Filomena, Owner JoAnna Filomena's Italian on Wisconsin Ave. and the C&O Canal in Georgetown

[DanM]

Wife dearest was referred to Filomena Ristorante in Georgetown by a friend of hers. I searched the site, but I did not find any reviews of this place, except that they have excellent bread. How is the food? Is it any good?

Thanks,

Dan

[ktmoomau]

I ate there only once, but they had a lobster pasta that was good (nowhere close to the lobster pasta at Eventide though). Had a bite of the gnocchi and it was ok, but not as good as many other gnocchi's in the city. But again was only once. I find the ambiance a little kitschy, but it is at least endearing kitschyy and not scary kitschy.

[chef4cook]

I do know that they make their own pasta and desserts. Beyond that, I cannot say as I have never eaten there.

[cheezepowder]

We've been a few times, with the last time a few years ago. The food was fine, but the reason we go is when we're in the mood for the kitschy ambiance as mentioned above. You can often see the "pasta mamas" in the front window making pasta. The dining room is downstairs in the basement. It's been a few years, but assuming things haven't changed, they have cakes/desserts on display at the front of the dining room, they have over the top decorations during holidays, and they give you complimentary sambucca or amaretto at the end of the meal.

[Ringo]

I am a big fan of the food at Filomena, but the ambiance has been a turn-off for several of my dining companions. Tables are very close to one another, it can get loud, and the decorations are ridiculous in such a nice place. But I ignore all that and go back for the fresh pasta, Italian (BIG) portions, great desserts, and complimentary sambucca.

In my view, it's the best place to go for Italian in DC without breaking the bank, but only because the other Italian places tend to be prohibitively expensive.

[tasteandsee]

I went to Filomena last night w/2 friends and will never return. An hour and 20 minutes after we were seated our entrees arrived, my pasta dish wasn't even hot. When I inquired about the kitchen back-up and resulting delay, I hoped the waiter would register that the lack of service was unacceptable. Instead he blamed it on "the last day of restaurant week" and didn't even apologize.

Then, my friend who thought she'd fix the problem, left the table to speak with our waiter. He directed her to the manager (apparently waiters don't have the authority to "make it right"). I don't know what the manger told to her but he showed up at our table with 3 glasses of swill red wine, apparently as a peace offering. Still, neither the manager nor waiter apologized or made eye contact with me. Two of us barely touched our entrees, as we had eaten so much bread while awaiting the main course.

Another reason to boycott Filomena is their portions are irresponsibly large. The result is we either over eat, throw the remaining in the trash, and less frequently take the leftovers home (and actually eat them). Okay, that's my rant. Would love to get recommendations on Good Italian restaurants. (FYI, Filomena was not my choice, I even tried to get out of it but my friends gave me such grief I caved.)

[porcupine]

Hey Rocks - maybe you should institute a policy with respect to first posts and Restaurant Week.

[wysguymd]

I went to Filomena's Saturday night. The place was packed - even with a reservation, we had to wait 15 minutes. However, the service and pacing was good and even with 4 courses, we were in/out in about 1.5 hour. The food is consistently good, but nothing to rave about. The big portions (even on the restaurant week menu) make the value all the better - even had leftover cake to take home! ;o)

[DonRocks]

I went to Filomena last night w/2 friends and will never return. An hour and 20 minutes after we were seated our entrees arrived, my pasta dish wasn't even hot. When I inquired about the kitchen back-up and resulting delay, I hoped the waiter would register that the lack of service was unacceptable. Instead he blamed it on "the last day of restaurant week" and didn't even apologize.

Then, my friend who thought she'd fix the problem, left the table to speak with our waiter. He directed her to the manager (apparently waiters don't have the authority to "make it right"). I don't know what the manger told to her but he showed up at our table with 3 glasses of swill red wine, apparently as a peace offering. Still, neither the manager nor waiter apologized or made eye contact with me. Two of us barely touched our entrees, as we had eaten so much bread while awaiting the main course.

Another reason to boycott Filomena is their portions are irresponsibly large. The result is we either over eat, throw the remaining in the trash, and less frequently take the leftovers home (and actually eat them). Okay, that's my rant. Would love to get recommendations on Good Italian restaurants. (FYI, Filomena was not my choice, I even tried to get out of it but my friends gave me such grief I caved.)

