San Matteo

This place is low key amazing- great food, lovely atmosphere, nice wine. The zuppa de pesce was flavorful and loaded with fresh gorgeous seafood. My kids loved the pasta and meatballs and I tried it and almost switched my meal- high quality food all around.

Great venue with two moods: the front elegant, cozy, warm. The back a large space, bright, packed, and energetic (hard to have a conversation) like a true Italian restaurant. It's a good Italian option in DC. Don't miss the parmigiana di melanzane, a deconstructed unconventional execution that works. Fritto misto lightly fried, delicious! Good carbonara, with a generous serving of very good guanciale The agnolotti e limone : tasty but needs some tuning: dough it too tick - too much past! also difficult to cut, and, when you do, all the filling come out. Tiramisù : not a huge fan, missed some coffee. Enjoyed the lambrusco!

A friend suggested I try this restaurant, so I decided to visit on a Saturday night. From the moment I arrived, the atmosphere felt lively yet cozy, perfect for an evening out. The staff was incredibly friendly and welcoming, making me feel comfortable immediately. I am allergic to gluten, and I was pleasantly surprised by how accommodating the restaurant was. They carefully explained the menu options and suggested dishes that were completely safe for me to enjoy. Every dish I tried was full of flavor, fresh, and beautifully presented. The drinks menu was also impressive, and the manager personally stopped by to offer excellent recommendations. Everything felt thoughtfully prepared and genuinely delicious. I had such a wonderful experience that I’m already planning my next visit. If you’re looking for authentic Italian food with excellent service — even if you have dietary restrictions like gluten allergies — this place is a must!

San Matteo was very accommodating, clean, and the drinks and apps were amazing! The service started off great we were greeted at the front and taken to the dining area which I did not expect to be so large. It was beautifully decorated and was a great vibe. Our waiter promptly brought our drinks. The lemonade is freshly made and delicious. My friends got drinks that they raved about. At some point I server stopped coming by as much. We placed an order for apps and they came out in a fairly timely manner. We loved the fritto misto. Our entrees took a little while to come out which is fine but our server never came by to check in or to just let us know it was on the way, which was a little off putting. We ordered the squid ink pasta, lemon and spinach ravioli dish, manicotti dish, and the parpadelle funghi dish. One of us loved our dish and that was the lemon spinach ravioli. The others felt like there was a lack of flavor and the seafood in my squid ink seemed over cooked. One of my friends asked if she could change the sauce in her squid ink pasta and the restaurant happily accommodated, so that was very nice. I would come back for the appetizers. We got the fritto misto which was amazing and the arancini dish which I loved. I would say give it a try if you’re interested.

Only came here late for wine , cappuccino & dessert — but given that I searched the reviews for recommendations and wasn’t finding anything, wanted to leave a review: I had a chocolate tooth - and the chocolate lava cake was hands down the best I’ve ever had - I’ve had far too many in my life that were let downs, but nope, I am SO glad I got it. The cake itself melted in my mouth and was overflowing with a delicious ganache filling - and was the perfect level of sweetness. It was on the smaller side and came with a small scoop of gelato. Our group also got the crostata di mele — definitely a unique variation of this based on my expectation from google images. It is fried and a is croissant like pastry with a fresh apple filling interspersed within it — you can see the crispy croissant texture in my pictures — and it had a fried oily flavor to it that I was not expecting, and quite honestly took away from the flavor from the apples some. My partner really enjoyed it, though. I just wasn’t expecting the heavy fried flavor — not for me, so wanted to make others aware. My espresso drink (cappuccino) was great and they were able to make it with skim milk. Our wait staff didn’t realize we weren’t eating a late dinner at first and had brought out bread btw, as well as a mixture of olive oil, vinegar and spices. I ended up eating it anyway and it was delicious. Bread was warm and so soft and fresh. Service was great - waitress was friendly and attentive. The back patio / greenhouse like room is very big, echoey and loud, just FYI. If you’re looking for a more quiet, intimate or romantic place for a date, for example, would be more apt to recommend the main/front dining room or the bar in that main/front dining room. I def look forward to coming back here for dinner soon!!