Lia's, Willard Ave, Friendship Heights - Chef Cesare Lanfranconi comes from Spezie

[DCJono]

Rumor is a new restaurant by Chef Geoff will be opening this winter in the newish Chase Tower building on Willard Ave just off of Wisconsin in Friendship Heights. I believe the menu will be Italian-inspired.

[CrescentFresh]

Rumor is a new restaurant by Chef Geoff will be opening this winter in the newish Chase Tower building on Willard Ave just off of Wisconsin in Friendship Heights. I believe the menu will be Italian-inspired.

I hope he doesn't spread himself too thin. I hear that when that happens, quality begins to suffer.

[DonRocks]

if you don't want to bother running two restaurants, why bother opening a third?

$

[wahoooob]

Any updates/insider info on Lia's? Just downstairs from me and I've been anticipating this since I heard the rumors last fall...

http://liasrestaurant.com/

[DCJono]

Do tell more.

I believe Geoff's new restaurant, Lia's, will be on Willard Ave, just off Wisconsin Ave in Friendship Heights... not in Silver Spring. Opening in the next couple months.

[genericeric]

Word is that Lia's, a new italian restaurant set to open very soon in Friendship Heights on Willard Avenue, is part of the Chef Geoff's family. The restaurant looks nice from the outside, but a first glance at the menu makes me concerned they are trying to do too much... Good news is though that it looks like they will have a raw bar.

[deangold]

I spoke with Chef Geoff and they passed their CofO inspection so they are close.

[tenunda]

I spoke with Chef Geoff and they passed their CofO inspection so they are close.

the floor plan looks pretty interesting, at least. 8 self-contained bathrooms! There's even a place for Jacques to sit: the liquor vault.

[JLK]

Lia's slogan:

Because two mediocre restaurants just weren't enough.

Just kidding!

[wahoooob]

Sample Menus (attached PDF)

Scan001.PDF

[genericeric]

Lia's is open as of last night, looks like the outdoor patio might be pleasant, though it does overlook the taxi stand.

[TinDC]

I tried it last night and I guess I was disappointed. The space is very nice, it has a rustic, cozy feeling. The bar area is very big with bar tables as well. The outside patio seems like a place I would like to enjoy a leisurely meal on a warm night.

BUT, the food. Why oh why can't it be good?? It all sounds good. It even looks good. It just doesn't taste that good. I ordered the gnocchi with chanterelles and fontina to start, followed by the scallops that were supposed to be served with pancetta, pesto and ratatouille. The gnocchi were okay, if flour-y, and the sauce was kind of bland. The scallops had a lot of pepper on them, the pancetta was almost nonexistent, did not detect any pesto, and they were served on top of diced, sauteed vegetables (I guess, the ratatouille). My husband ordered a tomato and mozzarella pizza that had TONS of pepper on it. Others ordered a bland pasta dish and a mediocre steak.

I would give Lia's a A- for atmosphere and a C- for the food.

ETA: I changed the atmosphere grade to an A- because it does have a nice atmosphere.

[wahoooob]

Been twice for lunch now. Food was decent, but not great. Oversalted fries the first time. Service was still a little unpolished. I will add that the general comments from co-workers were:

1) while the interior isn't *bad*, it has a somewhat ikea-ish, haphazard feel

2) the private dining room walls (they look like plywood from fruit crates) are a little too "rustic"

[smokey]

Man, that's a discouraging pair of reviews. Friends who lives near us (and like to think of themselves as being really into food, but I've been disappointed in many of their restaurant recs) LOVE it and are dying to go there with us. Maybe I can talk them into something else...

[wahoooob]

Well hopefully they've gotten things settled down in the kitchen and have upped the quality. The cured meat sandwich was pretty good.

Oh, I did try the mozerella (supposedly made in-house) last week. Now *that* was great. Good flavor and the texture was very soft, almost like burrata.

[DC in DC]

Went last night because it was in the neighborhood and we were looking for an easy meal. The decor is actually pretty nice: light and modern (I think I was expecting a dark wood-steakhouse with booths, etc) with a relatively large bar area. I made the mistake of ordering risotto balls, which do not compare to those at 2 Amys-- they were just heavy and blah. They were accompanied with a nice red pepper (?) dipping sauce that helped. For entrees, my husband had the cod, which appeared to be prepared with a light wine sauce and artichokes etc; he was actually very pleased, and said it well-cooked. He'd order it again. I, OTOH, made a second mistake of ordering pizza (apparently, I really wanted to go to 2 Amy's for dinner): various cheeses and garlic. The one word I best describes what I felt like while plowing through the pizza was laborious: it seemed like it would not end. This is not a good thing. Other notes: Service was pleasant and low-key. The place was pretty crowded.

On the basis of my husband's cod, I might return and get something else (I had been trying not to break the bank and order one of the entrees, which start at and run in the $20s). They also have a deal on Sundays where all the wine is half-off.

[Adam23]

Lia's slogan:

Because two mediocre restaurants just weren't enough.

I'm always intrigued by the Chef Geoff's model, pleasant decor, neighborhoody feel and mediocre food for $4 per entree less than the competition. It seems to fill the restaurants and pay his bills, so I guess good for him.

I don't exactly know why we went to Lia's on Saturday night. I think it was because one of our guests was a super picky eater, she really wanted spaghetti, Lia's was close, and oh their entrees are $4 or $5 less than elsewhere.

