Dolce Vita

Review summary

1. M

   Max

   Washington DC

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 3 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   We have been before and will definitely be coming back. The dining area was a little cramped, but that comes with it being a popular restaurant. The service was amazing, the food was super tasty.
   

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2. A

   Andrew

   New York City

   24 reviews

   5.0

   24 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Alonzo was so wonderful, truly the best kind of conversational bartender/server you want to make an experience top notch. Such great recommendations, cocktails, disposition, and warmth. The whole staff is wonderful and the food is GREAT. If they'd serve pisco sours, that'd make it even more perfect ;-)
   

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3. j

   john

   Washington DC

   33 reviews

   5.0

   33 reviews

   Dined 5 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Last minute date night. Stopped on the way home and had a great meal. The food and service are always outstanding.
   

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4. F

   Frank

   Washington DC

   15 reviews

   4.0

   15 reviews

   Dined on February 15, 2025

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Very good food and good wine list. Friendly, attentive and efficient service. Comfortable ambience.
   

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5. H

   Harry

   Washington DC

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on February 15, 2025

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   We went to Dolce Vita with a reservation and for some reason we were seated at a high top table near the bar. Are server was one of the bartenders. The bartender was way too busy behind the bar to provide anything close to adequate service. We never had our empty water glasses refilled or offered a second round of drinks. A food runner dropped off our food and no one came to check on us - we would have liked fresh Parmesan on our entrees. This wasn’t offered. We had to flag servers and busters down for each thing. It was ridiculous! We had a reservation!! Why weren’t we given a standard table with a waiter? There were empty tables when we arrived. We have been to this restaurant over 10 times before.we drive from over near Mt Vernon relocate there. The food is good. The service for our Valentines Dinner was awful.
   

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6. L

   Laura

   Richmond

   1 review

   3.0

   1 review

   Dined on February 15, 2025

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 3

   My boyfriend and I booked the Valentine's Day experience (2/14) for an 8'oclock dinner. The line to get into the restaurant was out the door, and it took us awhile before we could even get checked in. I don't know if they overbooked or what, but it certainly seemed so. The looks on the cooks faces as they saw more and more people come in, definitely seemed like Dolce Vita overbooked. Things were a little bit hectic so it made us wonder if this was the first time they had done a "Valentine's Experience". We ended up getting seated within 20-30 minutes which was better than we both were expecting, but had to wait awhile for waters as we were told they were cleaning glasses. Fair enough, they were super busy and our waiter was nice and apologetic about it. Would have been nice to be compensated with something though. The food was very good, but we both wish we had a little big bigger of portion sizes for the price was paid. I also booked the wine pairing and did not have my wine come out with one of my meals, and then the next one I was brought the wine super early, before I even got my last meal. Again, the food is absolutely delicious but they missed the mark on the Valentines day experience. It was loud, and a cramped environment, with long wait times for nearly everything. It would've been a bit better if they didn't noticeably overbook themselves.
   

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7. M

   Matthew

   VIP

   Coastal Georgia

   5 reviews

   3.0

   5 reviews

   Dined on February 15, 2025

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 4

   Dined here for the first time on Valentine’s Day. Was intrigued by the plethora of good reviews and was making a reservation a little late in the game (about 3-4 weeks in advance) and was surprised by the number of time slots they had available. It all made sense when we arrived and there was a line to check in/be sat outside the door. It was abundantly clear they had severely overbooked themselves. Allegedly the higher ups imagined 1 hour would be enough time to enjoy a three course meal on a Hallmark holiday about date night. This was clearly not the case. We were seated half an hour after we arrived and past our reservation time. The food was decent, I will say the filet had not even heard of seasoning. Luckily, my girlfriend ordered the better options on the far overpriced prix fix menu. Our poor server was too busy to refill our waters for most the meal. Would be willing to come back on a normal day as the food wasn’t all bad and the wine was quite good. I am sure (hope) they will have things figured out next time around. Overall, my biggest complaint was the price tag as the experience was not worth the +200 we paid.
   

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8. A

   Andrew

   Washington DC

   4 reviews

   5.0

   4 reviews

   Dined on February 15, 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Our server Julia was amazing, the food was amazing, just a perfect evening.
   

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9. S

   Scott

   VIP

   Washington DC

   9 reviews

   2.0

   9 reviews

   Dined on February 15, 2025

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   Visited for Valentines Day dinner. Poor organization and very weak controls at the front door resulted in at least ten tables being subjected to freezing temperatures and cold food because they had no control of people coming and going. They had numerous people parking cars and delivering food but no one to ensure their customers eating enjoyed their meals in a comfortable environment. This was partly caused by stacking reservations on the hour and causing a flood of people instead of pacing them out every 15 minutes. Very poor planning. Led to a less than mediocre experience. I would not recommend for any holiday event and will certainly not be returning.
   

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10. K

    KG

    VIP

    Washington DC

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on February 9, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5

    Excellent food and service. The manager was very helpful and we were seated right away.
    

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