Restaurant Finder

Trattoria Italiana

Cuisine: Italian Neighborhood: Woodley Park

Based on 5 reviews.

Address	2651 Connecticut Ave., Washington, DC 20008
Phone	(202) 332-2207

Rater Comments

These comments express the opinions of individual Restaurant Raters, not those of Washington City Paper.

Review by bdhobbs on October 15, 2007

This place is horrible. The wine is overpriced, the food is inferior to Olive Garden (and that is pretty bad), and the service is the worst I have ever seen. At those prices, I would expect much better. My wife is Italian (near Avellino) and she was revolted by the food. The wait staff was Indian.

Knowing that for the same price we could have had Filomena's in Georgetown, I feel cheated.

The calamari was rubbery and tasted of fish, and its side of marinara was cheap and bland. The seafood risotto had very little seafood and was reheated and bland (and greasy, if THAT makes any sense whatsoever). Our friend said the Sea Bass was good, but he didn't elaborate.

The waiter came around with a "bucket O' Parmesan" and sprinkled some on our plates. It was a small galvanized bucket filled with pre-grated parmesan. (The kind you get from Kraft in the green cannister). There was no peppermill or even a shaker of pepper on the table, and he didn't offer. There was no salt, either. The chairs were plastic Walmart deck chairs, and the tablecloth and napkins were paper.

When we left a 10% tip for sub-par service, the waiter informed us that the minimum tip was 15%, which we declined and gave our reasons. No one asked how our food was, or even came around until the meal was almost over. We called to them to refill our drinks, but as they were joking around together at the door, they didn't see us until the fourth time we tried to get their attention.

If they want 15%, then need to dress more like they pride themselves (no polo shirts) and their restaurant, and maybe come by and refill our glasses at least once during the course of the meal.

Avoid this place, as it is a complete sham.

Review by jsaks on September 11, 2007

I live in the neighborhood, I am originally from NY and I am Italian and this place misses the boat on various levels. Service was much to be desired and the food was similar to the Olive Garden, only twice the price. I visited with my brother and his wife and all of us were very dissapointed. Everyone in the party had worked in the food and beverage industry at some point in our lives, and we collectively agreed that Tratoria Italiano is a big NO NO. With the abundance of restaurants in the area, you will be best served to just keep walking.

Review by Miatarose on February 22, 2006

This is Italian by way of Bangladesh. The service mediocre. The maitre d' worse.

The food was bland.

The menu has all the routine things, calamari and prosciutto and salads. We got a bottle of Chianti that tasted like no Chianti we have ever had before. It must have been a distant cousin to ‘three buck chuck’ but cost a whole lot more.

Then the fun began. The music is one Abba CD, on a loop. I bet the wait staff know the words backward by now.

We ordered a simple meal of two starters two main courses and one dessert. The dessert Tiramisu was excellent. Homemade and moist, just perfect.

The starters were prosciutto with asparagus and a salad. Well guess what, out of the kitchen comes a salad and someone else’s main course? The moment we pointed it out to the food server, he was about to turn and head back to the kitchen when the Maitre d’ asks us, "You did not order this." I was about to object when our waiter comes over and apologizes saying you asked for asparagus and proscuitto. Meanwhile the Maitre d’ who is not trusting us or his own waiter goes back to check the ticket the waiter wrote down and realizes that this is not our order. Instead of taking charge, he shouts out to the befuddled food server, “Give that to the next table!”

So we had to wait for the prosuitto and asparagus, now how long can that take, but take long it did. The presentation of the platter was very appealing except for the plate itself which suggested in bold multicolored text, ‘Celebrate 2000!’ Sure six years later they probably did not use up all the china they ordered for the Millennium. Pehaps that was when the ABBA CD came in as well. No big deal china’s china.

The main course lacked the presentation details of the starter but was as tasty as Italian we might have prepared at home.

Then the Maitre d’ decided he had to earn his keep. So he comes over to our table and asks us if everything is all right just seconds after our waiter has asked us the exact same question. We said sure it is fine; (as a reviewer you learn to let the restaurant get into it’s own stride rather than complain or ask for special this or that).
I wanted to engage him in a conversation about desserts and his recommendations but even before waiting for our reply to his question he was off to another table, if every thing was all right.

After dessert when the check arrived, it was $89.00 including tax. Well I thought I really want to tip my waiter and not the Maitre d’ so I gave the Maitre d' $100 and told him, “There’s no change.” Intending to leave another $5 or $10 on the table for the waiter. This obviously was not going to cut it with Mr.Maitre D’ who brings be back my change and decided to advise me, “In DC the tip is 18%” Loud enough for my date and all the other tables to hear. I was embarrassed. Perhaps he thought he might shame me into a larger tip. Well it worked in reverse. He earned himself the prized amount of $1. And I gave my full tip to the waiter. I know they probably share tips but oh well I will not be eating there again so what do I care.

Review by rpcvsam on January 30, 2006

Where to start with this pit of despair? The paper napkins? The paper table cloths? The stale bread that I had to ask for not once, but twice? The iceberg lettuce salad? The attempt to force us to sit in the front window so others could see us? The attempt by the waiter to get us to buy the most expensive bottle of wine, “If you buy now, I give you $5 off”? The crappiest $25 bottle of wine that I have seen at Trader Joe’s earlier that day for $4? The lack of people of Italian heritage? The busboy who loudly put away plates for our entire meal? The same Abba CD on over and over and over and over? The sauce which seemed like it was from a can? The lack of taste in everything?

When we finished here I wanted to slit my own wrists, and I wanted the time I had spent there back. If you want crappy overpriced food, this is the place for you.

Review by PaxRyan on July 20, 2004

I guess I'm no expert, but their pasta sauce looked and tasted suspiciously bland. I don't want to come right and out and say it came from a jar, but if somebody else said it I would nod in agreement. Considering there are about 25 other lunch options on this block (and the price), I'm pretty disappointed with our experience here. The service was nice enough, and the tiramisu was fine (but I'm a sucker on that front). Overall though, I'll surely try a different place whenever I next eat in Woodley Park.