Fiola

I was extremely disappointed with my experience! Ordered the soft shell crab but it was not soft and the portion size was minimal especially for the price! The bread was great; wine was good and the dessert was really good (lemon tart ice cream) but again the portion size was minimal. In the end i felt i paid an arm and a leg for an appetizer. Our server was a very nice young man! Would never go back nor would i ever recommend!

I had been dying to have lunch at Fiola for a long time, given my fond memories of a delicious meal that I’d once enjoyed at Fiola Mare in Georgetown many moons ago. It’s definitely a luxury spot — expect to spend about $ 60/​person on your meal, drinks not included — so go with someone special who loves food! And this is for lunch, so I can only imagine how expensive a dinner bill at Fiola must get. I made a reservation for 6 people at 12pm on a Wednesday, but there was plenty of availability to my surprise, compared to the jam-​packed Rasika at lunch time.
Fiola offers an option of choosing an appetizer + an entrée for $ 38, which is probably the closest thing to a deal you will get here. Appetizer choices included tuna crudo, burrata, and tomato gazpacho — I went with the latter. Oh my god, best gazpacho ever! It was a gorgeous red, with a plop of ricotta in the middle, and cherry halves dotting the soup. I had never thought of adding cherry to gazpacho, but it worked.
There were numerous pasta and seafood entrees to choose from; it was slightly overwhelming. I had the «simply grilled» branzino which the menu listed as coming with «spring local vegetables» which ended up being asparagus. The branzino had a perfectly crunchy skin, which was my favorite part. The asparagus was very okay; it was bathed in some type of thick, white sauce (I was unable to tell if it was cheese; it reminded me of alfredo sauce), which I thought was honestly a little gross.
The dessert menu was sparse with only three options. I had the tiramisu which came in the most precious goblet ever and topped with coffee ice cream. There was also espresso-​flavored gelatin in the middle of the tiramisu, which was a little odd, but I appreciated the creative take.
My coworker commented that the portion size was great at Fiola: not too big that you feel like you’re at Cheesecake Factory, not too small that you’re bitter. You probably won’t take leftovers home.

Excellent service, Delicious food, everything was great. The price is high, but worth it!

I stumbled upon this place waiting for a friend to meet me at the National Mall and I must say I had a great experience.
I was greeted at the door which I did not have to open as the staff is standing by waiting to greet you and open the door for you.
Upon entry I was greeted by the hostesses before planting myself at the bar right up front.
I was quickly met by one of the bartenders who was very polite and very attentive.
Being short on time I ordered a quick appetizer, the Ahi Tuna Crudo & Porcini Mushrooms. This was absolutely delicious. This was my first time eating raw fish and now I’m sure it won’t be my last. All the ingredients were super fresh and played very well!
Prior to getting my appetizer I was given a complimentary croissant and something else I can’t recall the name of but they both were so good!
Though pricey, I would certainly come back and see what else Fiola’s has to offer!

Another outstanding dining experience at Fiola. We chose the four courses + dessert tasting menu which was priced at $ 95 a person. Looking back, we should of ordered three courses because we were so full to appreciate the last dish and dessert. I was happy to hear we could choose the famed lobster ravioli as one of our entrees at no extra charge.
The service was attentive and fast. No complaints. They even gave us a glass of champagne to help celebrate our anniversary. For drinks, I really love their aged Manhattan. That is my new favorite cocktail.
I would stick with seafood and pasta for your courses. This is what Fabio is known for. You will go home happy. The dishes are well executed although a little rich. I can’t imagine eating here every month. I highly recommend Fiola for your special occasion and such.

We chose Fiola to celebrate my birthday, and I’m so glad I did. The service was impeccable, and the attention to detail definitely made the meal memorable. Chef Trabocchi gave me a birthday card and a complimentary dessert, which was the perfect ending to an exquisite meal.
Lobster bisque — chunks of lobster, creamy both, husband loved it.
Bucatini — good, has 1 large prawn, but too much noodles.
Lobster ravioli — their signature dish, it was as good as everyone says. Large chunks of lobster, perfectly cooked, absolutely amazing!
Gnocchi frutti di mare — also delicious, very rich and buttery
Lamb — good sauce, but underseasoned
Drinks — husband loved his old fashioned Manhattans, in fact he ordered 3!
Desert — chocolate and caramel — scrumptious! The name does not do it justice.
The meal for two was pricey, but worth it. This is place I wouldn’t go to on a regular basis, but highly recommend it for special occasions!

