Fratelli La Bufala

It’s closed — took photo of empty interior (oven is still there) at 1:15 PM on Wednesday, July 8^th, 2009

My wife and I popped in here after going to a yoga class at Dupont Circle. It was somewhat hard to find the first time (thought it was on M street… it’s actually on 31^st). We just got 2 to-​go pies b/​c we were heading back to NOVA.
We both got Margherita’s b/​c that is our litmus test. My wife ran in and said the guys in there were very nice and it looked like it would be a nice place to sit down. As I waited in the car, my stomach grumbled and I eagerly anticipated my pie.
As we cruised down M street back to NOVA, I grabbed a slice and gave it a fold… IT was not too soggy, maybe the last inch or so was a tad so, but nothing too extreme. The pizza, hands down, is one of the best in the area. It is simple, clean, dynamic (at the same time) and overall their ratios are pretty spot on (although they could have used a tad more basil.) The crust was excellent and had great flavor. I think they may use Caputo flour… I’m also wondering now if this is D.O.C.??
What came at a surprise however, was after we got done with the first pie, we opened up the second box and it was a little more well done. This was a good thing and a bad thing. Good in the sense, that that little bit of extra char, brought a whole nuther dimension to the pizza. Bad in the sense, that it shows me the consistency may be a problem for these guys. But, all in all, both pies were great, the second being a little above the first.
So, in a nutshell… this place rivals 2Amys for the their plain pie… I would go here again definitely!

Great pizza. The service is still a little rough, but this place has great potential.

Yes, the service is well-​meaning, but not always together. Hence 1 less star. Big deal. I’d really like to make it 4.5 stars. It’s more pleasant than the harried, and sometimes smug, tone of 2 Amys. As someone else said, FLB feels a lot like eating in a casual place in Italy. I suppose if you’re used to K St starchiness you;d find this inferior. But you’d be wrong. The space is more pleasant and quieter than 2A’s. And the pizza is better, even a lot better! I’ve been to both in the past 7 days, and it’s clear to me.
I’ve had pizza in Naples, and this is what it tastes like. I can’t understand a complaint about the red sauce being thin, unless you’re used to Chef Boyardee or sauce made from canned tomato paste. This sauce is beautifully spiced and comes on a crust that is delicious and keeps its integrity far more than does 2As. This is really tremendous pizza. I also have no idea what the complaints are about the wine list, except that it too is not like conventional American or Italian-​American places, and perhaps a little daunting. It’s a great, thoughtful list of Italian wines, many lesser known. Two types of Greco di Tufo, for instance, which I found pretty impressive. I’ll be back.

Very, very good Neapolitan pizza.
Fratelli makes a superb Neapolitan pie and is now, without question, one of the top three pizzerias in DC. I am a pizza lunatic, and know more about the subject than any sane person should.
These guys really know what they’re doing. They flew in artisans from Italy to construct their oven, and use only the most authentic ingredients. What’s more, their main pizzaioli is a veteran of Da Michele in Naples, considered one of the best joints in the world. He and one other seasoned pro are the only people who ever make pies here. All of this shows in the perfect crust, proper balance of toppings, and overall top-​notch final product.
At a crowded Friday lunchtime, the service was friendly and effiicient and both owners stopped by our table to chat. A truly enjoyable meal. All serious pizza aficionados need to get to Fratelli ASAP.

There is no reason to go here.
Yes, as everyone said, the mozzarrella and tomatos are fantastic and the pizza tends to be mushy. On the food alone, it would merit 3.5 stars. The service and wine list, on the other hand, are spotty and unacceptable, respectively. Finally, because it is similar but far inferior to Pizza Paradiso, which is within a few blocks, there is no reason to go here.
Although our service was pretty decent, the table next to us received terrible service. One member of the party ordered pasta, which they were informed took 15 minutes longer than the pizza ordered by the other member. (Huh?) They decided to wait, but were adamant that they both be served at the same time. The pasta came first (in within about 10 minutes of their order) and, for some reason, the pizza arrived 20 minutes after the pasta. The waiter was unable to explain and strangely nonplussed by the error. Unacceptable.
As for the wine list, it is scant, overpriced and lame: This place has some of the most egregiously marked-​up and poorly-​chosen wines I have seen in DC. There are very few bottles to choose from, the price escalates from around $ 30 to $ 90 quickly, and none of them are worth what they charge. The corkage is $ 12. If you go, pay it and bring your own wine.
Basically, this place isn’t as good as Pizza Paradiso, which is within a few blocks. There is no reason to go here.

