Best Italian Restaurants in Cleveland Park

I went last night for my birthday dinner. Where the record, there is a caveat to my 4 star review. There was only one area I can’t genuinely give the place a 4 star, but everything else was absolutely wonderful and deserves all the five stars that they can get. I will start with the one area where I can’t give 5 stars, and that was the food. My friends and I all shared food, so we got to try a lot of items on the menu. The standouts were the lamb meatballs, the Hamachi crudo, the fusilli, and the tiramisu. All of the flavors in each of these dishes were very distinct, and delicious. However, given this is an Italian restaurant, we were underwhelmed with the ravioli and the clam pasta. While the portions weren’t tiny, I do feel the cost of the dishes was a little high relative to the amount food you received and what the fish itself was. But then again, we are also in DC. IMHO, and as others have said, where this restaurant really shines is the ambience and the service. First off, the holiday decor was gorgeous, and they were giving ornaments to all the diners, so it definitely set a festive mood. All of my party, except for two of us, were fairly late to the reservation. It was super crowded, but the staff were very accommodating and patient while we waited for our whole party. Additionally, our waitress Mariah was absolutely wonderful!! She was knowledgeable and charming while still being efficient . As the Birthday Girl, I appreciate the restaurant went out of its way to give me a special book about the restaurant. Mariah even managed to scrounge up a few sparklers to make my dinner extra festive in addition to my happy birthday dessert message. All in all, this is a great place for a casual yet slightly elevated dining experience. I’d come back for the customer service and ambiance alone, and despite the few disappointing pasta dishes, there were enough other star dishes I tried to make me interested to try more.

The food and service were outstanding; we had the crudo yellowfin as appetizer the branzino fish as entree, both were delicious. The cocktails finally were served on the right glasses this time which was much appreciated: everything was top notch and we felt very well received and taken care of by the receptionist on a very busy holiday season day.

My friend and I dined in the outdoor eating space at Iron Gate where there were impressive fires burning next to each table. We were snug and warm. Our waiter was so welcoming we relaxed and relied on his advice while ordering. Our food was amazing from the tasty welcome dish through the main dish and two delicious desserts. The young woman at the front door went beyond her duties to help us add a second ride to our taxi order. We plan many return visits!

Philomena is a pillar in the DC community and for great reason. When you first walk down the, many steps, you enter your known as house. During the holiday season, the restaurant is decorated from head to toe with Christmas celebration. The staff are all extremely courteous and helpful And always dressed amazingly. The food is outstanding. All portions are large enough to share so get a few dishes and let your table enjoy old world Italian cuisine. Anything on the menu is a score in my book. But don’t forget always leave room for dessert. The cannoli are amazing!

This is our 2nd time at RPM. The first time was in Las Vegas and this time was in Washington DC. Both restaurants displayed excellent service and delicious meals. I had the meatball meal, superb and wife had the seafood prawns 🍤. Garlic bread was exceptionally tasty. This is one of favorite restaurants.