Celebrated my birthday here after being disappointed the previous evening at another establishment. Right from the start the staff at Fiola made me and my parents feel welcomed and special. Our server and the manager paid close attention to every detail. They started us off with a flight of prosecco with our amuse (a scrumptious English pea panna cotta) and then a flight of champagne with our entrees. Fiola provided absolutely impeccable service the entire evening.
The osso buco and sweetbread tortellini was totally divine and my favorite dish of the evening. The lobster ravioli was succulent and decadent without being too rich. The burrata was whimsically light and expertly paired with a fresh salad of micro greens. My waygu beef was perfectly cooked and melted like butter in my mouth, I fell in love with the bone marrow sauce. My mom had the suckling pig which was ultra juicy with the most delicate sweetness. My dad chose the veal ribeye topped with foie gras, a lovely and sumptuous dish.
The desserts were a pistachio cream and strawberry tart (wonderful and unlike anything I’ve tasted before), a fluffy chocolate thing and another strawberry thing both of which were the perfect ending to our incredible meal.
I loved everything about my night at Fiola!

Wonderful experience at Fiola. Sat in the table by the bar as bf and I just prefer more casual settings for dining. Amuse bouche was fantastic as were the Scallop carpaccio and tuna crudo. They start you out right. The house bread they serve melts in your mouth. The osso buco tortellini was to die for. Short rib was delicious. Prawn bucatini I would not recommend over other options on the menu. The bucatini wasn’t quite al dente and prawn not as fresh as it should be — still great flavors though in the sauce though. Service was fantastic, great ambiance, love the julep cocktails. Literally the only thing that didn’t impress me was the dessert so I think they could work on that.

My boyfriend and I came here on the day I got back from a week long vacation, so we headed out for a nice dinner to celebrate being home. The appetizer was delicious we had the Maine scallop carpaccio, the sommelier came over and gave us a wonderful suggestion for wine. Both she and our server were great conversationalists, did not hover, and gave us phenomenal service.
The main course is the only reason i’m giving 4 stars as opposed to 5. My branzino with oysters and caviar was amazing. Perfectly cooked, great blend of flavors, and overall was 5 star quality. However, my boyfriend ordered the nettle gnocchi with frutti di mare — the sauce they cooked this in was mediocre at best. The gnocchi and seafood were both cooked fine but the sauce really killed it. I expected a 5 star sauce and maybe received a 3 at best. As i’m not a food critic I couldn’t quite place what wasn’t great about it but the tastes just didn’t meld well together. My boyfriend and I also both work in the service industry so we are frequent restaurant go-​ers. After looking over the other Unilocal reviews it seems he should have chosen the Maine lobster ravioli — next time!
The sommelier provided great conversation and even brought us over not only a free dessert wine with no request from both of us to accompany our dessert — both were scrumptious!
Overall 4 stars especially because of the service we received!

Would go back down to DC just to eat here. Everything was perfect, especially along with great wine from the Langhe, excellent bee hive bread, wonderful burrata, pesche crudo on a salt block, lobster ravioli, the roasted pork entrée. Mark, our server, was fun, interesting and
a great conversationalist. We laughed a lot, ate a lot, and wanted to head right back for more
of the offerings here the very next day. Will be back.

Came here for dinner one day based on reviews my friend and I keep seeing all over Unilocal.We started off with the $ 8 valet parking. We opted for the 2 course meal for $ 52. I chose the lobster ravioli and the Atlantic salmon. We finished off with Il cioccolato, which was a chocolate overload cake. Very rich and yummy. Food quality was impeccable but portions were small.
The cocktails are also well put together and fancy. I got the strawberry kiss, and my friend got the cherry bliss. The alcohol ounces were definitely not watered down, so definitely worth the $ 16

A M A Z I N G!!! From the tea, to the ginger ale, to the chicken to the DESSERT! I went here for a corporate lunch and I enjoyed every single bit of it. Everyone must try Fiola because your tastebuds will thank you forever.

I heard wonderful things about Fiola, so decided to try it for lunch with three friends last week. First off, the décor is stunning — I absolutely fell in love with the wood table where we were seated. The service was good, but a little stuffy for my liking — not so bad to deduct a point though. The food is truly the star of Fiola — we each tried two different courses for our lunch and everyone was beyond happy. I enjoyed the artichoke ravioli to start (so ridiculously good) and the spanish turbot to finish out my lunch — so flavorful, fresh and well prepared. I can’t wait to try Fiola Mare next time I am in DC!

