Cute place, good food, great service. I stopped by Retrobottega while passing through DC. I had an great experience. I had a tendency to make reservations and that was a good call because they were very busy. The ambience was really cute, the food was great. I ordered octopus salad and gnocchi paired with glass of Chianti. The service was great, very kind and accommodating. I definitely will be coming back again when I’m in DC.
Caprese salad and their house focaccia bread are a must! Mariana was great with us. Will be going back the next time we’re in town.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Aitana Muñoz
Great Espresso Martini! 10/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Abby Power
I enjoyed my dinner here last week! The food was delicious, they also have wonderful service and a cool atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Savannah Maass
Regarding the one star review about Retrobottega disregarding allergies, that was me. I have a SEVERE peanut allergy and almost died on Friday night. Avoid this place at all costs if you have allergies.
Karina Conner
Retrobottega sent my friend to the ER. (Literally) After thoroughly explaining my friend’s SEVERE peanut allergy (and them reassuring us that there were no peanuts in our meal), she started having a reaction. We called attention to it and our server went to ask the chef about potential cross contamination. Turns out, the chef decided to put peanuts in the pesto WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE. This was fully admitted by the team working that night. Yep… you read that right. My friend had to use epipen, get more IV Epi by EMS, and spend the night in the ER. The server was very sweet and apologetic, but neither the manager NOR the chef came out to speak with us before we had to rush out for the hospital. We called the next day and spoke with the manager who said the owner would call to make this right. Despite that, the owner still has not reached out to talk to her (two days later). She has incurred medical bills and is obviously shaken from this. I’m still shocked by this experience. I can’t believe the blatant disregard from this restaurant that was worsened by no follow up or apology from the higher ups. This “mistake” could’ve been fatal.
Avoid Retrobottega at all costs if you have any sort of allergy…
Hailey Kirchner
While we enjoyed most of our experience here, we were left with a sour taste in our mouth at the end of it. The food was good and the waitstaff was pleasant and attentive. However, immediately after we had paid our bill, and I still had an entire glass of wine, the hostess came up to us and told us that there was another reservation coming in 5 minutes and they needed the table, even though we had only been there for just over an hour! The table next to us was not told the same thing, though they were there when we arrived. Before this, we likely would have retuned but I have never been kicked out of a restaurant before I have finished the things that I am paying for and was very disappointed.
Retrobottega is a stylish, NY-esque Italian trattoria. The food’s good but I believe there are better options in DC for a similar price tag. Their high vaulted ceiling with minimal renovation adds a bit of tasteful neglect that just reminds me of New York. There are both indoor and outdoor tables. The outdoor patio has heaters. We got a reservation and sat indoors. When seated, there were three other pairs eating at the restaurant. For whatever reason, the host decided to seat us crammed right next to the only other pair upstairs. What was he thinking? No clue… Our waitress was wonderful and very attentive! Their bread and olive oil were tasty - wish the bread was warmed. The Negroni was perfect. The waitress, kindly, accommodated our request for their fried mozz, which is normally only served at the bar. It was super tasty with hints of truffle oil. The fried artichoke (carciofi) was 10/10. The mafaldine (pasta with rabbit meat) was heavily covered with loads of thinly sliced garlic. However, I believe this is usual practice to mask the flavor of rabbit meat. The fetuccine with duck was nice and it worked well. Both pasta dishes used real nice and fresh pasta, boiled perfectly. The tiramisu was okay. The wines were not good though. We tasted three different by-the-glass options and all smelled of paint and had an even less enjoyable taste. I’d say Retrobottega is a solid choice. However, it’s a much better cocktail stop than restaurant. Their bar food was tasty and cocktails were done right. For the food price, I’d much rather go to the Red Hen, North Italia, Reveler’s Hour, etc.
This was a super cute spot nestled into the charming Adams Morgan neighborhood. The food was tasty (had the lasagna & rigatoni) and portion size was perfect.
Minus one star simply because seating is a little sparse and we were seated directly next to a couple in a very confined area when the entire restaurant was open.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Lasagna
sabine
Such a great find! The food was sooo good. The salad and tomatoes tasted very fresh. The pasta seems to be homemade, and I got such a huge portion of the beef short rib which was cooked to perfection. The desserts were delicious too. It was truly a very good experience enjoying every plate there. The personnel was also very attentive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bread and Oil, Tiramisu, Ravioli with Burrata, Bruschetta
Sandra Garcia
Amazing food. Amazing service. The reason I won’t give it a 5 ⭐️ it’s because the music was SO LOUD. Literally had to scream to my date because he couldn’t hear me. Why is the music so loud? It’s a beautiful restaurant, not a sports bar.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 5
Juan Ortiz Couder
Okay so the food was great - flavor was incredible. The problem is that the portions were a bit small for the price. Service and ambiance was great.
