There is no better comfort food than Italian food. Ideal for indulging in during winter, but summer too offers the opportunity for Italian food to shine with pastas swirled in bright sauces like marinara, puttanesca, or pesto. The cuisine pairs beautifully with wine, and has a wide range of salads, veggies, breads, pastas, and sweets, so there’s always something to satisfy every taste. DC happens to be home to an almost endless array of Italian restaurants, and to help you choose which Italian restaurant to dine at, we curated a list for every occasion! From Michelin-starred fine dining to cozy red-sauce joints, here is our guide to the 20 best Italian restaurants in DC.
For a Date Night
Centrolina
Centrolina marked its tenth anniversary in 2025, and it remains as extraordinary as the first day Amy Brandwein opened the doors. The gorgeous city center restaurant has become a local institution, with a menu that changes with the seasons, showcasing influences from Amy’s travels and her collaboration dinners with other chefs. Her flower-shaped pasta has become legendary, much like the pappardelle soaked in butter and tossed with woody local mushrooms. Her antipasti areas are well-known for celebrating the best of local produce; who doesn’t want artichokes four ways (fried, creamed, shaved, and roasted) or burrata topped with homemade baby potato chips?
Obelisk
Of all the Italian restaurants in the city, this true hidden gem is my favorite. The cozy vibe, the small, intimate dining room, the impeccable service, and, of course, the excellent food that keeps coming – it is a place where you will have the most magical evening. Part of the charm is that the longtime staff do all the work and most of the thinking for you: the menu is prix-fixe, with two or three options per course, and the first course features a dazzling array of antipasti chosen by the kitchen. A handful of cocktail options are suggested for that evening, and the mostly-Italian winelist is likewise concisely curated. If you are looking for the perfect date-night spot, we’ve found it for you.
Masseria
This retreat in Union Market District offers a variety of à la carte and tasting menus, all featuring hyper-seasonal dishes. In summer, there is gnocchi in a sweet garlicky tomato sauce; in the fall, roasted sunchokes and kale. Desserts are always decadent, and the wine pairings are spot on. Except for the coldest–or hottest–days, the courtyard garden that separates the restaurant from the busy street is always a great place to enjoy your aperitivo or digestivo.
For a trendy dinner with friends
L’Ardente
The sprawling dining room, complete with gold-hued chandeliers and royal-blue booths, sets the stage for an evening of revelry and gluttony. Do not hold back with the menu, there are too many dishes you don’t want to miss: the lemony grilled artichokes sprinkled with parmesan cheese are always a hit; nothing is better than the cheesy, crispy arancini. I adore the antipasti–salad with grapefruit and grilled radicchio, or house-made seasonal focaccia. And that brings me to the pasta. Cacio e pepe, goat cheese ravioli, and a simple spaghetti pomodoro – it’s all sublime. Find room for the famous lasagna, it won’t disappoint.
Cucina Morini
The dinner menu is full southern Italian favorites at Cucina Morini, with a Treviso and chicory salad tossed with goat cheese in a lemon vinaigrette, fingerling potatoes smothered in a pesto aioli, pasta alla norma, and mushroom ravioli in a marsala cream sauce. But the martini hour is this spot’s claim to fame; it includes everything from a classic martini to a cherry-infused tequila martini to a bright vodka-and-limoncello martini. It’s served in their martini lounge every day at 5 pm–you need to schedule a weekly visit! Cucina Morini’s sister restaurant, Osteria Morini, is also a great spot for Italian fare, located on the waterfront in Navy Yard.
Acqua Bistecca
New to the D.C. dining scene, the colorful bar, spacious bar and opulent lighting make this a Michael Mina hotspot a place to see and be seen. Linger for hours over saffron risotto, hunks of bread with spreads like whipped cannellini beans and pistachio pesto, spaghetti twirled in a tomato sauce and topped with a burrata foam, and of course plenty of wine.
Olio e Piu
This New York trattoria and enoteca launched a DC outpost a couple of years ago; it occupies a fetching spot in downtown D.C. The menu has fun features like cacio e pepe made tableside, several Sicilian dishes, and an Italian bubbles & brunch menu that has unlimited Italian mimosas and dishes like focaccia baked with tomatoes and mozzarella, poached eggs smothered in a cheese fondue, and rosemary potatoes.
Grazie Nonna
The lively scene at Grazie Nonna is the perfect backdrop for their scrumptious Italian fare; you will find it impossible to choose between pizza and pasta, so just order both! The Alfredo is sinfully decadent, and the green goddess pizza, with four cheeses, creamed Tuscan kale, and Calabrian chili for a little kick, is a dream. Insider tip: Stop at the adjacent spot, Grazie Mille, for music and drinks after your dinner.
For Italian-American fare
Caruso’s Grocery
The warmth of this Capitol Hill spot will envelope you as soon as you walk through the doors, and the food will take it to another level. Indulge in cheesy garlic bread; gnocchi swimming in a creamy pesto; or ribbons of pasta in a mushroom cream sauce. This is the red sauce joint of your dreams.