Came here for Valentine’s Day dinner with the hubs. We have always wanted to have dinner here since fiola mare is favorite of ours. We have been here before for happy hour and loved it and finally got to try dinner.
We ordered the ahi crudo for appetizer and the branzino with caviar and ossobucco tortellini with prawns as our entrees. Fiola will split the dishes up for you to make sharing easier. Huge plus for me.
They started us off with an amuse bouche of cauliflower purree and truffle panecotta. It was one of the best things I ever put in my mouth. Hubs isn’t into those kind of textures so I ate his too. Yum!
The ahi crudo was delicious. The fish just melted in your mouth. Topped with caviar and had a lime cream to go with it. One of the best crudos I have ever tasted.
The branzino was cooked with leeks and oysters in a cream sauce. It was super rich and had a very healthy portion of fish. The sauce was amazing and I loved every bite of this dish.
Ossobucco tortellini and head on prawns were good as well. It was very filling and I love prawns with the head on. The sauce was rich in flavor but not as heavy as the cream sauce which I really enjoyed. I can see this being a favorite dish among most people because it was very good. Overall, I liked the elements of this dish the best but the branzino as an overall dish was better. Both were very very tasty.
We didn’t order a dessert but they did serve us some complimentary petit fours. Raspberry rose Macarons and caramel filled chocolate Bön bons. The macaron was awesome. And the Bön Bön was deliciously rich. Loved it.
Over all, the meal was amazing. I would definitely come back here so I can try more of their menu. Service is great and the dining experience was very enjoyable even on a busy Valentine’s Day weekend dinner night.

I came here with my hubby to celebrate Valentine’s Day. We decided to do the Valentine’s Day tasting menu. The tasting course was about 135 $ per a person. The course starts off with a small pureed cauliflower appetizer topped with a small portion of toasted crisp French bread. Followed by a raw scallop dish. The scallop is perfectly seasoned with a fresh lemon flavor profile. The sauce goes perfectly dipped with their bread. Then the course continues with their lobster and cod purée. The third course follows with their poached egg ravioli. Their ravioli Is loaded with a buttery flavor and texture. For the main course, you have a succulent veal topped with a fatty fried chuck of veal fat. I felt that it was a little too fatty for my preference. For dessert, they gave us a dark chocolate sorbet. It was rice enough that it tasted more like ice cream than it did sorbet.
Get their coffee for desert! They present their coffee with classy taste. As far as a cocktail I recommend their Moscow mule. The Moscow mule is super refreshing with fresh ginger and ginger beer. The refreshing nature of the drink complements so well with the buttery and fatty nature of most of their dishes.
Service is great. I do have to say that I couldn’t take my waiter too seriously. He was recommending restaurants. He recommended a Korean bbq joint called gogiah. A joint I go to way too often. And he called it a Japanese bbq restaurant. After he misspoke about this restaurant I couldn’t take any of his recommendations too seriously.

I temporarily suspended my Unilocal sabbatical to give my review of Fiola. The service (my server was Joe), the food (perfectly tasty), the wine (expensive but who cares!), all made for a great dining experience. I believe Tues-​Thurs, they will have their personal driver pick you up or drive you back. Joe said he would make a regular out of me and he did!

i expected a lot from fiola because i love fiola mare so much. like fiola mare the service is amazing! just amazing! consider yourself lucky to have joe serve you :) but the food and ambience, while great for a power lunch or mid day break, doesn’t have the charm, refinement or elegance of fiola mare.

Amazing meal. Fantastic service and great food. Went with some foodie coworkers. My colleague and I decided to split a couple of appetizers: the crab cake was wonderful and the foi gras was even better. Good sized servings for splitting.
Then had the pappardelle pasta with veal ragout and, why not, had some fresh truffles grated over the top. Wow.
For the main course, even though we were feeling pretty full, I had the sea bass with fresh grill octopus which was nice and light, and wonderful. My colleagues had the rack of veal stuffed with even more foi gras and wrapped in prosciutto. Didn’t try it but it looked awesome. Other colleague had salmon.
We didn’t really have room for dessert but the incredible server felt like we needed to try their desserts so got us a couple of their desserts (gratis).
So overall I’d go back in a heartbeat. A bit spendy but so unique and good it was worth it.

This is now one of my favorite restaurants in FC. Cannot say enough about the top service and quality of food here! I highly recommend ordering the braised lamb dish. The portions of pasta are also pretty big so consider smaller portions but a mix of plates.

