Sfoglina Van Ness

The evening weather was lovely making dinner on the patio especially nice. I had the fresh pasta dish with sausage and sage, and it was delicious. We were celebrating a friend's birthday, and along with a generous piece of cake we ordered, they brought out an ice cream soft serve with a candle in it. The soft serve was this amazing blend of apple cinnamon sorbet and vanilla, which was really refreshing and a new but familiar taste. We also got the cannoli cake, which was surprisingly light and special.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We had a poor experience here. The atmosphere is nice. The food is nothing special. The service was our biggest issue. When we were sitting on the patio I saw a cockroach come out from where they store the dishes. We tried to ignore it (even knowing that the cockroach had likely been walking on our plates ?) but the cockroach would not give up and continued to run by our feet. Finally we asked to be moved inside and it felt as though the manager really disregarded us. He seemed visibly annoyed having to move us, and then they put us at a table and proceeded to never check on us again. I had to get up to find a server to get the check. The reason I am rating so poorly isn't because of the cockroach (I mean it's a city so it is normal) but the treatment by the manager. There was no "oh I am so sorry you experienced that, let me move you" it was just "oh whatever". A little customer service (even fake) would have made this a much nicer experience.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 1

A group of us stopped in late at night after attending a law school Reunion. They were extremely hospitable as we were a large group. Great food, wonderful service, and lovely ambiance. Thank you very much! We stayed late past closing time since many of us had not seen each other for years.

Vegetarian options: There are vegetarian options for those who eat dairy. Not certain if there are vegan options. The food is delicious.

Wheelchair accessibility: The place is wheelchair accessible.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We dined for an early dinner based on a desire for squid ink pasta. Honestly, the food was a step above Olive Garden, and the service was lacking.
Food: The flavors were muted. The sauces were repeated between appetizer and entree. The most notable dish on the table was salami, and this was just cut. The server created a pasta dish for our kid that ended up being almost $50. This dish included a smaller piece of branzino with pasta. The price point was never communicated until we received the check. The larger branzino dish on the menu with all the auctrements was no more than $30.
Service: We sat and then waited a while before being greeted. We received our bottled water and then waited another long length of time before being able to order wine, apps, or ask questions. After apps, we were asked if we wanted some bread to dip in the remaining sauce. We declined because although it was presented as a nice gesture, when it was repeated, the server mentioned an order of bread (another disguised upsell). When we eagerly inquired about the sorrento citronette, the server offered to bring some out to try but never delivered on that promise. In the end, the server did not come to check on our how the food tasted either. We had to flag down someone after waiting for our bill too long. The restaurant was not that busy. When the server came to collect payment, we explained our surprise for the pasta price. The manager came, offered an explanation, and an agreeable concession for which we wish to express our gratitude.
However, this is an overall unfortunate experience because, at the beginning, we were planning to return to try the other appealing items on the menu.

Vegetarian options: The menu offered solutions for vegetarians.

Dietary restrictions: The server accommodated my kids' dietary restrictions around red meat, but it comes at a premium.

Kid-friendliness: Yes, my kid was offered crayons and a coloring book. The server missed the opportunity to offer a kids cup at our table, but one table over received it without asking. Service was aware of the kids when presenting a hot plate.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Recommended dishes: Caesar Salad

Great food and service and not noisy for a lunch with a good friend. Wonderful restaurant.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We came to this restaurant because we were gifted a gift card and it was rated as a top choice in DC dining. We ordered the wine, water, rosemary bread, calamari, cacio e Pepe & short rib pasta. When we were asked about water, we weren’t given a choice for any option other than sparkling or still, we chose still and were charged $9 for a bottle of water. This alone is enough to keep me from returning.

Beyond that, the bread tasted exactly like the rosemary croutons from Trader Joe’s and the whipped ricotta tasted more like garlic butter than ricotta. The calamari was tough and the oil/mixture it came paired with was harsh to the palette. The cacio e Pepe resembled the taste of an elevated kraft macaroni and cheese. The short rib pasta was filled with a mush of who knows what meat and the sauce was .. tangy.

This dinner cost us $200 and we had to go elsewhere to eat after.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 5

Let’s start with the good! The atmosphere is great! We were originally sat in the patio but were, unfortunately, overrun with mosquitos (which is not their fault - it’s DC). But we lucked out since they had a 2 top available inside their veranda - which we gladly accepted! The service was good (not great). Out server took down our order and gave us wine, but didn’t check on us to see how the food was. Which again, I get bc it was a dinner on a Friday night so things happen.

Now let’s get to the not so great part… We ordered the peach and Burrata salad and the rosemary bread for our starters, the spicy squid ink tagliatelle and the bolognese pappardelle, and 2 glasses of wine. The warm rosemary bread was good and they used a high quality olive oil to top off their dipping sauce which was nice. The peach and Burrata salad was not inventive - it was very simple and I could probably make it better at home. As for our entrees, the flavor was there… but man were both of our pastas overcooked!! It made the dish unsavory since there wasn’t any texture - nothing to really bite into! I really wanted to love our mains, but we didn’t. This could have been a 5 star review if they hadn’t overcooked the pasta and had been a little more inventive for an $18 salad that was literally 1 peach sliced on a bed of whipped Burrata and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. We still tipped 20% - not EXACTLY the server’s fault we didn’t love the dishes.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 4

The manager in glasses needs to lose her job. She allowed one of her employees to blatantly tell my fiancée to look for another place to eat right in front of her after we waited around 20 minutes for our “20-30 minute” wait which turned into an hour when we went up to ask how much longer it would be. Don’t even waste your time here.

Service: 1

I wish I could say I even got the opportunity to taste the food here but we didn’t get to that point. I went in with my fiancée for dinner, lady in glasses greeting at the front told us it would be 5-10 minutes. We went outside and she came out seconds later to tell us they just got a big rush and it would be 20-30 minutes which is understandable. We continued to walk around the area to kill time and circled back to the restaurant and about 20 minutes into the “20-30 minute wait” I decided to check back in with her to see what the estimated wait time was or if there was any updates just to be told it would be another hour and that I should just look for another place to eat? My fiancée went up to her to ask for the manager and that’s when she said she was the manager. What a joke and waste of our time. Never coming back here again.

Service: 1

Horrible customer service karen with the glasses needs to be fired

Very overpriced and nothing special!

Fabulous dining experience. Great ambience and a delightful menu of house-made pasta. Excellent wine selection and wonderful service. A great place to dine with friends.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I had a fantastic experience at Sfoglina in DC! Even with a last-minute reservation on a Saturday at 8 PM, they were able to accommodate us with no issues, which was a pleasant surprise.
The restaurant's vibe was incredibly welcoming—cozy and inviting from the moment we walked in. The food was nothing short of amazing. Everything we tried was delicious, and the Caesar salad was particularly good.
Overall, Sfoglina exceeded my expectations. I’ll definitely be back for more great food and warm hospitality. Highly recommend!

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Grilled Spiced Calamari

The staff were so kind and friendly, and the food was delicious!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Potato Gnocchi

Excellent food, kids loved it, staff were ridiculously nice

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5