North Italia

My friends and I decided to try North Italia as it was central to all our locations and we all love Italian food. We made a reservation through Open Table and about 20 minutes before the reservation time, I got a text from the restaurant saying my table was ready and we could come any time- I liked that. I have a pet peeve about making a reservation and then being asked to wait- I guess I'm getting grumpy in my old age. The restaurant is large, clean, in a great spot in the Reston Town Center and there are two parking garages very close by (Green and Silver garages, FYI). We were greeted promptly and seated comfortably, so we were off to a good start. Brandon was our server and he introduced himself and we could tell right away he knew what he was doing. He answered a couple of menu questions, made some suggestions and gave us time to decide on our orders.There were 5 of us and three people ordered chicken parm, which was very good. A little difference between North Italia and most Italian restaurants is North Italia serves their chicken parmesan with rigatoni alfredo, so just another FYI for you. It was very good, but my wife wanted marina sauce, so I got to eat her pasta. I ordered the house specialty, Bolognese and it was very good. The sauce was meaty and tasty and the pasta was cooked perfectly. I must be a big eater because I saw reviews saying the portions were huge, but I was able to easily finish my pasta and snag a chunk of my wife's chicken parm. The other person in our group ordered a pizza and she said it was good. We ordered a few desserts that were very good- the bombolini (Italian doughnuts) were great, along with the dark chocolate something or other, which was terrific. My friend loved the butter cake, too. Overall, we had a good experience. Brandon is an outstanding server and we all liked our food. It's not a very cheap place, but we will be back for sure.

Dinner, party of 2, on a Wed night - conveniently located in Reston Town Center with a parking garage close by (see Tips section for parking at RTC) - North Italia is next to the fountain and across the street from the pavilion/ice skating rink.Reservations accepted - recommend making them (why wouldn't you if you can!) - we arrived at 7P and the place was decently filled. First impressions looking around - IMPRESSED. See my pics. Loved the "open concept" of the entire restaurant with open kitchen visible at the back, large bar area to the right as you enter and a large dining area with some booths and tables admirably nicely spaced out. At night, the place is perfectly lit for a moody, relaxing ambiance - again, impressive.We each tried a specialty cocktail - a Pomegranate Mule and a Sicilian Marg. We both asked for medium ice - when the drinks came to our table they were not filled to the brim (see my pic). Now come on, bartender. Eye roll. You trying to one up the customer and be a smart a$$? Really how much more would it have cost you to fill up the glasses?The Mule was a thumbs-up, nice unique flavor and a refreshing sip - recommend. The Sicilian Marg was a miss. Though it LOOKED pretty in the glass, the taste was underwhelming. A nothing frankly. I couldn't taste the Grand Marnier AT ALL and the whole thing tasted like any other basic marg. Thumbs down. We ordered the Grilled Bread and Good Olive Oil app - know that the bread is heavily drizzled in balsamic. Ditto with the "Crispy" Brussels Sprouts app - DRENCHED in balsamic which overpowered the dish. Thumbs down. For our entrees, we both had fresh pasta dishes - the Strozzapreti (pasta with chicken, roasted mushrooms, spinach and parm cream sauce) and the Lumache Alla Norcina (pasta with fennel sausage in a white sauce). Both $24. Large portion sizes (we each took home leftovers), the dishes came out piping hot and stayed warm in the ceramic bowls they were served in. We were not offered parm cheese or fresh ground pepper as garnishes - a little surprised by that at an Italian restaurant - shouldn't that at least be offered? We did ask our server for parm. Both dishes were delicious and flavorful.WITH ONE (MAJOR imo) DING (read on), the whole evening was a thumbs-up at a restaurant we had both overlooked in RTC but had always wanted to try out.The detractor to our evening was the service - a 1 star ding. I don't think I've ever encountered such passive aggressive service by a server. She was pleasant enough when she first came to our table but shortly after, it was apparent she was trying hard to move our evening along...without **trying** to be obvious. But it was.We were there for a girls-night-out dinner, 2 friends who hadn't seen each other in a while. After we were seated, we took our time to order our first round of drinks. We took time to peruse the extensive menu. We ordered an app first. Then the entrees a bit later. We were enjoying each other's company, wanted to take our time and didn't want to be rushed. Our server either didn't "read the room" or did and didn't care. Maybe she thought she gave the appearance of being present and responsive but, to us, it was obvious her motive was to turn her tables.The way we decided to "deal" with her was to be passive-aggressive back and just ignore her pokes and prods to try to move our dinner along. It was irritating and annoying but we didn't let it ruin the mood. We could have stayed longer to enjoy the evening but, dang it, she broke us lol. We finally caved when she brought to-go containers without us even asking for them. HINT HINT. (The place had pretty much cleared out by that time so it wasn't like there were others waiting to be seated.)Her "reward" was a 15% tip - and that felt generous tbh. Very short sighted by someone obviously inexperienced in the nuances of fine dining service. This behavior I would expect (but still not tolerate) at a Chili's or a TGI Friday's.I MIGHT try North Italia ONE MORE TIME just because everything else about our dinner, including the restaurant's relaxing and open ambiance and it's close by location, was positive. If I do come back, I would tweak what I order but the food and cocktail menu is so extensive, there is a lot to choose from.But, bottom line, if I'm going to pay big bucks (see my pic of our bill) for upscale dining in an environment of ridiculously rising restaurant prices where customers have a choice of where to spend their hard earned bucks, impeccable service should ALWAYS be a given. So for that reason, North Italia gets a ding and should be more discerning in their hiring and training of customer-facing staff. (Was reallllly hoping this place might replace (or at least be an alternate option to) my current fave Italian restaurant, Alta Strada, which is further away but for now AS continues to reign supreme.)

