Fratelli

Sunday brunch was AWESOME on Father’s Day! I suspect their regular Sunday Brunch is just as great! The owner and wife are very hands-​on and greeted us at every chance. The food was very tasty with a lot of variety. Desserts were outstanding and tasted homemade! It was our first time there but DEFINITELY NOT OUR LAST TIME! Highly recommend! Employees were very friendly.

This is a super cute ltalian restaurant very close to our home in Alexandria. The interior is much more luxurious looking than the its outer dive appearance with fabric napkins and Italian opera playing. The food was delicious, however, I’ve never had an Italian dish that I didn’t like. The tiramisu was my favorite part of the meal– it tasted like a little old Italian woman made it fresh that morning. We will definitely return when we’re craving tomato-​y cheese-​y goodness.

What a gem of a find! This place doesn’t look like much from the outside, but what it lacks in aesthetic and curbside appeal, it makes up for in nostalgic charm in spades. I ordered shrimp fettuccini Alfredo to takeout and I was blown away. They really took great pains to put together my order – including salad and dressing on the side, a little container of parm, and WARM crusty bread wrapped in foil with a side container of butter! This is for lunch, by the way. The bread was outstanding. And the shrimp Alfredo was clearly made with homemade noodles, and the sauce was very rich but without being oily. The shrimp were fresh, but a touch overcooked. But that may be my bad – I’m guessing they kept cooking in the hot pasta in the to go container on my drive home. Also, I ate my FILL and still had half the pasta left over.
But best of all, this place reminds me of the kind of place we would go for dinner when I was a kid. Just rib-​sticking family favorites that feel like your favorite cozy blanket. Not going to grab a hipster’s attention with this location OR ceiling in terrible need of update, but it WILL transport you back to being 8 years old and SO excited to be ordering lasagna.

Found this place on a whim and it was bomb dot com! Def be returning! I had the chicken fettuccine Alfredo and a salad with the house Italian. First off this was the best of both these dishes I’ve ever had. The dressing was perfect. The Alfredo sauce was thick and creamy mmmmmmmmmm yum!!!

My husband and I dined at Fratelli a couple of weeks ago to celebrate our anniversary. We’ve lived by it for nearly 8 years now but had never been before. We arrived at 6pm on a Monday evening — it was pretty empty as you’d expect for that day and time, but there were some more folks by the time we left. They brought out hot, fresh bread that was amazing. I judge a restaurant by the quality of bread and salad. The salad was nice and the Italian dressing was so flavorful. I believe it’s made in house. We ordered fried mozzarella for an appetizer, which were quite yummy. Our main courses were tasty and satisfying. I had the chicken and artichokes in a lemon butter sauce that included a side of pasta and my husband had the chicken cordon bleu. He’s a picky eater but the menu had a nice variety of dishes he likes. He couldn’t stop raving about how good his meal was, especially the nice crisp breading on the chicken. My meal was quite tasty as well. Portions are generous (I had leftovers for lunch the next day) and for all that you get with the meal, the price was very reasonable. I had a glass of wine — perfect with the chicken dish and quite reasonably priced as well. They have a beautiful dessert tray to tempt you with at the end — we had a large piece of chocolate cake that was sinfully delicious. Service was friendly and attentive — they waited until we were done with our appetizer to bring out the salads, etc. I hate when everything is brought out at once and you feel rushed and crowded. They did a good job making sure this didn’t happen. The décor/​atmosphere and Italian music were nice. We’ll definitely be back! I hear great things about the Sunday brunch.

For fine dining in the Alexandria Virginia area. This small family run restaurant is a gem. I would recommend you experience Fratelli’s. This evening special is Lobster tails, large shrimp and Scallops on a bed of linguine. The lobster was prefect and the Scallops melted in your mouth. The stuffed mushroom with crabmeat was excellent.
This is a one of a kind dining experience in the Northwestern Alexandria Area

We knew this restaurant existed. We past by it multiple times, completely dismissing it, thinking it was another fake Italian place with gooey spaghetti with frozen meatballs tossed in a barely cooked tomato purée that is so tangy you get a heartburn just inhaling it’s fume. Well, we were so wrong.
One day my family stopped by on an über short notice, and I needed to find a place to go and have dinner ASAP, a place preferably with a decent wine and dessert too. Quick Unilocal search and I’ve found an Italian place with some awesome reviews. And it turned out to be place where I’ve been avoiding all these years!
Skipping to conclusion, this place is pretty darn nice. It’s not overly fancy and it’s fairly priced. And most importantly, they don’t over cook the pasta! I haven’t had al dente pasta at a restaurant for the longest time… Avoid those fake Italian restaurant chains. This is better. Try their vongole in a white sauce, or the pescatore. And do finish your meal with coffee and tiramisu.

