Pizzeria Orso

Great flexibility. Great food.
Flexibility — Half portions of most items.
Great food — More than pizza.

My go to pizza place — great pizza, great atmosphere and real friendly staff. That hasn’t changed, what has changed is that it has become the go to pizza joint for ankle biters, toddlers, Tweens, and soccer moms. Imagine Chuckie Cheeses and Chick Filet on steroids. I’m thinking that being listed in Washington Magazine’s Top 100 Cheap Eats has a lot to do with increase in kid pizza parties and after Little League game team chow downs. Great for business, but a bummer for old clientele. However, I’m glad there is a place that serves delicious food for harried parents and their kids. I’ll still keep eating their pizza, but will be more discriminating to the day and time I reserve a table. Definitely not between 6:00 pm — 8:00pm on a Friday evening.

This pizza is amazing! Perfectly cooked, well seasoned, great flavor and endless options. The spring bruschetta was a special on the menu and was so flavorful. The mix of peas, ricotta and mint was so fresh and delicious. Despite the fact that our server rang our order incorrectly we felt so well taken care of by the staff and the manager on duty. This is definitely my go to place when I’m craving pizza. You can’t beat the delicious wood fired pizzas that they offer and the hospitable staff.

We came in on a Friday night and were seated right away. We found the service to be extremely fast and attentive. My recommendation would be to stick with the pizza (the classic margherita was exellent) — the dough was outstanding. As far as pizza goes, this is probably the best neopolitan style pizza I’ve had in the DMV. We also tried the gnocchi, which was good, but nothing to rave about. For drinks, I’d recommend their new Hemingway in Naples — think a mojito with limoncello added. Great drink for summer nights, very refreshing.
Overall, I give 4 – 4.5 stars for the quality of the pizza (it is a pizza joint, after all) and the drinks. If you stray off the pizza menu, expect something more along the lines of 3 – 3.5 stars. Certainly decent, but nothing to write home about.

I don’t like pizza that much but here I eat a pizza once for a while. Great salad.

Read about this place in the Washingtonian Best Cheap eats 2016 and it did not disappoint in the least. Clean interior, nice bar, great outdoor seating, and friendly/​attentive service. The food was fantastic! Brussel sprout chips — wow! Loved the oven roasted olives as well. All our pizzas — see photos– were fantastic. Delicious crust on all pizzas, fresh ingredients, best meats. Topped it off with recommended lemon olive oil cake which was light, very tasty and perfect to end a meal.

Great pizza. We had the Brussel chips, beet salad and crudo pizza and egg. Add in a few libations and It was awesome. Def top five pizza spots in nova. Good for a date or your family it literally delivers.

I’ve been to Pizzeria Orso a couple of times now. Once for a special Unilocal event, and a second time to once experience their Jalapeño Basil Margharita.
I avoid most of the menu items simply because I am attempting to the extent possible avoid carbs.
Back to the Jalapeño Basil Margharita — It’s an especially tasty adult beverage — and not for the faint of heart — it has bit of heat to it — rather a slow burn that builds in the back of your throat — but does not actually burn you or make you thirst for something else.

We tried Pizzeria Orso based on a recommendation from Northern Virginia magazine, mostly because it’s pretty close to where we live. We got a table right away on a Friday night, in spite of the fact that the restaurant was active. The atmosphere was cozy, with good lighting and noise level. Some of the seating feels more fast-​casual than formal, but the tables are spaced far enough apart that you’re not right on top of the next table. That said, I could pretty clearly overhear the conversation from the next table over, so maybe talk quietly if you’re discussing something you don’t want other people to hear. Or ask for a more private table, because there are booths.
It’s an upscale place, with a clientele to match. Pretty sure everyone in the restaurant was rich and white. There were several families and some groups of older (60+) adults. We had three drinks total, an appetizer, and a pizza each, and we paid around $ 80 total (with tip). We were happy with our experience, and didn’t feel like it was too much money, but you might want to be aware of the cost before you go.
My partner ordered a cocktail, and it was really good; probably one of the best house cocktails I’ve had in Falls Church. We shared a bowl of cream of mushroom soup as an appetizer. It was good, but I would have liked more mushroom and less cream. That’s my preference, though. For pizzas, we had a Fungi and an Orso, and they were both phenomenal. I’m munching on the leftovers as I write this. The dough is good: thin but chewy, with a sourdough flavor. The mix of cheeses is perfect. And there’s a smokiness from the wood oven that I really enjoyed, especially with the different kinds of cheese.
Our server was really terrific. She was attentive without being annoying. She kept our waters full, and came and went so seamlessly that I would sometimes look down and realize she’d refilled our water.
This is a place I would definitely try again, although probably not every week; it’s too expensive to be a regular thing.

