Taking over the former spot of Ben & Jerry's, SeventhHill is a new pizza joint with a simple menu — 11 pizzas with a range of toppings, a daily panino and daily soup. Although small in size, they are not small in hospitality. Pizzas are named after Capitol Hill neighborhoods, such as the Navy Yard, with tomato, Toulouse sausage, oregano and pecorino or the Lincoln Park with artichoke, rosemary, mozzarella, zucchini, and portobello. The naming reminds me of the Taylor Gourmet sandwich shops in the area using the same concept of naming their offerings after Philadelphia neighborhoods. Closest Metro is Eastern Market.
October 2009: SeventhHill is the new adventure of Stephane Lezla and Christopher Raynal, co-owners of the next door French bistro, Montmartre. A couple minutes from the metro station and the famous Eastern Market itself, SeventhHill is a welcomed eatery in my neighborhood. The brand new staff are still learning the ropes, following closely after Anthony the pizza chef, yet the food does not suffer. Flavors are mild yet extremely fresh - loved the dough. Although seating is tight, the bar area was sufficient with a direct view of the pizza making process and warmth of the wood-fired oven. The staff was very friendly and adaptable to customers' needs. I anticipate SeventhHill will do fairly well and I look forward to going back.
September 2010: We finally went back and the place was buzzing as ever with the after work crowd as well as those picking up orders. Sandwiches have been added to the menu along with soups and salads. Now specialy large pizzas are featured on the daily menu. Suprisingly the staff seemed a little flustered with the busy chaos and it took a while to get our check. The body language created such a tense atmosphere at the bar area, that I was ready to leave before I even finished my meal. Oh well - some people have bad days. Despite that, the pizza was delicious - fresh flavors bursting throughout and Anthony the pizza chef was flamboyant as ever tossing his dough all over the place.
November 2011: We returned for lunch this Veteran's Day and got there just before the big rush. We were greeted by Anthony and grabbed our usual seats at the bar. I ordered one of my faves, the Eastern Market, and Keith tried the Seward Square. The dough was better than I remember and the goat cheese was mellow with the mushrooms. However, the chorizo on Keith's pizza was overcooked, creating a jerkey-like texture, but Keith still enjoyed the spicy kick and mix of flavors with the onions and peppers. We noticed the sandwiches on the menu and noted that we need to try those in the future. Also of note was the daily soup special - butternut squash - served with cheesy pizza dough, that was a popular choice among the other diners.
Total Rating: 4.05
Food: 4, Price: 4, Service: 4, Ambience: 4, Accessibility: 5
What I ate:
Eastern Market
tomato, goat cheese, rosemary, basil, tapenade, fresh mushrooms
Stanton Park
zucchini, red onion, garlic, roasted red pepper, eggplant, tomato, mozzarella, pecorino, parmesan
Plus Keith ate:
Barracks Row
tomato, mushroom, spinach, red onion, mozzarella with added sausage
Seward Square
tomato, chorizo, mozzarella, red onion, red pepper, lemon juice
