Campono

I really like this place! Stacks of fire wood on the walls to use to their brick oven pizzas. I got the breads and spreads, very good. Husband got chicken Caesar salad– very good. Café style, where you order you meal at the register and its delivered to you table. I enjoyed myself!

They have true Napolitano pizza. We like the americano and the marguerita. great gelato. Save room for it after all the pizza! Recommend arriving at least 2 hours before any Kennedy show, as it can get crowded closer in, especially if weather closes the outdoor seating

A pizza that can easily feed two people, nice atmosphere and very convenient when I was going to the Kennedy Center. Very cool that it’s so near the Watergate Hotel. i didn’t get a chance to try their gelatto but i heard it’s great.

It is fine if you are looking for pizza and a glass of wine. Nothing fancy at all, but great for a quick bite before heading across the street to the Kennedy Center.
On my list of places I have been, nothing really to take me back.

A good place to go before a show at the Kennedy center. Pizzas are light yet still flavorful — we had the tufto funghi pizza as well as the carciofi. I though the mushroom pizza was really nice — crunchy with a bit of kick from the scallions. The carciofi pizza was just fine; cheese to ingredient ratio was a little high.
We added a pitcher of beer and a tuna salad to our dinner — the salad was very piecy and not particularly high on veggies, but still fairly yummy. Overall I was pretty happy to find this place before our show — definitely a better choice relative to overprice snacks at the Kennedy center.
Also: they have outdoor seating! Pizza and beer outside, hard to go wrong.

Campono is the perfect place to go before a play at the Kennedy Center. They offer valet parking for $ 10 on event nights. They serve pizza, subs, salads, and gelato. For drinks, they sell beer, wine, bottled beverages (e.g. Italian sodas, water), and fountain beverages (all Coca Cola products). Pizza are about 10″ and range from $ 15 – 20. The salads range from $ 10 – 15.
My family and I shared two white pizzas («Pizze Blanca») and a salad, all of which we’d recommend. The Tutto Funghi (P10) was topped with mushroom porcini cream, wild and domestic mushrooms, garlic, mozzarella and parsley. The Carciofi (P15) was topped with artichoke lemon cream, roasted baby artichokes, olives, prosciutto, and mozzarella. I liked how the pizza crust was puffy. The Tuna Niçoise salad (S6) consisted of spinach-​romaine blend, red onion, artichokes, tomatoes, green beans, eggs, potatoes, caper, olives, and imported tuna tossed in light herb vinaigrette!

The croissants are excellent. Gelato looked wonderful. No brewed iced tea, though.
The place is classy looking. Man behind the counter was wearing a pressed button down shirt. Definitely makes it seem a cut above.

I was hoping the restaurant closets to the Kennedy Center would be a little bit classier but Campono is basically a run of the mill pizza joint. You walk in — seat your self, order and pay at the counter and wait with a number for your pizza to be delivered. As you can imagine it does get crowded before a show at the Kennedy Center so come early if you want to score a table and not have to awkwardly share.
My fiancé and I ordered two pizzas — a margarita and a create your own as they are a bit small. The margarita was just okay, the create your own was much better but at a $ 4 surcharge for a few slices of prosciutto it wasn’t really worth it. (medium-​ish pizza for $ 18!)
For two small pizzas and two glasses of wine I spent over $ 50 which to me is crazy especially for a place which is essentially a cafeteria with no waiter service. I think next time we head to the Kennedy Center we’ll opt for a nicer dinner in Foggy Bottom or Georgetown. If I’m ever in the area for lunch, I might consider Campono again.

It was ok. Pizza is good, decent salads. Nice people, nice look and feel to the place.
I went mainly for the meatball parm sub, which I read about in the Washington Post Sunday magazine; dude said it was the bomb. It wasn’t. I get the feeling that I waited too long to go down there after reading that article, and the chef making the sub moved on to another job, leaving behind regular schmos to do a mediocre job on it. That often happens in the DC restaurant scene.
Next time you read about a hot spot, go right away — don’t wait.

Campono’s chicken pancetta panini is my go-​to hot sub here. It delicious and although it’s not very small i can probably finish the whole thing in one sitting. That’s how good it is. When i do venture out here for lunch (after 1pm) my coworkers and I are always lucky enough to find a table. ALSO if you love ice cream, froyo, etc as much as i do, you should try their gelato!!! Delicious dessert just a few steps away… and with DC summer just around the corner. I will definitely come in here for more during my lunch breaks. BUUUUT lets be honest. you never need an excuse for dessert! :D

This review is solely about the gelato. For 4.50, don’t think this place is worth it, but definitely worth a try for their variety of flavors and biscotti!
They have a nice selection of fruity and creamy flavors. Huge highlight was the green apple and lemon — you can truly taste the lemon zest in it. The coffee gelato was a little too strong for me, but overall this place has good servings, but wish they gave more for the price! The staff was super nice and random, but their water is so refreshing haha!
Would definitely recommend this day on a hot summer day if you’re in the watergate area!

A hidden gem worth finding!
I’ve been here several times and I’ve never been disappointed. Besides having great pizzas and sandwiches, their staff are extremely nice.
I’ve had about every pizza they make all delish! The latest I tried was one called Maiale which has three types of cured pork, a white sauce, and potatoes believe it or not… my new favorite!
I’ve only tried one sandwich, and it was so good I haven’t tried any others. It is called a Chicken and Pancetta, but is also has arugula, avocado, pesto and tomatoes. If I’m in a sandwich mood, it is my go to.
Lastly, if you have a sweet tooth they have some really great gelato.
As for décor, it is modern meets rustic were they stack their wood for their wood pizza oven along the walls. They also have outside seating, but I consider this a lunch place… too casual for a fancy dinner.

