Italian restaurants Washington DC food lovers adore are everywhere, and that is a great problem to have! However, it is also a confusing one, because roughly half of them share four or five of the same words, rearranged like a shell game.
Why Italian Restaurants Washington DC Diners Love Are So Easy To Mix Up
Osteria this. Acqua that. Something ending in “-ina.” Something else ending in “-ella.” You book a reservation feeling confident, pull up to the curb, and suddenly wonder if you meant the other one!
Therefore, here is an honest attempt to sort the lookalikes by neighborhood, because the surest way to tell two Italian spots apart in DC is to remember where they actually live.
The Osteria Problem: Four Italian Restaurants Washington DC Regulars Always Mix Up
“Osteria” means a casual Italian tavern. In DC, however, it means good luck keeping these straight.
Osteria Morini sits on the Navy Yard waterfront, serving northern Italian plates from Emilia-Romagna. Meanwhile, Osteria Mozza is the Georgetown newcomer from Stephen Starr and Nancy Silverton, famous for its mozzarella bar at the entrance. Additionally, Osteria Al Volo is the cozy pasta-focused spot in Adams Morgan on Columbia Road. Finally, Sette Osteria anchors the corner of Connecticut and R in Dupont Circle and has been there since before most of the others existed. All four are Italian. Moreover, all four are osterias. None of them are interchangeable!
The Morini Multiverse
Speaking of Osteria Morini, meet its little sister: Cucina Morini. Same ownership, same chef lineage under Matt Adler, completely different neighborhood. Cucina Morini leans Sicilian and coastal, and it lives in Mount Vernon Triangle at 4th and K Streets NW. On the other hand, Osteria Morini leans northern Italian and lives in Navy Yard on Water Street SE. If your friend says “I loved Morini last night,” your first question should be which one!
The Fiola Family Tree: Italian Restaurants Washington DC Owes To Fabio Trabocchi
Fabio Trabocchi is a James Beard Award winner and the closest thing DC has to an Italian restaurant dynasty. Consequently, that is wonderful for diners and terrible for anyone trying to keep his restaurants straight.
Fiola is the Michelin-starred flagship in Penn Quarter on Pennsylvania Avenue. Next, Fiola Mare is the glamorous Georgetown waterfront sibling with Potomac views and a seafood cart. In addition, Sfoglina is his pasta-focused concept with three DC-area locations in Downtown, Van Ness, and Rosslyn across the river. Three brands, five addresses, one chef. Write it down!
The Filomena Situation
Filomena Ristorante has been a Georgetown institution on Wisconsin Avenue overlooking the C&O Canal since 1983, the kind of place with “pasta mamas” rolling dough in the front window and holiday decorations that rival the White House. It is also the restaurant people most often confuse with Floriana in Dupont Circle because the names differ by just a few letters. When you are texting a reservation link to your date, triple-check that spelling!
The Acqua Confusion
Acqua al 2 is the cozy Tuscan spot on 2nd Street SE on Capitol Hill near Eastern Market, a longtime date-night favorite descended from the original 1978 Florence restaurant and famous for its blueberry filet mignon. By contrast, Acqua Bistecca is the brand-new Michael Mina restaurant out in City Ridge on the upper Northwest side, a see-and-be-seen hotspot with whipped cannellini bean spreads and a much glossier price tag. Same first word. However, very different evenings!
The Floriana And Floreria Twist
Floriana is a beloved Dupont Circle trattoria on 17th Street NW tucked into a historic brick rowhouse, widely considered to have some of the best lasagna in town. On the other hand, Floreria Atlantico is in Georgetown on Wisconsin Avenue, and here is the twist: it is not Italian at all! Instead, it is the DC outpost of the Buenos Aires cocktail bar ranked among the World’s 50 Best, hidden behind a working flower shop, and its sister restaurant Brasero Atlantico serves Argentine wood-fired cuisine. If you were hunting for spaghetti and ended up sipping a smoked Negroni garnished with eucalyptus, congratulations — you have found the most confusing name in the whole city!
The Olio Question
Olio e Più is the Italian trattoria on the corner of 14th and G Streets NW in Penn Quarter, one block from the White House. The name translates roughly to “oil and more,” and the spelling takes a few tries to get right. Thankfully, it is the only “Olio” in the lineup, so once you nail the accent over the ù, you are home free.
More Italian Restaurants Washington DC Foodies Should Keep Straight
L’Ardente on I Street downtown is the glam one with the gold-plated pizza oven. Meanwhile, Masseria in NoMa is Nicholas Stefanelli’s Michelin-starred tasting counter. Additionally, Centrolina holds down CityCenter under Amy Brandwein. Grazie Nonna on 14th Street has a sister called Grazie Mille right next door, because of course it does. Furthermore, Il Canale is the Georgetown pizza destination on the waterfront, and Caruso’s Grocery is the red-sauce dream on Capitol Hill. Finally, 2 Amys in Cleveland Park is still the gold standard for Neapolitan pies, Red Hen in Bloomingdale has been quietly excellent since 2013, Tosca downtown is the old guard, and Obelisk on P Street in Dupont is Peter Pastan’s tiny tasting-menu treasure.
For more DC dining coverage, check out our Washington Lobbyist dining archives and related neighborhood guides.
The Takeaway
DC has no shortage of wonderful Italian food! However, it does have a serious shortage of unique restaurant names. When in doubt, therefore, ask two follow-up questions: which neighborhood, and whose chef? Those two data points will almost always tell you which Morini, which Fiola, which Osteria, and which Acqua your friend actually meant!
And if someone invites you to Floreria Atlantico expecting pasta — bring your cocktail appetite instead!