Great late lunch. Naples Pizza, Zucca Chips, Farmers Board and of course Chicken Parm. Waiter attendant without being over bearing. Great Experience. Seems to be the norm with every visit.

A meal here is always a pleaser! Recently, I met a friend for dinner and we ordered the bread with good olive oil. I usually love this bread, but it sat a little heavier (and a bit too sweet) this time. We did wind up asking for plain table bread too. I had the tuscan kale salad with salmon, and it was really good. Huge portions, fresh ingredients, and good service is a winning combination.

We came here Wednesday afternoon for lunch . Great place loved all their dishes . Tasty and full of flavor .Poached pear with burrata was yummy . Eggplant Parmesan was crunchy and flavorful. Margherita Pizza was very good loved the crust . Best was their seafood pasta . We ordered two . Loved our server also .Definitely coming back soon .

Went here during lunch hour on a Friday.Service was great, server was prompt and very accommodating.We ordered the calamari, pesto pasta, penne vodka, truffle bread, among other things.Food was very tasty, even had their hefeweizen to wash it all done. Very good beer by the way, if you like Blue Moon, this would be right up your ally.Ample seating indoors for large partiesHighly recommend this place as I am a frequent diner.

Every time I come here, I feel like home. I really like to pay attention to all details and here I can see the great organization.Managers are always aware of everything tonight Viviana was the manager It's impressive how the restaurant was running perfectly as if on wheels. Everyone looked happy enjoying the good customer service and of course the delicious food they were having. I recommend starting at the bar ...I definitely recommend this place especially if you love Italian food as I do.

Came in for lunch on a cold, rainy day with a friend the other day. Whenever I come to a North Italia location, I get pizza. I decided to switch it up and order an actual pasta dish. I had the bolognese which is a house specialty. I was overall very pleased with the dish! It was really good! The portion size was perfect because I could finish it in one sitting without feeling overstuffed. I only wish I asked for more fresh parmesan on top. I understand why the dish is the house specialty!

I love the North Italia in Nashville, so I was thrilled to find one within walking distance of my hotel while in Reston for a conference! The salad that I usually order wasn't on the menu, so I went with the Italian Farm salad. I now have a new favorite entree! We also ordered the truffle cheese bread to share, and it was out of this world. Our waiter was incredible! He was funny and super helpful. The service was fast. There's seating indoors and outdoors.

Everything we had at lunch was pretty good. Except next time I'd pass on ordering the starter of overpriced bread with oil + balsamic and some kind of bland cheese. This is a nice location. Tastefully done. The service was fine. Our server couldn't really answer questions or pronounce anything correctly. I enjoyed my omelette. Too bad the potatoes were cold. The pizza was really good. The salmon avocado toast was enjoyed.