Osteria Morini

Second time here! Five stars both visits! Edith our waitress was wonderful! Chris our sommelier helped us choose an affordable outstanding bottle of wine! They have indoors and outside seating. Right on the water! The food is authentic northern Italian! Many gluten free options!!

Amazing place. Had a pasta tasting and a cocktail. Everything was just right: staff was very friendly, polite and responsible, food, cocktails were amazing, atmosphere cozy. Highly recommended!

I planned an evening out for us and another couple. I was looking for an area where we could go for drinks and then to dinner preferably Italian. We started at Trouble Bird which is a block or two away. Then at Morini for dinner. It was 8:00 on Friday and maybe the restaurant was half full inside and the outside seating was more popular. We started with cocktails, 2 of us got the spicy martini which used vodka washed in Calabrian chiles and 2 Prosecco’s. Those who ordered the martinis liked them. We shared the fried calamari and burrata with prosciutto. Both were good but not stand outs. For dinner 3 of us got pastas and 1 short rib. The 3 pastas were the cappalletti, tagliatelle, and paglia e fieno. The cappaletti was truffled ricotta ravioli in a creamy sauce with prosciutto. I think this was the best of the 3 but you have to like truffle flavor. The tagliatelle with bolognese was good not great. The paglia e fieno was a non meat option and was ok. We had a bottle of Barolonwith the meal. I tried all the pastas but not the short rib but they didn’t was good. We shared the chocolate olive oil cake and the tiramisu these were both pretty good. From a food perspective everything was good but nothing that I would demand a return trip. The service night was very good. The server was polite and informative. We had one lull in service where we had to wait a bit for him to stop by when we needed something. Who i believe was the manager checked up on us a couple times. Atmosphere was relatively lively but wound down quite a bit as of 9:00. Unless, we did have a trouble finding the location. We saw Due South and Jubilee ice cream and our mansard we were there. I walked around the far side and found Agua 301 but didn’t realize we had to walk around the near side and then go all the way around to get to the entrance. It was a good meal and probably a reliable choice but I’m still on the search for what I would consider great Italian.

This restaurant is truly wonderful. After discovering it, we became regulars for the remainder of our stay in Washington (visiting daily for two weeks). There are several menus to choose from: lunch, brunch (during weekends), midday, and dinner, as well as bar snacks - and, of course, a delicious dessert menu. The latter features the most delightful sorbets and gelati (the cantaloupe sorbet and pistachio gelato were our favourites), as well as a full selection of beautifully composed desserts. One of the highlights was a peach & amaretto frozen mousse that came nestled on top of a light and flavoursome almond cake (complemented by a delicate almond brittle and peaches)…just gorgeous; while the star of the show for us features in the lunch and dinner menus: the Morini’s branzino (which, in our opinion, is culinary perfection itself)! The attention to detail is exceptional: from food allergies to personal preferences, the team is the most accommodating we’ve come across (not only during our time here, but anywhere). Special thanks to the wonderful managers we met, Chris and Antonella; our waiters Alfonzo (a true star, who extends to all the restaurant’s patrons a supreme combination of professionalism and personal kindness), Edith (wonderfully kind and attentive), Julietha (a gem), William (who remembered where we sat before, even though he didn’t serve us then), and Trini (the undisputed king of all coffees); Kori (for such a warm’ front of house’ welcome); the fabulous chefs; and cleaning staff, who maintain the restaurant in such excellent condition. We loved our visits to Osteria Morini, and I feel confident that you’ll feel special here: whether you come for a date, family event, get-together with friends/colleagues, or a treat for yourself. In our opinion, Washington’s Osteria Morini is more than a 5 star restaurant: it offers an experience beyond comparison, and we feel truly privileged to be able to take these memories home with us. (A huge thank you, to all at Osteria Morini, for their superb hospitality).