Hey Rocks - maybe you should institute a policy with respect to first posts and Restaurant Week.

[Mademoiselle Audrey]

Hi, I'm Mademoiselle Audrey from Northern VA. I'm a member of Yelp and been Yelping a lot. I am not in the restaurant business but my husband is. Any association with food started when I lived in the South of France for 10 years & worked as a Stewardess in a 50 meter private yatch in Monte Carlo where everyday is fine dining for the people we worked for. That's when I was introduced to champagne called Ferrari, a risotto made from veal stock & expensive champagne, Brunello Muntipulcciano, & Pesto Milanese. I got to travel a lot, I mean a lot. There are months where I will start in Sao Paolo Brazil & eating "Feijoada & drinking caipirinha", then jetting to Paris to have a dinner at Le Chartier to have some foie gras, escargot & steak frites. I would probably call myself a "foodie". I will eat anything & everything that I would deem is palatable & that won't kill me, that's why I like Travel Channel & Food network. Now I am intrigued with "Michelin star" and I am very much into it now. I tried recently one in Venice while with my husband in my 3rd year anniversary and one in New York, before this I'm just happy discovering where the locals eat. I'm just happy to be part of this website.

Filomena Ristorante in Georgetown, M & Wisconsin Ave. won the "People's Choice Award on this year (Oct. 2010) "Taste of Georgetown". The dish that is a big hit is "Ravioli Brisket" when I came back to the restaurant and requested the same dish it is called "Tortelloni di Michele" in their updated Menu list. It is a brisket of beef braised slowly for many hrs. with wine and vegetables then stuffed into housemade flower shaped pasta ia a light sauce of Pine nuts, sage, crimini mushrooms, brown butter & a touch of veal stock (that's how they descibe it in the menu). Boy !it is soo good!!! The "pumpkin cheesecake" was a huge hit, and I can attest to it. A lot of people in the line at that time didn't get the cheesecake as it was completely sold out that the manager went out of his way to get a whole cake from the cake display inside the restaurant just to accomodate the last batch of people requesting the cake. Can't wait to see the huge Christmas tree I heard is up now in the Restaurant for this holiday season.

[Josh]

Can't say I'd heard of Filomena before, but stunts like this seem likely to do more harm than good.

Que ridiculo!

[Waitman]

Can't say I'd heard of Filomena before, but stunts like this seem likely to do more harm than good.

Que ridiculo!

Looks like a pretty reasonable explanation to me, though the situation was initially imperfectly handled by the restaurant.  Not that I would ever go back there under any circumstances -- it's pretty awful on a number of levels.

[Josh]

Looks like a pretty reasonable explanation to me, though the situation was initially imperfectly handled by the restaurant.  Not that I would ever go back there under any circumstances -- it's pretty awful on a number of levels.

I respectfully disagree.  The reasonable explanation is that the buffet was losing money, and they couldn't afford to lose money.

[DonRocks]

I respectfully disagree.  The reasonable explanation is that the buffet was losing money, and they couldn't afford to lose money.

I agree, and if you look at both their $20.95 Saturday Italian Buffet Lunch and their $31.95 Sunday Buffet Brunch , both are all-inclusive (include soft drinks, tax, and gratuity, i.e. no tipping). I'd be willing to give these both a try.

[darkstar965]

I agree, and if you look at both their $20.95 Saturday Italian Buffet Lunch and their $31.95 Sunday Buffet Brunch , both are all-inclusive (include soft drinks, tax, and gratuity, i.e. no tipping). I'd be willing to give these both a try.

My office was once in Georgetown years ago. Went here once or twice then at someone else's suggestion. Haven't been back in more than a decade. Good luck. Places can change. Will be very interested in your take here.

[DonRocks]

My office was once in Georgetown years ago. Went here once or twice then at someone else's suggestion. Haven't been back in more than a decade. Good luck.

What was wrong with it? Did you go to the weekend lunches? I'm more than happy to get talked out of going; but I'd appreciate it someone would do it.

[darkstar965]

What was wrong with it? Did you go to the weekend lunches?

