Carluccio’s

Beautiful interior. There are two levels (three technically if you count the restrooms on the partial third floor) and the first floor serves as both a restaurant and a marketplace/​café. The market has meats, cheeses, and other Italian delicacies. The café serves up some coffee to go. In warmer times, you can even get outdoor seating here.
We snagged a seat on the second floor which from certain angles you can get a view of the Potomac or of the King Street pedestrians. We started off with arancini di riso ($ 7), which is a traditional Sicilian snack. They are deep-​fried risotto balls stuffed with mozzarella and basil, served on the side with some tomato sauce. Taste was okay but it almost seemed like it wasn’t cooked thoroughly, a common theme throughout our meal for me.
I ordered the spaghetti con polpette ($ 14), which is basically spaghetti and meatballs served in a tomato basil sauce. Easy peasy, especially for an Italian restaurant. Well my friends, let me tell you that the meatballs, although handmade, was not completely cooked all the way. From being frozen and not cooked thoroughly, the meatballs were very bland. I didn’t even finish mine.
My boyfriend ordered the linguine al fruitti di mare ($ 17.95), which is linguine with clams, mussels, calamari, and prawns. For almost $ 20, he got one unopened clam and two unopened mussels (and he only got 2 other good clams and 3 other good mussels to start). That’s pretty unacceptable for restaurant caliber. Everyone knows that unopened mussels and clams should be thrown out as they may be unsafe to eat. I mean, some mussels may need a little gentle prying to get open but if you can’t even pry it open with brute force, they are no good. And that’s what the unopened clam and mussels on his plate were like. He pointed it out the server, who apologized but didn’t look particularly fazed by what happened. We also ordered a side of green beans for $ 6, and out come this tiny, tiny plate of maybe 5 green beans.
Overall, an average meal that ended up costing over $ 50 and I wasn’t even full (nor able to finish my meal). I may come back to the market and café for some gifts and coffee but I doubt I’ll step into the restaurant again.

The service is always great. The food is just okay. But if you’re already in the area, I would say it’s a great restaurant to check out if you’re looking for traditional Italian dishes in a casual setting.

We decided to stop by today for a quick cup of energy (caffeine) during our run and ended up sharing a little breakfast. We had the Eggs Florentine – the hollandaise sauce was THE best that I’ve ever had, hands down. My only regret was that we shared the breakfast and I didn’t get a plate of my own. (Lesson learned for the next visit). The customer service was fantastic (again). I am definitely going to be a regular customer! I highly recommend Carluccio’s and hope that you open up other locations throughout the US (how about San Diego next so when I visit family, I can take them there!).

Carluccio’s definitely fills a large void left in the aftermath of the predecessor’s hasty departure. A very clean and sparkly Italian bistro, café, and marketplace that conveniently located in the heavily trafficked and touristy portion of Old Town Alexandria — right next to the water front. So if Landini Brothers, the Wharf and all of those other places are packed to the brims, Carluccio’s can definitely act as a fantastic alternative.
The service at Carluccio’s while friendly, can definitely be on the lethargic and dopey side. Lazy habbits tend to form this way — don’t cut someone off in the middle of making my order and then say «wait one second» and then disappear for a God knows how long. It is very confusing.
Otherwise, the food is very good — tons of Italian pasties, very decent coffee and cappuccino, and excellent salads and sandwiches at reasonable prices. I would call this the «La Madelines» of Italian fare — right to the point, safe, and satisfying. Also a good alternative for coffee when Starbucks is completely packed. There are also some hot Italian dishes as well as a full bar — I was here grabbing a bite with my cousin right before the Redskins game — could have also been a good alternative to a sports bar to grab a drink and watch the game without the noise levels.

We stopped by as «tourists» from the Torpedo factory. We love it. We had brunch items — eggs Benedict, the breakfast special and the sausage pasta.
All were super yummy.
The service is great as well and we were met by manager, Joyce, who was extremely friendly and helpful.
We will be back!

Spectacular food! Every dish was delicious. Lindsay R., our server, was super knowledgeable about the menu and had a fantastic and sincere personality. She made great recommendations, from appetizers to desserts/​coffee, and each one was spot on! She, along with the rest of the staff, were very attentive from the moment we walked in.
We had the lasagna, gnocchi, wild boar tortellini, after sharing the risotto balls and tiramisu. Each dish was light and full of complex flavors. We did not leave with that icky full feeling that normally accompanies an Italian meal in America.
Highly recommend!!!

Delicious verdura board appetizer. Lovely presentation. The fish entres were among the very best in Washington area. Do not hesitate. The cod and sea bass both were excellent. The lasagne was also excellent. Tiramisu was the best in this area. And Vin Santo for dessert was perfect. Thumbs up. Make your reservation today and keep it. It’s well worth it.

