Al Tiramisu

We came in a group of 18. Everyone was so friendly and accommodated food restrictions

This is one of my favorite restaurants in DC. True Italian cuisine, a bit pricey but worth it!

At Al Tiramisu the proprietor greets his clients at the door and makes eye contact to show his pride in his locale which I liked. The restaurant is somewhat hard to spot while driving by at night but once found Valet Parking made for a seamless entry to the restaurant.
The waiters are excellently trained and have the copious specials of the day well memorized. The wine list is extensive but be prepared to pay for finer Barolos and Amarones.
My sword fish carpaccio was superb but I wished it was not offered with other types of fish in a kind of sampling as this is not what I was expecting in ‘Sword Fish Carpaccio’.
I ordered the risotto with white truffles freshly shaved at the table ($ 120) which was tasty and creamy but I thought that the waiter did not shave enough of the White Truffle and I was perturbed when he abruptly closed up the truffle box without giving me anything to say about it. The risotto was very good but stopped short of being divine as the price would imply.
We ordered the Tiramisu at the end (no surprise given the name of the restaurant) and it did not disappoint — it is highly recommended.
Al Tiramisu is a noisy restaurant with somewhat uncomfortable chairs that feel bolt-​upright. The tables are also fairly close together, creating a boisterous atmosphere that made for a lively and entertaining food outing. If quiet places are your thing you might make an exception for Al Tiramisu as the culinary experience overall is exceptional.

If you ever travel to DC, you need to have dinner at this gem. Lived in the area for about 5 years and can honestly say that I will miss this place when I move.

The hospitality of the workers and the welcoming were great! I enjoyed the delicious authentic Italian food.

Excellent from the time we crossed the threshold. I’m speechless. The BEST Italian dining experience I’ve ever had.

Rarely do you have an experience where the service and the food align to give you a rare dining experience… MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!! Johnny was THE BEST… The food OMG!!!
I shall return!!!

I agree with other reviews on here that it is overpriced for quality and portion. I ordered a pasta dish and the waiter put in the wrong one by accident so I had to wait for my original while my mom ate. She had the salmon and it was good but nothing out of this world. When I got my ravioli the edges were hard and the server gave some BS excuse that that’s how they do it blah blah. I’ve eaten ravioli my whole life and never has it been hard but ok. Portion was definitely small as I was left hungry. I ordered the arugula salad to maybe fill that hole. It was just arugula and shaved Parmesan. Not worth $ 12. Probably won’t be back.

This was our first visit to Al Tiramisu, but it instantly became one of my wife’s favorite restaurants in DC so we’re likely to be back every visit. The food was very good, but it was the service that made our experience here «as good as it gets.»
My wife usually leaves the restaurant choices to me, but one night while we were at a hotel on Dupont Circle she said, «I want Italian.» So a couple of clicks on the smart phone and I had an Open Table reservation at Al Tiramisu which was a short walk away. The reservation was for 5:30p on a weeknight, so when we arrived the dining room was nearly empty (though we heard someone trying to make a reservation for later and it was harder to come by). We were greeted warmly by an army of staff.
Our main server was Fulop, but we also saw 2 – 3 other staff throughout the night. We were never without a full water glass or with dirty plates on the table. Fulop had total command of the menu and patiently answered all of our questions. He was professional and charming and made us feel totally comfortable.
Highlights food-​wise were the beef carpaccio, pappardelle with mushroom ragu, beef short ribs, and the chocolate mousse. We did not opt for it, but one of the specials was a dish with fresh shaved truffles, which they brought to the table in a wooden box to entice us (dish was $ 120 for the full order and $ 60 for a half order).
It’s a simple measure and not one I’m always attentive to, but both my wife and I left the restaurant with smiles on our faces. I can’t really say more than that.

This is a little hole in the wall restaurant. However it’s adorable and well decorated. They also have a coat check which is a huge plus on cold nights.
The waiter was attentive and made wonderful wine pairing selections.
My food overall was good — Linguine and clams. However it was a tad oily for my taste (thus the 4 stars not five.)
Overall a solid Italian choice in DC with rustic charm and great service.

