The food was amazing. From the bread plate with some of the best pesto I have had, to the arancini and lobster linguine, everything was fabulous. And the portions were very large, something you don't expect from a higher end restaurant. The menu is limited, but that means the dishes are fresh and nothing was frozen. It's in an old converted brownstone, so the atmosphere is just ok, but it didn't matter because the food was so good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Charlie
We visited Floriana for a romantic Valentine’s day dinner, expecting top tier service and food. Unfortunately, Floriana did not deliver.
Keep in mind, this review is specifically for the Pre Fixe Valentine’s day menu, which I assume is a rare occurrence.
Service: For $120 per person, I expected top tier service. However, we received some of the worst service I’ve ever experienced in general. We sat down and went ungreeted for over 15 minutes. While the restaurant was busy, there were plenty of wait staff, so I’m not sure what took so long. Upon ordering, our server was stunned we already knew what we wanted (not hard on a 9 item menu), and just set the tone off for a less than ideal night. I had a few issues with my meal, and would have appreciated our server to check-in once the courses were delivered, yet it never happened until the next course was about to come out. In addition, I ordered the steak, and had to wait 10 minutes to get a steak knife, something our server was not planning on delivering unless I asked. In general, the service did NOT match the expected quality of the experience.
Food: For a pre fixe menu, selections were decent with 3 options per course, but I had a major issue with the 2nd course. With a shellfish allergy, my options were extremely limited to one item, and to make matters worse, our server did not ask about my allergy until I insisted that I needed to be reassured that my selection did not have any allergy risk. The general quality of the food was… fine. My risotto had clearly been sitting out too long before being served, and lacked flavor and was cold. My steak I ordered to be cooked Medium, and it arrived on the border of medium-rare to rare, which I was very disappointed with. My partners meal was a bit better in quality, but also produced the same level of underwhelm. The dessert option was something you’d expect at a buffet, not a fine dining experience.
Ambience: This was a positive of the night. The place is extremely romantic, dimly lit, and quiet enough to have a good conversation. No complaints here.
All in all, an extremely disappointing experience for Floriana on Valentine’s day. I hope to return to try out the non Pre Fixe menu, which looks like it has a bit more variety and Italian charm to it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
Lynette Jost
A lovely spot with wonderful food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Larry Jost
A very quaint and warm cozy place to enjoy amazing food. Staff is friendly and very welcoming. Food is crafted to perfection. On a cold day try the mulled wine. The duck is amazing as is the butternut squash ravioli.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rojyar Poozesh
ABSOLUTELY EXCEPTIONAL! I love Floriana. The food is always incredible. Charming ambiance and the drinks are fantastic.
I love their black gnocchi, filet mignon, rib eye, chicken, the mushroom risotto, calamari, baby beet salad, bolognese and lasagna are all spectacular. The bread is always fresh and I love their little green olive oil garlic sauce.
And flawless service even better than the Four Seasons. Always a wonderful experience and haven't been disappointed in the twenty years I've been going here. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nick
This was a fantastic place for my husband and I to celebrate his 40th birthday...on a Tuesday night! (Seriously, major milestone birthdays are so much easier to celebrate on a weekend!). The restaurant feels intimate and has great, personable service. Food is fantastic and the wine selection is good. My meal was some of the best prepared duck breast I've ever had here in the US. We ended up making friends with the folks at the next table after they sang happy birthday to my husband! We loved the place and had a fantastic time.
Jordan Bowling
We were able to get a table on the balcony and watch the sunset. It was amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Laura
This is a friendly, cozy but not inexpensive Italian restaurant. We had scallop and shrimp risotto. The scallops were so wonderfully sweet. We also had the Sunday Gravy, a very meaty sauce on pasta. We took home leftovers. It was my husband's birthday and they brought him a complimentary dessert. Lovely.
Nathalie Domingues
Delicious food, wonderful flavors, and excellent service! I’ll take great memories of Washington, DC with me.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nate
Our waiter ran three blocks to give me the credit card I forgot. Excellent food and service. Will be coming back!!
My wife and I enjoyed restaurant week at Floriana. Adorable interior, friendly and attentive service, reasonably priced wine, and delicious, simple cooking. Very delicate preparations let our bronzino and salmon fillets shine. We often skip dessert but indulged on a whim and the mousse and tiramisu did not disappoint. An owner or manager stopped by our table and instead of the perfunctory is-everything-okay we spent an enjoyable 10 minutes talking about their sources and techniques. One of the more enjoyable dinners we've had in our decades living in the DC area.
Mike g
Excellent food, even better service from Michael!! Thanks!
Chelsea Andrews
Got you! Here’s a slightly longer, full-message version for Yelp:
⸻
Went to Floriana with some friends for restaurant week. Honestly, the experience was just kind of… okay. I’ve ordered from them on DoorDash before and really enjoyed it, but dining in didn’t quite hit the same. The squash soup wasn’t really my thing (might just be personal taste), the lasagna felt a little bland, and dessert was fine but nothing special. Service was good, and the space is cute and cozy, though parking can be a bit tricky. Overall, it wasn’t bad, but for me, it was a bit underwhelming
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Seth
Had a fantastic experience at Floriana! The restaurant is gorgeous and the food is fantastic. Marco was a fantastic server and had great recommendations for food and for wine! Definitely will be coming back
Gregory Mace
What a great ambiance and meal! It was relaxed and the flavors were great!