I came here for lunch on my birthday which was mid-​week by myself.
This place wasn’t packed as I thought it would. As a solo eater, I headed to the bar section which also have comfy benches near the bar but not directly at the bar. I will say this: The service was absolutely AMAZING. The bartender, a woman, was so attentive and generous with the wine. She even brought me a piece of cake with a candle and a card with happy birthday wishes. I hadn’t reserve in advance, so truly didn’t expect this.
Food:
Had a salad as an appetizer (had cheese in it), it was good not amazing, but it’s hard to get an amazing appetizer salad lol
I had read so many Unilocal reviews that I decided to try the Lobster Ravioli: It was good, I expected more. Maybe more raviolis or more spices… I don’t know. It was very good but didn’t blow my mind. Also the ravioli is $ 50 the plate, so my expectations were higher but not sure what I expected to bring it to my level of expectation.
Dessert: Blew my mind!!! I had the apple dessert called MELA. The most incredible thing I’ve had as a dessert. I love anything apple as a dessert but this was light and had many variances of apple (the apple cider sorbet, the apple terrine… the entire combination of all the items was just incredible).
Summary:
Service gets 5* and more!!!
Dessert gets 5*
Food (appetizer and entrée) get 4*
Overall: 4*

Amazing service and excellent food.
I love that they have mocktails on the menu! I don’t drink so I usually just end up with club soda and lime.

Delicious Italian food with SUPERB service! It’s also located conveniently very close to the Archives metro station, Judiciary Square, Penn Quarter, and Chinatown. I visited for dinner with a friend to celebrate something and she and I were both impressed by the caliber of service and the wonderful dinner options!
Since I arrived a little before my friend did, I sat at the bar briefly and ordered a snack from their happy hour menu (which is a great deal, by the way, and lasts from 4pm-​7pm M-​F). I ordered the Ahi Tuna Tartare (Roasted Tomato, Taggiasche Olives, Meyer Lemon). It was both delicious and quite a generous portion for a happy hour item. I also ordered a glass of champagne, which was perfect.
Once my friend arrived, we moved to a table. We loved their complimentary firm sourdough bread. For my entrée, I ordered the gnocchi (in a tomato sauce with basil and cheese). I loved it! Very filling and hearty and the flavors melded together perfectly. My friend ordered a pasta with a fried egg on top, which she enjoyed.
I also loved the free tastings they gave us. At the beginning of our meal, they gave us a complimentary tasting of a tempura vegetable dipped in marinara sauce. At the very end of the meal, they wouldn’t take no for an answer when we said we didn’t want dessert and brought out complimentary macarons and a delicious raspberry sorbet. SO GOOD!
From start to finish, at both the bar and at the table, Fiola’s service and food was excellent. I would certainly return and highly recommend it!

Doesn’t even remotely live up to the hype.
So let me start off by saying I came here on a second date. This is not a second date restaurant. I should have suggested something more low key, but dude really wanted to come here, and hey, if you think you should drop $ 200 on dinner with some girl you met on the internet like three days ago, that’s your bad.
Under the circumstances, no fancy restaurant was going to be a great experience. But Fiola was so underwhelming that I wouldn’t have liked it even with better company.
It’s fussy and pretentious and overpriced. Waiters wear white jackets and hover. The menu is intentionally obfuscatory. (If I don’t understand it, I guess it MUST be high class! Ugh. Ugh. Ugh.) What should be redeeming about a place like that is phenomenal food. And it just wasn’t.
My date and I each had a pasta appetizer and an entrée. The pastas were quite good, but at that price point, they should be really outstanding. They weren’t. And my Branzino wasn’t even good. It was overcooked and dry. My cocktail was one bright spot — I had a Stella. But overall the meal was very disappointing.
I’ve had far better food and a much better dining experience at Proof and NoPa. And for Italian, Tosca beats the pants off Fiola on quality of food, plus it’s cheaper, quieter, and far less full of itself.

