Caruso's Grocery — Restaurant in Washington

AVOID!

I decided to give this place a shot, as it came highly recommended by several friends. Took a seat at the bar on a Sunday evening (1/22) after a wait of about 25 mins. Bartender was friendly, but clearly needs more instruction/training. The service felt awkward, and he was painfully unfamiliar with the liquors and wines on offer. It became quickly obvious that they simply don't stock essential spirits; I requested a Bombay Sapphire martini--didn't have it. Tanqueray? No. Ended up with a different London dry that I wasn't familiar with, after considerable begging and back-and-forth with the bartender. Clearly I wasn't the only patron puzzled by this, as the gentleman next to me was informed they don't carry Bulleit or Maker's Mark. Seriously? Nothing against craft spirits, but in my view, you can't load up on those until you have your bases covered.

As for the food, it was a mixed bag…arguably worse. The garlic bread with white sauce was probably the highlight of the meal. The fried mozzarella was more bread than cheese. Then onto the veal francese, a real embarrassment. As a home cook as well as a regular on the dining circuit, I am familiar with the classic egg- and parmesan-batter sauté method . . . but this dish really missed the mark--as it was coated in such a heavy layer of overcooked egg that it was difficult to taste the other flavors. The vegetables were wilted, soggy and over-salted. By the end of it all, I was clearly disappointed; and to his credit, the bartender recognized that verbally if not in practice. I relayed my frustrations with the veal, which he acknowledged, but little/no apology and was presented a check with nothing removed. Perhaps Caruso is coasting on its status as an "it" restaurant of the moment, and thus didn't see it worthwhile to try and make things right with a chagrined customer. Fine, but they have not earned my return business.

Frankly, the ambiance was my favorite thing about this spot. It's clear that some thought went into decoration, music, and so on. Just wish food and service matched up.

UPDATE: Management responded to my review, with passive interest at best. The chef/proprietor addressed none of my concerns directly, and rather brushed them off. He takes issue with my observation that they are coasting, but his non-response to my complaint is case-in-point. He did offer to refund my meal, though when I said I’d be willing to give the place another chance, his reply was that “we aren’t the restaurant for you.” Not sure what that means, given that I dine out several nights per week and appreciate good food. Oh well, there are plenty of other Italian joints in this town that actually value customer service and quality over Instagram appeal. I’d recommend Trattoria Alberto, Filomena, La Perla, and...

First visit. I’ll start with parking. It took me at least 20 minutes and quite a few spins up and down Pennsylvania to find a space. I’m glad it was a holiday or I wouldn’t have found anything. I also had a hard time finding the entrance. Once in, the service was great. Bartender was attentive and gave recommendations. House salad had good flavor, even though they only used escarole. Would’ve preferred a more mixed lettuce salad but okay. Calamari was mid. Some pieces were dry but nothing worth complaining about. I was torn about ordering either spaghetti and meatballs or Alfredo. The bartender said the Alfredo is good, and he loves it with the chicken (this is important), so I order this based on his recommendation. My pasta comes out. Sigh. It’s not saucy, at all. The pasta is cooked, but they used just enough sauce to coat the pasta and that’s it. A ton of mushrooms. It wasn’t really balanced, and it was salty as all get out, like the sauce was reduced too much. I needed more pasta to go with the mushrooms. BUT, the reason why I won’t be going back to this restaurant is because of the chicken in the pasta. It. Was. DRY. Crouton DRY. it literally looked like they put croutons in the Alfredo. I asked the bartender if this is how they normally present chicken. He said I’ll ask the cook. Huh? You literally recommended this dish and said it was your favorite sir. Now you don’t even know if it’s normally served with overcooked chicken??? I let him know that chicken should never be served that way. Who wants to choke trying to digest overcooked proteins? It was giving they had it sitting in the kitchen all day and just decided to serve me that instead of cooking something fresh. It wasn’t evenly cut either. Some pieces were tiny and square, some were longer strips. The cook had the nerve to say it was normal, like I’ll believe that bs. Anyway, I put the chicken pieces on a plate (pic) and gave it back. They sent out shrimp instead which was more tolerable. Once done, I paid and gave a 20% tip and left. Stomach hurt afterwards as well. It’s hurting while I’m writing this. Super disappointed in the food. Especially for what they charged. Second star is for...

Ok so third visit!

SHRIMP SCAMPI $23.50 with Asparagus, Garlic, Chiles and a splash of House Limoncello *I loved the fresh tagliatelle pasta - it was soft and buttery with a delicious subtle garlic lemon aftertaste and I'm not a big asparagus fan but I did enjoy how crunchy they were which added a nice texture since they were so thinly sliced

SEAFOOD FRA DIAVOLO $29.25 Clams, Mussels, Shrimp & Calamari in a Spicy Tomato Sauce over Fresh Tagliatelle *my dining partner had this dish which he ordered spicy and I thought the seafood was cooked well and the pasta was a generous portion but I personally didn't like the flavor of the spicy sauce

14 OUNCE RIBEYE $38.25 with Marsala Braised Mushrooms & Balsamic Onions over Roasted Garlic Potatoes *the ribeye was nice and fatty, a bit overcooked for medium rare (we both thought it was cooked medium/medium well) but I prefer over than under steaks so I was fine with it, enjoyed the mushrooms, balsamic onions were a little sour but added a nice crunch

GODFATHER MANHATTAN $10 Manhattan, Amaretto Rinse *tasty cocktail, enjoyed this before food arrived

CABERNET & SANGIOVESE $11 Fiore, Tuscany *I love a dry red with red meat and this paired nicely with the ribeye and potatoes

CLASSIC TIRAMISU $10 Espresso-Soaked Ladyfingers with Mascarpone Zabaglione & Florio Marsala *I love how rich and decadent it is!

DIGESTIVI $9 They have a variety of housemade liqueurs and we enjoyed the Limoncello (sweet and strong) and Amaro (fennel heavy).

SERVICE: Our server was attentive as well as the chef and hostess to ensure we had the best experience. We will be coming back next month to try the gnocchi, chicken parmesan, trout...