Pulcinella Italian Host

Management really needs to figure out why it can’t get a side salad (which comes with the meal) to the customer before the check arrives. We had a party of eight with half of us ordering entrees which come with salad. Everyone else’s salad arrived simultaneously except mine. Don’t know why as I didn’t make any special requests. The waiter told me my salad would be right out. We didn’t see him again until the entrees arrived at which time he assured me again that my salad was forthcoming. We next saw him when he delivered the check to the table. A minute later, while the credit card payment was being processed, he comes over and says «Oh, yeah, here’s your salad,» practically tossing it in my lap. No apology. Really inexcusable. There were other service issues, such as only one bread basket for our large party. Would it really have been too much of an effort to place another bread basket at the other end of the table? By the way, the food was okay, nothing great, but the service left such a bad taste in my mouth that I couldn’t stomach giving this place more than two stars.

Decent little place in Mclean for some nice italian food.

I come here all the time and love it! Everything that I’ve tried is great, especially the homemade pasta that I usually order. It’s a low key dining experience but that’s what I like about it, not super fancy but still good food and a pleasant atmosphere.

Visited with a couple co-​workers on their suggestion for the pizza here. I was planning to order pizza, but I made a game-​time decision to order spaghetti with meatballs. I also had a bowl of lentil soup. The soup was not very interesting and a bit bland. The spaghetti and meatballs was ok, but not great. Meatballs were bland and a bit mushy for my liking. I’ll definitely stop in again and try the pizza, though! Side note in that the host and wait staff were friendly and accommodating.

Look — this place is no frills italian food. I go for both dinner and brunch. Good food with a family atmosphere– not many of these places are around anymore. Go and enjoy the atmosphere and italian cuisine!

Best darn meatballs ever!!! Drove from Rockville in traffic just to bring home to the family. Of course, the rest of the menu is great!!!

Horrible service, food is blah. Don’t waste your money here. When we first sat down, the glasses and utensils were cloudy. I ordered a medium rare NY steak. It came out medium well and dry. When I mentioned this to the waiter I was told «no, your steak is rare. The color is due to the sauce.» Then he left.
You’ve been warned… Do not come here!

My husband and I had exactly 53 minutes to enjoy dinner before we had to pick up the children from their respective playdates. My husband was a past patron of Pulcinella and wanted to introduce me to their cuisine. When we got in, we were immediately greeted by a waiter. Although we never told him that we had time constraints, the level of attentiveness we received from our waiter was amazing. Our appetizer, fried calamari, came out ten minutes after we ordered it, and midway through our appetizer our meals were out. I happened to look at the time to see how close we were to our curfew, and we still had plenty of time.
I ordered the chicken parmigiana and my husband ordered the calzone. The food was good, and the portions were great. My husband’s calzone was so big that he took part of it home. We are not small eaters. When we have the opportunity, I would love to come back and try other items on the menu.
I can’t help but stress again how impressed I was with the level of service we received.

This is one of the best Italian restaurants I have ever eaten at. The staff are polite, prompt, and very accommodating. The atmosphere is great and has a very comfortable, homey vibe. The food is always great and I highly recommend eating here!

Service was great. Food was very average.
Veal Marsala was ok. A bit heavy on the oil. Pastas were good and tasted fresh.
Avoid the cheesecake. Get the chocolate for dessert.

We have been coming here for thirty years. I have rarely disappointed. Yes the décor is old but the service is excellent and it is comforting when you and your children are remembered. I. Love the white anchovies appetizer with their bread. I cannot help but getting my favorite veal parmigiana Today it was particularly good and always comes out hot on warm plates It does not try to pretend it’s something it’s not. I will say I don’t miss the table cloths.

I’ve eaten at Pulcinella about a half dozen times now, ordering a different dish each time I visit, and everything I’ve had has been great!
Their brunch menu is priced very low, yet the food is really great. Love their smoked salmon breakfast dishes.
I take the whole family, and everyone is always happy with their food, and service is always great.
For the price point, they are 5 stars.

Ok. Can you boil salted water and cook pasta? Me, too. And can you make a nice little sauce with some olive oil, garlic, some herbs, and maybe a tomato or an artichoke? Me, too! I can and I do. Regularly. And my husband always compliments the pasta and I’m sure if my friends weren’t such sissies about carbs, they too would like my pasta.
But my pasta doesn’t taste like Pulcinella’s pasta. Their pasta is De. Lish. Us. Just delicious. How do they do it? I had a very simple dish and it was out of this world yummy. Not too heavy, not over-​wrought– just scrumptious. Any my dad, who is 80 and has a rather failed appetite, ate EVERY BITE of his linguini with clams. He NEVER eats every bite! It was so good– he declared it much better than McLean’s other purveyor of mid-​range Italian fare.
Service is swift and Italian.
Go try it out. I’m giving four stars because 1) the air conditioning seemed fritzy which is a total killjoy in these parts at this time of year and 2) the table napkins are awful– way too scratchy which is unfortunate when you’re slurping delicious pasta and need to keep dabbing your face.
Vegetarian/​Vegan options– ask for clarification on menu items.