Cyndy’s Bottom Line: A fabulous time with our favorite bartender Dee!
5 star service.
We ventured in because we were so excited to know that Dee is at the bar. There is a dramatic difference now at the bar a friendlier, livelier, and great energy which permeates throughout the restaurant.
We love the food and the excellent service from Joe and Mark!
About the Happy Hour (HH) it runs from 4−7pm. The HH menu is luscious and delicious!
This is what we ate/​drank:
*Fiola Manhattan — American Whiskey, Dolin Sweet Vemouth, Angostura Bittersa. A well crafted Manhattan on the rocks.
*Prosecco Valdo, Veneto NV — bubbly bubbles.
*Piemontese Tajarin — Summer Heirloom Tomatoes, Basil, Sicilian Olio Verde. Absolutely love this dish. Excellent hand cut pasta, flavorful with garlic and basil and the delicious tomatoes. So delicious I ordered another one!
*Artisanal Italian Pecorino Foglie di Noce served with honey.
The pecorino is nice and salty delicious and beautifully plated.
*Venetian Style Fried Calamari with capicolla, spicy tomato sauce.
*Ahi tuna carpaccio with Taggiasche Olives, yuzu, lemon and sorrel.
From the regular menu:
*Sunset beach & Kumamoto oysters served with Grinnell Caviar, Oyster Water & Sorrento Lemon Granita. The oysters are amazing! The perfect mixture of caviar and the lemon granita makes it so light and refreshing.

One of the best dining experiences in a while.
Tuna Carpaccio was absolutely the highlight of the meal. Intricate perfection. A home run.
Grilled squid was cooked perfectly, and although we enjoyed it, wasn’t our favorite. Powerful flavors that complimented the squid adequately, but I think we’re just charcoal grill, lemon people, rather than something more inventive when it comes to grilled squid.
Lobster Ravioli was terrific, although I was left wanting a bit of salt outside of the ravioli itself, which was perfectly seasoned. It didn’t matter because I was able to include some ravioli in each bite, but standing alone, the tail outside the ravioli was ever so slightly bland. But it doesn’t have to stand stand alone — include the ravioli and everything works out.
Spaghetti al Negro di Seppia, which included prawns, clams, mussels, sea urchins, tomato confit, and basil, was outstanding. Incredible flavor. Beautiful mouthful of the sea in the most elegant and delightful way imaginable. Unless you’re talking about their tuna carpaccio. Perfectly seasoned. Just perfection really. We loved it.
Spumoni was pretty good. It was certainly enjoyable, and a great finish to the meal, but I’m just not falling all over it. The plums were great, the almonds delicious. The base amounted to frozen shortcake. Great frozen shortcake, but just not a mouthgasm. I found bites that included almonds were much better than bites that did not. Finally, while it was sizable, and certainly plenty for two, I thought $ 26 was steep. But I’m a cheap bastard.
Great experience.

Oh Fiola, your lobster ravioli are heavenly! Seriously, I almost licked the plate it was that good. For $ 29 you can get a half portion of 2 dumpling style ravioli filled to the brim with flavorful lobster meat in a chive, ginger sauce that makes my mouth water just thinking about it. The plate also comes with a half lobster tail and 1 claw. Also had the bolognese pappardelle which was insanely flavorful as well. They topped it with prosciutto to make it even more sinful. Good thing I had a flowy dress on because I was stuffed after this meal! Be warned its expensive but great for a special occasion meal.

Fiola has been on my list of places to try for quite some time so when it appeared on the Summer DC Restaurant Week list, I snagged reservations ASAP. It’s beautifully modern inside, with dim lighting and upscale ambiance, but doesn’t exactly have a ton of character. It could be any nicer restaurant inside any hotel anywhere in America. The clientele was mostly older professionals who were coming from work in suits to talk business, though we saw a few couples on a date.
Service was top-​notch, though where we were seated, the waiter station was right by us and I could feel and see our waiter watching us like a hawk throughout the meal. I get that he was probably just trying to gauge when to come over and when to take our order etc, but it was a little unnerving having someone watch you in close proximity while you’re conversing over your meal.
Food: RW Summer Menu
— Burrata with sweet corn cream: This was really just a huge ball of creamy burrata cheese. It was definitely good, but once I’d eaten half of it, it was kind of hard to eat the rest when it’s just straight cheese. The sweet corn cream had a nice light flavor but there wasnt a lot of it.
— Chilled tomato gazpacho: This was the clear winner for the appetizer round. Great flavor with a large piece of lobster in it! The portion was small but it was so flavorful. Get this if you’re doing RW!
— Rosemary beef tenderloin with cherry tomatoes: Perfectly cooked 6 oz piece of filet mignon. Tender and delicious! The cherry tomatoes were cooked to soft perfection and really tasty… The eggplant purée and herb sauces served with the meat all perfectly complimented each other. Really tasty entrée!
— Chocolate ganache torte: Meh. It was teeny teeny tiny, and also just nothing special. Tasted like regular chocolate ganache and served with a dollop of regular whipped cream. Wish I could have tried the other RW dessert (fruit panna cotta).
Overall the food was mostly good. Be prepared for small portions. I sort of got the impression that maybe the RW menu wasn’t indicative of the regular menu food at this restaurant and so I’d like to come back to try some of the regular dinner dishes. Glancing over the menu though, this place will set you back some money so take advantage of RW or come for a special occasion!