This place is a gem.
W/​o question the best local pizza, check out their specials because they often times feature some tasty stuff.
The pizza is not the only good thing on the menu, I’ve had a few of the appetizers and they have been exceptional.
Beer menu is solid.
For a pizza recommendation I think the Diavola is tough to beat. You won’t be disappointed.

Decent pizza, but a bit expensive for what you’re paying for, and it wasn’t as flavorful as I was hoping it would be.
I visited last week to pick up pizzas to-​go for my fiancé and I. I ordered a mushroom and chicken pizza for my fiancé, while I ordered a seasonal pizza for myself. The seasonal pizza came topped with butternut squash and a poached egg on top, which was very interesting. The egg was a strange addition to my pizza. I’m not sure if I was a big fan of that.
I didn’t have to wait long for my pizzas and the service, as far as I could tell, was nice.
One thing I didn’t like was that they very lazily cut up the pizza. They really didn’t cut up enough slices for us.
Also, there’s scarcely any parking. I had to find street parking, which was difficult.
I wouldn’t rule out Pizzeria Orso in the future. I just wouldn’t go far out of my way for it either!

I’m going to be up front: I would’ve given this place 2 stars if I did not come here for a previously awesome Unilocal event. I think the staff and chef are both wonderful and the food is great but this service was horrible this evening.
I came here with my boyfriend and his parents here for his Mom’s birthday. I raved about this place because I had such a good experience at the Unilocal event. The food I had were all delicious. This time we had the Calamari, the cheese bread, butternut squash ravioli, margarita pizza, the chicken carbonara, the olive oil cake and the chocolate torte. I think all our dishes were good, nothing stood out in particular-​the favorite dish of the evening was the olive oil cake.
Service is where the star ratings suffered.
1) It took them 30 mins. between us sitting down and someone coming to take our order (and we had to flag someone down before they came even at that time).
2) The waiter said they usually have 6 – 7 servers but that night they only had 4 servers so service suffered a lot.
3) They NEVER bused our tables. Didn’t take away any of our dirty plates. It was to the point where we had to pile the plates ourselves to make room for the new dishes.
4) When the dessert for the table was brought out, he didn’t bring out forks. We requested forks. Then he brought out 2 forks. There were 4 of us. He then had to go back and get 2 more forks. (taking much time each back and forth).
Oh, this might be just a personal preference but I think the tables were too big for a 4-​person seating arrangement… it was weird, cuz the table was made to fit 4 people but I was so far from people that I had to raise my voice to talk to them or ask them to repeat themselves over and over. A bit weird.
Like I said, I think Pizzeria Orso usually does a really nice job but this time I was very very disappointed. =/

Simply one of the best pizza restaurants in the country, and they have the awards to prove it!
Simple, fresh, authentically Italian pizzas.
Bustling, warm, enjoyable atmosphere, especially if you sit near the pizza oven where you can watch the bewilderingly fast and efficient staff assemble the most amazing pizzas!

I was first introduced to this place after I moved to the Alexandria, va area. I found that this place offered a great range of dishes and drink specials.
The employees are super friendly and professional. They really make you feel at home. It’s a very cozy and homey restaurant.
You can see their open fire pit. They cook the pizza right before your eyes!
As far as an appetizer I would highly suggest their charcuterie platter. Their prosciutto is perfection. The cured meat has that slaty bite with a wide range of pork flavor. I was so happy with it!
You should try their pizzas. The pizza has a delicious and mild toasted flavor from the oven. The pizza is a bit soggy, but the flavors are there! The piazzas are personal sized. (Take a look at my photos attached to this review)
As far as drinks, you have to order their jalapeño margarita. You can seriously taste the heat from the jalapeño and then you can taste a rush of sweet nectar. The margarita is cut with a fresh sent of cucumber. It’s a very unique drink and it’s definitely worth a try!