Last night at Pulcinella Italian Host of Mclean VA what a memorable father’s day.
We did start with
Crab & Avocado Chopped Salad
after Fruity Goat Cheese Salad
Final:
LOBSTER FRA DIAVOLO (LOBSTER IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE)
+
carafe chardonnay
price was great with the quality of the design and tasty food. Paid for 3 $ 159.00 including tax and tips.
Pulcinella The Italian Host is the Mclean Italian asset to our area.
In DC it will cost me min $ 325.00 + parking and time.
Thank you Pulcinella Italian Host of Mclean.

My family decided to have a little celebration at Pulcinella last Friday evening. Overall, I will say that the service and food was good. It’s a good restaurant — just nothing anything really special or distinctive about it.
More details about what we ate:
* Shrimp Pasta with Pesto — This was a special for the night and was really good. It was really rich too, so don’t be fooled if you have any thoughts that this may be ‘healthier’ than other pasta dishes.
* Gnocchi alla Bolognese — Really delicious sauce and ‘pillows’ is a good way to describe the gnocchi. Though my husband complained they were too soft, I liked them.
* Mixed Green Salad — exactly what it sounds like
* Lentil Soup — homey and comforting on a cold, winter night. A little salty but still good flavor
* Linguine with Fresh Clams — the call out here are the clams — they were HUGE, which was impressive but also risky because the larger the clam, the chewier they tend to be. I think my brother enjoyed the dish and didn’t complain about the chewiness of the clams.

This is my favorite Italian restaurant. I like everything that I tried. The salad was good, the pasta was good, and the homemade cheesecake was the best. They can certainly make the bread better though. I still like this place.
Like all Italian restaurants, it is a little pricey.
Parking is bad. They are always busy around dinner time.

This place has the best pizza and gnocchi!
Everytime we go here we get the pizza. The crust is thin and you can taste the pizza. It is a mouthful of savory joy with every bite. I highly recommend the bianca and margherita pizza.
The gnocchi in Alfredo sauce is also delicious!
The staff is friendly and the atmosphere of the restaurant has a warm cozy feel to it.
I’ve been coming here multiple times for 4 years now and it always hits the spot.

Overpriced food, coffee-​tainted sugar packets from 2010, beat up silverware, horribly watered down sauces, and a poorly trained staff. I ordered a medium-​well steak and ended up paying $ 20 for a tiny New York strip that was cooked 5 minutes too long. Came with a bad pasta and marinara sauce, along with unseasoned green beans.
All that being said, it’s a good family restaurant and the owner seems like he puts heart into this place and develops personal relationships with frequent customers.
A nice place to have dinner in a comfortable atmosphere with friends or family.

Over the years, I have been here probably 8 or 9 times, each time with a very mixed result. It seems almost unkind to point out the failings of a longtime neighborhood fixture like Pulcinella. I mean, I really, really want to like the place. .
But, like all of us, sometimes we need a good look in the mirror. Perhaps even the worst of all mirrors, a full-​length one that wraps around and shows you your backside, too. Or a friend who loves you enough to gently tell you that you’re not a size 4 anymore. Sorry, Pulcinella…
It is time for an update to your décor. Yes, coming in there and seeing the same furnishings that have been there for a solid 20 plus years is comforting to some, but it also looks dark and dated.
The fried zucchini appetizer was limp and lacked any flavor. The fried mozzarella was ok, but we had suspicions that it came from a freezer bag. We also tried the «homemade» minestrone soup which was too thin and missing any depth of flavor. Great soup is so easy to make, really. Such a shame to miss the mark there. The pizza was good.
There was a perplexing failure on some of the easiest niceties, like having olive oil with the fresh bread rather than butter packets. The salmon was over-​cooked and at $ 18.95, the portions were really chintzy. The restaurants closest to Pulcinella Italian Host, including J. Gilberts next door are much more generous. Pasta costs pennies. Perhaps if there had been more than ½ cup of pasta on my plate, I would not have noticed so much that my vegetable side included just 12 green beans.
My dining companion’s lasagna meal was also on the small side. None of us wants a massive plate of food set down before us, but something larger than an child’s portion would be appreciated. I did note that everyone (save me) ordered dessert. Everyone was still hungry.
Our waitress was affable and the meals came out in a timely enough fashion. Pulcinella Italian Host has a great location and we will try it one more time, if just out of respect for one of McLean’s original businesses.

We went here for our anniversary dinner. Kinda wish we wouldn’t have.
I visited the ladies room 1^st, its downstairs in the far corner. You’ll pass a private dining room and all the extra chairs, linens, etc. from the restaurant. The bathroom itself was creepy. It almost looks like it used to be attached to a gymnasium and it was very poorly lit. Horror movies start in bathrooms like this one.
The actual restaurant is not a bad size, lots of tables and booths. Bright, yet dated, definitely family friendly. **WARNING: If you or your child is afraid of clowns, DO NOT COME HERE. The walls are plastered w/​Harlequin style clowns.
Our waiter spoke very little English, so it was difficult to ask about menu items. My husband ordered his Italian usual (Chicken fettuccine), which he said was good, but not great. I had the Chicken Parmesan. The chicken was so pounded so thin that it ended up being overdone, and my pasta (which came as a side) was very dry. Not dry like it was a little under al dente, but dry as it was cooked, drained and sat there for a while. We opted to skip dessert.
Overall I was not impressed. My husband still loves their pizza (he gets it sometimes at work), but I won’t be eating their food again.