The restaurant itself has a nice decor. Service by the staff was pleasant enough and prompt, heavily staffed by young college/high-schooler types. But man, this food is mediocre at best.

We started with an antipasti plate which was large and had an assortment of meats, cheeses, and olives. A pleasant enough start, though the bresaola tasted like it was pre-cut, having a bit damp consistency rather than the dryness you typically find. We also had a ceasar salad and the fried rissotto/buffalo mozarella starters. Both were adequate. The ceasar was well dressed and pleasant. The risotto balls were nicely fried but the filling was bland. For mains, several of us ordered spaghetti and meatballs. Several had the pappardelle with the bolognese sauce. Both beautifully plated but lacking in taste. The spaghetti was a large bowl of the most overcooked spaghetti I've had in a while. The sauce was pleasant, but the meatballs were dry, bland and had an off-re-heated taste. Very disappointing and sadly making me wish we had just gone to Olive Garden or worse, opened a can of Spaghetti-Os. The papardelle was similar. The noodles were cooked a bit better but the sauce was bland.

We skipped dessert.

[Flavortown]

After spilling bleach all over my work clothes (the bottle cracked, and as I heard the glugging sound of bleach pouring all over my laundry and turning all those darks to bright neon colors, and sadness swept over me) I decided to head up to Chevy Chase and grab some replacements. Since I'd have to go straight from class, I also knew finding lunch somewhere before work would be necessary. I chose Lia's because it was one of the few restaurants taking part in Restaurant Week that would still be open for lunch after 2:00, not because I expected fantastic food. I'm really glad I did.

Started with the Meatball Sliders (8.95) garlic buns, grana -- these were great. The buns were soft and buttery, with a touch of crispness to their exterior (though not noticeably garlicy). Just enough grana, nicely melted, covered the meatballs, which were juicy but not overly sauced, which kept them from being messy. The four sliders were accompanied by a small heap of well salted onion strings alla Matchbox.

My entree was the Seared Scallops (18.95) butternut squash risotto, pumpkin seed oil -- very good, though not exactly what I expected. Three large scallops, well caramelized on both sides, rested on a white risotto that had cubes of butternut squash stirred into it. I'd been expecting an orange risotto (the squash fully integrated by blending), but this was both well cooked (perfect texture) and very flavorful (unlike some plan risottos I've had). Shelled pumpkin seeds were sprinkled overtop, along with some pomegranate, which brought a nice tartness to counteract all the rich, buttery components in the dish. The drizzle of pumpkin seed oil was a nice final touch.

By this point I was stuffed (could have stopped after the sliders, really), but I had to go for dessert. I got the brownie, with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce ($7.95). Definitely the weakest course: the brownie was good, but barely luke warm rather than fully heated. Otherwise, it was tasty, and the ice cream (I think made in house) was good as well.

All in all, more than worth the $20 it cost. The atmosphere is easy to like, and the service was good. I'd probably never pay full price for any of the dishes I got, but I'd give the discounted stuff at Lia's a shot again if there weren't so many other places on my list to try.

[MMM]

We ate at Lia's several years ago and were unimpressed with the food - sounded good, looked good, but was just sort of tasteless. Now I hear that Cesare Lanfranconi is the executive chef which leads me to wonder whether the food has improved. Has anyone tried Lia's recently?

[DonRocks]

But here's what I'm wondering. If Cesare Lanfranconi is actually the chef at Lia's now, the food should be really good. No?

In theory, it could be (which is why I went to Lia's to try it (only to be thwarted when I saw it closing on that evening)). It really depends on how much control Cesare has been given, and what type of parameters he's going to be working within - the potential is there for him to execute as a good artist, a good crafsman, or neither. That said, I can promise everyone here that Cesare is capable of making excellent pastas and risottos.

[DanielK]

Don't forget also that Cesare Lanfranconi is chef at Lia's and the pastas there are good now (and there are half-price bottles of wine there on Mondays).

This is an excellent point that you have noted elsewhere, and I haven't had the chance to get there yet.

[mdt]

That's pretty much where I am. Geoff's a Facebook friend and (assuming it's him updating his profile) seems very nice. Don't forget also that Cesare Lanfranconi is chef at Lia's and the pastas there are good now (and there are half-price bottles of wine there on Mondays).

Is Cesare still there? No mention of him on the web site.

[DonRocks]

Is Cesare still there? No mention of him on the web site.

I was there towards the end of 2011, and saw him. The pastas were good, but very simplified compared to what he was producing in his glory days at Tosca. I cannot imagine him retiring at Lia's, but I haven't heard that he's left (which is by no means definitive information).

[AlexC]

Cesare is still there!

[MMM]

We ate at Lia's about 4 years ago and found the food entirely forgettable. So I've been curious to try it again since Cesare became chef. Finally got there last night and really enjoyed the food. We tried the Crispy Calamari antipasto and it was very good - fresh, lightly crispy and with 3 nice sauces. I had the Pasta alla Chitarra - marinated cherry tomato, garlic, basil, evoo, pecorino romano and it was delicious. A friend had Lasagna which she liked a lot. My husband had one of the seafood mixtures and thought it was over-seasoned.

Our server said that Cesare was there every day, but yesterday had left by the time we were there - after 8 pm. We ate outside which was very pleasant. It seemed to be very noisy inside.