Wow, this place was awesome! I came here for a Unilocal event last week and can’t wait to come back with my friends that live in Falls Church (they are already big fans)!
If there was one thing I took away from this, it is that if I decide to get married and have appetizers served, I need to have Pizzeria Orso’s arrancini featured. What is the arrancini? Have you had a fried mac and cheese ball? Well this is ten times better. First, this is Italian food, so it’s more of a cheesy risotto filling. Second, it is moist and tasty inside, not dry. Third, the outside is lightly breaded and fried – these were perfect – a nice crunch, but I didn’t find my «food shelf» covered in crumbs afterwards, a huge bonus! So yes, when (not if) you visit, you should try these.
The charcuterie platter was quite generous. I think my favorite was the hard salami/​sausage that was on there. Who doesn’t love a little sausage now and then?
As far as pizza goes, I need to say that the Orso di Fumare is my favorite. There is a variety of cheese, peppers, and meat on here. If you’re looking for something different, this is it!
Finally, the strawberry sundae dessert here is absolutely divine. It is refreshing and seasonally appropriate. The cookies that were in the sundae were a bit on the dry side, but other than that – perfection (I can overlook a cookie for how good everything else was)!

Oh how the tides have turned. I return to Pizzeria Orso older if not wiser and with a toddler in tow. What made me turn up my nose at a family spot 2 years ago makes me jump for joy today.
On a recent weeknight, we enjoyed a quick, easy, and delicious meal with our youngest family member. The chef’s bite of bread to start was a nice beginning to a nice meal. We got the Brussel Chips and Arancini to begin and gobbled up the chips like no one has eaten Brussel sprouts before.
For mains, we orders the Orso Blanca and the Potato Gnocchi. Both were good and came out quickly.
For drinks, I must recommend the Pomegranate Whiskey Sour. It tastes fabulous and will give you a one drink buzz like I couldn’t believe.
I was again disappointed by the service. Though our server was beyond sweet, she didn’t inform us of any specials, and I was annoyed to overhear the table behind us receive word of drink and food specials that we had not been offered. Sure, we’re the square parents, but we still eat apps and drink liquor. Alas, I’d love to come again and receive service to match the good food.

I’ve been wanting to try the pizza here for a while, so this weekend we decided to forgo Pupatella and try out Pizzeria Orso. I must say, for Neopolitan style pizza I was impressed!
We ended up ordering three items on their special menu that night… I don’t know if it’s because two of the items featured truffle oil as an ingredient (I admit I do love me some truffle), but everything our server described sounded delicious, so why not order the entire specials menu?
We started off with brussel sprout hearts with bacon, carrots, and truffle glaze. I had never had brussel sprout hearts, which apparently just have been shaved to just the more tender center of the brussel sprout. The dish was fantastic, the bussel sprouts were grilled nicely, and not burnt. The truffle gaze, which seemed like they had made a sauce with both truffle oil and basalmic vinegar, added a very nice flavor to the dish. I would definitely order this again.
For our entrees we shared the special pizza, which was topped with boar sausage, buffalo mozzarella, basil, and truffle oil. The pizza was definitely Neopolitan thin-​crust style, which a very soft textured crust. It did remind me a lot of Pupatella. Overall, the pizza was wonderful and the boar sausage seemed to be homemade. In fact, it was probably the best part of the pizza… other than folding a slice over and enjoying the chewy light crust with the light tomato sauce and cheese in each bite.
We also ordered the gnocchi grata with sausage, mushrooms, and a dark, almost gravy like sauce. This was also very good. We opted for the half portion, which was plenty for us. The gnocchi was very light and fluffy, not overly chewy (I hate that style of gnocchi), rather this was firm enough that it was not chewy, and retained the light fluffy interior texture that I love. Well done! I do think it was homemade, but forgot to as my server.
Overall we had a fantastic dinner, and although it was a bit hot outside we enjoyed a nice patio table. I did notice that they also have some intriguing happy hour specials, which might be my next visit to Pizzeria Orso!

