Rialto

Food=superb
Service=lackluster
Atmosphere = semi elegant
We came in for their winter special, which was posted outside. This was our first trip to DC.
We had no clue who was our server… we saw 4 people in 5 minutes.
Food was amazing, the pumpkin soup and even their house salad was delectable. We ended up having to take our pasta home, the portions were more than generous. And it was still great the next day!
However our «romantic» supper was less then desirable, due to the cackling and loud people at the end of the banquet. There was a party down the seating and they were horrid and rude. The women had no concept of class and that was disturbing. .
When u walk in, the diner chairs at the bar are a cheap feel. When u walk into the main dining area, the fireplace is cozy and feels like home.
There is little space between tables and it feels claustrophobic. I believe there is only one waitress that is capable of opening a bottle of wine, but don’t think they will continue to pour… you are definitely on your own.
If you have the opportunity to ask for your bill, do it immediately, you may not see them again! I thought the service would be impeccable, due to our first few minutes… WRONG! We never saw anyone again, unless they are bringing food and you must jump immediately! I felt like a hostage…
I would like to try them again… food fantastic.. Staff… undesirable

I went back after attending a Unilocal event which was so great. I’m not sure if it was due to the time we went but it was lack luster. It would take our waiter a long time to come back and check on us. I could understand if it were busy but we were the only people in our section.
That aside, I liked the food. The bruschetta was great. The bread didn’t cut my mouth and the topping was flavorful. The calamari tasted much better during the Unilocal event. It wasn’t anything to write home about during this visit. The gnocchi had prosciutto in it and It was great the first few bites. However, it was so rich I felt full for trying to finish it as an entrée. It should probably be something to share or an appetizer.
I will be back but so I can use my gift certificate (finally). The reason my friend I went was to use our gift certificates received from the aforementioned event. However, we were told we could only use one at a time (which wasn’t stated on the certificate). We also couldn’t use it on specials (also not on the gift certificate).
I wouldn’t go out of my way to go back but if I were in the area I might stop in. However, Georgetown is a very competitive area for restaurants. Time will tell.

We went to Rialto for dinner because I had previous been to a Unilocal Elite event there and we had $ 50 in gift certificates to burn. The ambiance is nice and trendy, but nothing special. I actually preferred their downstairs when we were here previously. We had 2 bottles of wine and shared some food from the menu. We started with some of the cheese with prosciutto, which was delicious and also shared a woodfire pizza. the pizza wasn’t anything special, but was large enough for at least 2 people to share. The service was wonderful though and the staff was very friendly. I don’t think we ever had any one with an empty glass, so that was at least one positive thing.

Came back after having a great experience at a Unilocal!event here. The bread was great, but I would have to say that everything else was just good — not bad by any means, just good. They did not have a great cheese selection for a cheese plate and didn’t have much of a wine selection either. Our server was good, but our service was a little slow. I would say this is a decent choice for Italian in Georgetown.

So after giving Rialto another chance, I must say that they far and away surpassed my expectations. The service was superb, our waiter was funny, and the food was once again excellent. The staff was extremely attentive and I very much appreciated the recommendations for wine. We had a fabulous cheese and charcuterie platter and the quatro formaggi pizza, which was outstanding.
I’m glad I went back and didn’t let one rare experience define my opinion of Rialto as a whole. I will definitely be back soon for some more delicious food and happy hour beverages! Highly recommend trying this place out while in Georgetown.