Fiola is a restaurant my girlfriend and I had circled on our list for a while now. I realize that Zagat top 25 isn’t the end-​all be-​all of cuisine but we figured if it topped the list, it must be pretty damn good.
I walked in the front only to realize that I had been here before for a leaving the company lunch for one of my former coworkers! I don’t remember much, only that it was really nice. We were seated immediately in the main dining area after giving the host our name for our reservation.
I ordered the Fiola G&T and my girlfriend ordered the Stella (which seemed to be a popular choice after looking around at other tables). The G&T was presented beautifully. It had rosemary, an orange peel, a flavored ice cube and a flower on top. It looked ¹⁰⁄₁₀ and probably tasted about a ⁷⁄₁₀. We got this reservation initially for Restaurant Week so that’s what we went with for the meal!
The service was excellent! We got a run down of the menu from our waiter and throughout the meal different servers were coming by to take plates and refill our waters.
We both started off with the Burrata of Buffalo Mozzarella. This was my first time having burrata and I enjoyed it! It was served over some greens and with olive oil. I actually enjoyed it most putting it on top of the bread given to us but it was great by itself too.
For the second course I went with the Rosemary Grilled Beef Tenderloin. It came with roasted cherry tomatoes and a salsa verde. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare and was pretty hot when it came out. I usually like my steak with a little more pepper but overall it was extremely good — especially with the salsa verde and the tomatoes which tasted almost like little balls of marinara. So delicious.
For the dessert I ordered the vanilla panna cotta with the fruit topping. The fruit was super fresh — raspberries and blueberries and they had so. much. flavor. The vanilla of the panna cotta really mellowed out the berries. Really well done dessert.
All in all, I’d give my experience just below 4.5* I will definitely be coming back to try some of the other things on the menu and hopefully get that rating up to a 5*!

I just moved here and have been excited to start sampling the restaurants in DC. My first restaurant I tried based on the Washingtonian’s top 100 was a bit of a disappointment (see previous review for Estadio). So if Fiola were another letdown, I would have dismissed the Washingtonian’s Best list AND been bummed about leaving SF’s food scene.
Well I was not disappointed… even after all of the hype I read about Fiola.
FOOD: 4.5
I’m not a fan of buffets. I prefer quality over quantity, but I also don’t like to have a 2^nd dinner when I get home from a «fine dining» restaurant. The portions here were more than reasonable. Our waiter had all courses split for my fiancé and I to share, and there was still plenty of food for us. The food was beautifully presented (see my pics), ingredients married perfectly and all sauces were divine! The only reason I’m not giving the food a 5 is because the lamb chops were a tad under-​seasoned (I know I’m a tough critic).
Must get:
* lobster ravioli (I’ve only been impressed by lobster twice in my life — here and Restaurant Marc Forgione in NYC)
* ahi tuna carpaccio
AMBIANCE: 3.5
Restaurants at this caliber can be too silent, sterile, and a little too pretentious for me. Fiola was the exact opposite. They have a happy hour at the bar I believe from 4−6pm, so when we sat down for dinner at 7pm, it was still really loud. The diners ranged from the downtown post work crowd in their black suits to guys in their shorts and flip flops to families with children. I’d usually appreciate the mixed crowd, but this was an birthday dinner for the fiancé, so I was hoping for a slightly quieter dinner.
SERVICE: 4.5
Our waiter was attentive, knowledgeable, and able to make great recommendations. He even gave me recommendations for other restaurants, knowing that I had just moved to the area. I’m not sure what happened at the end, but once we were done with our meal and ready for the check, it took another 15 minutes before he returned. For this, he did not earn a 5.
WOULD I RETURN: DEFINITELY (after I get a chance to sample some more restaurants first)

Probably one of the best values for happy hour in the city. I remember when Fiola first opened that their happy hour left much to be desired: was only for an hour and they had no food items on the menu. They have upped their game to another level. The happy hour includes several nibbles at $ 5 each. Craft cocktails are $ 7 and they are delicious. I had the rye Manhattan and it was great. They also have a few wines and bubbly options for $ 6.
We had several appetizers (calamari is not to be missed and the tuna tartar portion is quite large) and enjoyed everything. The service was impeccable as always is the case at Fiola.
I highly recommend checking them out for happy hour if you are not ready to commit to a full dinner at Fiola (dinner is awesome too!).

