Ristorante La Perla :: 💡💡💡
Location: 💡💡💡
Ristorante La Perla is located at 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue, on the far west end of the West End neighborhood. Unfortunately the location is somewhat isolated from hotels or tourist attractions (with the notable exception of the Avenue Suites at Georgetown). The closest metro stop is the Foggy Bottom stop on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines. It is about a ten minute walk from the metro to the restaurant. Our recommendation would be to take a Lyft.
Ambiance: 💡💡
When I first walked in to Ristorante La Perla, I was slightly confused. For a restaurant that boasts to be an upscale Italian eatery, it felt like I was walking in to a cheaply constructed Vegas restaurant. From the faux roman ruins glued to the walls to the recreation of Botticelli's The Birth Of Venus tiled on to the main wall of the dining room, it felt more akin to a Bucca di Beppo than an fine dining establishment. The two toned tile floor looked dated and in my opinion was in need of replacement. Refinishing the restaurant with more natural materials like wood or stone would dramatically elevate the ambiance.
Service: 💡💡💡
I should preface this by saying there was nothing outrightly wrong with the service. When I arrived, the host was seated at a table in the corner, but got up to greet me. I was the only diner in the restaurant. He showed me to my table where I awaited my friend who was joining me for the meal. I did have to ask him to check my coat, rather than him offer. But he was glad to do so and took my jacket bringing my claim slip to the table for me.
Our waiter greeted me and my dining partner within a few minutes of being seated, offering tap, flat or sparkling water and taking our drink orders. Unfortunately it was another few minutes before the runner came and filled our water cups. My diet coke, and my companions iced tea, did arrive promptly, however.
Our waiter came back a few minutes after dropping off our drinks. He wrote down the order and walked away. He then, however, paused, turned back around and confirmed my order, after having literally just written it down. I found that odd, but was happy that he would rather make sure my order was right since I did substitute a marinara sauce or pesto, than put the ticket in incorrectly. It was an odd interaction, though, since he did it from about ten feet away from our table.
A runner came by and dropped off warm (and wonderfully soft) bread with butter and butter for us to enjoy as we waited for our appetizers.
It only took a few minutes for our appetizers to arrive. I had ordered the caprese salad (who doesn't love a salad made mostly of cheese), and my dining guest ordered the warm seafood soup. The plates remained on the table a little longer than I would have liked after we had finished, but were eventually bussed, and we were left with a clean table.
After an appropriate amount of time, our entrees arrived. I was happy to see that our server didn't try to bring out our entrees before our table had been cleared of our starters. I had ordered the gnocchi with pesto, and like any good Italian food waiter, our server came with grated parmesan. He sprinkled a hearty spoonful of cheese on top of my pasta and left us to eat in peace.
I noticed, though, that the waiter only came back once to check on our food. He was only half listening because he didn't hear my request for a second diet coke. Instead, I had to flag him down as he was heading to the kitchen after taking the order of the table that had just been seated.
At the conclusion of our entrees, the busser came and took our plates. Instead of taking the plates individually, he brought the same serving platter that he used to bring our food out, to clear the table. Again, it wasn't something I would have minded, but for the reputation of the restaurant.
Our server returned one last time to offer us coffee, and I did have to ask to see the dessert menu. When prompted, he quickly grabbed two menus for us to peruse. I settled on the Tiramisu and my companion ordered the almond cake. It wasn't long until the dishes were placed in front of us.
Overall, there was nothing bad about the service. That being said, there was nothing truly exceptional about it either. It was not at the level I had expected for a restaurant of its caliber (and price, but we'll talk about that in a moment), though.
Menu:💡💡💡💡💡
The saving grace for Ristorante La Perla was its menu. They had an amazing variety to choose from. Even the pickiest of eaters could find something to appease their tastebuds. As I mentioned, I started with the caprese salad, with my main corse being the gnocchi with pesto, and for dessert I had the tiramisu. Fortunately, it was a difficult decision for me to arrive at my choices. There were at least two or three dishes in every section that looked appealing.
At an Italian restaurant, it is commonplace for the dishes to be labeled in, well, Italian. The english descriptions did the Italian names justice, accurately describing what was in each one. The fact that the server was able to accommodate a substation for the type of sauce on my pasta was also wonderfully surprising.
The quality of the food was almost what I had expected. My salad comprised of two large slices of mozzarella laid on top of two slices of firm and cold tomato, doused with olive oil and couched with a single basil leaf. The only thing that would have made that appetizer better would have been slightly more basil (one leaf per tomato would have been nice, rather than one leaf for the whole dish). My gnocchi came out warm and with a lovely creamy pesto. The pasta was slightly overcooked, but it barely detracted from the dish.
My only qualm with the food was with my dessert. Tiramisu is my absolute favorite Italian dessert. Each restaurant does it differently, but the traditional dessert is layers of sponge cake between wonderfully rich cream, topped with a layer of chocolate ganache. The sponge cakes should be lightly soaked in espresso, giving the entire dish a grand taste of coffee. The dessert here definitely had the required sponge cake, whipped cream and chocolate, however instead of being lightly soaked in espresso, the sponges had been drowned in it. For a man who has never had a cup of coffee, it was a bit much. When I would put my fork through the dish, espresso would seep out of the bottom later, which was starting to devolve into more of a soup than a sponge cake.
Price: 💡💡💡
Knowing the reputation of the restaurant, I wasn't surprised by the pricing. The appetizers were priced fairly with other restaurants in DC (between $8 and $12 per dish), while the entrees ranged from $18 to $22. I would note the price range of the desserts, but the menu actually did not include them (which was odd...). The prices matched the reputation of the restaurant, but I don't believe matched the quality of food. Also, while I wasn't served coke form a glass, the restaurant charged for the each of my two sodas, rather than offering free refills.