The Red Hen
Another DC stalwart, the Red Hen, has been wowing DC residents since 2013. We love the flickering candles and exposed brick walls, and most of all, the menu. The antipasti and bread sections are home to seasonal dishes like mushroom arancini oozing with cheese, sweet-and-savory butternut squash crostini topped with pistachio dukkah, and charred broccolini finished with a Calabrian chili vinaigrette. Then there are the pastas, equally delicious and satisfying, of which the off-menu cacio e pepe is most famous and arguably the best.
For the best neighborhood Italian places
Sfoglina
For a friendly neighborhood spot, I love Sfoglina in Van Ness. The dining room feels like you are eating in someone’s very beautifully decorated home, and their menu is full of comfort food dishes like garlic bread blanketed in melted cheese, caesar salad covered in a mound of pillowy parmesan cheese, roasted artichokes served with a bright citrus crema, goat cheese ravioli, and malfalde swirled in a smoky tomato sauce. They are famous for their seasonal soft-serve ice cream, and people (of age) rave about their creamy espresso martini.
Little Coco’s
Warm, cozy, and inviting, this small restaurant on 14th Street is perfect for a date night or dinner with friends. Here, you can linger for hours over wine, truffled artichoke bruschetta, and rigatoni swimming in a creamy vodka sauce. Their pizzas are also excellent, and include a vegan option.
Divino’s Ristorante Enoteca
Located in the Glover Park Hotel in Georgetown, Divino’s offers a relaxed dining vibe with comfort food dishes like warm bread and butternut squash soup, spaghetti cacio e pepe, and eggplant parmigiana. There’s also an all-day brunch with breakfast sandwiches and lemon ricotta pancakes, which come highly recommended!
Lupo Verde Osteria
With its winding staircase, brick walls, and dark wooden floors, Lupo Verde in D.C.’s swanky Palisades neighborhood offers the most charming and inviting space for a soul-warming Italian meal. Their tonnarelli cacio e pepe is famous among locals, and pizza lovers should dive into their eggplant parm pizza. Pro tip: Check out their Italian brunch, which is full of treats like an Italian pastry board and a $39 2 course special that includes a bottle of prosecco.
Al Tiramisu
Al Tiramisu is the kind of place you’d find in a Little Italy, but since DC doesn’t have one, it’s in Dupont. The kind of unpretentious place that consistently turns out stellar food, mixes mean drinks, and has a winelist that could hold its own against a three Michelin-starred one’s. Over its nearly three decades in DC, it has hosted many VIPs, but still prides itself on treating every guest as family. Their burrata is what your dreams are made of, with honey and black truffles, and the spinach and caciocavallo cheese ravioli, soaked in a butter and sage sauce, is legendary.
Al Volo Osteria
Al Volo’s claim to fame is its stuffed pastas. The ricotta tortellini is drenched in a smoked cream sauce, while the burrata ravioli is served in a pool of vodka sauce. I am also obsessed with their mushroom pappardelle, four-cheese gnocchi, and kale fusilli, all doused in pesto sauce. In other words, come hungry!
For Italian seafood
Casamara
For coastal Italian fare with excellent cocktails and energizing beats in the background, Casamara should be on your list. Kick things off with their winter-in-Capri cocktail, then move on to dynamic appetizers like potato-and-mozzarella dumplings and squash fritti. Move on to their pastas: honey nut squash agnolotti and spaghetti pomodoro are two of the current highlights. Close things out with their chocolate tart and a scoop of olive oil gelato – it doesn’t get more decadent than this! Insider tip: Head upstairs to their dark and moody bar, Reyonold’s, which boasts a sensational drink menu.
Fiola Mare
If you’re looking for a bit of Amalfi coast leisurely elegance or even just New York swagger, Fiola Mare hits the spot. Located on Georgetown’s waterfront, with ample outdoor seating to enjoy the view, Fiola Mare is a place to see and be seen, but the food is still the focal point. The raw bar features the best and freshest seafood the world has to offer, and you can pick the fish you’ll be eating yourself from their fish cart and have it prepared pretty much however you like. It’s a splurge, but it makes a splash.
For Italian fine-dining
Fiola
Every dish at Fiola is made with precision and an eye for perfection, just how executive chef Fabio Trabocchi likes (and demands) it. Delicate savory cannelloni are stuffed with eggplant and cheese, gnocchi is covered in a blanket of black truffle butter that melts in your mouth, and the panna cotta is the silkiest you will ever have. For a super special occasion, consider the 9-course tasting menu; it’s among the best the city has to offer.
Ristorante Tosca
For a white-tablecloth Italian dining experience that will impress your parents and clients alike, Tosca delivers both food- and vibe-wise. Dishes like burrata with Asian pear, pomegranate, and red endive, and maltagliati soaked in a broccoli pesto are available à la carte, or you can indulge in a five-course tasting menu. The chef’s table, which seats only six, is also an option for an extra-special private occasion.
