Oro Pomodoro

This place sucks. I ordered fried calamari it tasted rubbery, waiter didn’t know the menu which was over price. Definitely I am never going back to this place.

This place has closed. Shut down by the Sherrifs, apparently.

I’ve been here several times since my last review, and I think this place is extremely underrated! Try the verace pizza :)

Have gone here a bunch over the last year and its been very good, at least on the bar side where we usually frequent. Good food, though yes a bit limited, friendly staff and bartenders — one of the better happy hours found in Rockville Square area.
— now closed

I have been to this restaurant several times. The first time I went, I had some of their dessert and it made me want to go back to their restaurant. However, recently I went with a friend and I would have to say that my time there was not that great.
At the time we went, the place was empty and it took more than a long while for our server to attend to us and bring our order (I have been to crowded restaurants that had quicker service).
I had one of their panini’s (my first time trying it) and it came with chips. The panini was warm as I ate it, but then as I got further down into the panini, it was cold (not good). The chips were almost the same as well — nice and crispy (tasted good), until I got to the end of the chip and it seemed stale. I have always had great service here and the food is always good all the other times I have been here, but this time, I was a bit shocked. It won’t stop me from going back to the restaurant as it could have been just a bad day — even though that seemed impossible since the restaurant was almost empty.

If a room is rented for a business meeting and you’re given a confirmation, then one would assume it was a ‘done deal’!
It’s a good thing a follow-​up was made one day prior to the meeting. Being told last minute that the restaurant double-​booked leaves one in the unfortunate position of scrambling around for another restaurant. They need competent staff to book the rental for business meetings. Or the manager should be on top of the mistake and make a phone call. What if a follow-​up hadn’t been done and the meeting arrived at Oro with no where to go?! This is how a good word or bad word gets out there. Not professional business practices.
Since the meeting took place down the pike at Potomac Grill, I’d highly recommend that restaurant for dining and meeting. Very accomodating last minute and the food was GREAT; the meeting was a success and all involved in the meeting will continue business and dining there.
Of course, I can’t comment on Oro’s food and will never care to.

I should have listened to one of my friends, who had dined there, who told me the food at this restaurant had no taste.
Two other friends and I were originally going to eat at Potbellys. But one of them wanted to try Oro. I didn’t realize he meant Oro until we were nearly there. So anyway, we went in and got promptly seated. But then it took a while before our server finally came.
I took advantage of the free appetizer from Unilocal and ordered the Carcio Carne (which was raw beef). While it didn’t taste bad, I guess I just wasn’t accustomed to the taste since it was my first time eating raw beef and I was extremely hesitant.
We decided to order pizza and when we asked our waiter how big the pizzas were, he said 8 – 10 inches. I surprised at the small size considering the prices on the menu. But we went ahead and ordered 2. The Positano and Diavola. The Positano was a white pizza. I have eaten white pizza and I know how good it can taste without sauce, but the white pizza here was way off standard. Now, even though it mentioned arugola as an ingredient, it didn’t say anything about it being raw. So the Positano came with a heap of raw arugola on top. There was barely any cheese on the pizza. It was a very tasteless pizza. As for the Diavola, it was better than the Positano but still pretty bland. I couldn’t taste the freshness from the «fresh tomato sauce» listed on the menu. The spicy salami was also very underwhelming.
So the prices for the pizzas were $ 14.95 for the Positano and $ 13.95 for the Diavola. If the pizzas had tasted good, I would be ok, but paying such prices for two small pizzas that were virtually tasteless left me with a feeling of being ripped off. I can easily get much better tasting pizza at a chain pizza store. There was nothing artisan about these pizzas.
Now the ambiance and décor was pretty nice. The server had a great attitude and was able to expedite our orders on request although he was slow in coming back to refill our water and check on us. He also charged me for the free appetizer (I didn’t realized until my friend told me after I had already swiped my card) which had to be corrected.
I will never come back solely due to such bland food.

Came here for a Happy Hour on a Thursday evening. The Oro Martini I had was $ 6, not sure how much of a deal that was considering the martini that appeared in front of me was a bit tiny. My thoughts on the size were quickly quashed when I took my first sip and experienced the punch this drink packed. Great strong drink to unwind and help let the stresses of the day melt off my back.
My friend and I thought the bar would be packed on a Thursday evening with gorgeous weather and tons going on in the square, however, there were seats aplenty for us to choose from. We ordered off the regular menu because there was nothing of interest to us on the happy hour special menu.
We started with the calamari appetizer, it came out quickly and piping hot. I think it was pretty run of the mill in that you can’t go wrong with ordering it. It’s fried and perfect for happy hour sharing.
For my entrée, I had the create your own pizza. In addition to the tomato sauce and the mozzarella that comes as the base on this pizza, my 3 toppings of choice were spinach, sun dried tomatoes, and artichokes. I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this pizza. The crust was very thin and gooey, while the outside crust was a bit burned in some spots, but I didn’t mind.
Overall, I would recommend that Oro is a pretty good place to meet for Happy Hour. Nothing stood out that would warrant a negative review of any of the items I had. The bartender was also very nice and pleasant to deal with.

eh

My first visit (4÷27÷13) excited to try their pizza. The place was busy a pleasant spring evening in Rockville Town Square. I ordered the «Pizza Verace» (tomato sauce, basil, buffalo mozzarella cheese) w/​added sausage. Well the buffalo mozzarella fresh, rich texture delicious. The service very courteous. Décor modern & inviting.
Unfortunately somethings missing-​the fresh tomato flavor of sauce came through; but tasted watered down. The sausage tasted of ground beef, not pork-​no seasoning or flavor. Upon reading other « Unilocal Reviews» after my dining experience: my conclusion is perhaps the kitchen has its share of «off nights». Next time try pasta-​Oro Pomodoro overall has an appealing menu.