I came here for the Unilocal event that the lovely Kimberly S. put on a few months ago, and they sent us all home with a $ 25 gift certificate. I hardly ever go out to gtown for obvious reasons, but I finally returned this weekend since we were in the area anyways. Made a reservation via Open Table which is always a plus. Unfortunately the main dining level is incredibly loud– a huge problem when you speak as softly as I do. The setting is dark but very pretty– there’s a huge fire place in the middle of both levels. So if you’re looking for a romantic restaurant that’s too loud for actual conversation, Rialto’s your place.
We started with the cozze in padella (mussels), which I didn’t think was that great. I was not impressed by the broth at all– it was quite bland. We wanted to share the orecchiette with olives on the side (I really dislike olives but the boy does not). They ended up splitting the dish into two plates with no olives on either, which I guess is nice, but I wished they had asked us beforehand. (I never finish half and the boy definitely needs more than his half.) I appreciate the homemade pasta, but this dish was also pretty bland. I never ever add salt to my food, and I definitely needed to add some this time.
I can’t remember the name of the cocktail I got, but it was a twist on a gin and tonic. They used cucumber infused gin, I believe. And the glass itself is covered in slices of cucumber. Delicious. The service was great. I think our server was named Umberto. it was last week, so I can’t quite remember. and really loud so I doubt I heard correctly regardless.

We decided to give Rialto a second chance and we are very happy that we did. The food remains delicious and the prices competitive. The pasta dishes are true standouts and I don’t think there is a bad item on the menu.
When we were here last, they were also in the process of training new servers — a welcome sign that this restaurant is trying very hard to achieve the greatness it is capable of.
They have a great menu and friendly service. They are also committed to improving, which makes me excited to return soon.
Their Early Bird special (4−7pm) for $ 25 remains one of the best deals in town!

I’m writing this review while I wait on the waiter to come back. Whenever he leaves, it takes him forever to come back.
We both had gift certificates and we were told we could only use one certificate at a time and not for any of the menu specials.
They offered complimentary bread with olive oil. I liked the bread but the olive was underwhelming.
We ordered the calamari, bruschetta, and gnocchi. The calamari had little to no flavor (I had their calamari before and it was better then).
The bruschetta was probably the best thing we tried on this visit. It was actually perfect. The bread was not too hard which made it more enjoyable compared to when it’s made on the hard toasted bread.
The gnocchi was super rich, which made it hard to finish. I thought it was good but I wouldn’t order it again. I would recommend sharing the gnocchi rather than eating it as an entrée.
I don’t think I would come back here. The menu is a pricy and the food isn’t necessarily worth the price, in my opinion.

My husband and I came here for a date night and early birthday celebration on Sunday night. His birthday isn’t until the following weekend, but we hadn’t seen each other in 10 days due to conflicting travel schedules. We chose to use our Unilocal gift cards we had received from the Unilocal Elite event we had attended here earlier. Both gift cards together valued $ 50 total which they were so kind to let us combine them in one visit.
The place was pretty desolate the night we were here. It was pretty chilly out Sunday night in Georgetown. I am more than sure this place gets packed on any other given night with the ambiance and how sultry Rialto is.
Saman and I decided to split a pizza and an entrée. We ordered two drinks — him a beer on draft for $ 6, and me a hot toddy which was $ 10.
For our meals:
Agnello Scottadito for $ 28 —
grilled lamb chop with lemon and rosemary sauce, roasted baby potatoes and sautéed green beans.
Great lamb chops and well prepared, but flavors were lacking. Not solid blend of mixtures.
Rucola e Prosciutto for $ 16 —
fior di latte mozzarella, arugula, prosciutto & cherry tomatoes.
Pizza again was lacking something. We were happy there was ample prosciutto on the pizza. Arugula was ample as well, but as far this being a $ 16 pizza — far from… at best $ 13.
Drinks were good. Saman liked his beer, and my hot toddy hit the spot. My drink was perfect,
Service is what sold the night. It was perfect. Not good, not great, but perfect. I was incredibly impressed with our server Umberto (sp?). I would come back just to have great service like this again. The presentation of the other servers even with it being a slow night couldn’t have been more perfect of a presentation. I will keep using the word ‘perfect’ because in my book it really couldn’t have gotten much better than what we experienced.
At the conclusion of the meal they brought Saman out a wonderful tasting tarimisu with a little candle in it. That was a great conclusion to the meal.
With the gift cards — out of pocket we only spent $ 16 extra dollars without tip. Not a bad gig for what we got. Unfortunately, with that sort of money Saman and I did agree we wouldn’t come here and splurge that kind of money on the food due to it lacking some quality that we were hoping for.
I think Rialto is great for drinks and for a date night for drinks. This is the kind of place you come after you’ve had dinner somewhere else. I don’t want to say that I wouldn’t try the food again, because that isn’t the case. With the lasting impression of what we did have there would need to be some improvements on implementing more flavors that compliment the respective dishes.
Overall rating –
3 stars on food
5 for service
5 stars on ambiance
4 stars for total experience