My wife and I stopped in, on a whim, on Christmas Eve. The service was friendly, and the Salumi board was top-​notch. My wife ordered a replacement menu item, pumpkin ravioli with butter sauce, that was absolutely fabulous. I had the lasagne, and it was very well made, as well.
I think the reviews of the restaurant are overly harsh; definitely recommended!

I went to Carluccio’s for brunch with a friend on 12÷13÷15. This restaurant had been on «my list» for a while. It was a decent brunch and my friend and I who are both vegetarians had a good amount of choices. Carluccio’s specialty bread was fantastic. Our scrambled eggs were also good.
Although our waiter was very nice, our service was a little scattered. One of our dishes arrived without a side; and, the separate side dish we order came out 10 minutes after our main dishes had arrived.
I also thought the portions for the brunch were a little on the small side.
The ambiance of Carluccio’s is very comfortable and is mix between a casual café and Italian deli.
Carluccio’s also has small store to pick up some Italian specialties (including their breads). I will be back to browse the store at some point.
In a nutshell, Carluccio’s is a solid choice if you’re craving Italian food in a casual restaurant but their service is a little scattered.

Delicious breakfast and coffee. Almond croissant was the size of a baseball mitt. Yum. Italian coffee and helpful waitstaff

My friends and I happened upon this place after we finished walking around the Old Town Farmers Market. We were looking for a breakfast/​brunch place and just happened to see a sign outside.
Inside it’s a very cute, intimate place (much more quiet upstairs). The coffee was very good (dark, Italian coffee) and the service was great. I am unsure of her name, but the server was very attentive and seemed very happy to help. The food was definitely tasty — I had the eggs benedict. The bread came out a bit soggy (which my friend who ordered eggs and pancetta also said about her bread), but eating everything together was still very tasty. I really enjoyed the Hollandaise sauce they used as well.
The breakfast sandwich with rosemary potatoes would be my go-​to if/​when I return! Tasty, thinly sliced sausage and eggs on ciabatta bread! Thinking about also trying Carluccio’s for dinner next time!

Great service and staff. The wild boar tortillini was great. The Saltimbocca was okay. Good house red at happy hour and the Peroni prices are very reasonable. Best tiramisu I have ever had. Ever.

Visited Carluccio’s for the first time on Friday and had a fantastic meal. Although the evening started out a bit questionable, the food made it well worth it. I really can’t wait to come back.
My friend and I had a reservation and were seated quite promptly. And, then, we waited. And waited. In fact, we were seated before the table next to us, but they got served before us. And, even though we were clearly sitting there expectant, the server did not wait on us next before going back inside to then come back out and bring them their drinks.
He finally came to take take our drink order, but we were never given a drink menu. The table next to us shared theirs. Our server said he would go get us some water and return for our drink order. Well, he returned, but without water. Once we got our water and wine, things began looking up. Our food was brought out promptly and our server was very attentive and gracious. I’m thinking it’s because he was likely inexperienced, so he wasn’t so good at multi-​tasking just yet.
We ordered the veggie antipasti board to share. I have to say that this is one of the best boards I’ve ever had. Delicious grilled eggplant and this eggplant spread that was to die for. Pickled artichokes, herbed olives, sundried tomatoes and homemade ricotta cheese. All drizzled in a little olive oil with this buttery break to accompany. Next time, we’re diving in with the deluxe board. Our neighboring table ordered it and it looked divine.
We also ordered the braesola. Unfortunately, that was not that much to write home about. It didn’t have much flavor and, placed on some arugula, it was extremely plain.
For our entrée, we enjoyed the branzino and penne giardiniera. Both fantastic. The fish was cooked perfectly, with the perfect crisp, salty skin. The penne was quite unique: the «sauce» was made from garlic and zucchini, so even though you were eating pasta, you didn’t feel like you were eating too poorly with some thick and heavy sauce. And, the spinach balls! I’m pretty sure those need to be a side all to themselves!
For desert, we had the strawberry tart with homemade vanilla ice cream. The marscapone cheese was so creamy and decadent. The tart shell was a bit thick and tough and not as flaky as I would have liked.
One thing that was a nice standout was their price points on the wine list. While, yes, they do have a few expensive bottles, for the most part, there wasn’t a bottle over $ 38. They even had a bottle that was $ 20. I wish I could remember the name of the bottle we ordered. It was a blend for $ 32 I think? And it was a lovely red. We finished off the night with a couple of cocktails, which were quite good if not somewhat standard (essentially a G&T and a prosecco spritzer). Still they did both of them quite well.
The location is prime, right in the heart of Old Town on King Street. If it’s a nice day, make sure to try to grab a table outside.