Went here for dinner with the wife. Located in Rockville Town Center, the place has a nice ambiance and décor. Got some cold bread before ordering and it wasn’t very good. I ordered the gnocchi and wife ordered a grilled salmon. My dish had very very little flavor. I asked them to sub alfredo sauce and it was very very bland. Wife’s salmon was pretty good and the chilled soup that came with it was very good. Our waitress, while nice, only said a few words to us all evening. She brought us the wrong check as well. We used a Groupon so that was the only redeeming aspect of this meal. Won’t return.

After my last visit, I left a negative review. The person I ate dinner with told me the restaurant contacted her and said they were looking into suing me because of my review.
Because suing customers who write negative reviews is a great way to turn a terrible restaurant around.

GROUPON
We went on a Sunday around 2:30 PM. The place was not too busy, no wait and maybe 4 – 5 tables being serviced. We say in a booth by the bar. It was our first time and will return.
I saw all of the negative reviews here on Unilocal and have no idea what people are talking about. The waitstaff that we experienced were helpful. From taking our order to making desert recommendations.
The only flaw in staff was my over hearing them discuss how well they are or are not tipped.
A note from me on tipping: Hey Groupon Morons, you tip on the total, not the discounted total!!!
We got the antipasti plate to start. Amazing. Clam pasta — amazing. Poached egg w/​pork — amazing. Lava cake — amazing. The 4 stars vs 3 are bc of my overhearing staff talking about work related issues in front of guests. We will be going back.
I will agree the prices are «high» but not. A good salmon should be $ 20. A good brick oven pizza should be $ 12 – 15 and a great pasta should be $ 12 – 18 so get over it. If you have the $ 30 groupon expect to spend $ 20 – 30 more and yep they validate!!!

Didnt love rhe gnocchi with braised beef or pasta with boar sausage. One word: yuck. Sticking to pizza and salad maybe calamari.
U r losing a fan oro and you only see me for happy hour and cheap pizza

Oro Pomodoro is located in the heart of Rockville Town Center, which is conveniently located near the Rockville Metro Station. Parking is available on the streets as well as parking garages. They validate parking tickets after dining. They have televisions in the bar to keep up with news and sport scores. They have great selection of beers (draft and bottled) and white and red wines. It’s a good place for dates and dinner engagements. It’s a good idea to make a reservation via OpenTable to ensure you have a table. This restaurant is busier on some nights more than others. The service depends on the server. I’ve had good and bad experiences.
I’ve dined at Oro Pomodoro 15 times over the past 4 years. Even though some may disagree, the food is decently priced when compared to Il Pizzico, Il Porto, Amalfi’s, Gepetto, La Panetteria, Luigi’s, Il Canale, Ristorante Piccolo, and Filomena. Often times, you can find great deals via Groupon, Livingsocial, or Unilocal.I’m sad that most of the things I like are not on the menu but may be made upon advanced notice (days may vary depending on the dish) and request.
I’d recommend the following food items:
1. Seafood risotto (available upon request)
2. Salmon risotto (available upon request)
3. Gnocchi alla Sorrentina (available upon request)
Homemade potato dumplings in light san Marzano tomato sauce with
buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil
4. Tortellacci di Carne (available upon request)
Ring pasta filled with slow cooked beef and veal in light creamy tomato
sauce with green peas and cremini mushrooms
5. Stufato Di Cinghiale Alla Valdostana Al Chianti Riserva
Stewed wild boar with vegetables in a chianti wine reduction
Soup:
–Butternut Squash Soup
Pizzas:
–Margherita: San marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil
–Capricciosa: San marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, kalamata olives, artichokes, and mushrooms
Desserts:
–Orange Mousse (available upon request)
–Trio di Crème Bruciato: mini crème brûlée trio: vanilla, lavender and pumpkin
HOWEVER, I was not a fan of the following:
1. Gnocchi Di Castagna Al Brasato Di Barolo
Chestnuts flour gnocchi with braised beef in a barola wine sauce
2. Taglolini Con Ragu’ Di Conglio Selvaggio
Fresh tagliolini in a wild rabbit ragu
3. Risotto Con Funghi Porcini Al Profumo D’Alba
Arborio rice with porcini mushrooms mantecato with butter and parmesan cheese with drops of white truffle oil
4. Chicken Scallopini with lemon, capers, and grilled vegetables.
It lacked flavor almost as if they just cooked chicken and garnished it with lemon and capers.
5. Lobster Bisque.
It’s rich, creamy, and high in sodium, but it lacked lobster meat. Consume this if you want your bad cholesterol level to shoot up.
ALSO, join their loyal royalty rewards program and reap their benefits (e.g. buy 1 get 1 entrée, $ 10 off an entrée, earn double points etc)
ALSO, they partnered with VisArts to do a painting and pizza making class, which should be a ton of fun. They also partnered with the Ice Skating Rink to include a 3 course meal and ice skating for $ 25/​person.

