Restaurant: D’Acqua (http://www.dacquadc.com/)
Location: Federal Triangle/Navy Archives
Total Rating: 2.45
Food: 2, Price: 3, Service: 2, Ambience: 3, Accessibility: 5
Summary: Overlooking the Navy Archives Memorial Fountain and conveniently located near many government buildings, D’Acqua serves coastal Italian cuisine in the heart of the city. Two renowned chefs Francesco Ricchi and Enzo Febbraro bring their award winning styles together at this restaurant. Closest Metro is Navy Archives or Federal Triangle.
With its casual décor, the restaurant is reminiscent of one you may find at a cheesy tourist destination. Featuring power lunch and cocktail specials, the restaurant has been featured in local magazines, yet was a total disappointment during my visit. We tried this spot during Restaurant Week and either they could not keep up with the demand of customers or just had an off night – D’Acqua fell short and was one my least enjoyable meals. The food was bland and missing ingredients and the service was very poor. My appetizer was missing its main ingredient and the dressing was plain and warm – I could not even eat it. Even though we were only a party of two – they did not have a table ready (even with our reservations) and we were ignored during most of the service while other larger parties received attention. The food was lackluster and I have no desire to eat here again.
UPDATE: Went on a group date (party of 10) for Valentine's Day - about 6 months after our first visit. Unfortunately, the food was still poor. VERY disappointing. Drink service was slow, it took us over 2 hours to complete our meal and that is without dessert. They did not serve all the meals at the same time, which was tacky and left others with either overcooked or raw food.
What I ate:Bibb lettuce with pecans and a light creamy dressing
Served with crispy pancetta (mine was missing)
Orecchiete Pasta
with shrimp, clams, sun dried tomatoes, broccoli flower in a garlic and white wine sauce
Profiteroles
Stuffed with ricotta and mascarpone, topped with dark chocolate sauce
Garganelli Pasta
with zucchini, tomatos, and ricotta cheese
Plus Keith ate:
Mussels
Sautéed in a lightly spicy tomato sauce
Slow cooked Beef Short Ribs
Served with rice pilaf and small vegetables
Key Lime Cheesecake
Lamb Chops
with potato pancake