After reading so many happy reviews, I’m sorry to say that I would not — under any circumstances, including complete starvation — recommend this locale for a dining experience.
Let me explain … my fiancé and I left Arlington and walked from Pentagon to Georgetown excited that we could indulge in our love of pizza guilt free (why the heck else would you walk THAT far). After hauling butt to make our reservation (we tried to call and let them know we were going to be late but the line was busy!) we arrived only to be told, «Something happened to our pizza over. It doesn’t work. So there is no pizza on the menu tonight.» This was June 13^th.
We were naturally disappointed because we wanted PIZZA but we settled on this place because at this point we were STARVED so they seated us on the second floor and we were going to settle on pasta.
I should also mention here that including ourselves, on this particular Saturday night, there were a total of 6 patrons (again, INCLUDING us).
Okay. All that being said:
1. They sat us at a table by the window which was nice, but there were ants all over the window ledge and within a few minutes of sitting, they were all over the table so we had to move ourselves.
2. The waiter came over once for our drink orders, returned within 2 minutes with my fiancé’s beer and then when we told him we needed a few more minute with the menu, we didn’t see him again for 12 minutes (I kept looking at my watch. I was WAY too hungry not to have my order taken within 5 minutes).
3. Our waiter came up to the second level and went back downstairs AT LEAST 5 times and did not even look at us. He seemed very pre-​occupied with someone else downstairs as the bus boys (who were twiddling their thumbs, lighting table candles, and filling water pitchers [for no one] all seemed to be whispering and looking downstairs.
At the 15 minute mark, I suggested we go elsewhere because they hadn’t even brought us bread though another table, with 2 young ladies who also happened to be friends with their respective waiter (trust me — they were friends because I heard their whole conversation which included the fact that the female patron wanted the male water to «call her friend back» even though the waiter said «she always seems too busy» to which I wanted to yell, «Enough already! He’s not into her! He’s saying that because he’s not interested and he doesn’t know how to tell you to stop telling him to call her!»). but I digress … anyway, those two chicks were served food AND bread and I pretty much wanted to eat my arm so we finally got the attention of a hostess and we asked her to tell our waiter that we were leaving and we gave him some money forour beer on the way out the door.
I was VERY disappointed. I read all the reviews on here, scoffed at the one one-​star review and thought, «That’s clearly not a genuine review» and am further infuriated by the fact that maybe that one star review should have had more credence!
We left for Pizzeria Paradiso and discussed how the business doesn’t have much of a chance of surviving in DC which we ate some fantastic pizza. I would like to say that I’ll go again, but I can’t. When I even think about giving it a chance, I can’t help but think that when we tried calling before our arrival, the phone was not busy — it was off the hook. They clearly didn’t want to tell anyone that the pizza over wasn’t working and in fact, the busy line gave off the impression that instead, they were in fact busy. I’m not a fan of deception and I don’t care how good the pizza WAS — I went and there was no pizza and on top of that, we couldn’t get any service (even though there were over 8 people working). Completely unacceptable in my book.