Went to Rialto with my partner, and the service here is absolutely abysmal. Definitely not recommended.
It was easy to get a reservation here, and when we arrived at 6:30, there was basically no one here. The restaurant self is very large, and we were given a choice of basically all the tables. They have a large gas-​fired fireplace which made the entire restaurant very hot. We had to change our seat table twice (!) before we settled for being near an alcove that was by the window so it was cool.
Our server, as I realized throughout the night, was pretty clueless. They had happy hour half-​price wine, and so when I asked for a recommendation, he just picked the most expensive wine out of the bunch. What’s the point of that? That’s a pet peeve of mine when a waiter doesn’t know the wine menu and instead just goes with money.
Appetizers were only okay. I ordered fried mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto, but they kind of came apart when they were fried. The dish didn’t have any real flavor besides just fried cheese. He got a kale salad, and while I’m not normally into kale, the accoutrements of almonds and sugar made it palatable. But that’s not really saying much.
The entrées were a complete mess. He ordered the free range chicken, and I ordered the sea bass. But when they came out, they served us two chicken breasts. Naturally, they took mine back, even though I saw the ticket and it is been put in as two chicken breast and no fish. So then the waiter never even bothers to acknowledge that one of us has a meal and another one doesn’t. I have to wait for an entire new entrée to come out, and our waiter is still nowhere to be seen. For some $ 28 dish, I expect at least a modicum of service. So then, after the finished food has already been taken away and he comes to pour the last of our wine, he asked how our food was. I said it was fine but it could’ve been a bit more organized. So then he had the nerve to blame the kitchen and say that it was the runner’s fault for messing up the order. Too bad he had no credibility and I saw the ticket of what he put in. Gave me a general slimy feel about him.
Overall, I don’t like this restaurant and I wouldn’t go back, nor would I recommend it to my friends.

I’ve been to Rialto a few times for drinks and small bites but this is the first time I’ve sat and eaten a full dinner there. I feel as though I’ve gathered a good sense of Rialto and am ready to share my thoughts.
Pros:
Service:
Their service has been top notch every time I’ve been there. The bartenders are personable and eager to chat you up (If you’re in the mood to chat) and assist with any questions you have about the area or their prohibition style cocktails. They really make you want to come back for the friendly service. Tip: Bartenders seem a bit more chatty since their focus is specially on the bar– the dining service is very friendly but if you’re in a more talkative mood grab a seat at the bar.
Drinks:
They have a number of extremely bright and fresh options on their menu
that they make with love. Their bartenders are excellent and clearly know what they’re doing. They also have a pretty nice wine selection and a few good beers to choose from.
Food:
Their food is solid Italian food. The bread served to the table was hot and a
great consistency with the flavor you’d hope for out of a fresh basket of bread. The other food has all tasted fresh and hand made to order. There was one pasta dish that had slightly underdone pasta and unseasoned beef, but the margarita pizza, Salmon over gnocchi, Pesto pasta, and the Octopus and Chilean sea bass risotto dishes were outstanding. My favorite of these was the risotto. Their deserts were great as well except for the gelato was the last order in the batch and tasted freezer burnt. The Zeppole was fluffy and sugary with a really enjoyable chocolate dipping sauce. I would 100% get these again.
Space:
Lower level private event space for about 100 people is Awesome. They’ve got a private bar down there and a great space with many tables and booths. In the center of the space is a giant fireplace. The room really looks incredible and I would be thrilled to host or attend an event in this space. It really is perfect. In addition to the private space below, the bar and dining room on the main floor are decorated incredibly nice. The space looks amazing and the ambiance is very upscale and hip.
Negatives:
Price to quantity seems a tiny bit off. The pizzas are priced in an okay range, but I’d like to see slightly larger pastas and entrees for the price range they’re in.
The olive oil was plain which is fine; however, in this quality of restaurant they should consider doing a roasted garlic olive oil.
They didn’t offer fresh cracked black pepper and freshly grated parmesan cheese upon arrival of the food which is something that many people enjoy when eating Italian.
They would be wise to monitor the quality of their gelato and decide against serving it if it has been in the freezer too long.