The food was amazing. From the bread plate with some of the best pesto I have had, to the arancini and lobster linguine, everything was fabulous. And the portions were very large, something you don't expect from a higher end restaurant. The menu is limited, but that means the dishes are fresh and nothing was frozen. It's in an old converted brownstone, so the atmosphere is just ok, but it didn't matter because the food was so good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
We visited Floriana for a romantic Valentine’s day dinner, expecting top tier service and food. Unfortunately, Floriana did not deliver.
Keep in mind, this review is specifically for the Pre Fixe Valentine’s day menu, which I assume is a rare occurrence.
Service: For $120 per person, I expected top tier service. However, we received some of the worst service I’ve ever experienced in general. We sat down and went ungreeted for over 15 minutes. While the restaurant was busy, there were plenty of wait staff, so I’m not sure what took so long. Upon ordering, our server was stunned we already knew what we wanted (not hard on a 9 item menu), and just set the tone off for a less than ideal night. I had a few issues with my meal, and would have appreciated our server to check-in once the courses were delivered, yet it never happened until the next course was about to come out. In addition, I ordered the steak, and had to wait 10 minutes to get a steak knife, something our server was not planning on delivering unless I asked. In general, the service did NOT match the expected quality of the experience.
Food: For a pre fixe menu, selections were decent with 3 options per course, but I had a major issue with the 2nd course. With a shellfish allergy, my options were extremely limited to one item, and to make matters worse, our server did not ask about my allergy until I insisted that I needed to be reassured that my selection did not have any allergy risk. The general quality of the food was… fine. My risotto had clearly been sitting out too long before being served, and lacked flavor and was cold. My steak I ordered to be cooked Medium, and it arrived on the border of medium-rare to rare, which I was very disappointed with. My partners meal was a bit better in quality, but also produced the same level of underwhelm. The dessert option was something you’d expect at a buffet, not a fine dining experience.
Ambience: This was a positive of the night. The place is extremely romantic, dimly lit, and quiet enough to have a good conversation. No complaints here.
All in all, an extremely disappointing experience for Floriana on Valentine’s day. I hope to
return to try out the non Pre Fixe menu, which looks like it has a bit more variety and Italian charm to it.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
A lovely spot with wonderful food.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A very quaint and warm cozy place to enjoy amazing food. Staff is friendly and very welcoming. Food is crafted to perfection. On a cold day try the mulled wine. The duck is amazing as is the butternut squash ravioli.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
ABSOLUTELY EXCEPTIONAL! I love Floriana. The food is always incredible. Charming ambiance and the drinks are fantastic.
I love their black gnocchi, filet mignon, rib eye, chicken, the mushroom risotto, calamari, baby beet salad, bolognese and lasagna are all spectacular. The bread is always fresh and I love their little green olive oil garlic sauce.
And flawless service even better than the Four Seasons. Always a wonderful experience and haven't been disappointed in the twenty years I've been going here. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was a fantastic place for my husband and I to celebrate his 40th birthday...on a Tuesday night! (Seriously, major milestone birthdays are so much easier to celebrate on a weekend!). The restaurant feels intimate and has great, personable service. Food is fantastic and the wine selection is good. My meal was some of the best prepared duck breast I've ever had here in the US. We ended up making friends with the folks at the next table after they sang happy birthday to my husband! We loved the place and had a fantastic time.
We were able to get a table on the balcony and watch the sunset. It was amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is a friendly, cozy but not inexpensive Italian restaurant. We had scallop and shrimp risotto. The scallops were so wonderfully sweet. We also had the Sunday Gravy, a very meaty sauce on pasta. We took home leftovers. It was my husband's birthday and they brought him a complimentary dessert. Lovely.
Delicious food, wonderful flavors, and excellent service! I’ll take great memories of Washington, DC with me.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Our waiter ran three blocks to give me the credit card I forgot. Excellent food and service. Will be coming back!!
Restaurantji Recommends
My wife and I enjoyed restaurant week at Floriana. Adorable interior, friendly and attentive service, reasonably priced wine, and delicious, simple cooking. Very delicate preparations let our bronzino and salmon fillets shine. We often skip dessert but indulged on a whim and the mousse and tiramisu did not disappoint. An owner or manager stopped by our table and instead of the perfunctory is-everything-okay we spent an enjoyable 10 minutes talking about their sources and techniques. One of the more enjoyable dinners we've had in our decades living in the DC area.
Excellent food, even better service from Michael!! Thanks!
Got you! Here’s a slightly longer, full-message version for Yelp:
⸻
Went to Floriana with some friends for restaurant week. Honestly, the experience was just kind of… okay. I’ve ordered from them on DoorDash before and really enjoyed it, but dining in didn’t quite hit the same. The squash soup wasn’t really my thing (might just be personal taste), the lasagna felt a little bland, and dessert was fine but nothing special. Service was good, and the space is cute and cozy, though parking can be a bit tricky. Overall, it wasn’t bad, but for me, it was a bit underwhelming
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Had a fantastic experience at Floriana! The restaurant is gorgeous and the food is fantastic. Marco was a fantastic server and had great recommendations for food and for wine! Definitely will be coming back
What a great ambiance and meal! It was relaxed and the flavors were great!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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