I think I need a serious therapy group, or maybe some Neapolitan confessional… «Forgive me Fratelli. Its been almost 2 weeks since my last visit…»
Friday afternoon was a happy day when I got a message from Mike T. who kindly called over and found out that Fratelli had finished the repairs to their roof, boiler and kitchen and was back open for business as of that night with a new menu to boot.
New Menu???
Must investigate!
So I braved the bustling evening crowd (Mike did warn me that it sounded busy over there) and headed over for dinner.
The menu is definitely new — as are a lot of the staff it seems. After a few chats with one of the owners while I dined, I think the menu will evolve fairly regularly as the chef decides to try new things. Of course, this means some of the dishes I’ve already fallen in love with are now gone. I did put in a heavy lobby for the Le Pepite dish of mini meatballs to re-​appear at some point. Also noticeably gone from my previous samplings are Gil Gnocchi, La Supersalad, Tropicale pizza and sadly the limoncello cannoli that I never got to sample.
Each of the sections of the menu have been simplified with about 2 – 5 fewer items and from appearance it seems at least ½ the menu items are completely different. The exception to that is the pizza section which got a few more items — and a major reorganization into «Rosa» and «Bianchi» lists helps diners see which have tomato sauce and which don’t. Another big help to diners (and staff) is that the menu is almost entirely in English now — so no more having to send a waiter scurrying to find out that aubergine is the Italian word for the evil eggplant (I actually knew this one), or that courgettes are zucchini. I actually didn’t mind the Italian on the menu — gave me a chance to practice mine — but I’m sure overall its easier for people.
An important note: the menu’s emphasis is MUCH heavier on pizzas nows. This does cause a back up if they are busy or there is a large party all ordering pizzas. There is also a new pizzaiolo making the pies. From what I had and everything I saw pass by, everything seemed VERY consistently cooked — an improvement over before — and I can forgive a few opening night growing pains that caused a delay in getting my pizza. The staff and owners were all extremely apologetic over what had caused the delay (honest about it to which was nice). I was hungry but not upset or anything as they were trying, but with no prompting they did comp my pizza because of the wait. (Some issues with packaging leftovers remain — and I took the opportunity to discuss briefly with the owner since I had the opportunity.)
My Friday night selections included a new menu item, fried calamari, and a pizza — La Reale.
The calamari was good. The rings were slightly larger than I would prefer and while the napkin under the serving had soaked up a bit of oil — the food itself was not greasy. However the spicy marinara it was served with was more oily than spicy but I did like the chunkiness of it. The standout on the plate was the zucchini shoestrings that had been fried up as well. I could have eaten an entire plate of those.
The La Reale is supremely decadent and was so totally worth the wait. In the tradition of many Neapolitan pizzas, its more of a knife and folk pizza. Light tomato sauce and thin crust provides a wonderful platform for the bufala mozzarella, smoked bufala mozzarella, and bufala ricotta topped off with a prosciutto crudo. The entire pizza was covered in fabulous thin slices of prosciutto. Definitely not for those with lactose issues — but everyone else, please indulge! You only live once.
All in all — Fratelli is open again. I am happy. Io credo nell’amore! (still LOL!)
The new menu has focus and I will look forward to seeing it change as the seasons progress. But I will probably avoid coming when they are at their busiest.

Holy crap! When someone told me they’d heard this place was better than Two Amy’s, I knew I had to try. And I’ll be darned if they weren’t right! This place has the most wonderful pizza I’ve tried in DC. Look out Matchbox! Look out Two Amy’s! Look out Faccia Luna! This place is where it’s at.
On a recent Friday evening, a friend and I wandered into Georgetown in the misty rain. We were welcomed by two friendly hostesses, one who took our soaked umbrellas to hold. We were then escorted upstairs to an adorable space (noted the very cool bar downstairs and the outdoor upstairs patio too). There were many tempting choices on this lovely menu, but we knew we wanted the pizza.
We tried the Margherita dop and another kind that was a four cheese with a tempting white sauce. Both of these pizzas were so good that I ate all of mine!
When I started researching, I found out that this restaurant is based in Italy, with many locations throughout the country. It just recently opened a location in Miami and now in DC. This is the new kid in town and it’s really really good. Prices are reasonable and service is great.
If you’re looking for good pizza, I recommend you give this place a go!

