Via Roma — Restaurant in Washington

Edit: Have since gone back and ate outside on their patio. Fantastic service. The pizza is indeed excellent. I stopped by this morning for a coffee as well. Great service; great cappuccino. This place does it all. Definitely will be our neighborhood spot.

The one thing I know about Via Roma is that they are going to make a killing! Here's the bottom line: great food and better service. Going to provide a ton of details but if you take anything away from this spot, know that you'll have some delicious food and the place is staffed by wonderful people.

I live right around the corner from Via Roma and the fact that a restaurant has opened within walking distance is so great. I can't wait to eat there in person because the space is so nice. It's not a small space, but it feels intimate, with a nice bar inside, but a separate counter for take out and its coffee bar up front. It really feels like a nice space.

On the food side, we ordered a few appetizers and some pasta for our first order. I ordered the Amatriciana and it was just delicious. The pancetta provided some great flavor and the pasta was cooked perfectly. My girlfriend ordered the ravioli a la norma and I liked that even more than my dish! We both got shrimp added for some protein and they were both cooked perfectly.

We also added the fried brussels and the Maryland crab tater tots. The brussels were delicious, with a great lemon-y flavor coming through. The crab tater tots were also just amazing.

The food itself was excellent and I have no doubt it will be even better in person. We live a 2 minute drive away so did not even need to reheat the food. But let's talk a little bit about the takeout experience since you cannot dine in yet. We placed our order for 6:45. We walked in the door at 6:44 (I checked) and before we even said anything, our food was being brought to the front counter. So that's, in a word, perfect.

The staff could not have been friendlier. When we walked in, a man I believe to be the owner, greeted us got us our order. We stopped to chat for a minute. Very pleasant guy, just like everyone we encountered inside the space. They also do curbside pickup for those who don't want to get out of the car, but we wanted to poke our heads inside to see the space.

Cannot wait to go back for some of the Roman-style pizzas!

One other thing, the service they use for takeout is called Toast. I did not leave a tip on the card for our first order, opting to tip cash in person, because I was not sure that Toast passed along 100% of all tips to restaurant personnel. The owner assured me that all tips go right to the servers; Toast does...

I had been alerted to this place by the owners of a former DC Italian restaurant which I knew would be a good sign.

The good & great - the atmosphere is small and comfortable with a good sized outdoor patio and indoor bar which is nice for solo diners. It has the feel of a local restaurant you would find in Florence or Rome.

The staff were friendly and helpful.

The food was amazing. Salad was delicious and tasty and the pinsa absolutely perfect size for two or for one with the bonus of having leftovers the next day.

This is a gem of a place that gives you all the tastes and feels of Italy without having to board a flight.

The not so great - the 5% add on. “A 5% surcharge is added to all checks to off-set fast rising expenses.” This is annoying as a customer as it is basically the hotel scam of destination fees. I.E. - we show lower base prices that look more appealing but are charging you more.

My same advice to restaurants - as I would have for hotels who pull this crap is - add it to the listed price! The surcharge or destination fees are too cute by half business practices that are not respectful of your customers.

It also brought back memories of going to the tourist trap restaurants in Rome and Napoli who would have a cover charge they would throw on the customer’s bills. I just think this place is better than that.

However - will this stop me from going back? Nope. Not at all. The food is just too...

I decided to try Via Roma after hearing some buzz and seeing how conveniently located it is near the Woodley Park Metro. The setup is appealing — they have a large, covered outdoor dining area, a spacious indoor room that’s well-decorated with a modern yet cozy feel, and a huge bar space.

I was especially curious to try their pinsa, which is different from your typical Neapolitan pizza. Having lived in Italy, I’ve had pinsa before and was excited to see how Via Roma’s version measured up. Unfortunately, I wasn’t all that impressed — it was just OK, nothing memorable.

What really put a damper on the experience were the pricing practices. Ordering online came with a surprise $4 upcharge per pinsa compared to ordering directly with the restaurant. On top of that, there’s an extra 5% fee tacked on to every order — and they make it clear it’s not a gratuity or service fee. If it’s the cost of doing business, just bake it into the menu price. Don’t nickel and dime your customers — it feels petty.

Staff was fine overall, though when I was leaving, a waitress entering the restaurant didn’t acknowledge me at all and just barged past, with no excuse me or even acknowledgment that I had opened the door to leave which left a bit of a sour taste.

Not a terrible experience, but definitely not one I’m...