Ricciuti's, The Ricciuti Sisters' Italian in the Historic Olney House, Route 108 and Georgia Avenue in Olney

[dinwiddie]

Ricciuti's is located in the historic Olney House, on Route 108, just off Georgia Avenue in Olney MD. It started out years ago as a pizza and Italian sandwich restaurant, but over the years has transformed into a nice restaurant with great wood fired pizzas and a fine dining menu (Italian for he most part) with a very good wine list, especially for Montgomery County. (They have a Wine Spectator award)

The core of the restaurant is still the wood fired pizza oven. Pizzas come out crisp and hot, with lots and lots of toppings available. While they are not cheap, the pizzas are nothing like what you get at the usual Pizza joint.

The restaurant is located in the Olney House, a large historic house in Olney, MD. There main dining room is upstairs, with two smaller dining rooms, a bar, and the carry-out space on the first floor. The food is excellent, reasonabley priced for the type, and the service is pretty efficient. There are always specials, and the chef has a nice list of standard fare that is very tasty. Most of the menu is Italian but I have enjoyed some excellent soft shelled crabs there when they were in season. My wife loves the eggplant Parmesian, but the star, and biggest draw, are the pizzas. They have a long list of speciality pizzas and you can compose your own. They never have a problem substituting toppings for you, and the list of toppings avialable is about thirty items.

The wine list is excellent and for the County, very reasonably priced. There are always 7 or 8 wines by the glass, some half bottles, and full bottles that range from the ordinary to the sublime. Stemware is very good, not those little glasses that so many places use. Wine service is professional and discrete. Nobody tries to keep filling your glass when you don't want them to.

They are on OpenTable for reservations. They get very crowded on weekends, so make a reservation. If you live in the area, you already know that they do a huge pizza carryout business. In the summer they have a soft icecream window outside. On nice days you can eat outside on the patio in front of the restaurant. Parking is ample behind the restaurant.

[Gastro888]

If you're going to drive all the way out to Olney, go somewhere else besides Ricciuti's - go to Mannequin Pis or heck, go to Popeye's even. The original restaurant in the Olney House Inn was far superior than the overpriced, medicore food I had. I've yet to hae good Italian in this city...then again, Rome spoiled me.

The pizza is underwhelming - I'd suggest going to Red Tomato Cafe in Bethesda for a decent wood oven pie. The pasta dish I had wasn't al dente and I paid too much for a small pile of pasta, a couple pieces of sausage and a laddle of sauce.

[dinwiddie]

If you're going to drive all the way out to Olney, go somewhere else besides Ricciuti's - go to Mannequin Pis or heck, go to Popeye's even.  The original restaurant in the Olney House Inn was far superior than the overpriced, medicore food I had.  I've yet to hae good Italian in this city...then again, Rome spoiled me.

The pizza is underwhelming - I'd suggest going to Red Tomato Cafe in Bethesda for a decent wood oven pie.  The pasta dish I had wasn't al dente and I paid too much for a small pile of pasta, a couple pieces of sausage and a laddle of sauce.

To each their own. I like the place, especially since I can have them make my pizza the way I want it. I also like being able to get a decent bottle of wine, unfortunately since it is Monkey County, I can't BYO from my cellar, but at least I don't have to drink the plonk that is so prevelant elsewhere in the county.

I agree that Mannequin Pis is great, if you can get past the haphazard service. Bernard is a great chef (and a friend). I love the mussels there. And the Belgian beer and wine list are good too. But it is hard to get into since Washingtonian Magazine has given it three stars.

Since I leave near Olney, I eat in Olney restaurants often. I wouldn't recommend making a trip from DC or Northern VA just to go, but it is nice for Olney and the folks are nice.

[Gastro888]

True, to each their own!

It's true, none of the restaurants in Olney are worth the drive for anyone from DC or VA. There really aren't any good restaurants in Olney - well, except for Mannequin Pis but that's too expensive for me to eat there everday.

[dinwiddie]

True, to each their own! 

It's true, none of the restaurants in Olney are worth the drive for anyone from DC or VA.  There really aren't any good restaurants in Olney - well, except for Mannequin Pis but that's too expensive for me to eat there everday.

There aren't any Great restaurants in Olney except MP, but there are a few good ones. Belle Notte is good for family style Italian, Hunan Delight in Olney Town Center has a pretty good Peking Duck, Wasabi Zen has good sushi, and BJ Pumpernickles for deli food is fun. I'm not a big fan of the Olney Grill, but some folks like it.

Places I just do not like in Olney are the Olney Ale House and the Grand Marquis Restaurant in Olney Town Center.

[Heather]

If you're going to drive all the way out to Olney, go somewhere else besides Ricciuti's - go to Mannequin Pis or heck, go to Popeye's even.  The original restaurant in the Olney House Inn was far superior than the overpriced, medicore food I had.  I've yet to hae good Italian in this city...then again, Rome spoiled me.

Those of us who haven't been to Rome might not notice the difference. As one of them, I thought the pizza at Ricciuti's was OK, nice for a casual meal with friends where the food takes a backseat to the conversation. And Dinwiddie is right, their wine list is very good for MoCo.

