itwinelover

Wow....I was there friday night, they were cooking soft shell crab but i couldnt get any, it was all reserved at 6pm...they told me to call during the day or better in the morning to see what they are going to have for dinner and place reservations. the kitchen is still too small for large quantities to be cooked. Anyway....the tomatoes are cheaper and better that at Tr..Jo.

I wouldn't have believed it either, until I experienced it for myself about a week ago. It was truly strange to see Roberto at the pizza oven all night, and then get a pizza with no cheese. For my pizza (the Capri) - one menu listed it with parmesan, the other with mozzarella. I would have taken either!

I was at the restaurant saturday night and it was really packed.

Roberto was NOT at the pizza station all night.

He had a cooking class from 7 to 10 and stayed at the pizza station only until 6:30.

I was there and saw him working NEAR the pizza station but not AT it.

I reviewed the menu after remembering it a few days later and sure enough, sundried tomatoes. The only reason I mention this is that I have a huge tolerance for mistakes in restaurants. Tell me you were out, tell me the kitchen messed up, tell me you accidently rang it in no tomatoes or just tell me you got hungry an picked out all my tomatoes for a snack and I would be totally cool. But please don't call me out in front of all my friends and make me look like a jerk for even bringing it up.

I'm reading this post only AFTER having had saturday lunch at Sette Bello.

I've been to Sette in Dupont Circle several time, lovely pizza, good service, quick but not to make you feel you have to rush.... a place I would recommend.

This one? No.

We were almost alone in the patio outside.

After ordering wine, antipasto and pizza for both of us, it took the server almost 20-25 minutes to bring to the table the wine I requested, but wrong vintage. And I had already stopped eating 'cause my antipasti was already half gone before this.

Anyway.... I ask for a different wine. Another 20 minutes and the wine arrives. Right one, right vintage. Ok. But it's almost an hour now that we ordered our pizza and some concerns start buzzing our heads.

And we were right..... pizzas were already made and waiting on the counter for at least 15 minutes 'cause they came out cold (and wrong...quattro formaggi instead of quattro stagioni). Sent back the worng one, my wife couldn't eat hers because was cold, we waited another 20 minutes for the right pizza...and remember, we were probably the only customers at that time... and BTW the Antipasti plates were still on our table when the first round of pizza came out and stayed there until the second pizza came out.

At that point I asked the server to pack them to go and to bring me the check .... guess what? 15 minutes for the check.....

I dont know, maybe he was working in another restaurant too at the same time, I dont know....

I dont like to be rushed while eating, but neither being abandoned.

A good "non-pizza" report from Bebo on Sunday night....risotto with red snapper, tomato and proscuitto was exceptional..also it looks like the beet salad has been rethought...beets, yellow tomatoes (not quite ripe enough) and the buffalo mozz served as seperates on the plate and not tossed together...works alot better..the beets were in large chunks and very flavorful. Business was good and service at the bar was above average. BTW I live in Crystal City and am not a Bebo groupie but we can go often and evaluate the evolution of the place. So far, it seems to be settling into a "groove" of sorts.

I've been there during the long Labour Day weekend.

I was afraid they were closed 'cause the phone was ringing but nobody answered. Instead they were open and they told me they are having troubles with their main phone line but the others (5077 and 5078) are working.

I appreciated very well the pizza, very close to an authentic italian one. I'm italian and my favourites are of course 2 Amys and Sette but this one was really good.