Fiola Mare

This is my favorite restaurant at waterfront. The place looks great, is in a perfect location, has amazing food, and impeccable service. Make sure you get reservations ahead of time because they book up fast. I arrived a little early for my reservation on Friday night, so I had had a couple drinks at the bar beforehand. Bartender was super professional and fast.
After we were seated, the server was extremely polite and helpful, gave great recommendations, and was very attentive. We wanted to split the two entrees and our server said it was no problem and had them split in the kitchen and plated separately.
The lobster ravioli was out of control. It was just as good as it sounded. Big chunks of lobster. I wish I could remember the second item, it was fish with truffles and WOW. Unbelievable. We didn’t want desert but the server ended up giving us complimentary apricot ice cream/​gelato which was also fantastic.
All in all, great experience. It’s pricey but worth it.

Five stars. Hands down, the best Italian restaurant I have ever been to.
Everyone was very courteous, helpful, and pleasant. Our server was excellent, knowledgeable and prompt. We sampled some wine before deciding On the super Tuscan. It paired nicely with the meal. Nice aroma and juust sweet enough .
For starters we ordered the fiola mare oysters and caviar. It was a new dish to me so it was a pleasant surprise. It was sweet but tangy. The oysters tasted fresh. I liked the creamy sauce with sprinkle of caviar on top. It was all contained in a flute. It was new. It was interesting. Looked forward to my entrée. I ordered the bucatini which was the most amazing pasta dish I’ve ever had in any restaurants. I usually don’t like going to Italian restaurants only because most of the pasta dishes are what I can make at home. Nothing to it. But this pasta dish blew my expectations. It had all the right flavored and definitely not a dish you can make at home. It had hints of Sea urchin and prawn which just topped it. My boyfriend ordered the duck egg ravioli with black truffles. I love truffles. It takes any pasta to the next level. He loved his dish as well. Next onto the dessert. I had the homemade gelato ice cream. It was simply delicious. Smooth and creamy. The nougat was my favorite. The vanilla flavored gelato following closely behind. The only thing I would change is maybe instead of the pistachio gelato I’ll try the coconut sorbet. My boyfriend had the donuts. For donuts it was pretty good. He enjoyed it more with the macchiato. The presentation for all the dishes are spot on. Overall a splendid dinner, one that I enjoyed fairly and would probably go back again.

This may seem like common sense, as Fiola Mare is a seafood restaurant, but it is important to note that there are virtually no options for non-​seafood eaters. I am not exaggerating. If you’re going with a party whose food tastes you don’t know, beware: options may be limited.
That said, the staff was very friendly and easily accommodating of a vegan in our group. I myself am very picky about seafood – if anything tastes «fishy,» I am out – but found everything here to be incredibly delicious. (So as not to lose credibility as a reviewer of a seafood restaurant, please note that I ate oysters, scallops, fish, and lobster over the course of the evening.)
Tips:
Great date spot if you have the money to spend (it is easy to drop $ 40+ on an entrée alone). The volume level was lively but not deafening, and the view lovely, even while the river view windows were closed up for the season.
You can get some pretty fancy appetizers, but consider the oysters if you’re going to get one of the more complex entrée options (you’ll know what I mean when you read the menu). The oysters come with two incredibly unique sauces (at time of writing, fruit-​based and shallot-​based sauces) that were like nothing I’ve ever eaten.
Don’t skip dessert. Get the doughnuts.

Must try the restaurant week menu! It was delicious! The wine selection (a small encyclopedia) was extensive. We sat at the bar (of course) and Tom was great! Restaurant between.

This Italian Seafood restaurant was recently rated #1 by Washingtonian. The butternut squash cappuccino soup was incredible. The soup was creamy and smooth and the cappuccino provided a nice contrast. The olive oil poached Brazino fillet was tender and moist and came on a bed of farrotto. It was perfectly seasoned with a touch of black pepper. The Budino Di Cicolotto was rich and smooth and the mandarin oranges provided a nice sweet and sour contrast.

