Sfizi Cafe — Restaurant in Falls Church

Talking with people around town (Falls Church) and reading online reviews, it seems you either like or dislike the service at Sfizi. (Paraphrasing Yoda in the movie Star Wars, "Like or dislike. There is no in-between.") I happen to like the service.

My friends and neighbors and I tend to note the following:

Atmosphere: The interior of Sfizi was lovingly planned. As a reviewer noted, the floor is ceramic tile which lends to a fairly noisy experience--but the tile, along with the wood and colors of paint, makes for a very warm, surprisingly classy place. Compare to the dining room at Pizzaria Orso, which uses similar warm colors.

Food: Echoing reviewer Erik Anderson, my friends and neighbors and I have always been happy with the food and desserts. The desserts, in particular, are difficult to find elsewhere in Falls Church.

Presentation: The food is prepped and served very stylishly, matching the dining room in terms of being elegant and classy... yet informal.

Prices: Surprisingly good! The lunch menu lists a very nice variety of dishes in several pricing tiers as well as by food type. The least-expensive pricing tier is $8.95, going up to $11.95. The bang-for-buck here is very good.

Service: During weekends the chief waiter is Guiseppe, assisted by busboy Haqim, who is Algerian. Harkening for a moment on "presentation," Haqim builds a masterful, beautiful salad. Guiseppe is very attentive, although diners usually say he does much better the more he gets to know his patrons and their individual eating choices and preferences.

Ending on a somewhat odd note (I know), I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my friends and I all tend to note the beautiful restrooms. The men's restroom, as example, is beautifully tiled with matching furnishings. We all wish our restrooms at home had such...

If you cherish authentic Italian cuisine, La Sfizi is a masterclass in disappointment. The restaurant, which boldly claims to offer a “la cucina di Mamma Franca,” falls embarrassingly short of this promise or Mamma Franca was from El Salvador as are all of it’s chef’s.

Firstly, the Parmesan debacle. In a bewildering move, the restaurant uses American processed Parmesan cheese - a far cry from the rich, authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano one might expect. The difference is not subtle; it’s a culinary sin that robs dishes of their intended depth and character.

The ravioli, another staple of Italian cuisine, is another letdown. Instead of being freshly made, with the love and care Italian cooking demands, it’s unmistakably store-bought. The filling is bland, the pasta dough is just bland, and overall, it lacks the soul-satisfying comfort of its handmade counterpart.

But perhaps the most egregious offense is the children’s butter and Parmesan pasta. It’s almost an achievement to make such a simple dish unpalatable, yet Sfizi manages it with what can only be described as an unharmonious blend of overcooked pasta, greasy butter, and the aforementioned processed Parmesan.

From its uninspired use of subpar ingredients to the lackluster execution of basic dishes, this restaurant not only fails to honor Italian culinary traditions but also manages to make even the simplest of dishes an unenjoyable experience. For those seeking authentic Italian fare, your taste buds deserve better.

Oh… an the prices are as thought ingredients and quality were not only premium bur Michelin star-worthy.

Non mangerò mai più...

I’ve been a fan of Sfizi since they were located in Fairfax in the early 2000’s. There was a point where I was coming multiple times a week for the authentic Italian food and atmosphere. Unfortunately as of a few weeks ago the ownership has changed away from the native Italian who started it (and had such a big, friendly personality) to some new people who do not seem to have any meaningful connection to Italy as far as I can tell.

I gave it a try with the new owners, hoping to not be pleasantly surprised, but was very much let down. They couldn’t even get a pizza right - it was super bland, not cooked right, and I would have been happier with a mega chain pizza.

I will say they still appear to have a good selection of authentic Italian grocery items and ingredients for purchase, so it’s definitely still got the potential to be something good if they keep those vendor relationships and find a team that can actually cook well. I’ll probably still drop in to grab hard to find Italian items, and try again on the prepared food in a few months.

Maybe it’s just confusion with the new ownership and it will get better, but my belief is that the magic left with the original owner and we’ve lost a great local restaurant. Thankfully there are several other good Italian restaurants...