her hungry family without any trips to the hospital. Eventually we got our pizza and apology. No matter how hard the the manager continued on with the provolone is NOT a cheese debate, we stopped arguing with him and let him have the last word. I just wanted to go home and eat my cold extravaganzza pizza and feed the rest of the family. Thats why they got a 2 star because at least he fixed the issue. Lessons learned? 1. Domino's system is flawed. Provolone isn't flagged when there's a request for no cheese. Manager recommended that I list all the ingredients to not include on to my order. 2. Always specify your allergies or food sensitivities in the comments. Though I highly doubt my experience this evening would have been any different. 3. Time to find a new Dominos.

I've been looking for a solid New York style pizza in the DMV and my search brought me to the Red…read moreTomato. I was thoroughly pleased with the pizza and will definitely be back to try the Chicago style.

Best pizza spot in McLean. They have various options of sandwiches, salads you name it! I would…read morerecommend this place for everyone reading this!

(January 2026) I…read moreused to go to the Reston location years ago when I lived out there (2006-2012 in Herndon). Now, my wife and I have been going to this location for the past several years. Sometimes, we're also here with her family. Things to note: it does get loud with the local high school kids hanging out and the theme of the decor is New York professional sports teams. We've mostly gotten their cheese steaks and pizzas. I like their cheese steaks better while my wife and her family prefer their pizzas. The staff have always been friendly. We hope to keep coming back!

This is a place that I enjoy coming as a break during work or a break from life after a busy day at…read morework. The atmosphere makes me feel like I'm in an open and community spot. There are tables and televisions at the correct angels to show but not distract. I can come here and want to not see or interact with anyone! And I get it here. Their lunch hours are busy at times but I still feel like I am alone at my table and no patients around. Their staff know you but they also learn you. At days I talk for hours and other days I just want to say hi and be left alone. The staff here makes me feel exactly how I want each time. They also bring the food to you without a word! Sometimes I'll just get a nod when I feel private and sometimes I'll get small talked when I'm being talkative! It is hard to find a spot to get a slice AND get these feelings of a good place to be. All the employees are hard working. They worked longer. They worked harder. And they worked well. Much better than myself. The good gets 4/5. The staffing and vibe of the lobby. 5/5.

Ordered poke bowls for delivery several times from Ubereats and the food has always been great…read morequality. Not Wegman's fault but everytime I order the poke bowls (with rice at the bottom) I always end up getting the poke salad (with shredded zucchini at the bottom, don't like raw zucchini. Otherwise have enjoyed everything: poke, pastries, sushi, etc.

From the owner: Order delicious, freshly prepared meals for carryout or curbside pickup. Catering favorites are…read morealso available to make entertaining easy. Order beautifully prepared party platters, ready-to-heat entrées, sub and sandwich trays, and more with Wegmans Catering 2GO. Choose your favorite restaurant foods like pizza, subs, sushi, soups, salads, mac & cheese, desserts, and more! Meals and catering can be ordered ahead for takeout. Customize your favorite foods, pay, and redeem digital coupons right in the app!

Finally got a chance to try their pizza and we ordered the large Pitbull Pizza for takeout -- it…read moretasted great. As someone who puts chili on almost everything, this one really hit the spot. Yes, it's spicy, so don't order it if you can't handle heat! I especially liked the salami and the mix of meats; they complemented the spicy sauce really well. I just wish they added a bit more mozzarella -- that would easily make it a five-star pizza.

We were looking for a place that would accommodate my friend's dog and lost dog cafe not only was…read morehappy to have Milo (doggo) and us, they treated him like family. Our server went out of his way to make sure Milo had a bowl of water right away and gave him plenty of head scratches throughout our stay. We sat outside on the patio and were comfortable with an umbrella and plenty of space. The pizza was good, the bbq chicken had a nice strong flavor. The crust flopped a little so I had a bit of trouble folding it like a New York slice but the flavor was exceptional. Perfect pit stop for a warm day.

Overall both food and service were good. The apps were yummy but overpriced IMO...I felt like the…read morearancini were small and supposed to have meat ragu which we saw no signs of, the cuoppo misto had more fillers than seafood and $18 for brussel sprouts: but I understand their location is high end lol Pizzas were yummy too but again felt they could have filled the pizza out more...the ratio of pizza to crust was off and then having to pay that premium price for a personal sized pizza So for us, we can say we tried it but probably wouldn't rush to go back

Hubby and I stopped by for dinner last night, and we're so glad we did! I ordered the buffalo…read moremozzarella beet salad (Bufala & Terra) and the Margherita Pizza, while hubby went with the Chicken Milanese. The buffalo mozzarella beet salad normally comes with arugula, and I asked to substitute lettuce, but they weren't able to accommodate that--which was a bit disappointing. That said, the salad was still very good. The roasted beets were definitely the highlight, along with the delicious toppings like chickpea purée and pistachios. One thing to note is that the buffalo mozzarella was very salty. The Margherita Pizza was the star of the meal--absolutely delicious! In fact, hubby liked it even more than his chicken Milanese. While he enjoyed his dish, the portion was quite small, so he ended up eating half of my pizza. His entrée also came with just a tiny arugula side salad, and it really could have used a carb to make it more filling. One thing to note is that when we arrived and told the hosts that we didn't have a reservation, they didn't seem too pleased. The restaurant was half empty so they still sat us, but this seemed like an issue. Our server was nice and attentive at the beginning but was nowhere to be found towards the end when I needed a refill on my iced tea. Overall, we had a great experience and are already planning to come back--next time, we'll both be ordering pizza!