For those who know me well, The Guards used to be my favorite late-​late night watering hole in the city. It was a place where I could throw off my espadrilles and dance around in a circle with my friends in our brightly colored array of Lily Pulitzer dresses. Oh, it was a different time then. I was shocked and saddened when I had found out it closed.
After experiencing one-​too-​many wine samples at Wine Riot, Elain X dragged the boy and I here for some late night bites. It was brand new at the time and it was later in the evening so all that was available was pizza. Buyer beware, this is NO Jumbo Slice. They are churning out Neopolitan masterpieces in their authentic oven upstairs. You can’t be mad at that!
I returned a year later with Celina C. We were both craving some comfort from the rain in the guise of giant pasta bowls. For her the pumpkin tortellini (which we saw a lady making downstairs less than thirty minutes earlier), and for me the gnocci with black truffles, prosciutto, and toasted walnuts… And because Mama always says you gotta eat your greens, a side of brussel sprouts on the side to even it out.
I am not usually a fan of going out to Italian restaurants because I feel like I can make food equally the same or better at home. That is not the case here, their handmade pasta is absolutely the best and makes all the difference in the world in terms of taste and texture. If you want to indulge, this is the place to go.
The brussel sprouts were ok, they could have been cooked about one minute longer to caramelize more. But I didn’t mind too much because it was bathed in prosciutto chunks. And Woowee… Mamma lip smacking Mia. That was the best prosciutto I’ve ever had and I’m a girl who has eaten a lot of cured pork in my lifetime.
Portion sizes are not too big and not too small which is great because at the end of the meal I still had room for dessert! Celina got the panna cotta which tasted like an Italian version of flan and I got the coconut gelato with fresh fruit. Not a bite was left.
The ambiance of the restaurant is rich, dark, and sexy… perfect for dinner with a special someone or a girl’s night out. Service was spotless and our food came out quickly considering how late in the night we ordered. Everyone was so nice and accommodating, plus they all had adorable accents (As Laxmi mentioned, not sure if it was fake or not but I’ll take it!).
This is a definite gem in Georgetown between all of the higher end restaurants, chains, and bar options. I will always miss the Guards but luckily I can fill that void with pasta now!

Pretty much everything about Rialto can be summed up by saying that it was perfectly fine and nothing special.
I bought a Living Social deal for them on a whim because I knew that my fiancé and I would be in the Georgetown area to see a movie, and I thought it might be worth a visit. The environment wasn’t what I expected — a lot more modern and kind of dark in appearance. I like the open kitchen but the rest of the place feels like a really gloomy version of Ripple in Cleveland Park. The service was pleasant but I didn’t feel like they were truly friendly or that they went out of their way for us.
We ordered entrees, drinks, and dessert, and were content but unimpressed overall. The best part was probably the wine, of which they had a fairly good selection. We ordered one Moscato and one Chianti, and both were nice pairings for an Italian meal. My fiancé ordered the seafood risotto and I had the mushroom pappardelle; both were pretty typical, simple dishes. It was quite remarkable how quickly they came out, though, so I give them that. The mushroom dish was somewhat lacking in flavor as it didn’t have much of a sauce. My fiancé felt similarly about his dish. We then ordered tiramisu for dessert — an unusual move for us but we were in the mood. It was good but not incredible, and I certainly wouldn’t order it again.
Overall, there are so many great places — especially Italian restaurants — in Georgetown that it’s hard to justify the idea of returning here. The prices are too high and the quality too mediocre to make it worth coming here instead of one of the several other good options within blocks of Rialto.

