Federico Ristorante Italiano — Restaurant in Washington

I don't usually write reviews, but this was one of the more frustrating dining experiences that I've had in a long time. We ordered the bruschetta to start, and the first sign that this wasn't authentic Italian food was that the entire bruschetta was toasted, not just the bread (the cheese was melted and the tomato was warm).

Shortly after, our waiter came out to inform me that the lamb ragu had peanut oil in it (I'm allergic to peanuts). Apparently, every sauce in the restaurant except the alfredo and wine sauces had peanut oil in it. What kind of Italian restaurant uses peanut oil in all of its sauces? Honestly, it was more bizarre than anything; Italian is supposed to be an olive oil-based cuisine. Our waiter, who was surprised himself, brought out an allergy list that the restaurant had printed/prepared to show me that all of the sauces were supposed to be peanut free, but apparently the chef (who was also the owner) was improvising.

It's weird to add peanut oil to a tomato or ragu sauce. Also, it's dangerous; a lot of people have peanut allergies, and Italian food is generally supposed to be something that's safe for people like me. If you make an allergy list, follow it, and maybe consider not adding the most common allergen in the world to all of your sauces. It's inauthentic, less healthy/tasty than olive oil, and you're going to send someone to the hospital eventually.

The waitstaff was polite and kind about all of this, but the chef/owner should use...

Okay food with cozy atmosphere. I was disappointed with the shrimp appetizer that came in a lemon butter sauce with mushrooms. It was 17 bucks and only included four shrimp! Also the butter and bread are cold and anybody comes in a packet. I feel like if this was whipped up fresh put in a small Ramekin and even if the bread was microwaved this would have made a huge difference probably earned a five-star and I probably would have eaten more bread and not cared about the shrimp. Also, Italian restaurants especially the family variety that are local Town ESTABLISHMENTS NEED TO START CHOPPING THE FUDGING SALADS before? THEY GET TO THE CUSTOMER. Again 17 bucks for a salad, I expect for me not to do the work in order to make it edible. Maybe I just need to start eating salads differently and grabbing chunks to dip into the cup provided? We got the Quattro something pizza and it was really delicious though! It is stinking up my car something fabulous right now and I can't wait to dig my teeth into it later. Great amount of cheese excellent job loading up on the toppings with a still very flavorful and thin crispy crust. I think your best bet is to skip everything else and come here for either a pasta or a pizza dish. The waiter kind of looks like Steve Buscemi and was kind of fun. If it's about the pizza I picked this place if it was for anything else I'd probably rather just go to...

Awesome place and his owner was magnificent. We were a party of 6 and arrived on valentine's day without reservation and he was very polite and accommodate us without hesitation, The restaurant was amazing: decorations, personnel and the food was delicious. We were vacationing from Tampa and did not know the area, we just wanted to eat Italian and we enter a restaurant and as we waited to be attended we overheard a phone conversation saying you did not need a reservation to eat that may be just had to wait a little bit so we were happy but when that gentleman came to us he asked us if we had reservation and we said NO he just said I am sorry but we don't have anything available. We did not feel like arguing since we just heard him telling someone over the phone it was not required. As we leave the place we cross the street and see Federico Ristorante and we decided to try and what surprise Everything Was Perfect!! What a difference in the way he handle that we did not had reservation and better yet the place was absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for making that trip special for US. I will recommend this place to everyone. You will not be disappointed! The pics are in my husband's phone, I will post it later. Ah!!! I just went and look the name of that awful place that didn't care for the customers its called The...