Cute place, good food, great service. I stopped by Retrobottega while passing through DC. I had an great experience. I had a tendency to make reservations and that was a good call because they were very busy. The ambience was really cute, the food was great. I ordered octopus salad and gnocchi paired with glass of Chianti. The service was great, very kind and accommodating. I definitely will be coming back again when I’m in DC.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gnocchi Bolognese, Grilled Octopus
Caprese salad and their house focaccia bread are a must! Mariana was great with us. Will be going back the next time we’re in town.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great Espresso Martini! 10/10
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I enjoyed my dinner here last week! The food was delicious, they also have wonderful service and a cool atmosphere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Regarding the one star review about Retrobottega disregarding allergies, that was me. I have a SEVERE peanut allergy and almost died on Friday night. Avoid this place at all costs if you have allergies.
Retrobottega sent my friend to the ER. (Literally)
After thoroughly explaining my friend’s SEVERE peanut allergy (and them reassuring us that there were no peanuts in our meal), she started having a reaction. We called attention to it and our server went to ask the chef about potential cross contamination. Turns out, the chef decided to put peanuts in the pesto WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE. This was fully admitted by the team working that night. Yep… you read that right. My friend had to use epipen, get more IV Epi by EMS, and spend the night in the ER.
The server was very sweet and apologetic, but neither the manager NOR the chef came out to speak with us before we had to rush out for the hospital.
We called the next day and spoke with the manager who said the owner would call to make this right. Despite that, the owner still has not reached out to talk to her (two days later). She has incurred medical bills and is obviously shaken from this.
I’m still shocked by this experience. I can’t believe the blatant disregard from this restaurant that was worsened by no follow up or apology from the higher ups. This “mistake” could’ve been fatal.
Avoid Retrobottega at all costs if you have any sort of allergy…
While we enjoyed most of our experience here, we were left with a sour taste in our mouth at the end of it. The food was good and the waitstaff was pleasant and attentive. However, immediately after we had paid our bill, and I still had an entire glass of wine, the hostess came up to us and told us that there was another reservation coming in 5 minutes and they needed the table, even though we had only been there for just over an hour! The table next to us was not told the same thing, though they were there when we arrived. Before this, we likely would have retuned but I have never been kicked out of a restaurant before I have finished the things that I am paying for and was very disappointed.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Such a gem , service and food was amazing !
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
🤌🏼Beef carpaccio🤤perfecto❣️
Food: 5
Recommended dishes: Lasagna, Scallop Risotto, Arancini, Tiramisu, Ravioli with Burrata, Bruschetta
Retrobottega is a stylish, NY-esque Italian trattoria. The food’s good but I believe there are better options in DC for a similar price tag. Their high vaulted ceiling with minimal renovation adds a bit of tasteful neglect that just reminds me of New York. There are both indoor and outdoor tables. The outdoor patio has heaters. We got a reservation and sat indoors. When seated, there were three other pairs eating at the restaurant. For whatever reason, the host decided to seat us crammed right next to the only other pair upstairs. What was he thinking? No clue… Our waitress was wonderful and very attentive! Their bread and olive oil were tasty - wish the bread was warmed. The Negroni was perfect. The waitress, kindly, accommodated our request for their fried mozz, which is normally only served at the bar. It was super tasty with hints of truffle oil. The fried artichoke (carciofi) was 10/10. The mafaldine (pasta with rabbit meat) was heavily covered with loads of thinly sliced garlic. However, I believe this is usual practice to mask the flavor of rabbit meat. The fetuccine with duck was nice and it worked well. Both pasta dishes used real nice and fresh pasta, boiled perfectly. The tiramisu was okay. The wines were not good though. We tasted three different by-the-glass options and all smelled of paint and had an even less enjoyable taste. I’d say Retrobottega is a solid choice. However, it’s a much better cocktail stop than restaurant. Their bar food was tasty and cocktails were done right. For the food price, I’d much rather go to the Red Hen, North Italia, Reveler’s Hour, etc.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bread and Oil, Carciofi
Restaurantji Recommends
Delicious seafood chitarra
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This was a super cute spot nestled into the charming Adams Morgan neighborhood. The food was tasty (had the lasagna & rigatoni) and portion size was perfect.
Minus one star simply because seating is a little sparse and we were seated directly next to a couple in a very confined area when the entire restaurant was open.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Lasagna
Such a great find! The food was sooo good. The salad and tomatoes tasted very fresh. The pasta seems to be homemade, and I got such a huge portion of the beef short rib which was cooked to perfection. The desserts were delicious too. It was truly a very good experience enjoying every plate there. The personnel was also very attentive.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bread and Oil, Tiramisu, Ravioli with Burrata, Bruschetta
Amazing food. Amazing service. The reason I won’t give it a 5 ⭐️ it’s because the music was SO LOUD. Literally had to scream to my date because he couldn’t hear me. Why is the music so loud? It’s a beautiful restaurant, not a sports bar.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 5
Service: 5
Okay so the food was great - flavor was incredible. The problem is that the portions were a bit small for the price. Service and ambiance was great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Loading...