Pupatella — Restaurant in Washington

I am Italian and went to the 18th St location with an Italian friend visiting on April 22. Terrible service, terrible pizza. Never going back. We arrived at 815 and the waiter discouraged us from staying by saying the kitchen closed soon—930 which was not “soon”. It was a nice evening so we sat outside. I asked for a pizza well done and repeated the request at least 3 times. When the pizza arrived, it was under cooked—the cheese wasn’t even melted! I asked the waiter to put the pizza back in the over to have it well done, as I asked. He said I never asked for it well done. My friend and I insisted that I had asked at least 4 times for well done “burnt edges”! He accused me of lying and said they had security cameras that would show that I did not ask for the pizza well done. I was shocked that he was arguing with me.There were few customers so I cannot understand how he could not have taken note of the request. I said I would be happy to review the security footage with him but he clearly saw that we caught him in a lie. He took the pizza back and returned quickly and—you guessed it—the pizza was still not well done. I complained that the pizza was still not well done and asked for the manager. He said the manager was busy. I insisted and the waiter said he was at the bar. I peeked into the window, and sure enough there he was at the bar—on his phone. I asked again but the manager never showed up. By this point, my friend was clearly uncomfortable so I gave up. I tried some of the pizza, which was not good. I was so embarrassed because she was visiting from Italy and it was a horrible experience. She insisted on taking me out but I accepted on the condition she did not leave a tip. We left quickly with most of the pizza uneaten. Bottom line: stay away. Terrible service and food. I am...

Long time, first time…

I’ve been a happy customer for years now yet hadn’t reviewed. I’ve had Pupatella at/from various locations except from the OG pizza cart (my brother gets THAT pizza badge). So why review now? BOTTOMLESS BRUNCH! Well, maybe not food and drink but bottomless beverages nevertheless. Plus, there are a few items on the Brunch Menu that are exclusive to just that.

Thankfully, I do not feel the need to provide a deep review about how consistently good their pizza is nor am I doing a drink review for a pizza place. Admittedly, their Pupacino is fan-f’n-tastic though. What I will do is share logistics: the $21.95 Bottomless Brunch (drinks only) is from 11:00 – 3:30 and for a solid 90 minutes from when ordered. Also, keep in mind the entire table must order this. Also-also, our server stated we would not be able to place another drink order until our glass was empty. We made sure that was never a factor from that moment on…

My group went at a rather off hour (2:20’ish) Saturday but am not certain how busy it is peak times. Then, it was steadily spacious, not packed by any means. We dined outside on their plethora of tables corner lot right in the shade of a 91 degree day.

Overall, service sufficed with our food (Lucia, Caivano, breakfast Panzarotti) being brought out as prepared, hot to the touch. Refill accommodations were consistent early into the 90 mins but trailed off noticeably after we’d finished our food FWIW.

I certainly look forward to returning and intend on introducing family and out-of-town friends to this location, let alone the Bottomless Brunch option. However, I’ll be the first to say, if anyone ‘stays thirsty’ after ordering this 90 minute deal, that’s definitely...

Staying at an Air BNB just around the corner Pupatella was an easy walk on a chilly evening. Although the outside patio was inviting we chose indoor. Grab a menu and find your own seat and place your order at the front. This was unusual but our table was well serviced by staff who bring plates and water upon seating and drinks and food promptly. It was more of a free form wait service which was perfect, informal yet attentive.

For a Friday night it was fairly quiet but they were busy. The large screen in our dining area was an overhead view of the kitchen preparing the pizzas and they were busy busy so I assume the takeout and delivery were booming. The five stars is for friendly and engaging wait staff and the tasty pizza.

Crusts are thin and slightly pliable more like a pita with the rim of the dough perfect with a light char from the wood fire. Ingredients were fresh and quite good. I could go on, because there’s a great back story to the place, but know this, they have multiple locations in the DC area so if you’re traveling here like we are, you should definitely give Pupatella a try if you like good pizza cooked in the Neapolitan style…only wish we had one in our town but finding a restaurant like this is part of the beauty of traveling, and then there’s the beauty of lefties for tomorrow....