Where do I begin?
A friend and I stumbled upon this place and walked in without having a reservation. Luckily, it was a beautiful evening and there was outdoor seating available. The street was quiet, so it worked.
The service was top notch. The staff was knowledgable, friendly and made fantastic recommendations to us. Everything from the cocktails to the dessert made me smile. That’s always a good sign.
The lobster ravioli was like heaven. Fresh pasta and lobster, and more lobster and more lobster. No filler. I’m not sure my mouth has ever been as happy as it was at that moment. It’s one of their signature dishes and rightfully so. They have a winner there.
My friend ordered a steak that was plated unlike any other steak I’ve seen. They created a foam (or something?) out of Parmesan cheese. What?! He shared a tiny piece with me and it was very delicious.
I topped my meal off with a cappuccino, because always. We shared the soufflé. I wish I could remember the details, but it was chocolatey goodness.
I’ll be back, Fiola.

***Fiola, a power lunch spot in Washington, D.C., looks the part; unfortunately, the food felt a tad disappointing as the ingredients, while high quality, were not turned into something delicious and memorable***
Fiola is a true power lunch spot in D.C. The contemporary dining room is very lively and conversations from the mostly-​in-​suits crowd gets loud. Fiola is a high-​end Italian restaurant and their lunch features a variety of upscale pasta courses and entrees. I tried two of their pastas.
The first pasta was the best. It was lobster ravioli. The ravioli was more Chinese dumpling-​like and the thin pasta skin revealed minced and sweet lobster. The ravioli was served with a tender and succulent lobster claw as well as a very good half lobster tail. Everything was enrobed in a rich lobster bisque-​like sauce that made the dish (while small) very indulgent.
The other pasta was tortellini filled with cotechino. Like the lobster ravioli, the kitchen was generous with the protein accompanying this pasta, which was crispy sweetbreads. Other garnishes included asparagus, mushrooms and parmesan foam. This course looked and sounded delicious, but it was slightly bland.
I also had the seared Viking Village scallops, which were served with Barolo, English peas, asparagus, and crispy pancetta. The scallops were soft and had a very moist center though I did not like the sear. I do not know if it was from the Barolo or balsamic, but the tanginess of the vinegary sear overpowered a lot of the other ingredients on this plate.
I finished with burnt honey gelato and a signature Italian dessert – bomboloni (Italian doughnuts). The bomboloni were dusted in cinnamon and sugar. These doughnuts really looked the part though the centers were not as soft as I was hoping (the outsides of the doughnuts were great though).
Service was friendly and attentive. Prices are high though Fiola is definitely utilizing quality ingredients.
Fiola reminds me a lot of Drago Centro – a power lunch spot in Downtown Los Angeles. Like that high end Italian spot, Fiola showcases quality meat and seafood proteins yet the resulting flavors and courses are disappointing – plates of food that look good but are surprisingly average once you start consuming them.
I am not sure what the parking situation is.

Wow, what a phenomenal meal. I came here for dinner with my brother just because and we had a truly great experience. Every bite we had, from the bread and olive oil to the complimentary macaroons for dessert, was memorable. Everything was lovely except for perhaps the service (not the service overall which was efficient and extremely attentive), mainly just our waiter. Not that there was anything egregiously wrong, but all of our waiter’s descriptions for items were unanimated to say the least and our waiter’s recommendations just happened to be the most expensive dishes on the menu (not exactly the helpful insight for which I was looking).
I always say that you can gauge how good a meal is going to be by how good the bread is, and here was no exception. The bread and olive oil was awesome; hot and crispy slices of bread with a light yet peppery and bold olive oil drizzled throughout. It was hard to resist not ordering more… so of course we did.
Instead of ordering an appetizer, we decided to split a half-​order of pasta. Although they all seemed tasty, we chose the tarjine pasta because it seemed the most unique. Thin pasta noodles in a light, buttery sauce with asparagus, peas, and a runny duck egg on top… perfection. I haven’t had a pasta dish that good in a long time. Plus, they prepare it table-​side which elevates the experience even further.
For the main course, I had the simply grilled 6 oz. branzino and my brother ordered the simply grilled 6 oz. rockfish. Both were fantastic and extremely tender. The rockfish was a thicker piece of meat while the branzino was a more thinly sliced filet. Both were served with a fresh lemon and salsa verde (more like a paste than a salsa). Combined, the flavor the two infused with the fish was unreal. I can’t imagine someone not enjoying either of these fish dishes.
For dessert, we didn’t end up ordering anything off the menu. The desserts were pricey and our waiter did not do a good job of selling them. However, we were given complementary macaroons and sugar candies anyway, which was a nice surprise. I didn’t care too much for the candy but the macaroons were so good.
Overall, a lovely experience I recommend to anyone and everyone (although they’re vegetarian options are quite lacking).