Went for restaurant week and was my first time there. If it weren’t for a lunch deal, it probably wouldn’t be a place I could afford to easily. It really blew my mind though. Open, bright, classy and nautical theme with big windows overlooking the river. The service is phenomenal, they switch out your forks between meals, keep the water glasses full, and brought me a fresg grapefruit soda even though I didn’t order a drink.
The food was small, healthful portions you could say. My appetizer was a beet and orange salad with olives. Perfect summer food in the middle of winter. Mix of sweet and salty. Entrée was bronzino fillet over farro. Super tender. Dessert was a chocolate-​orange panna cotta. I tried my friends’ cocktails and they were fabulous and unique. and pretty.
You really feel special here and I think it lives up to its reputation as top DC restaurant.

This is truly a fantastic dinning experience. From the moment we were seated we received top notch service. The waitress explained the menu and dishes and she paid just the perfect amount of attention to us.
Food: ordered the bucatini with wild tiger prawns and sea urchin. The pasta is cooked perfectly and the sea urchin complements the entire dish. The grilled calamari is fresh and grilled to perfection. The flavor profile is simple yet spot on. The ahi tuna carpaccio is a great addition to balance the heavier pasta dishes. Clearly all ingredients are fresh and presented with such care. The best dish is the Maine Lobster Ravioli. The butter pouched lobster melts in your mouth. The lobster pieces are nice in size and generously portioned throughout the dish and the ravioli is stuffed with big chunks of lobster.
Drinks: the bartenders make an array of unique classic cocktails with a twist. Ordered the winter tail, foreign policy, and sapore vero. Drinks were all mixed well and served accordingly. To each his own on drinks, but everything poured is a delight.
Price: this is on the finer side of dinning so expect to spend a few dollars. Whatever the price, it is worth it!
Overall, we will definitely return!

Perhaps, I was expecting too much. Perhaps, my tastebuds are spoiled. I wasn’t impressed with their food at all.
It seemed like street parkings were mostly full, and I did’t want to park on the street because the area seemed a little sketchy. Valet parking costs $ 16 bucks + tips. Once we walked in, staffs welcomed us, checked in our coats, and led us to our table. A Thursday night, the restaurant seemed pretty booked already. Good thing we made a reservation! Our server was friendly and gave me a whole menu that says «happy birthday» to take it home as a complimentary gift. Lol. So far everything is good. I tried to order some sweet cocktail. Unfortunately, they don’t serve sweet drinks here. :(so I got Bellagio which contains pomegranates and it was aight.
Here comes the food.
For two people, we started off with Ahi tuna carpaccio. (Pretty much ordered things that were popular on Unilocal). The chef was nice enough to split our food into seperate dishes to make it easier for us. When I tried the appetizer, I thought it had too much different flavors in one small dish which was very distracting to taste. I’ve had better tuna stacks before so appetizer was meh for me.
Then we ordered fiola Maine lobster ravioli which i was excited for the most. again, the chef splited food for us. When I tried the ravioli, it tasted good at first. Warm, creamy, again rich in flavor. But the more and more you try with the sauce, you kind of get sick of it fast (perhaps too rich in flavor). The most disappoint thing for me was how tough the lobster was. I had to chew so much to swallow the lobster it was hurting my jaw. :(
Hoping that the last dish could redeem my disappointment, I decided to order grand Adriatic grilled seafood. I was excited when I got my food because the presentation seemed very nice. But when I tried the fish, it was too greasy and fishy for me (tasted like super omega-​3). Trust me, I am a sucker for sushi so I would normally eat all kind of fish but something about grilled salmon that was too oily. made me almost gag. And I know it’s grilled, but honestly, I felt like I could make it better at home. I didn’t even finish half of my dish and had to stop eating.
After that the server gave us birthday complimentary sweets and a card which was very nice of them.
Service was great through the night except one thing that was bugging me a little was there were a lot of Mexican servers communicating in Mexicans which made me think ‘Am I at a taco restaurant?’ Lol. I was a little uncomfortable sitting on the table right next to them talking and thought it was unprofessional speaking non-​english loudly to other servers while serving food at the fine dinning restaurant.
Overall, I probably wouldn’t come back here for the food. Compared to its price, the food was disappointing and I think it’s better to try somewhere else new that is not overhyped.