No. Would have been weekday lunch or dinner as best I can recall. Reminded me some of Buca de Bepo. Loud, industrial Sysco type food in way-too-large portions in a somewhat bizarre venue targeting students and tourists. But, again, that was at least a decade ago. Will be quite interested in your take. If you rave about the food (as distinct from the tipping policy), I'll give it another try.

[Simul Parikh]

My parents are very picky, and not quite "food" people (the most authentic they do is Mexican food in Mexicantown in Detroit, which is legit), but overall they like chain restaurants (Don Pablo's is a favorite). Anyway, it's always hard to figure out where to take them. So, I had never been to Filomena, and it's always nice to take a walk in Georgetown, and that was our plan. 

This place is old school, red sauce Italian-American. I don't find it to be SYSCO or mass produced. I mean, they make their pasta on site, the portions are large, the service is very good, and it's just overall "nice" for a family dinner or a getting a group of friends together. They don't rush you, turnover isn't pushed.

You're not going to get "authentic" Italian food, but I would say it's "authentic Italian-American" that I grew up eating at Italian friends houses. We got the stuffed mushrooms and toasted ravioli as our starters. Between 4 people, we split two pastas - the gnocchi (got marinara instead of bolognese) and the four cheese manicotti. It was rich and heavy and tasty and I swear I've had that manicotti at the Mariani's house before. We had leftovers The desserts looked over the top delicious, and I wanted one, but no one else did. With the bill, they gave complimentary amaretto and the licorice tasting liquer in big jugs, with coffee beans (someone needs to explain this to me). 

$100 before tip. Stuffed. Happy. Good experience. Would DEFINITELY go again.

Finally, the pen they gave to sign the bill with was awesome. When you hit the top to get the tip out, this super bright light came on. Perfect for our old eyes. I was going to thief it, but I ended up asking the waiter if I could have it, and he said "no". Basically, everyone steals them and they are a few bucks a pop. I gotta find them online, haha. 

[EpicuriousGeorge]

Sambuca is often served with three espresso beans to represent the Holy Trinity of the Roman Catholic faith, or in a more secular setting: prosperity, good health and happiness.

[Ferris Bueller]

Went for dinner a few weeks ago (party of 6) and not only was this place packed, when we left, the lobby crowded with people waiting for a table(s).  From a very gracious greeting, to thorough explanation of the menu and specials, expertly prepared homemade pasta, dessert and the Manager checking on us at the end of our dinner service, to make sure our experience was excellent.  They were already decorated for Valentine's Day and had been completely booked for some time.

Yes, the portions are large.

The food (and drinks) is excellent.

The atmosphere is welcoming, can be a little tight on seating as there are a lot of tables, but the place is lively.

If you have not been, give it a shot and take your leftovers home to enjoy at a later date.

 

[coolcreek]

Some friends were in from out of town and we felt nostalgic....which is how I ended up making my first visit to Filomena in about eight years. We were pleased to see nothing really had changed, except the prices. Service and food are still excellent. Only real difference noted: bottles are no longer left on the table with the amaretto/sambuca service. Instead, the waiter asks what you'd prefer and brings over a heavy pour. 

The room is still over the top, doilies abound, and portions are enormous - entrees big enough for at least two meals. Pasta all made in-house (you can see it as you walk down the steps), the fried calamari still reigns supreme. Side vegetables are nothing fancy, but compliment the heavier dishes well. We must have heard six choruses of "happy birthday" during our meal - all accompanied by a free (according to the waiter) slice of cheesecake or other dessert. A quick scan of the tables on the way in and out showed a lot of happy faces.

[Pat]

I went here for lunch last weekend with my husband and some friends after visiting the Museum of Failure in Georgetown. (The traveling exhibition closes this coming weekend.)

Two of the group had been there before and wanted to relive the holiday experience. Very, very over the top but fun. It paired well with the museum.  Filomena is very expensive for what you get, but the portions are large and it is an experience.

Everyone working there was great. They seated us early when we arrived before our reservation. The Caesar salad is not terribly authentic but is filling and satisfying.  I thought the meatballs in Sunday sauce (on the antipasti menu) were very good. Three of the party split a salad, a pasta course, and a bottle of wine, and it was the right amount for them (one light eater). 

My husband and I split the Caesar and he had a filet cheesesteak while I had the meatballs.

It's quite a show at Christmastime. Reserve now if you want to experience it.