2Amy’s, move over; there’s a new pizza napoletana in town!
First of all, it must be said that Fratelli la Bufala has hands down the best outdoor terrace in town. I’m almost hesitant to give this away because I want to be able to get a seat there whenever it’s nice out. In addition to the sidewalk tables, the restaurant has a second floor terrace which is totally private, surrounded on three sides by brick wall, so all you see is the sky. You would not know you were in Georgetown if someone took you there blindfolded. It is so peaceful and quiet there.
My husband and I were super excited about their opening. Another branch of this restaurant is in Miami Beach and we make it a point to eat there whenever we travel to Miami.
This is the closest to authentic pizza napoletana I have ever had outside of Italy. The dough is perfect– pillowy, steamy, chewy and delicious on the inside, and slightly crunchy and nicely blistered on the outside. Just the right amount of sauce and the mozzarella is just enough melted on top and not-​quite-​melted on the bottom, maintaining the integrity of the mozzarella’s grain and flavor.
All we ordered this time was two Margherita DOPs. I also got a glass of the sangiovese– I love the four house wines you can choose from that are only $ 5. We will be back soon to try the antipasti, salads, and desserts. I would have ordered a salad, but they do not have a small salad. This is a minor gripe that they will hopefully address.
Another point on FLB’s side is that they take reservations. For those of us that do not care to wait an hour to get a table at that other pizzeria, this is a huge boon in FLB’s favor.

SO, Just went here for lunch. The pizza was incredible. I personally think it is better tan 2Amy’s, mainly because of the dough. The place is still fairly new, and learning how to run itself. The pizza cook was a real nice guy. He was telling me about how they flew him in from Italy and he’s living in a hotel with a few others that are here trying to get this place up and running.
Definitely a GREAT addition to Georgetown. Never really liked Alamo too much other than their Tequila selection.

DC is no stranger to Italian restaurants… I think I could probably count at least eight Italian restaurants in Georgetown alone. This has not stopped the opening of (at least) two more Italian places in the past two months — Fratelli la Bufala and Potenza. Now, I’m not complaining. Both of these restaurants were immediately added to my «must try» list and I happily checked off Fratelli la Bufala last weekend.
And so we found ourselves on a nice Saturday night at the doorstep of Fratelli la Bufala. The Georgetown location of Fratelli la Bufala is just off the canal, on the same street as two other Italian restaurants (Paper Moon and Piccolo Restaurant — although Piccolo Restaurant is still currently closed due to the October fire). Fratelli la Bufala started in Italy and has spread around the world (Dubai, Rio de Janeiro, and Tokyo to name a few of the non-​Italy outposts). Coming from a family that was in the buffalo milk and mozzarella business, the three brothers opened up these restaurants after their father passed away (the full story can be read on their menus!).
We were seated on the first floor, right next to the pizza oven and with prime seating to look into the glass walled kitchen. An antipasti bar was set up in front of the kitchen, the walls were decorated with various buffalo-​type décor plus paintings of the family. The tables were a bit tight and although we liked the excellent views from our seats, we felt like we were in the middle of traffic between the two rooms on the floor.
Any concerns about tight seating though were diminished by the looks and smells of the pizzas. We eyed every pizza that came by as we tried to select our own pizzas from the menu. I was also quite distracted by the list of available pastas — all their pastas are handmade in-​house and I heard rave reviews about the pappardelle (which I am a sucker for…). But I tried to stay on track, because it has been a long time since I last had a pizza worth writing about.
With our stomachs rumbling, we decided to get a caprese salad for an appetizer (after hearing so much about the buffalo mozzarella, we wanted to try the mozzarella in its untouched form!) and then TWO pizzas, one selected by each of us. A forewarning — it isn’t necessary to get one pizza per person, they are bigger than a «personal pan» type pizza (and bigger than nearby Pizzeria Paradiso’s pizzas), but with so many to choose from, it couldn’t hurt to have pizza to take home, right? Mr. J selected the «Casertana» (bufala mozzarella, spinach, and bufala sausage) and I selected the «Capricciosa» (I butchered that name when I tried to order it, no worries though! tomato sauce, bufala mozzarella, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, and ham… I’m a sucker for artichoke hearts and mushrooms…)
The caprese salad was fresh, the bufala mozzarella was flavorful and slightly tangy. The pizzas were mouthwatering. We saw them come right out of the wood-​burning oven. Both were delicious. The tomato sauce on my pizza was not too sweet and all the toppings worked well together — the richness of the mozzarella was balanced by the vegetables. I think my pizza was a little bit undercooked, or perhaps I picked a pizza with a few too many toppings, because the pizza wasn’t quite as crisp as I expected (not that I expected super crisp, but it was a little bit soggy in a few areas) (added sidenote: I read recently that «sogginess» may actually be a sign of authenticity… that actual Neapolitan pizzas actually have that sogginess and require a fork and knife to eat the center of the pizza…). Mr. J’s pizza held up much better (which is why I think that I had a few too many toppings on mine) and he loved it. I think he was about to pass out from how much he liked it. Both were fantastic, and I’m by no means a Neapolitan pizza expert, but this was some of the top pizza I’ve had in DC.
We were having such a nice time that we decided to get dessert too (might as well have the full experience, huh?). The cannolini caught our eye — a cannoli with bufala ricotta cream, limoncello, and chocolate — but the Carpaccio d’Ananas sounded more intriguing. Paper thin slices of pineapple, drizzled with chocolate, and buffalo milk ice cream on the side. It was the perfect light end to our meal.
I will most certainly be revisiting Fratelli la Bufala. I’m not exaggerating when I say that almost everything on the menu appealed to me … so much left still to try! I’m dying to have another pizza, but then there are all the other pasta options, and then the different mozzarella appetizers, and I’ve heard that even the salads are delish. AND, word is that they are opening a «tiki» type bar on the outdoor patio… and if you know me, I do love my tropical themed bars, so a tiki bar WITH excellent food? How can I not come back?