Came here after a conference. When discussing the menu, our waiter tried to upsell us on sparkling water, lobster, and truffles, which is a little off putting, but typical. The focaccia bread with olive tapenade was complementary and delish. The burrata was a solid starter, small though for the price. Good to share with 1 other person. Handmade pasta! So difficult for me to pick that the waiter brought me half orders of the clams with linguini and the veal bolognese fettuccini. My hero! The clams won it for me. Buttery. Garlicky. Perfectly seasoned. Also had a bite of the grilled sole which was just ok. Watch out for the big wine glasses. Such good service from our waiter that I am not entirely sure how many glasses I had. Easily spent $ 125 – 175 a person.

Delicious pasta.
Came here and got the lobster linguine. Delicious and beautiful plating. Their complimentary olive paste and warm soft bread are delicious.
Last time I visited, I ordered their fish specials for the day. It was delicious. Perfect portions and a little overpriced but definitely worth the extra bucks.
This restaurant is also quieter than other restaurants so makes a great work-​lunch venue. Professional staff as well. Definitely recommend!

It would get 5 stars for ambiance, but the food is way overpriced. My daughter’s linguini was 16 bucks. My veal chop was a whopping 38. The place is beautiful, no question. But for that kind of cash I expect to be blown away. I wasn’t. The mozzarella and tomatoes was just mozzarella and tomatoes. Find someplace more worthy of these prices.

The food was good, with the pasta coming in at a perfect level of «al dente.» Problem was, the portions were meager. Service was attentive.
I called for a reservation, and they told me nothing was available until 8:30pm. We were hungry, and so we passed. On a lark, my wife called again a little later, to see what the wait would be like if we just dropped by. We were told that they could probably seat us immediately, and she left her name. They had no record of her when we arrived 15 minutes later, but we got a table anyway. Odd. Next time, I’ll use a woman’s voice and see what kind of reservation I can secure.

Perfect pastas. Antipasti are all good. Got soft-​shelled crabs but too salty to finish. My friend said the same. Had pasta dishes another time and they were delicious.
Desserts are decent. Not something the restaurant is famous for (despite the name).
Remember to get your lemon cello to finish the course. I don’t think they are on the menu.

I love an Italian place that says «we serve this with a touch of olive oil». Fresh pasta done right. My buddy orders everything he eats with some custom touch and this is his favorite place. However you want it, they will cook it.
The place is cozy and the servers are friendly.
It would be nice if they gave you the price of the specials so you know how much you are paying but all in all it was reasonable.

The best part of my trip!
I’m from NYC and all I was thinking about the entire time in DC was, what will I start with first, the fresh burrata cheese or cured duck prosciutto?
Its a rainy Thursday night, I made a late reservation not knowing the DC dining crowd.
I walk in 15 minutes early and see Chef Luigi greeting the diners? I say hello to the chef and tell him I have a reservation. I’m early so its not a problem for me to have a drink at the bar. No no he says, your table is ready. Leave your umbrella at the door and follow me.
My heart skips a beat. I have an antique Louis Vuitton umbrella with me. I’d chop off a pinkie toe before parting with this sucka. He says it again. Sorry, I’m from Brooklyn. Peer pressure isn’t a thing in my neighborhood. He looks at me like a dopey American and shows me to my table. I don’t care, show me the ragu.
My waiter comes over and I ask for a glass of red Italian wine to get the party started. He reads me the specials but I have it all down from memory what I want.
Starter:
Burrata del Salento con miele e tartufo nero or simply put: Burrata cheese with local honey and black truffle bits. Black truffle bits? OMG, this dish has me swooning. I thought the cheese was a little tough but man oh man, packed with truffle flavor.
Now that I have my wine and starter, I start surveying the room. This is definitely not a crowd that would frequent Marea in NYC, it’s more of a trattoria. Once again, I didn’t know the crowd or the restaurant, if you overdress you won’t feel out of place. The restaurant is packed with patrons and I see chef Luigi, working the front of the house like a jungle cat. He’s making sure everything is operating like a well oiled machine. The only thing about DC, why does everything close so early? if your packed at 8:30, take customers in until 10:30! There might be a law, I dunno. Anything outside of NYC is dopey to me anyway. I see the table across from me, 4 dudes that ordered a bottle of wine as well as spaghetti with shaved truffles. The truffles are in a box and the waiter is going to town with the truffles. Nice touch.
Main course:
Fettuccine al ragù di vitello fatto da noi or commonly know as, House made fettuccine with a veal ragù. Spot on! I’ve said this before. The trend if you will, some NYC high end Italian restaurants make their sauces more creamy, in other words, more French. Italian food is rustic. I want to taste the rabbit and veal, not cream sauce. Chef Luigi makes this dish a masterpiece. As Billy Idol says, more more more!
Now I should be finished but I’m not. I asked the chef when I was seated about his Grappa. He has a listing of different infused Grappa, my choice was the coffee grappa as well as a ricotta crème brûlée.
Amazing. I see the chef at the front of the house, the kitchen staff has all dishes down! Everything was just perfect. A perfect ending to my vacation.
I highly recommend Al Tiramisu if your craving good Italian food.