Stopped in here for the first time with family. Had the brunch and it was really good. It wasn’t like cafeteria food; we tried several things and each dish was really well made.
Nice quiet place, family oriented. The owners were really attentive.
Too bad we don’t live near here because we would return frequently.

Excellent food and great service ! Enjoyed sharing my sisters birthday dinner with this wonderful staff.

We got the mozzarella appetizer as well as clams. The mozzarella was good but a bit oily for my taste. The clams were definitely over cooked and rubbery on this night. For our entrees we got ravioli and chicken franchese. The ravioli was ok to me, the pasta was made from scratch, a little thick but the sauce was average. Flavor was just ok. The chicken dish was ok as well. Highlight of our night was the tres leches cake which was most definitely authentic and excellent. The atmosphere is quiet, servers are very attentive and nice. The décor is definitely old fashioned but they keep the place clean. Ample parking.

We went to Fratelli’s after passing this place a hundred times and we live nearby. It was exactly what we thought and not happy about our experience. We went for a Sunday Brunch.
Location: The space is small, poorly lit, and has no open ambiance to it. It feels like the space is just «there» and the ceiling which was probably a marvel in its day is now a dimly lit eye-​sore which doesn’t provide natural light coming in. Wasn’t a great way to start and the restaurant is obviously dated.
Food: The spread was DELICIOUS. A variety of food and options gave way to a delicious and filling meal. A lot of «lunch» options but good choices. The waffles and meats were on-​point and the meal very delicious
Drinks: We went for the UNLIMITED MIMOSAS advertised on their website. We were ‘cut off’ at 5 and told that they aren’t unlimited rather you can get up to 4 or 5 which immediately killed the mood and our expectation. This was never mentioned to us and when it was brought up, it was in a very sour note which dampened our experience.
Price: For what we paid, DC brunches would have provided a much better atmosphere, experience, and choices.
Overall: We have no plans on returning to this place regardless of what it is.

Went for the first time last Saturday with a big group of friends. Very impressed with all the food! From the bread, fried cheese and the multiple entrees I tried, everything was fresh and amazing. Its like you could taste the love that went in to making each dish.
The service was friendly and fast, which isn’t easy when you have a group of almost 20 people! I would highly recommend this place and I cant wait to come back and try their brunch.

Amazing food and amazing service! Jason was our server and he couldn’t have been more attentive along with the rest of the wait staff. Everyone was so friendly. Chef Manuel was so accommodating and even made a dish not on the menu. We got to chat with him on our way out and he is the nicest man. What are you waiting for? Gooooo already!

I was pleasantly surprised with my dish tonight. I ordered the Fettuccini Frutta D’Mare to go. Great flavors with generous seafood and a really nice-​sized portion. The customer service was awesome too! Also, the location is good — I’ve passed by it countless times but it’s easily accessible with lots of parking. Looking forward to trying other dishes from the menu.

We were amazed at how friendly everyone was! The food was awesome and just a nice family feel at home atmosphere. We will definitely go back.

I really love this restaurant, but was recently disappointed in the quality of the food. I took a friend for dinner and was very embarrassed about the food that I had been raving about.
We both ordered the specials. My sirloin was a huge, thick slab of meat with a mystery sauce that was inedible. I could barely cut the meat, let alone eat it. So the owner replaced the inedible food with a grilled sirloin, grilled asparagus and a light mushroom sauce. This is what I should have received in the first place.
The spaghetti with shrimp had a very strange tasting sauce. Not one that I have ever eaten before. So my dinner companion ate the shrimp and pushed the pasta and sauce to the side.
The Italian wedding soup is very good. when you catch it on a good night. I usually buy containers to bring home and have found inconsistency in the batches. Very few meatballs, and they don’t fill the container to the top. I would even pay extra for more meatballs!
Good luck. I hope you hit it on a good night.

