Officina Cafe

Situated in the heart of downtown, Officina is the perfect spot for a tasty, relatively speedy business lunch. I've visited a few times over the last few years for team / work lunches, and I've been consistently impressed by the consistency of their food and efficiency of their service. I usually opt for their power lunch, which, at $31 per person for three courses, is a solid deal. The meal includes a soup or salad appetizer, sandwich or pasta entrée (or roasted salmon for an additional $5), and small baggie of cookies to go. For the appetizer, I'm obsessed with their insalata di rucola -- it's remarkably simple, but the slight bite from the fresh arugula pairs wonderfully with the salty, earthy parmaigiano and the brightness from the lemon. Then, the drizzle of olive oil helps to bind everything together into the perfect simple plate to start your meal. After the salad, I usually opt for the roasted salmon -- the skin is perfectly crispy and the fish a phenomenal medium to medium rare. They switch up the accompanying vegetables depending on the season, but the salmon goes beautifully with each choice. My favorite has to be their summer veggie selection -- grilled mini zucchinis with tomatoes and a squash puree -- but I'm also obsessed with their winter choice of yam puree and roasted brussels sprouts. What makes Officina truly shine (beyond the amazing food, of course) is their service. Every person I've talked to at Officina has been remarkably kind and friendly, and they're always willing and able to answer our group's questions about the menu or accommodate dietary restrictions. They're also remarkably efficient -- despite having three courses, meals at Officina can take as little as 45 min. from initial seating to paying the check, even with a decently sized group. The speed is especially ideal for a mid-workday lunch, and the shortbread cookies make a great afternoon pick-me-up.

I came here with friends after an event. The place is fine, but I think it closes early so when we walked in I don't think they were ready for us. The gluten-free pasta was fine but nothing special. The service was okay, but I felt they were rushing to get us out so they could close. I would give them 3.5 stars.

I was stuck between 3 and 4 stars for reasons I discuss below, but ultimately went with 4 stars because I think some of the issues we encountered won't be the same for everyone.I have heard bad things about Officina in the Wharf but my fiance and I happened to be in Dupont Circle looking for weekday lunch so we took a chance on Officina Cafe and were pleasantly surprised. A little pricey, but it's a smart little restaurant, with inviting decor and a tight menu that offers enough options for everyone to find something while allowing them to streamline.We ended up both doing the $30 "power lunch" deal, which included a salad and entree and cookies to go. The cookies are an afterthought and I don't think they should factor in. Mainly, the power lunch enables diners to get both a salad and a main for a few dollars less than ordering them a la carte. There is an upcharge for salmon entrees but it covered spaghetti with your choice of sauce. I got the ceasar salad and spaghetti with cacio e pepe.Honestly, the salads were the showstopper. Ample, fresh, well-made, the right amount of dressing. The spaghetti portions were small but filling. I liked the noodles in mine, clearly made fresh in house, but my fiance disliked the texture even though his sauce included whole fresh tomatoes and looked amazing. Some people (Martha Stewart included, as it happens) just prefer the taste and texture of boiled dry pasta, and apparently that includes my fiance. So just be aware that opinions may vary on the noodles - personally, I thought it was good.My issues were with the service. Mainly, the whole concept behind the "power lunch" was that this was meant to be a fast, weekday lunch deal for people who are working downtown. So, it follows that lunch would need to be fast enough for people to get in and out in under an hour because they're eating on their lunch break and/or need to get to afternoon meetings on time. I was among them.But food took FOREVER to come out. And it wasn't packed, and we ordered salads and pasta, which was really just noodles tossed in sauce, and it was a small menu, so there is no reason that this should have taken a long time. But we were sitting there for over 40 minutes before our pastas showed up. I could see into the open kitchen and the staff here had no hustle, with only two people working to actually make dishes while front of house staff stood around with little to do. To her credit, once our server realized I was starting to get antsy because I had to go, and I asked her for our check while we were still eating, she hustled. This brought me close to rating 3 stars instead of 4, however this is a non-issue for dinner/weekend dining or for people who can have more leisurely weekday lunches.Other more issues that keep it from being 5 stars: Light fixtures close to tables were visibly dusty; service, while adequately polite, was not especially personable, and at one point I saw a woman doing food prep, who was wearing gloves, snacking on some bread. This alone is fine, except she was touching her mouth, but then she didn't switch gloves before she touched our food. Bad form.All in all, I don't think this is somewhere to go out of your way for, but it presents a simple, low-friction option for those seeking a sit-down lunch in Dupont Circle.

The Italiano is delicious, the drinks are made with care. But for me it's the little things, like the presentation of the dip for the chips. Besides being delectable, it's the extra touch that classes this place up. The manager took the time to ask how everything was even though I was at the bar. Classy and inviting with a menu that's not overly expensive. Just what I need after a long day at work :)

Went in on a whim one night after work because I was craving pasta. Their pasta night specials are amazing. Well portioned. The happy hour menu looked great- would love to come back with others to order more!

Vibes were good and service was ok but the pasta was way too salty. We had three different types but the gnocchi was the best. Good happy hour and pasta Wednesday deals.

One of the best happy hours in DC and it goes until 7! You get such a variety of food at a great price and on Wednesdays and Fridays they have their amazing pasta deal. Very kind staff as well!

Great neighborhood Italian cafe in a modern office building. The staff were friendly and efficient. My husband had rigatoni with meat sauce. I don't remember what I had but it was really good! Owner stopped by our table and thanked us for our patronage.

I wasn't very impressed with the salad I ordered- it was incredibly bitter and I honestly struggled to get it down. I've had plenty of salads with bitter notes but they were balanced with other flavors. It was also expensive. In the future I would choose sweetgreen over this lunch spot.

This restaurant advertises they are open till 9:00 PM on Monday evening. Got here at 7:30 PM and they told me they are closing their kitchen early because there's not much business tonight. This is a Washington DC restaurant! Absolutely unacceptable and definitely recommend people not waste their money on a restaurant that refuses to operate by their own criteria.