First time dinning here, I decided to get the Fiola Mare Signature Brunch on a slightly foggy Saturday. Reserved a table (highly recommended) next to the window with a view of the Georgetown waterfront. The ambiance inside was very elegant, clean and fitted the «fine dinning» atmosphere/​vibe.
Our brunch started with a choice of bottomless Mimosa, Bellini and Sangria to drink, topped with a very nice assortment of «Basket of Warm Pastry & Breads». The petite-​sized pastries complemented with butter and jam were a great addition that was included in the Brunch special. We then decided to get the Roasted Butternut Squash Crostone and the Smoked Salmon Piadina for our Antipasti/​Salad option. For our Main course, we decided to order the Rigatoni alla Carbonara (description: Guanciale, Black Pepper, Pecorino Romano, Sunny Side-​Up Duck Egg) and Spaghetti Gragnano (description: Littleneck Clams, San Marzano Tomatoes, Parsley, Controne Chilies). Both dishes were very flavorful and distinct in taste. Lastly, we finished with dessert by ordering the Winter Quince Panna Cotta and the Bomboloni. Overall, the dinning/​service/​food experience was great and the meticulous attention to detail/​presentation was expected from a «fine dinning» restaurant. I would recommend anyone that is looking for a «fine dining» seafood experience with a great view of the Georgetown waterfront to come try Fiola Mare at least once.

Fiola Mare is a solid option and deserves its popularity but perhaps lacks a bit of originality in execution and lacks portion sizes given the price it commands.
Fiola Mare is a high-​end Italian/​Seafood joint on the Georgetown waterfront. The design is nice and clean but perhaps a bit unsurprising. Given the difficulty in landing a reservation and the near-​nosebleed prices some of the dishes command, this is definitely a place best saved for special dates and occasions. To that end, the view of the water is absolutely spectacular. As one would expect, the service and overall speed here is superb. The menu is pretty broad, but somewhat unsurprising — expect a boatload of pasta, seafood, and pretty much other recipes you’ve seen at plenty of other places.
I had brunch here. I ordered an Aviation cocktail with an order of their Steak and Eggs — a very simple dish for a simple brunch. The cocktail was excellently mixed (at the table, no less) and a welcome start to the meal. The Steak and Eggs was also pretty much perfect — the egg was perfectly cooked, the steak (rare, of course) was an excellent cut, etc. — but perhaps a bit small given the higher price, especially in comparison with similar offerings from other high-​end D.C. restaurants.
I hate to be «that guy» who complaints about portion sizes at a high-​end restaurant, but… it was kinda noticeable. Other dishes appeared to not suffer quite as much from a portion size issue, thankfully, so I might have just had a strange experience.

Amazing birthday present. My first time dining at Fiola Mare was a treat, and by the time the experience was over, I was already thinking about the next time I would make an appearance. I will admit, reluctantly, I don’t frequent Georgetown much at all; that statement alone might have my Unilocal DC card revoked by the «cool kids» on this website. Nonetheless, Fiola Mare might be the go-​to spot once the weather gets warm.
My lady made reservations (and this is the type of place where you definitely need one) and we were on our way. Upon arrival, we were greeted like we were royalty; for a minute, I thought it was 1988 and I was the King of Zamunda, minus the rose pedals and African dancing. I snapped back to reality and made my way to our table.
My appetizer was the cream of asparagus soup, was which very good. For the main course, my lady ordered the Campanelle pasta, while I ordered the swordfish. My lady felt that the pasta was good, and I would agree based on a couple of bites. For my first time eating swordfish, I would say that I was mightily impressed with the flavor and overall taste; I would surely recommend if its on the menu. Also, I would recommend the truffles; the patrons at the table next to ours were raving how good the truffles were. I heard another table on the way out mention the quality of the truffles as well.
I would to give Fiola Mare recognition for acknowledging my birthday with a nice birthday card and a very tasty desert. All the servers, cooks, and other workers deserve much kudos for how the night went; this was high-​quality service from beginning to end.
Fiola Mare is on the top of my list of places that I would recommend for a fine dining experience, whether anniversary, birthday, or any other celebration. There is valet parking, which is $ 15. Call the restaurant and ask for more information… or just peep these Unilocal reviews :). Go to FM if you have not already.