Quality.
This family owned restaurant continues to impress me with its consistently good food.
Crazy Prime Rib dinner every Thursday, great wine specials and delicious food. There clams and linguini is top tier and I just finished what is easily the best calamari salad in Alexandria I’ve come across. Real grilled octopus with clean, fresh ingredients like white pepper and fennel (more calamari than anything else though!)
I think the main thing that gravitates me to Fratelli’s more than anything else aside from fantastic food and a décor that transports you to Italy instantly is the fact that the restaurant is family owned. I feel like I’ve known Manuel and his son Jason for a lifetime now and when I go to Fratelli’s I’m being invited to their house rather than a regular restaurant.
If you have driven by this place time and time again, go there on my recommendation, tell them John sent you.
Cheers!

I am a big foodie, and I’m loving this place!
1^st: The house dressing for the salads is amazing. Fresh bread that is nice and toasted is always brought out.
2^nd: For apps must try the calamari. Fried just right! Or if you like mushrooms the stuffed mushrooms are great! Most places go skinny on the crab meat but not here.
3^rd: Everyone I repeat everyone needs get the lobster ravioli! My mom literally looked like she licked the plate once finished lol! I love Alfredo sauce so the seafood Alfredo was my plate of heaven. Seafood is fresh!
Their service is impeccable, their prices are beyond reasonable and their wine list. well top notch!

Was visiting some family in Alexandria and got to say that this place was super accommodating to our party of 10!
Nice humble family owned restaurant with fancy but not too fancy décor, great service, and just overall wonderful décor. You can really see the love in their meals and hey can even explain to you the story behind it if you ask. Being with my family during Easter week, we were just blessed to have eaten at such a loving place. I loved my pasta with cream sauce along with a nice generous serving of wine.
Overall, I think service could’ve been faster at times, but they were usually super attentive and would go back with my family another time!

When I first walked in, I expected this place to be a 3 – 4 star place… but as the night went on, it quickly became a 5 star restaurant in my mind. I love that it’s a Family owned restaurant-​Mom is a hostess, Dad is the chef, and the Son was our waiter.
.:Atmosphere:.
It’s a quaint little place. It doesn’t look like much on the outside, dark front, not much lights and it really looked empty from the outside. But once you step in, you’ll see that the main dining room (which is not near the windows) is decorated nicely looking little a little Italian restaurant. The dining room became packed during dinner time so it’s obviously a popular place. It’s quiet and clean.
.:Food:.
The food here is definitely top quality. The father is the chef and he knows how to cook Italian food! Some highlights:
**Mozzarella & Tomato-​super fresh homemade mozzarella, thick slices. with fresh tomatoes (probably house grown too). on top of lettuce and topped with their house made dressing. Everything about this dish was delicious. It was fresh and flavorful!
**Scallops & Mushrooms-​My mom and I were skeptical about how many scallops would come in this entrée… the answer: 9! it had a whooping 9 scallops and they were NOT small! The sauce was flavorful and savory. We were amazed at the price and value of the dish! Veggie side dish was flavorful as well.
**Steak-​I had the NY strip. It was cooked perfectly and beautifully. It had that nice X grille marks and the inside was moist and flavorful. No sauce needed. The meat speaks for itself. Came with a choice of sides-​I went healthy and choose veggies and those were yummy!
Chicken Alfredo with Cream Sauce-​this was good but slightly tooo creamy.
Each entrée came with a choice of salad or soup and the salads were fresh and large. If we knew we were getting salads, we wouldn’t even needed to order the appetizer. Of course, bread on the table for all when seated.
.:Service:.
I will say service is what pushed this over 4 stars. We had the son as the waiter and he was a gentleman. He made sure to check on us multiple time but not overly done. He always had our glasses filled with our drinks. He took my little brother’s questions in stride. He was prompt with service and very friendly.
This is definitely a place on my «come back to» list. The prices were really great compared to what you get!
I love this little family own restaurant! I highly recommend it!