We were told that this is a new place with the best Pizza in DC – we are Italian and have eaten in every possible pizza venue in Washington so we know Pizza. It was awful. The place is very disorganized – we stood around and waited for somone to show interest in seating us. They took our order and since the wine we asked for wasn’t available they brought us another «equal» bottle but the wine was not as good as the one requested. We ordered the antipasto which was pretty good but they brought the pasta out at the same time (after we asked for it to be brought out after we finished the first course) and then we got the famous pizzas – we were very disappointed as the crust was slightly soggy and limp – when we mentioned this to our server (we had asked for the pizza to be served crispy) we were told that this is the «neapolitan» way of serving pizza – I think NOT. All in all, I was not pleased with either the service or the food and would not return. I would suggest that poeple look for another «best pizza» spot. In my opinion, 2 Amy’s and Paradiso is much better and they are not the best –just better.

BEST PIZZA EVER!!!
Yep, the Europeans know how to do it. This pizza was sort of a hybrid of traditional, greasy pizza and a gourmet pizza. It had a scrumptious, thin crust that was puffy and chewy around the edges. The tomato sauce was extremely flavorful and tasty while the cheese and peperoni were equally amazing.
This is 2 Amy’s with even more flavor!
The restaurant is new and they are still working out the kinks. We walked in and were greeted by no one. We had to awkwardly walk around to find a server to seat us. The space is nice, but kind of corporate and cold. The old building it is housed in is quaint on the outside, but the inside is just too new to be cozy. Check out the roof deck if it is not blistering hot. It was way too hot for that when we visited… but it looked nice for another time.
Lookout 2 Amy’s there is a better pizza in town! (But I still love you, too!)

It was fine, not great. Obviously this restaurant has something going for it since it has locations all over the world, but it failed to meet my expectations. The pizzas were all good but had very soggy crusts. My margarita was tasty enough, I agree with the other posters that the tomatoes used for the sauce were wonderful. The mozz had the right amount of salty flavor that really added to the overall dish. My lunch companion had a pizza with delicious spicy bufalo sausage and french fries on top (??) that was good but what’s up with the fries? And it was a bit pricey. I might go back, but its not a priority.