Fiola Mare is a fine dining restaurant that serves an Italian Seafood fare. The restaurant had a white painted shelf with sea related décor such as knotted vases. Each table has a candle, giving the restaurant an initiate and romantic setting. It seems like a great place for a celebration of any kind.
After a show at the Kennedy Center, we were craving dessert so we hopped in our car and drove to Fiola Mare. This restaurant had a great view of the Georgetown waterfront.
For drinks, we got a bottle of still water, a few Apple Ciders and a Hot Chocolate. The Apple Cider consisted of Autumn Spice, Citrus, and Farm Honey. It was delicious but a little on the sweet side. I didn’t mind the sweetness but some people may. The Hot Chocolate consisted of grounded milk chocolate blended with hot water and topped with frothy mascarpone cream and Italian chocolate shavings.
For desserts, we shared three desserts — Bomboloni, Winter Quince Panna Cotta, and Chocolate Soufflé Crostata, all of which were phenomenal choices.
The Bomboloni consisted of six Sardinian Ricotta Doughnuts rolled in Tahitian Vanilla sugar served in a mini deep fryer and served with milk chocolate gelato in a vintage soda fountain dish and with a maple fudge dipping sauce that had a hint of rum.
The Winter Quince Panna Cotta consisted of an Italian vanilla custard in a barrel aged maple cream, garnished with winter spice pecans and drops of quince purée, and served with brioche gelato. Since we were a party of five, our server gave us two additional brioche gelato with toasted hazelnut crumble.
The Chocolate Soufflé Crostata reminded me of a molten lava tart with a toasted hazelnut crust, filled gianduja (hazelnut based chocolate cream), clementine, raisins, and hazelnut, covered in an creamy Illanka Peruvian Piura Chocolate, baked, and topped with powdered sugar. We liked how it was served hot and fresh from the oven and that it melts in your mouth.

Still my all time favorite restaurant and would certainly recommend them for the delicious seafood and the great ambiance on the water front. This really is top notch for date nights to impress. Recently we were a little disappointed despite having made a reservation citing our special occasion, that our anniversary was not acknowledged at all by our server Anton or the Fiola Mare staff on our 11÷28÷15 Saturday evening visit. Some of our other favorite restaurants like the Capital Grille, BLT steakhouse, and Ouzo Bay restaurant have really exceeded our expectations and I guess kind of spoiled us for other milestones and special occasions. I was a little saddened to have my newest favorite miss that mark :/

Fiola Mare will go down as our best meal of 2015. Hands Down.
This proclamation is not made without heavy consideration. The wifey and I have had the good blessing to enjoy the city’s best restaurants, including Minibar. I did have a heavy heart when reading reviews below from diners that had anything but an outstanding meal; wishing that they had the same experience we did.
The moment you enter Fiola Mare, you’re transported to an otherly world. A host whisks your jackets and you are sat down amidst a room full of diners, lost in their meals and conversation. Our server showered us with attentiveness, taking the time to describe the nuances of dishes; what we may prefer based on preferences shared and gently steering us in a direction he best saw fit with our input.
Please do yourself a favor and order the grilled wild calamari as an appetizer. This one dish took my breath away. I was immediately transported to the Mediterranean. With light grill marks, the freshness of the calamari was accentuated by a drizzle of lemon. I savored each bite.
The Fiola Maine lobster ravioli was outstanding. Rich yet light, with the nuggets of stuffed lobster. The pasta with King Prawn was savored, each bite meltingly soft. The Under the Sea dish with branzino, lobster, sea urchin, langoustine, and much more exemplified how the best of ingredients prepared simply in a complex, light, and aromatic dashi could shine on its own without unnecessary alterations. Wifts of the sea with each bite, indeed.