I’ve been to most of the Italian restaurants in DC, and this is the best. Luigi’s makes consistently delicious Italian staples. It isn’t over the top fancy and they don’t have 150 things on the menu; it’s a comfortably business casual, small restaurant that serves a handful of appetizers, pastas, and meat/​fish dishes with some great specials.
I’ve only been a few times, but they always make me feel like a special, valued customer. For example, last week I ordered the truffle risotto special. At $ 35 for a half order, it isn’t cheap by any means, but the waiter must have shaved $ 50 of black truffles on there. That goes well beyond great service. ¹⁰⁄₁₀ will be back many times.

Extraordinarily rude. Unbelievably so. Lost me– a neighbor across the street, an italian eating foodie.
i walked in at 6PM on a Monday night and the lady at bar was not warm at all. Seemed suspicious that i was alone and I asked if she minded if I had my mac air open while eating dinner. i was having work done to my kitchen and I was hungry with work to do. She asked how long I would be there. I said an hour or so. The restaurant was empty and I had not had even lunch yet… would have ordered up a storm!
Begrudgingly she said ok and I sat down in the entirely empty restaurant. On a comfortable chair. She asked the waiter to relocate me to a hard chair. Surprised, i explained to the waiter my back has been sprained for 5 days and was just getting better. Rude lady comes over with an eyebrow arched and demanded i go in back hard chair area if I had a computer.
I left. Went to Urbana. Was treated like a Queen, sat on pillows and worked on my mac air on my lap oh and also dropped around 100 on Monday night for a comforting combo of food and drinks.
I suggest Al tiramisu coach your staff on service.

So many places in DC call themselves «genuine Italian.» This is one place that measures up. Perfect for a professional meet up, a date, or to get a few people together (more than 4 might be tough) and have some authentic antipasti, primi, secondi, e dolci.
I tried the soup of the day — a cauliflower– which was outstanding. The porcini focaccia served with it was also made in house and very good. I then went right for the ricotta gnocchi which was fantastic. Perfect knobs of gnocchi with a light red sauce and plenty of baby tomatoes. Wine list was pretty good and varied, and the house amaro was a bit sweet for my liking but still very good.
I typically don’t dock points for service, but this was the one drawback. The waiters were insistent on repeatedly filling the glasses before they were empty, which is one if you’re walking home, but if you’re trying to minimize your drinking in order to drive, that type of service isn’t helpful at all. Also, In Italy (if we’re keeping the authentic theme) you get a table and have the table for the night (especially when you have a reservation as we did). After the digestivi, the waiter brought the check and said «no rush,» so we kept talking through finishing the wine and the amaro. In that twenty minute period that followed he came by three times more to ask if the check was ready. If there’s no rush, why are you rushing us?
Great food and great drink, but the service was more American than Italian…