Overall Rating: 💡💡💡
I would not recommend this restaurant for leisure visitors to DC, however, if you're looking for a comfortable place to hold a business lunch, this would be an ideal spot. Service wouldn't interrupt conversations and the restaurant wasn't terribly crowded.
Lunch service on January 8, 2018.
Ristorante La Perla is located at 2600 Pennsylvania Avenue, on the far west end of the West End neighborhood. Unfortunately the location is somewhat isolated from hotels or tourist attractions (with the notable exception of the Avenue Suites at Georgetown). The closest metro stop is the Foggy Bottom stop on the Orange, Blue and Silver lines. It is about a ten minute walk from the metro to the restaurant. Our recommendation would be to take a Lyft.
Ambiance: 💡💡
When I first walked in to Ristorante La Perla, I was slightly confused. For a restaurant that boasts to be an upscale Italian eatery, it felt like I was walking in to a cheaply constructed Vegas restaurant. From the faux roman ruins glued to the walls to the recreation of Botticelli's The Birth Of Venus tiled on to the main wall of the dining room, it felt more akin to a Bucca di Beppo than an fine dining establishment. The two toned tile floor looked dated and in my opinion was in need of replacement. Refinishing the restaurant with more natural materials like wood or stone would dramatically elevate the ambiance.Service: 💡💡💡
I should preface this by saying there was nothing outrightly wrong with the service. When I arrived, the host was seated at a table in the corner, but got up to greet me. I was the only diner in the restaurant. He showed me to my table where I awaited my friend who was joining me for the meal. I did have to ask him to check my coat, rather than him offer. But he was glad to do so and took my jacket bringing my claim slip to the table for me.
Our waiter greeted me and my dining partner within a few minutes of being seated, offering tap, flat or sparkling water and taking our drink orders. Unfortunately it was another few minutes before the runner came and filled our water cups. My diet coke, and my companions iced tea, did arrive promptly, however.
Our waiter came back a few minutes after dropping off our drinks. He wrote down the order and walked away. He then, however, paused, turned back around and confirmed my order, after having literally just written it down. I found that odd, but was happy that he would rather make sure my order was right since I did substitute a marinara sauce or pesto, than put the ticket in incorrectly. It was an odd interaction, though, since he did it from about ten feet away from our table.
A runner came by and dropped off warm (and wonderfully soft) bread with butter and butter for us to enjoy as we waited for our appetizers.
After an appropriate amount of time, our entrees arrived. I was happy to see that our server didn't try to bring out our entrees before our table had been cleared of our starters. I had ordered the gnocchi with pesto, and like any good Italian food waiter, our server came with grated parmesan. He sprinkled a hearty spoonful of cheese on top of my pasta and left us to eat in peace.
I noticed, though, that the waiter only came back once to check on our food. He was only half listening because he didn't hear my request for a second diet coke. Instead, I had to flag him down as he was heading to the kitchen after taking the order of the table that had just been seated.
At the conclusion of our entrees, the busser came and took our plates. Instead of taking the plates individually, he brought the same serving platter that he used to bring our food out, to clear the table. Again, it wasn't something I would have minded, but for the reputation of the restaurant.
Our server returned one last time to offer us coffee, and I did have to ask to see the dessert menu. When prompted, he quickly grabbed two menus for us to peruse. I settled on the Tiramisu and my companion ordered the almond cake. It wasn't long until the dishes were placed in front of us.Overall, there was nothing bad about the service. That being said, there was nothing truly exceptional about it either. It was not at the level I had expected for a restaurant of its caliber (and price, but we'll talk about that in a moment), though.
Menu:💡💡💡💡💡
The saving grace for Ristorante La Perla was its menu. They had an amazing variety to choose from. Even the pickiest of eaters could find something to appease their tastebuds. As I mentioned, I started with the caprese salad, with my main corse being the gnocchi with pesto, and for dessert I had the tiramisu. Fortunately, it was a difficult decision for me to arrive at my choices. There were at least two or three dishes in every section that looked appealing.
At an Italian restaurant, it is commonplace for the dishes to be labeled in, well, Italian. The english descriptions did the Italian names justice, accurately describing what was in each one. The fact that the server was able to accommodate a substation for the type of sauce on my pasta was also wonderfully surprising.
The quality of the food was almost what I had expected. My salad comprised of two large slices of mozzarella laid on top of two slices of firm and cold tomato, doused with olive oil and couched with a single basil leaf. The only thing that would have made that appetizer better would have been slightly more basil (one leaf per tomato would have been nice, rather than one leaf for the whole dish). My gnocchi came out warm and with a lovely creamy pesto. The pasta was slightly overcooked, but it barely detracted from the dish.
Price: 💡💡💡
Knowing the reputation of the restaurant, I wasn't surprised by the pricing. The appetizers were priced fairly with other restaurants in DC (between $8 and $12 per dish), while the entrees ranged from $18 to $22. I would note the price range of the desserts, but the menu actually did not include them (which was odd...). The prices matched the reputation of the restaurant, but I don't believe matched the quality of food. Also, while I wasn't served coke form a glass, the restaurant charged for the each of my two sodas, rather than offering free refills.
Overall Rating: 💡💡💡
I would not recommend this restaurant for leisure visitors to DC, however, if you're looking for a comfortable place to hold a business lunch, this would be an ideal spot. Service wouldn't interrupt conversations and the restaurant wasn't terribly crowded.
Lunch service on January 8, 2018.
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