It’s as good as it gets here! This restaurant was a last minute addition to my food outings during DC winter restaurant week, so it was assumed their primo dishes would be highlighted on their restaurant week menu. I wasn’t wrong.
I made reservations literally 30 minutes before we were to arrive with no issues on a Wednesday night. Upon entering, we were greeted warmly by the hostess and were lead to our table. The restaurant is best described as old school classy, with waiters wearing 3 piece suits with white jackets and big olé chandeliers glass hung from all over the ceilings. It’s nice and elegant, though the crowd here’s what really stands out. For the most part it seemed to consist of older folk, older men with their younger lady companions, and people that were a bit too well to do, along with the spattering of young folk that probably couldn’t afford to eat here regularly (us included). I hear lots Senators and Congressmen come here, which would explain the stodgy feel I got from most of the clientele. I’m judging. Anyway…
The food was simply amazing, even for a restaurant week sampling. There was a complimentary Chestnut Cappuccino Soup, that was rich, flavorful, frothy, warm, yet very light and a great way to start off a meal. We decided to order the Seared Hudson Valley Foie Gras because shit, it’s fatty duck liver. It was by the far the best I’ve ever had. The liver was seared and crispy on the outside and oozed warm, fatty unctuousness when it was cut. It sat atop a thick piece of wheat bread that gave good texture and the slices of blood orange gave a very nice citrus and sweetness with each bite. Definitely the highlight of the savory and highly, HIGHLY recommended.
I ordered the Lambardy Sracchino Cheese salad for my appetizer. It was very light and refreshing, despite the big block of cheese atop the greens. The ingredients were all very mild and complimented each other well. For an entrée, I had the Black Angus Beef Tenderloin, which was cooked to the perfect medium rare on a creamy bed of cauliflower crème. A friend ordered the grilled arctic char in which I was able to have a flaky bite of it. I then somewhat regretted my tenderloin. Somewhat. For dessert, I had the Chocolate Mousse, Alba Hazelnuts and Praline Gelato. I’m not a huge fan of sweets, but this thing rocked my socks. It wasn’t heavy or too rich, but creamy, sweet and light. Also highly recommended.
Our service was impeccable. Our waiter was very knowledgeable about all the menu items as well as good drink pairings. Our water glasses were never left half empty and even with the busy Wednesday night crowd, we never felt neglected. It was top notch.
Besides the slightly stuffy crowd, this place is definitely going into my back pocket. Sometimes higher prices are justified and Fiola makes every penny count with their service and quality food. I’ll definitely be coming back!

Service was great, vibe was good, and it wasn’t hard to find street parking – although there is $ 8 valet if you want.
Down to the goods:
The bread-​pretty good. They came out warm and already buttery and moist and soft. And they kept coming out with more of it too.
Complimentary cauliflower «cappuccino» with a Parmesan froth-​a pleasant surprise gift from Fiola. Very interesting and tasty soup with a delicious fragrant Parmesan froth at the top.
Blue Point and Cranberry Creek Oysters with Sorrento lemon granita– very fresh, very delicious. The lemon added a sweet citrus finish which made it a delightful… Pre-​appetizer haha.
Tuscan style roasted Tomato soup with smoked salmon crostino– the soup was rich, thick and flavorful – without too much acidity. Went perfect with what was essentially a grilled cheese sandwich with smoked salmon – except with cream cheese. It was a little on the oily/​cheesy side but went very well with the soup.
Grilled Arctic char with melted leeks and Taggiasche olives-​amazing. The sauce with leeks was amazing, and the fish was medium rare and flaky and moist. My only complaint was that the skin was not cooked through (I like it crispy) so it made it a little rubbery and hard to manage.
Gianduja chocolate mousse with Alba hazelnuts and praline gelato-​very very rich mousse with a crunchy crust, and it went well with the gelato and the bits crunchy something at the bottom (that’s the technical term. LOL)
All in all, I really enjoyed the meal and was super stuffed. I would definitely come here again on a special occasion and probably do the tasting menu, or on a regular day for the Maria (healthy options) menu.