Lupo Verde

Impromptu stop here. Had been out walking . . . it was hot . . . mosquitos were trifling . . . I was hungry. Italian seemed good and cocktail menu seemed pretty attractive.Only hightop tables here, which is a bummer (I'm 5'2), but nothing anyone can control. I came for a late lunch, so I was the only person there.Is this REAL Italian . . . eh . . . not exactly. Owned by a French guy who owns a few restaurants in the area. But I'm a snob because when you've had Italian from nonnas straight off the boat or from second or third generation Italian families in Little Italy . . . makes it tough.But the food is pretty good just the same. The arancini, made with saffron risotto, beef, and mozzarella was a decent starter. No complaints. At the recommendation of the bartender, I had the ravioli all emiliana, ravioli made with braised short rib, ricotta, and vodka sauce. The short rib was moist and flavorful. The vodka sauce was just decent.For cocktails I had the Lupo picante (tequila, aperol, st. Germain), the peppino sorintino (gin limoncello, lemon juice, Prosecco), and the Positano, which was quite spicy and made with jalapeño infused spirit).The dinner menu is more expansive--cacio e Pepe, fettuccini alla norcina, fettuccini all bolognese, lasagna, gnocchi, linguine, pesto pasta, and more. For secondi they have veal, risotto al funghi, Branzino, and more.I am giving five stars because my server/the bartender, Ivan, was great. Very attentive and cool, gave me a little aperitif to wrap up the meal. Seems like a real neighborhood place, not pretentious.So is this the best Italian you'll ever have? Probably not. But a worthwhile place to check out in the DC area.

Arrived early for Valentine's dinner with my husband and was pleasantly greeted and surprised that we were able to be seated. Unfortunately, that's where it started to go downhill. I requested a standard table, but we were seated on the patio, which is hardly decorated like a high end restaurant. Icicle lights, plastic grapes, and a space heater do not create a romantic atmosphere nor one that should be expected where you are spending $34-$56 for a plate of food. Our server was friendly and efficient, but that sadly did not make up for lackluster overpriced food and drinks we experienced. While there was a disappointing prix fixe menu for Valentine's day, which was not advertised when I booked the reservation (I will never understand why every restaurant does this on Valentine's day. It's so annoying), there was a limited selection of their regular menu as well. We started with cocktails. I had the Winter Old Fashioned and my husband had a Moscow Mule. My drink tasted like it was nothing more than maple syrup over ice, shockingly sweet and i tasted no bourbon. Also, the sugared rim dripped down my glass making a sticky mess every time i picked it up to have a sip. My husband's mule tasted of nothing other than ginger beer. First fail! Next, our lupo verde salads were delivered along with a bread basket. The lettuce in our salads was warm and for $17 each, should have been more than 4 or 5 bites. The bread in the basket was literally 4 jumbo sized (hard as a rock) croutons, which would have been better served on top of our salads. Fail number Two! Surely our entrees would be better, right? Nope. My husbands pappardelle with wild boar ragu was "fine", however my short rib raviolis ranged in temperature from straight from the fridge to barely lukewarm and were swimming in a sauce that tasted like jarred demi-glace. The parmesan "foam" was an unappetizing puddle of white liquid in the middle of my plate. I only finished it off a) because I was famished and b) there were only 7 small raviolis. I have had great experiences at Lupo Verde before but this one did not measure up, and will probably cause me not to return. At $190 after tip, we should have been able to expect more. Luckily, from start to finish, it only ate up about 45 minutes of our night.

Genuinely one of the worst meals I've had. 28 dollar seafood starter came with three unseasoned grilled shrimp. Foccacia bread basket was cold, unsalted, and tasted like they sprinkled canola oil on it. Ossabucco with saffron rice was undercooked, rice was still crunchy. Cacio e pepe could have been the saving grace but it came out stone cold. This has to be the worst way to spend $100 on a meal, period. Plenty of better spots on dc. Do not come here.

I thought for sure this place would be a winner. The ambience is amazing, the staff are warm and friendly and very authentic. The food however, was terrible. The focaccia was dried out and had a rancid oil flavor. The carpaccio was OK, not terrible. The gnocchi however, was the biggest disappointment. The gnocchi itself was gummy and the sauce tasted like a powder packet that you add water to. The two best things about this restaurant are the drinks and the ambience.

first stop in DC after feasting for a week straight was @lupoverde.dc for a cozy italian lunch with my grandma, mom and sister feat. lupo verde insulate, arancini, cacio e pepe, gigli, gnocchi gorgonzola e spinaci, and a simple pomodoro for emma we don't skip the dolce my mom devoured the panna cotta with fresh berries--her favorite dessert and emma had TWO ordered of the bomboloni & nutella--her favorite dessert!

We stopped in after grabbing dinner on U st. The plan was just to grab drinks, but that changed once we saw some of the food that was coming out. This place is super cute and cozy. The energy from the staff made you want to stay for hours. We sat at the bar and had an amazing time with our bar tender. He was awesome! Everything on the menu looked amazing. We ordered the Fettuccine alla Norcina. This pasta blew our minds. The truffle sauce is to die for. Can't wait to get back to try out some of the other dishes. Great spot in DC! A must try.

There was a fly in the orange juice, but I suppose that comes with the territory when you sit outside.Our server was nice. We also had a woman who wasn't our server who checked in on us periodically.They offer a nice deal of $35 social brunch per person, 2 person minimum. 1 appetizer, 2 mains, 1 side, 1 bottle of mimosa materials (Prosecco and juice)The food was very good.The pastry board wasn't too heavy and was well made- the chocolate dip was a nice touch too.The steak and eggs were delicious. There are home fries as well on the plate, which were good. I also asked for ketchup for the home fries, which wasn't natively on the table.The steak was well cooked- I got Medium. The eggs that I ordered were scrambled with cheese. The only cheese they have is mozzarella (naturally)They also have other juice options to orange, like pineapple and maybe 1-2 other options.Good spot.

Came to brunch here with a friend and were able to get a reservation early Sunday! Service was great and very attentive. Ambience is friendly and welcoming. We both ordered omelettes, which were delicious! I picked the vegetable omelette which was a great size packed with veggies and a little cheese with a side of potatoes. Can't wait to come back for dinner to try their evening menu items!

Was excited to try this place because of some recommendations. The interior was nice and well decorated (it is pretty small so the tables are a little cramped) and the service was great! The only thing that fell short for me was the food. I got the agrodolce pizza and the dough was exactly what I usually look for in Neapolitan--soft and bouncy with a nice char--but the flavors were totally unbalanced. On top of that, the mozzarella was shredded and seemed like it may have been the kind that came in pre-shredded in a bag. I will say that they had some other pizzas that looked like they came with fresh bufala mozzarella, which may have been a better choice.Overall, a decent spot to check out but I likely won't be coming back anytime soon.

This is not an Italian restaurant The ambiance and staff was amazing But not the food If you wanna eat good food I would not recommend this place .