Divino

y were complimented by fresh basil, a delicious and creamy whipped ricotta, a side of fresh corn, and drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette. A perfect way to tease my tastebuds. Second: For our main dish, I ordered the Filetto di Branzino and my love ordered the Chicken Milanese. The Branzino was prepared with love!!!! It was so delectable and paired with the most appetizing cauliflower puree and broccolini. All prepared just right, this meal was filling and enticing because the flavors blended together well. My boyfriend thoroughly enjoyed his chicken Milanese. The chicken was tender and oozing with flavor and the salad had a perfect combination of fresh thinly sliced vegetables bathed in a tangy dressing. It was amazing! Lastly: After such a filing first and second course, we pushed our way through dessert and I'm glad that we did. The Mango Pannacotta was described as the BEST my boyfriend has ever had. A first for me, and one I can describe as a journey through flavor valley: the rich passion fruit rum caramel, and the delicious filling and crust-pure perfection!!!!!!! We also had the tiramisu which was simply delightful and satisfying. Highly recommended as well. Overall, we had an AMAZING time and the food, cocktails, and desserts were well worth every moment. The chef is skilled in what they do and it shows through the savory dishes which came to the table. I'll be back!!!!!!

thing you need for a typical Italian setting. Prices are also reasonable and our server Norberto was amazing and really was the masterpiece of our visit.

nd tastefully elegant. We had a 5:00 PM reservation and arrived about 15 minutes early. Although dinner service doesn’t officially begin until 5, the staff kindly seated us in the dining room and offered drinks instead of asking us to wait at the bar. That small act of hospitality set the tone for the entire evening. We originally hoped to take advantage of happy hour, which is available only at the bar or outside patio, but our incredibly gracious waiter made an exception and allowed us to order from the happy hour menu from our table. We were so appreciative of this gesture. We ended up ordering four appetizers (two from happy hour menu and two from regular menu), two drinks, two entrees, a tiramisu, and another glass of wine. Everything was delicious; the flavors were balanced. When I mentioned toward the end of our meal that it was our anniversary and how much we loved the food, our waiter surprised us by offering us a taste of limoncello, a traditional Italian after-dinner digestive. It was such a sweet and unexpected touch that made our evening even more special. We were never rushed and ended up staying until around 7 or 7:30. The staff gave us space while still being attentive shoutout to the people who brought out our food, cleared our plates, and the gentleman who checked on us after the meal. Everyone made us feel welcome and cared for. We were even lucky enough to have the dining room basically to ourselves, which made the evening feel like a private, romantic dinner. A huge thank you to our waiter, who was incredibly kind and professional throughout and didn’t even know until the very end that it was a special occasion. You made our night. My only (very small) critique: I wish bread had been included and that the steak came with at least one side. But those are minor things in what was otherwise a truly wonderful night. We’re so grateful to DinVino for this memorable evening. I’ll absolutely be recommending this place to others and will definitely be back. 💛

r a while before a bartender shouted at us from the bar area to ask if we had been helped yet. She then told us to go seat ourselves and that somebody would greet us at our table. And again, we waited. No menus, no servers. Oddly, once a server finally got around to us, no welcome or greeting - he just handed the two of us one menu and his first words were that we had one hour to eat. For reference, the restaurant's website and the Google Maps page indicate that the restaurant is open until 11 PM on Saturdays. They even have reservations as late as 10:45 PM on OpenTable! Nonetheless, we agreed that we could eat from 9:20 PM to 10 PM. To his credit, one of the bussers/food runners noticed we had to uncomfortably crane our necks to read the options, so he kindly brought over an additional menu. When we placed our orders, again, the server was curt. We were not checked on throughout our dinner. Note that the restaurant wasn't even busy this evening; most tables were empty. The service made for a mildly unpleasant dining experience. What is saving this review was the food, which was solid. The seafood linguine ($28) was the highlight - flavorful sauce, nicely cooked linguine, and delicious seafood array. The steak ($30) was alright, but lacked much flavor. And finally, the risotto ($28) with scallops (+$12) was the most disappointing dish. Quite pricey, and it came out slightly cold. This risotto was particularly bland. The scallops, however, were cooked beautifully. I would not recommend Divino. There are many excellent Italian restaurants in the Georgetown area, let alone all of DC. I recommend you seek out higher quality food and better value elsewhere. EDIT: Luca, the restaurant owner, very kindly followed up with me to hear more about my experience. I appreciated his thoughtful gesture to reach out to apologize for our experience. We placed our reservation shortly before our arrival, having known that there had been open availability for most of the night. It is fair to say the restaurant may not have realized we were planning to come. Luca clarified there was an event planned at the restaurant that evening - hence, why we had to finish our meal early and, likewise, why it was a bit hectic for the staff. I trust that Luca is well-meaning in making sure his guests have a wonderful dining experience. I would consider returning with a more advance reservation to perhaps enjoy new menu items. I leave my review here to share an experience, albeit hopefully a one-off moment for the restaurant.

reshly made. Even though they were served very hot, it was obvious they had just been reheated in the oven after being pre-fried. They also had an unpleasant smell.