I agree with demvtr's observation that Mclean is not a restaurant destination, though I'm more positive about J. Gilbert's and would acknowledge the excellence of Inox at the Tysons end of McLean. I'm less positive about Asaggi Osteria, which strikes me as a run of the mill neighborhood restaurant with destination restaurant prices. At dinner on New Years with an out of town guest, we found the food, the service and the decor mediocre. Our bread also arrived late but was tepid at best. Seafood was fresh and good quality, but the preparations were lackluster. An order of seafood risotto was al dente, not one of my goals for risotto, and had little evidence of cheese. We're accustomed to restaurants where we can't wait to share the food that arrives, but there was no sharing last night. We left full but not excited or inspired and concluded that Asaggi Osteria is not competitive with other available options for Italian food, among them the restaurant's Bethesda sibling.