I was told by the owner of FLB that this would be the best pizza I would ever have. I took this as a challenge. Not sure about best pizza ever seeing as I haven’t had every pizza even in the confines of DC, but it was pretty delicious and definitely surpassed Pizzeria Paradiso.
When I first showed up, I wasn’t entirely sure about this place. The handkerchiefs around the neck and the ridiculous number of bulls on the menu made me question my decision to not eat what I had packed for lunch, but I figured I was there and would go for it anyway.
I tried the margherita which my server informed me was the most authentic. After going to put in my order he was back to let me know that the oven was still heating up so my food would take an additional 10 minutes. It was nice of him to let me know because while I don’t think that I would have really noticed the extra time, I hate when you sit forever wondering where your food is (see Ruby Tuesday or Spider Kelly’s for examples).
When my pizza came out, again, I was not so sure that it’d by the look of it. The toppings were basically swimming around on the pizza and maybe that’s what makes it authentic? Not sure, but I picked up a knife and fork and prepared myself to hate it. Then something curious happened. It was delicious! The crust was thin, but still managed to be fluffy on the ends, the sauce was typical tomato, but with something in it that made it sweeter, and the cheese was just perfect. Well, actually, I could have used a bit more cheese, but that’s fairly typical of me.
At the end of the meal the server gave me a free desert and I unfortunately have no idea what it was called. Something with nuts, powdered sugar and caramel (read: delicious).
So is this the end all be all of pizza? Probably not; however, I would definitely recommend this place to others trying to eat in Georgetown for a reasonable amount of money. My total bill came to $ 11. Granted I ordered one of the cheaper things on the menu, had water, and got a free desert, but still! Inexpensive!

The place is full of remnants of italy, the pizzaiolo is italian, the oven is italian — the restaurant is after all an italian chain. But, and it is a large but, the food had a few fundamental problems, so egregious in fact, I would put money on the fact I will never again eat there (unless it is free).
We started with a little antipasti of mozzarella di bufala, both fresh and smoked, prosciutto and mortadella. The mozz was pretty good, I suppose, with a golf clap going to the smoked. However, the prosciutto was sliced too thick (it should be literally paper thin) which made it hard too eat and not tasty. Moreover, the menu said it was from Parma, which would lead one to believe it was «di Parma» DOC, but it was most definitely not. Shame on you. The mortadella was extremely mediocre, meaning bland, and ultimately forgettable.
On to the pizza. Yes, the pizza at Fratelli la Bufala is similar to 2amys and Paradiso, whatever that means. All three serve Neapolitan style pizza, two fail and one succeeds. At La Bufala I had, among others, the Margarita, the quintessential bar to which all Neapolitian pizzas are measured. For me, it simply did not measure up to the local competition namely, 2amys. The pie was over sauced which made the crust’s texture too soggy (slight center focused sogginess is acceptable). Although, I must say the tomatoes they used were EXTREMELY good, very sweet, they were honestly the highlight of the meal. The mozzarella on the pizza was overcooked and not as rich as that of the app, which was quite unfortunate. IMO the dough itself lacked a bit of salt leaving the non-​sauced, fluffy outer-​crust, slightly bland.
If you want the best and most authentic Neapolitan pizza in Washington go to 2amys and nowhere else. We should be so lucky to have a place that puts out such legitimate pizza, don’t take it for granted. Having said that, if you don’t live in the neighborhood, don’t want to schlep up there, don’t appreciate authenticity, don’t like the atmosphere (La Bufala’s is probably better), or have some other qualm with 2amys, perfect — head to Fratelli la Bufala. But like I said, I am not going back unless your buying.

I’m a big fan of the FLB in Miami Beach. It was opening night at DC location last night and they have a lot of work to do. All the potential is there as far as product but right now they get a zero on execution. Service was a friendly MESS. Wine took forever, food took longer. Artisan pizza seemed prepared by an amateur. Either too doughy or burned. Didn’t see too many with the perfect neapolitan char and right balance of ingredients. We kind of expected it to be bumpy so whatever. When they get their act together, and I’m sure they will in time, it will be great.

is it better than 2 Amy’s? I mean that’s the bottom line, right? The answer is, I’m not sure. The pizza I had was very good (I went with the Irpina) and cooked just right. I think I can most certainly say that the pizza I had was better than anything I’ve had at Pizzeria Paradiso, but again, I’m not sure about it being better than 2 Amy’s.
The décor is unremarkable, though nice, and they have a cool rooftop deck that overlooks 31^st street. I can see this place getting pretty busy once the word gets out. I’m definitely coming back

Great Pizza + Peroni and Blue Moon
Remember the Alamo… or not