I hadn’t ever been to Pizzeria Orso until our wonderful NOVA CM hosted an elite event here Monday night and I liked it so much I dragged my husband and his co-​worker here for dinner two nights later. I was blown away by their hospitality the night of our event, and last night several of the staff members I met on Monday came over to me and thanked me for coming back… seriously? No, thank YOU guys for the best customer service I’ve experienced in a long time!
My husband and I sat at the bar waiting for our buddy to show up and ended up having such a wonderful time chit-​chatting with the bartender, we just ate there once he arrived. I ordered the Burrata & Anchovy Crostini (because I loved it Monday night) and it was perfect to split between three people as there are three big beautiful morsels to a plate. Since we were there during happy hour, each appetizer is $ 2 off too… nice touch! Then it was wine Wednesday, so of course I got a half priced bottle. And wouldn’t you know, the red blend the bartender recommended was pretty darn good!
We each ordered a different pizza for dinner, I selected the Granchio, which was good, but I’ll be honest, I liked better cold this morning for breakfast than I did yesterday when it came out hot and bubbly (whatever, I’m weird). Hubs got the Toscana and was kind enough to trade me a slice-​yum! And our buddy got the Diavola and devoured the whole thing. Man is it good pizza!!!
I was dead set on getting ice cream for dessert and after arguing about it with the boys we decided to each do our own thing. Again, the wonderful bartender being all sorts of awesome, decided that since we all seemed interested in the citrus glazed doughnuts with Nutella cream, she was just going to get us some herself. So sweet! Plus OMG are they good!
Overall it was a fabulous experience! I know I didn’t get super descriptive on the food review, but that’s because I think the pictures I took speak for themselves.
Annnndddd, I’m pretty sure I have a new favorite low key date night restaurant.

Yesterday I was asked for a restaurant suggestion for a visiting friend reunion get together and after a wonderful Unilocal!introduction to Pizzeria Orso earlier in the week I knew just the spot!
I had the cipollata (rustic onion soup), it was very good. The bread they used was still firm and provided a nice texture contrast. The cheese was also nice and I am happy to report that the predominant taste was the well roasted onion. I can see myself craving it during the winter months.
For my main dish I was debating the potato gnocchi and the corn ravioli when I looked up at the board and noticed a seasonal gnocchi with sausage, butternut squash, & mushrooms. When I asked the waitress she confirmed my thought and I went with the board option/​suggestion. (Actually I am writing this review as I finish off those scrumptious bites.)
My friends tried several items including a couple of salads (spinach, caprese) the eggplant parm, an artistic shrimp dish, the peach sangria, and a couple of wines.
I had been eyeing the citrus glazed donuts as they were taken to some other tables and got a plate of those as well. They were delicious! Good tastes and a moderate amount of sweetness. The nutella cream on top of each of the citrus glazed (& fresh) large donut pieces was a wonderful accent. If you go here and are debating finishing your meal or saving room for dessert I would vote for option two. I look forward to trying a couple others soon.

I got out of my class early today, and I needed an alternative to crawling bumper to bumper in traffic on 495 and 270 today. I thought, why not go back to Pizzeria Orso, where I was Monday night for the Unilocal NoVa Meet the Chef Elite event, and try the happy hour? It was so funny, most of the staff recognized me from Monday night. I wonder why? There were so many attendees that night.
Every Wednesday during Happy Hour & Dinner, they offer 50% discount off select bottles on their wine list. However, I sampled the draft beer Moretti La Rosa and was hooked. During happy hour, the beer is $ 2 off, and I just had to have it. Appetizers are also $ 2 off, and I ordered 900 degree oven-​roasted olives with homemade sourdough bread. I also had to get the Arrancini cheese balls with marinara sauce. Stacey, the bartender, also offered a Pizza Frita mini appetizer drenched in olive oil and cheese which was very good.
When I was here for the Elite Event on Monday night, I could not get my camera to work. Today, my camera worked, so I was able to photograph everything I had.
Next time, I will try the brick oven pizza, I promise! This seems like a great place for a first date!