[Gastro888]

Eh, I'm not a wine drinker so the good wine list is wasted on me.

Regardless of having been to Rome or not, the food should be at least tasty and I didn't enjoy my food. Then again, everyone has different palates so what's good to one may not be for the other.

I must agree - Olney Ale House is terrible! I do NOT understand why it's constantly filled with people! Ick.

[dinwiddie]

My wife and I went to Ricciuti's for dinner last night since neither of us felt like cooking. Since we were not overly hungry we split the field greens and gargonzola salad and a large pizza. I wasn't going to order wine since the by the glass selection just didn't grab me but then the server told us that Mondays are half price wine night. So I ordered a bottle of the 2004 Ciacci Rosso di Montepulciano. At half price it is a no brainer. Wonderful meal.

[dinwiddie]

My wife and I went to Ricciuti's for dinner last night since neither of us felt like cooking. Since we were not overly hungry we split the field greens and gargonzola salad and a large pizza. I wasn't going to order wine since the by the glass selection just didn't grab me but then the server told us that Mondays are half price wine night. So I ordered a bottle of the 2004 Ciacci Rosso di Montepulciano. At half price it is a no brainer. Wonderful meal.

We went to Ricciuti's for dinner last night after not having been for quite a while. I was saddened to see that the wine list that while good for MoCo, but ordinary for DC, was a mere shadow of its former self. And more disappointing was the fact that the few decent values on decent wines were selections that they were "out" of. Oh well, I guess I am just going to have to accept that I will not be having wine with dinner in Olney.

The food on the other hand, was not bad. My son loved the Warm Caprese Salad (it came with roasted tomatos) and the Calamari Fritti was good. However the crabcake was pricy ($23 for one cake) and only ordinary. The espresso crusted rack of lamb that was the special was quite good and the entree portion of mac and cheese was well received by my son. For dessert the Honey Poppy Seed Bread Pudding with the Port wine caramel sauce was huge and very tasty.

If I hadn't been anticipating being able to get a decent bottle of wine, the meal would have been fine, but the disappointment over the wine list made the meal just ordinary since I had gone especially to be able to enjoy a nice bottle. Whatever reason I had to go to what is a decent restaurant for a sit down meal just went away. However, they still make a killer, if expensive, array of wood fired pizzas, so I will just order them as carryout in the future.

[dinwiddie]

Had some excellent cornmeal crusted softshell crabs for dinner there last night. And the bread pudding for dessert was killer, if a little too much chocolate sauce.

[Lydia R]

Weirdly, my dining outings this weekend included three spots on Route-108. Two were much farther east: COAL*FIRE in Ellicott City and Iron Bridge Wine Company in Columbia.

Beto, from Southern Skies Coffee Roasters, was at one of these meals and mentioned that Ricciuti's is a coffee customer.

He noted that the restaurant has chosen many local (100 mile) suppliers*, have a wood burning pizza oven and serve great wines & desserts. A mark of their popularity is that they were packed on a weeknight when he was making a delivery.

So, driving back towards home, I made it a point of picking out its location. The building was illuminated and there were several tables in the front patio that almost drew me in.

OK, Saturday Lunch was at Ricciuti's. Their sausage & mushroom pizza pales when compared to the one in Ellicott City because it was way over topped, soggy in the center and no real char. Next time, I'll get something dryer and get only goat cheese. The sausage, from Logan in Alexandria, was link sausage that had been cut into coins. Unfortunately, it still was in its casing which made for some awkward eating.

Very nice staff and a unique rice pudding served in a martini-style glass. It was made with round medium [risotto] rice [good chew] and lots of cinnamon.

* Their list of suppliers is on their menu

Thank you to our farmers & local friends

Carriage House Farm, Stevonsville - free range eggs

Roseda Farm, Monkton - all our beef

Logans Sausage, Virginia - sausage

Cherry Glen Farm, Boyds - goat cheese

Two Oceans Seafood - rockfish

Gunpowder Farms, Monkton - bison

Murrays Chicken, Lancaster County - chickens

Marvesta Farms, Eastern Shore - shrimp

South Mountain Creamery, Frederick - butter, cream

Falcon Ridge Farms, Westminster - apples, asian pears

Naked Bee, Laytonsville - honey

Southern Skies Coffee, Carrol County - locally roasted great coffee

[dinwiddie]

We went to Ricciuti's for dinner last night after not having been in quite a while.  My wife was very pleased that there is now a gluten free pizza available as an option.  She ordered it and said that it was very enjoyable.  Makes it more likely that we will be back soon as we have been away because she has to try to avoid gluten as much as possible.

[dracisk]

Per Montgomery County Media Ricciuti's is closing Sunday after 28 years. The restaurant was sold to Thomas Zippelli, who plans to renovate the inside of the building and hopes to open a new restaurant called Salt and Vine by Mother’s Day.

I live in Silver Spring just north of the Beltway and we've been to Olney a couple of times for dinner, but sadly we never made it here.