Italian restaurant Locanda got a two-and-a-half-star review this week from Post critic Tom Sietsema, who called the eatery “a good neighbor that knows how to make a nice impression—in the glass, on the table, even as you're saying ciao.” We told you about the venue here.
The pastas alone, says the critic, are worth the trek to Capitol Hill. “I’ve never met a pasta I didn’t like at Locanda,” Sietsema said, calling the ravioli wrappers “thin and light, with just the right bite.” These are served with different stuffings nightly, from beets topped with buttery pine nuts to garlic broccoli rabe in anchovy butter. Calamari pasta topped with mussels, clams, and squid served in a parsley sauce with anchovies, lemon, and capers is a hit with diners—who, Sietsema reports, often order an extra cup of the sauce to go.Aside from pasta, the menu also includes a selection of about six main dishes and specials. Sietsema’s picks are the grilled organic chicken—soaked in herb-filled water for as long as three days, giving it a savory flavor—and, for meat lovers, the juicy New York strip steak accompanied by a light and “summery” panzanella salad.
Locanda, meaning "sophisticated eatery" in Italian, also offers fine Italian wines from all over the country, about 30 of which can be ordered by the glass. Sietsema’s choice, a red Sardinian wine from the Barrua vineyard, was “a full-bodied wine that suits the menu's heartier fare.”
According to the critic, the restaurant boasts an attractive minimalist dining room with scooped orange chairs and muted lighting capped by a small bar, and despite the “sea of heads” on most nights, the “recently installed sound-absorbing panels on the walls and ceiling are doing their job.” One caveat: the “amateurish” paintings on display. “Frankly, bare walls would be easier on the eyes,” Sietsema said.
The pastas alone, says the critic, are worth the trek to Capitol Hill. “I’ve never met a pasta I didn’t like at Locanda,” Sietsema said, calling the ravioli wrappers “thin and light, with just the right bite.” These are served with different stuffings nightly, from beets topped with buttery pine nuts to garlic broccoli rabe in anchovy butter. Calamari pasta topped with mussels, clams, and squid served in a parsley sauce with anchovies, lemon, and capers is a hit with diners—who, Sietsema reports, often order an extra cup of the sauce to go.Aside from pasta, the menu also includes a selection of about six main dishes and specials. Sietsema’s picks are the grilled organic chicken—soaked in herb-filled water for as long as three days, giving it a savory flavor—and, for meat lovers, the juicy New York strip steak accompanied by a light and “summery” panzanella salad.
Locanda, meaning "sophisticated eatery" in Italian, also offers fine Italian wines from all over the country, about 30 of which can be ordered by the glass. Sietsema’s choice, a red Sardinian wine from the Barrua vineyard, was “a full-bodied wine that suits the menu's heartier fare.”
According to the critic, the restaurant boasts an attractive minimalist dining room with scooped orange chairs and muted lighting capped by a small bar, and despite the “sea of heads” on most nights, the “recently installed sound-absorbing panels on the walls and ceiling are doing their job.” One caveat: the “amateurish” paintings on display. “Frankly, bare walls would be easier on the eyes,” Sietsema said.