Seriously the best pizza I have ever had. I am still salivating for here in my hotel room. We are in DC for vacation from Chicago. We were touring the Kennedy center and needed somewhere to eat dinner. Saw this across the street at the Watergate, had to go. We were going to order a regular pepperoni and sausage and saw the bacon, pancetta, prosciutto, pig cheek, garlic and potato pizza and decided to try it. All I can say is wow!!! Best pizza ever!!! We are here a week and will go back, possibly tomorrow.

I give it 4 stars.
I’ve eaten here on 2 occasions, both around late afternoon. First time i had pizza which was good. The ingredients were excellent as were the flavors. We had the Margherita and the Polpetti. I liked everything about it, but it’s not my favorite style. I prefer very crispy crust and this was soft and chewy. On my 2^nd visit i had the «Lazio», italian cold-​cut sub. This was really great. About 8″ ($ 8.50) and the most perfect meat, cheese and toppings. I like the way everything was diced… lettuce, tomato, pickles, onion and peppers and the bread was fantastic. Baked in-​house with the perfect texture. I believe this was the best sandwich bread i’ve had in the area. For me the bread makes or breaks it, fantastic. My only regret was that i failed to take photos to share.

Had the prosciutto, cherry tomato, & lemon-​arugula salad pizza.
Prosciutto was just salty enough to open the pallet with the cherry tomato exploding with acid cut through the rich cheesy white sauce and balanced it off with lemon-​arugula salad on top of the pizza. Wood burning oven layered a nice crispness to the crust. Very good pizza.
JG the executive chef is always a great host, and with the Kennedy Center right across the street made the experience that much better.

It’s impossible to sit outside at Campono, eating their delicious pizza, and not chat about the Watergate scandal. Or whatever happens to be playing at the JFK Center.
Despite these sketchy and not altogheter beautiful neighboring buildings, Campono serves up a mean pizza and some really delicious desserts. The food is as authentically Italian as I’ve ever found on this side of the Atlantic pond, and service came with a smile.

Campono is a perfect place to grab a quick bit. Severed cafeteria style, they have rustic pizzas, a mediocre selection of wine and delicious gelato making for an excellent pit stop pre or post a Kennedy Center show.
I would highly recommend grabbing a table outside to enjoy a beautiful day/​evening.
Would I come here if I wasn’t headed to the Kennedy Center, probably not but I will call a spade a spade and enjoy it for what it is.

After a performance at the JFK Center I ran into the nearest restaurant that was still open and it luckily for me it happened to be Campano. I wondered why we were given a funny look by one of the staff when we came in but turns out they had locked their doors for closing time and not shut it all the way. I just needed to charge my phone so I found the nearest outlet and waited.
While waiting the kitchen alerted us that they had made an extra pizza and needed to give it away since it was closing time. We happily took it. I don’t know if it’s because it was free or because we were extremely hungry but that was some of the best pizza I’ve had in a long while. The crust was crispy without being tough, the cheese did not slide off the entire slice when you ate it and the seasonings pulled it all together. I think we had the Rustica pizza and the whole thing tasted fire roasted. Yum! And as we were leaving they gave us some free croissants that were also headed for the trash. The next morning I was surprised to find each of them had a cream filling inside. Best morning surprise ever.
On top of all of this the place had a completely rustic feel with exposed wood stacks lining the walls and a very open floor plan.
It was through serendipity that I found Campono but it’ll be through dedication that I return.

Watergate is a veritable black hole when it comes to restaurant/​coffee/​bar options. It’s painful. On recent visits to our DC office (in Watergate) I’ve inevitably found myself at Campono a few times as its door is a few feet from the entrance to my office.
Surely it’s owned by the same place next door (can’t recall name – currently closed for renovation).
Campono is still getting their act together. Each time I’ve been in, it’s been a hot mess. Once, for breakfast, there were only two people in front of me in line. It took 30 minutes (not kidding) to get my food. I realize a breakfast pizza made to order (hand tossed and all) takes a bit — but not 30 minutes, especially when there are only two orders in front. Note: the pizza was really good. Surprisingly big and high quality for the price.
Another time, I ordered a salad for lunch. The lettuce they use is in big ass pieces. HUGE pieces. This made eating the salad (I was in an in-​person meeting) really awkward. The salad was ok — very typical (aside from lettuce pieces as big as Manhattan island).
Coffee is mediocre, but palatable being really the only place within a few blocks.
Wonder what the sit down service is like?

Really liked their pizzas. We got the Porri E Salsice (leek cream sauce) and a tomato based one with meatballs and we loved the tomato one :) The leek cream one was a bit too salty for us but the dough for both were amazingly chewy and yummy.
I do have to say that the menu on the first TV screen (the one closest to the entrance door) was switching between 2 screens wayyy too fast though. We couldn’t catch up so we ended up just grabbing an old fashion paper menu instead: p I would also like to add and praise on the fact that this restaurant is very accessible (flat ground entrance, outdoor dining for more space, automatic taps/​toilets, and insulated pipes under sink in washroom) They however do no have automatic door openers though, so getting in and out may be difficult…
Overall, we would come back for more and totally are in love with their modern-​cabin vibe.