(2.5 stars) I was excited to try this place after it opened up next to Unum, one of my favorite restaurants in DC, but sadly, my experience here was a disappointing one.
It started off poorly with the complimentary bread and olive oil. I don’t think I’ve ever had a worse olive oil at an Italian restaurant. Although it was characterized as a rosemary olive oil, it had no semblance of rosemary whatsoever. The oil literally had no personality. Any amatuer olive oil entusiast knows that a halfway decent olive oil has some flavor or peppery notes to it. I had to add a substantial amount of black pepper just to salvage it for the bread, which was actually pretty good and deserving of a better olive oil.
For my maiin entrée, I ordered the cheese ravioli because who doesn’t love homemade ravioli from an Italian restaurant. However, the dish was incredibly underwhelming. The ravoili had little to no substance as each had only a tiny amount of ricotta cheese stuffing. It was essentially like eating plain pasta in a light yet very average tomato sauce. Although it wasn’t bad, it was surely not worth $ 18 and I was over it after the first piece of ravioli.
Thankfully, the hostess allowed me to exchange my meal for the mushroom pappardelle dish, which was a drastic improvement. This pasta was soft and had a nice mushroom flavor to it. Also, the actual mushrooms in the dish were fresh and complemented the pasta well. This was an infinitely better option that the ravioli. Another member of my party had the pesto gnocchi and that was pretty good too. It wasn’t outstanding, but it was tasty, had a strong pesto flavor and all of its components mixed together nicely.
Although the pappardelle and gnocchi were enjoyable, the ravioli and especially the olive oil marred my overall experience. Given the high number of italian restaurants in the area and this restaurant’s seemingly inflated prices, I wouldn’t recommend choosing here as one of your primary dinner options.

Three words: lemon lavender gelato. This gelato was the best I have ever tasted and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I didn’t eat, but I stopped in for some refreshments. The stand out was definitely the gelato. I would go back just for the gelato. It was $ 9.00 but man, oh man, what a treat. The service at the bar was a bit inattentive, but that seems to be trend at a lot of places in this town. Eh.

Pros: The atmosphere was nice and the staff was friendly. The complimentary breadbasket with olive oil was delicious. The olive oil was really tasty.
Cons: The portion size was incredibly small. The selection in the menu was very limited.

This place is just okay, nothing special. I was really hungry in Georgetown and just found the closest place open. Service was good, but as far as food it was just average. Although my friend barely touched his food.
I ordered the fried calamari and the gnocchi Gorgonzola. The calamari was good, very crispy. The gnocchi on the other hand… Just average, I’ve definitely had better. My friend got the lunch special, for $ 15 which included a soup or Caesar salad and a main dish (mainly pastas or pizza). He choose the Caesar salad and the eggplant pizza. The salad was good, I really like the dressing. But the pizza was barely touched, definitely would not recommend. There wasn’t much taste to it… All I tasted was grease and cheese.
Overall, I would say go somewhere else, unless it’s your last resort. I probably won’t be coming back.

