Dino

Last date I was here: 08/09/2008

Restaurant: Dino (http://www.dino-dc.com/)

Location: Cleveland Park

Total Rating: 3.75Food: 4, Price: 3, Service: 3, Ambience: 4, Accessibility: 5

Summary: This rustic Italian restaurant has been rated #5 best in DC, however was a little disappointing. One perk is that the chefs use fresh ingredients, organically and locally grown, that give each dish a unique flair. Also, the wine selection is pretty remarkable. Closest Metro is Cleveland Park.

The restaurant is spacious with an outdoor seating area, private room upstairs for about 20 people and small bar area. Traditional menu offered with Antipasto (appetizers), Primi (pasta), Secondi (meats) followed by dessert. They also offer cheese platters, wine pairings and nightly corking specials. We went for Restaurant Week and enjoyed a complimentary limoncello and moscato with our dessert. A little sweet for me, but it was fun to try. The desserts themselves are so amazing – I felt transported back to the Tuscan hills and wine country with the decadent creamy gelato whose bold flavors jumped on my palate.   Make easy reservations to Dino on CityEats. 

What I ate:

Rigatoni ai Funghi
Tube pasta served with wild mushrooms in garlic, rosemary and olive oil


Zuppa di Pesce
Seafood stew of Taylor Bay scallops in the shell, pasta neck clams,
mussels, wild pink shrimp, sea scallops, fish, calamari
in a light tomato & seafood broth with grilled garlic crostone

♥Gelato “Nico”♥
Decadent chocolate hazelnut gelato studded with toasted hazelnuts atop bittersweet chocolate gelato with chopped chocolate bits, chocolate sauce & whipped cream

Plus Keith ate:

Polenta ai Tre Formaggi con Funghi

Soft 3 Cheese Polenta {Asiago, Fontal & Gorgonzola} with assorted roasted mushrooms


Maialino
Milk Fed Young Pig - herb rubbed, roasted on our rotisserie with smashed fingerlings


Frutti del Forno
Roasted plums topped with crumbled amoretti cookies
served with black peppercorn gelato