**Groupon experience**
Ladies night gets you 50% off drinks, but it doesn’t stack with groupon. I feel like the menu prices are over padded and they knew they were going to give out massive groupons, livingsocials and what not. and anyone who doesn’t use a coupon just over pays.
To start the meal didn’t get bread so maybe they don’t do that anymore? or maybe they don’t offer bread to asians? The restaurant wasn’t busy and I came in at about 9:30 so it wasn’t like closing down time yet still had a few minutes.
I got the tuna salad, which wasn’t much of a salad, it was equal parts tuna to the amount of greens and olives. maybe a 5oz tuna portion precooked.
My friend got a pasta with sausage and greens, the pasta noodles in it was very doughy/​crunchy which I really liked. Not sure if that is how it is supposed to be. There was a generous portion of greens and sausage, very greasy, very pricey as well.
I doubt I would come back even with a groupon, not sure if that affects how you get served or not. The bartender was very busy cleaning his bar, not very concerned about his customers. I work in a restaurant too… I pay more attention to customers then to cleaning my bar.
Different places offer different types of service.

I bought a Groupon for this place and that’s the only reason I went. I browse through the menu and it was priced on the heavier side for a restaurant located in Rockville Town Square in regards to 1) quality of food and 2) lunch prices. I brought my sister here for lunch with me and we got our basket of bread from a kitchen staff (all I know is that it wasn’t my waitress). It was literally placed on the table with nothing else. No word. Nothing. Then my sister asks me, «Is this the olive oil?» There was a silver container that was already on the table. I said, «I have no idea. Pour it and let’s see.» It was, thankfully. I was wondering if they were expecting us to eat the bread plain!
We got our main courses — I got the seafood pasta ($ 18 for lunch… hm.) and my sister got a custom made pizza ($ 13 or so). Her pizza was huge flop. It was so thin to the point where she couldn’t even lift it. It was incredibly soggy. Ew. My seafood pasta was mediocre at best. It wasn’t disgusting, but it wasn’t amazing either. It tasted like something I could whip up myself at home.
Honestly, I wouldn’t come back and pay the regular prices out of my own pocket. I would probably pay $ 5 at most for my pasta again (which is obviously never going to happen).

Ordered the rigatoni pasta with wild boar sausage based on the bartender’s recommendation. For sure a great entrée! Tried my friend’s pizza. It was soft and falling apart… told her to go with the spaghetti carbonara! (More so because I wanted to sample that, lol) I guess I’ll just have to try it next time.
Bartender was on point. With food recommendations and hooking it up with lots of liquor in the mixed drinks. That’s how I like it!

*The quality of food has definitely gone down since the past several years*
Several months ago, my girlfriend & I tried to go here but they were closed for a private event. A month later, we came here for dinner and their pizza oven was being repaired, so they couldn’t serve pizza (this is half their menu might I say).
I came here on a Sunday evening with friends. The place was completely empty. I wanted to try something new this time (aside from the Positano). We order the trio di bruschette and a doppiozero (two small pizzas of your choice, linked together). The bruschette was ok (bread was crispy but tomatos tasted old); it isn’t meant to share. The doppiozero pizza (we order positano and napoletana) were ok, nothing special.
Service is ok. Serving sizes have decreased alot since they opened.
Question: Why do you label your wine by «the pitcher.» Isn’t that for beer only? Since when do we serve wine in pitchers like we serve beer?

I’ve wanted this place to do well, since my hubs liked the pizza so much the first time we came here. But after some time away, we came back for what will probably be the last time.
A whole lot of mediocrity for the price of an expensive dinner, which we finally got to order after waiting for our server for nearly 15 minutes to even take a drink order. I can think of a ton of other meals in the dc area I would’ve rather had for what we spent here. Though this is an Italian restaurant of a certain price range, none of the pastas on the menu are fresh. None. My mon wanted a fresh pasta, and ordered the one special that sported it. We all agreed the sauce tasted like Beefarino, or whatever that stuff is that comes in the little plastic single-​serve tub for kids.
Cocktails were lame, which would be fine if they weren’t priced like legit cocktails (mine lacked the one fresh ingredient it was supposed to have, and came, insultingly, with a maraschino cherry). Entrees looked and tasted like chain food. Most annoying: the waiter pushed the sea bass special HARD, really talked it up until it was awkward to pick something else, and then it was 1) mediocre at best, and 2) more expensive than pretty much everything else on the menu. He never asked how I liked it.
I tried to believe in you, Oro, but you’ve lost me.