Nico is an attentive than lovely Server.
That steak for two was quite lovely! The prosciutto appetizer was a mixture of salty, sweet, crunchysweet crunchy and cheesy!

Stopped by for a quick lunch and were greeted by friendly and efficient staff. I had steak on a piece of Italian bread with roasted mushrooms, onions and cherry tomatoes. The steak was generously portioned and perfectly seasoned and cooked.
Husband just had chocolate cake, which was just as tasty.

We had dinner last night at Carluccio’s and I must say that I like the concept. Located in a space that has seen a lot of turnover in Old Town over the years, I believe Carluccio’s has some staying power.
We had reservations for 8 pm on a Wed night and I was quite surprised to see how full the restaurant was. Granted many of the patrons were tourists, as the location on King Street across from the waterfront gets quite heavy foot traffic. Although it seemed like they were taking walk-​ins and we had a reservation they gave us a bad table near the cash register, which was surprisingly cold, despite the fact that a better table right next to us was open, but had not been bussed yet.
The décor reminds me of a modern European café, with an Italian market at the entrance dotted with tons of tempting cured meats, olive oil, truffle, and baked goods. The bar is located to the back of the room with a couple of large screen TVs, although it was not busy at all while we were there. The dining area is a little dark, and while they do have a few patio tables, they were full when we arrived.
The food does have an Italian authenticity. We started off with focaccia bread with olive oil and the mozzarella salad. We liked the focaccia, and thought the texture was less dense than most focaccia I have had, which was good. It tasted fresh and although they did not give us nearly enough olive oil and vinegar, I thought the quality of the olive oil was exceedingly high. Our server did bring us more olive oil and basalmic vinegar without issue.
The mozzarella salad was excellent. Again, very high quality ingredients as the mozzarella was very fresh, lightly textured, flavorful, and practically melted in your mouth. I would definitely order this salad again.
For my entrée I ordered the Penne Giardiniera, which was recommended by our server. It was good, although not my favorite. The zucchini, chilli, garlic, and what seemed like pesto sauce was good, and the giant Pugliese penne was cooked perfectly, but the fried spinach balls while interesting, didn’t really enhance the dish much. I also expected the dish to be a bit spicy as usually giardiniera as I know it is comprised of spicy pickled vegetables, but here I guess Antonio Carluccio’s interpretation is different. That said, it was a pleasant dish, but more of a 3 out of 5 stars.
We also ordered the Carbonara, which I thought was fantastic. The pasta was pretty standard, but the egg and creamy sauce were rich, balanced, and not overpowering. The smoky pancetta added a salty element that complimented the pasta beautifully. I thought this and the mozzarella salad were our two favorites.
My main complaint is the service. Although our server was helpful at the beginning of our meal, she was very inconsistent. After I finished my beer I wanted a glass of wine to enjoy with my entrée and it not only took forever to order it, but I didn’t receive my glass of wine until I was halfway finished with my entrée. At the end of our meal we were ready to pay, but again our server was MIA folding napkins near the market area. We had to wait another 10 – 15 minutes, and finally my wife had had enough and stood up, and walked over to our server to ask her to close out our check. Oh and by the way we were considering ordering dessert, but no one came by to ask us if we were interested. Our server did apologize by saying the manager asked her to leave early and gave her tasks to finish before she left, which was why she was ignoring us. I thought this was quite odd and I’m surprised that she would ignore her tables in order to finish menial tasks, which could have been done later. In any case, this left us quite frustrated, and calls the competence of the management here into question.
Overall, I thought the food was good, but again the service subpar at best. At this price point, I’d think they would care more about providing better service, especially for local customers, who may become regulars. I hope these are just growing pains, but I think I’ll stick to Rosemarino’s in Del Ray for Italian food.