Happy 2014 and welcome to a delightful place to dine.
If you have not been to Rialto, put it on your to-​do. This restaurant is not only incredibly chic, but also serves amazing food. My party of 12 arrived on New Year’s Eve to celebrate our friend’s birthday.
NYE. Party of 12. Seated immediately. Yes, commit that to memory because I’m not sure that level of service can exist anywhere else.
We had a great table downstairs (request downstairs, the décor is so awesome), and were provided with menus. We opted out of the pre-​fixe dinner and elected to order a BUNCH of the small plate dishes and do family style. One item to note is that the menus indicate 2 – 3 plates per person, but these small plates are pretty large. Over the course of dinner I tried the mushroom risotto, cauliflower, mushroom polenta, gnocchi, eggplant, cheese tray, bread, and a number of other dishes that were passed around the table. I enjoyed every single one of them. I’d say the mushroom risotto (as quoted in other reviews), is a MUST try.
Our waiter did a wonderful job with 12 people and was helpful in providing assistance with pairing drinks with the food.
We had such a great time at Rialto, we will most defnitely be back! You should go too. Now.

I chose Rialto for the monthly Gourmands Get Together for November and 6 of us had a very good time here last night.
This place has 1. Very nice looking front. 2. Nice bar area 3. a big fireplace in the dining room. 4, Narrow but long space inside 5. Nice staff (Tomasso and our lady server especially!)
We had the following:
* FRUTTI DI MARE
* PANZANELLA
* RUCOLA
* MOZZARELLA DI BUFALA
* LASAGNA DI CARNE
* PAPPARDELLE AI FUNGHI
* RISOTTO AL NERO
* BISTECCA ALLA FIORENTINA
* GELATO
Everything was pretty good but not excellent. Frutti di Mare and Gelato were very nice.
I want Lasagna to have bechamel sauce mixed in with the bolognese sauce.
Pappardelle ai Funghi had several kinds of sautéed mushrooms but the pasta was a bit overcooked. Risotto Nero (squid ink) had a good flavor but the risotto was way over cooked.
But overall, the nice atmosphere, nice interior, nice staff, our server, the fireplace, all made us feel happy and satisfied! I have to tome back to try more antipasti and pizza next time.

If you are going here, do NOT come out without trying the Mushroom Risotto. I will NEVER speak with you again if you do — it is the best thing ever!!!
We picked an Italian red wine blend, which turned out to be fine, but I was sad when the manager told me I could just taste it to decide if I liked it or not — once they opened the bottle I would need to get it. Now I am by no means a wine connoisseur, and I do not go around ordering bottles at every restaurant, BUT most places I have been to will let me sip a wine and then decide whether or not I like it — taking a star off for that fact now. However, since the wine I picked turned out to go well with my food, I am not going to let it keep me from raving about the other yummy stuff!
We started off with the house bread, with some garlic and herb infused olive oil, which was very good. We went on to the Bufala then. drizzled with olive oil and basil leaves — perfect texture and perfect seasoning. I wished the dish had some tomatoes to it — I would have liked it better then. The pomodoro was a disappointment to me, given that the tomatoes they used were over-​ripe. Now it is possible that is what the dish calls for, but it really did not add to my experience at all!
We also shared the Salmon dish with some sort of lemon butter and capers, which was so yummy! The salmon had been cooked to perfection and the lemon butter was super good.
Next came the Mushroom risotto, which like I said, was EXCELLENT! The taste, the texture, everything was spot on.
We also had the mushroom Paperdelle, but to me, it paled in front of the mushroom. Another odd thing, I had a few bits of spaghetti floating in my paperdelle– which I found really odd. Led me to believe that maybe the chef used the same spoon to scoop out the different pasta or something. but regardless, I wouldn’t mind giving this dish a skip the next time.
Our service was good, if not excellent — we did feel our server had WAY too many tables. I counted 6 at the same time while I was there!
For dessert, we shared the ice cream trio– the lemon was awful and the pistachio was VERY yummy, given that they had roasted the pistachios.
I would love to come here again — the décor is very very plush and sexy, and it was fun 2.5 hours spent here! Next time, I will not skip the pizza! :)