Named after a famous Venetian bridge, Rialto is a welcoming new Georgetown restaurant, fittingly situated a short walk away from C&O Canal. The decor is eclectic, mixing simple wooden tables with ornate chairs resembling medieval thrones. Subtle pink and purple lights dapple the restaurant’s rocky black floor and dark walls.
The restaurant is split into two levels. The main floor welcomes the guests with a bar and a warm, sky-lit dining room. Across from the bar sits a beautiful brick pizza oven, filling the restaurant with the smell of baking dough and bubbling cheese, and a deli-style table, enticing customers with a bountiful selection of fine Italian cheeses. The restaurant also boasts an elaborate chimney, with flames arranged to spell “Rialto.” Diners are seated around the chimney and the walls of the main eating area are covered with Venetian carnival masks.
Descending to the basement offers an equally inviting dining experience with a leather upholstered dining space and an extension of the upper level’s eclectic decor. If you’re interested in enjoying a drink, this level boasts another bar even more elegant than the one upstairs to enjoy the restaurants extensive wine list.
The decor is almost as good as the food. Chef Ryan Fichter, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America, creates a fusion Italian cuisine: The recipes are all Italian, but they’re served with a tapas-style Spanish twist. This leaves patrons able to choose more than one dish among the various olives, cheeses, appetizers in the antipasti section of the menu.
For those craving hearty and satisfying comfort food, there are the classic options of pasta, risotto, secondi, and steak on the menu. However, the lamb shank stands out from this list. It is slow cooked in a deep, earthy sauce, and is paired with vegetables and a creamy, hearty polenta. The pastas are true to their roots, offering accurate representations of Italian classics. The brick oven is more than shiny eye-candy: pizza from here would put Tuscany’s to shame, even on your drunkest night.
If you’re looking for a little atmosphere to go with authentic Italian food, ditch Domino’s and try out Rialto.
Rialto
2915 M Street, N.W.
rialtodc.com