«Bland and overpriced» sums up this experience nicely.
I went to Carluccio’s on Sunday with my mother and father for my mother’s birthday. Mom is all about location and had walked by Carluccio’s that week and really, really wanted to go.
Boy am I saddened that we did.
It’s always a bad sign when it takes forever for your table to even get water. My father ordered a glass of chianti; usually it’s safe to assume Chianti is a table wine, and is reasonable. We found out on the bill that this glass was seventeen frigging dollars– which the waiter didn’t think to mention. Didn’t win him points in my dad’s book.
We started with the verdure platter. One slice of grilled zucchini, some arugula, roasted peppers, and one inedible piece of chewy, dry eggplant that we refused to touch. Lacking in flavor and vibrancy. Meh.
The braesola was nicely done, but I’d be impressed if you screwed up cured meat, arugula, and parmesan.
My father ordered the pasta al luganica, which is the sausage sauce. They assured him it was their specialty and fabulous. It was okay, to be sure– but not helped by the fact that it came out lukewarm at best.
My mother ordered the salad nicoise, which even she described as bland, and she was trying to put a positive spin on the whole night. The tuna was canned, not fresh. For that price– not ok.
I ordered the seafood stew. Mine came out lukewarm, as my father’s meal did. But worse, and unforgivable to me, was that the mussels and clams were gritty and clearly not cleaned. I sent the food back immediately. Since I had now lost some of my appetite, I simply ordered a side green salad with grilled chicken, dressing on the side.
The salad comes out, per rapid instruction of the manager, who put the order in– and uh, it is smothered in dressing. I send it back.
At this point, my parents have both finished their meals.
I finally got my damn salad. Guys, this was a handful of arugula, a smattering of parmesan, and a plain grilled chicken breast (itty bitty portion for five extra dollars). It should not have been this hard.
There are plenty of charming little restaurants on King street. I’d stay clear of this fiasco.

A 3-​star rating of this little treasure is absolutely preposterous, but upon reading some of the reviews, I understood immediately why it’s not suitable for the ketchup oversize me people.
Me and my girlfriend drove all the way from NYC to give it a try as we’ve been fans of Carluccio’s and Gennaro’s videos and books.
Boy, were we pleasantly surprised! Even the town itself is worth the visit. We ordered:
— Lemon Spritz
— Focaccia
— Grisini Parma
— Carbonara
— Spaghetti Meatballs
— Side potato (with Rosmary)
— Tiramisu
Lemon Spritz with homemade Limoncello is very refreshing, Focaccia is a must as an appetizer, it is absolutely amazing tasting with Italian olive oil and balsamico as a natural flavour dip.
Then came Carbonara, Spaghetti Meatballs and Side Potatoes with rosmary — too much, right? Right.
Carbonara as expected was perfect as Carluccio is famous for his authentic recipe hailed by the greats such as Gennaro and Jamie Oliver alike. So were meatballs with spaghetti, wow! «Maximum 3 ingredients, maximum flavour,» Gennaro Contaldo always stresses.
The density of the pasta was al dente, soft around the crunchy insides and served immediately — the purpose of al dente is for pasta to get soaked in sauce and soften through the middle, but never to a degree suitable for toothless and disgruntled grandpa.
We haven’t used extra salt, pepper or any other flavour enhancer as we were interested in integrity of Carluccio’s cooking without him being present. And we didn’t need to — it was a pure Italian joy (just like I am used to from home, Italy’s neighbour, and Italy itself, where I’ve been many many times).
We concluded with Tiramisu not in a «brutto ma buono» fashion, but «buono e buono» that was on the house as they found out we drove all the way from NY to try their restaurant. Tiramisu is, again, indescribable, you can see and tell all of the layers, it’s very soft juicy, aaaaa…
Anyhow, not to make this review too long. We had a great time with a very attentive and polite staff, nice interior, big windows, amazing and tru Italian food. We bought some of the products they sell to bring back home with us.
Will visit again! Soon!

Wait for a table on a Friday night was long, as expected — 45+ mins. We found a bar table and sat there.
I’m a pretty relaxed diner, so the service kinks here are not too difficult to deal with. My friend and I had a nervous new waiter, but charming nonetheless. Our food also came out pretty slow, but we luckily were not in a rush.
Onto the menu… we ordered aperol spritz — very good. My friend had just returned from Italy and Carluccio’s got a thumbs up.
Appetizers — I ordered the insalata di mozzarella. Tasty and great size for sharing, although I had it alone. My friend ordered the arancini — there were two different kinds: a meat ragu and pesto. Both delicious.
Main course — I ordered the carbonara. So good! I ate the entire thing. Very well done. My friend ordered the ravioli, which she enjoyed as well.
We stopped in the little market/​store before our way out. Definitely expensive, but neat items.
I will definitely return.

Benvenuto to Old Town — the wait was worth it. Stopped in to see the space and it is beautiful. They really took the time (and money) to invest in this restaurant/​café. Place was full — the bar had patrons at every seat. Moms with kids, business people.
Then there was me… carbs & cookies.
Bought a great olive baguette and a Chocolate Crinkle cookie because I am training for a Half Ironman and I need these…
The staff was kind, friendly, knowledgeable. Looking forward to returning for a sit down lunch tomorrow with my mom. So glad to see the «curse of 100 King Street» is a mere memory now. Carluccio’s is here to stay!