After attending a weekend of wedding events, my friends and I decided to end our vacation with a nice dinner by the river. It was a no brainer coming to Fiola Mare, which was so highly recommended by our friends who live in or at least frequent D.C.
Apparently the menu changes often, but a few favorites remain staples of the restaurant. The Tuna carpaccio appetizer is one of them, as well as the award winning Under the Sea entreé which features of sampler of what the «sea has to offer» that includes Branzino, lobster, uni, langoustine, scallops, mussels, fois gras on top of quinoa.
The large red prawn bucatini pasta was really good, but not always on the menu.
My husband and I shared a whole Spanish Turbot, which is seasonal and imported from the Mediterranean. It’s hard to describe the taste but it was delicate yet rich in texture. It wasn’t a problem for the two of us to quickly devour this unique flatfish. He and I also ordered a salmon tartare type appetizer which we enjoyed even more than the ahi tuna carpaccio. Perhaps, this was because there was truffle slices topping the raw salmon which is a combination that we are partial to! There can never be enough truffles!
Between the numerous bottles of wine, appetizers, entrees, and desserts, it didn’t take long for the four of us to end up with a meal equivalent to purchasing. Oh well we won’t go there. There’s a reason Fiola Mare is so popular… maybe, several reasons). Renowned dishes, impeccable service, and lively-​sophisticated atmosphere are all obvious factors that keep people wanting more. We did enjoy quite the memorable night.

One of the best meals of my life.
The first time I went, I was very disappointed with the service and some of the dishes but the second time around everything was amazing.
Started with the scallops and burrata. Loved the scallops and all of the elements of the dish. Loved the pesto that came with the burrata– so fresh and light. The beef short rib agnolotti– pleasantly surprised at how much beef was stuffed into each of those dumplings! And the sauce balanced out the dish perfectly and the langoustine tail yum. The lobster ravioli– had it both the first and second visit– a must try. SO much lobster and that sauce is heavenly (save your bread to mop up the sauce bc it is too good to leave on the plate). The spaghetti with clams– perfectly cooked, definitely a very simple but perfect dish, the tomato sauce is so light and fresh.
For dessert had such a hard time but got the bomboloni– ricotta doughnuts with caramel swirl gelato and burnt orange fudge– pleasantly surprised! The doughnuts were so light and airy and soft! Thought I would only eat one but ate two and a half (had to share the last one:()
Because it was our anniversary, got some extra goodies like prosecco in the beginning, moscato at the end, and extra desserts. The weather was great so we got to sit outside too!
Our server was amazing and so nice! Loved every bit of this experience! Definitely at the top of my list of best meals ever!

Exceptional. One of the best meal experiences I have had in a long time. Came here with a few girlfriends for Sunday brunch and were highly impressed. The manager as well as kitchen manager came out to check on us in person, the server was happy to make suggestions and immediately knew when you needed something without us having to ask. We did the unlimited drink brunch option and it was certainly a lot of food! We were sad to not be able to finish all of it. The salads were by far the stars of lunch with fresh burrata that tasted as if they just made it! The pasta and eggs Benedict were also to die for. We were starving when we first sat down and made the mistake of eating way to much of the warm pastry basket. Whilst it was delicious, the lemon ricotta pancakes we couldn’t finish at the end definitely would have been worth more tummy space!
Gorgeous views, delicious food and exceptional staff. I would give 6 stars if I could!

I’m not a huge fan of the brunch options, but everything else about this place is top-​notch — I’d love to come back here for a nice dinner.
We had a large group of 12 for Sunday brunch and were seated in a private room. The room alone was amazing, since we had double doors separating us from the rest of the restaurant and had a beautiful patio door leading to the deck. Service was very attentive and professional throughout the entire meal, as expected from such an upscale place.
The brunch menu only has a limited number of offerings and aren’t really worth it — some of the basic non-​seafood brunch options (i.e. pancakes and eggs benedict) were way too overpriced. I ordered the eggs benedict, split a raw bar with 4 people, and also loaded up on the delicious bread basket and was completely stuffed. The eggs benedict were good but unimpressive given the hiked up price. if you’re a seafood lover, then the raw bar will definitely make you happy! There were oysters, scallops, crab, lobster, mussels, and shrimp, and it all came with 3 sauces (not sure what they were — cocktail sauce wasn’t among them), but the seafood was very fresh and good enough to eat raw.
If you feel like drinking, you can do the boozy brunch with unlimited drinks and a choice of 3 courses. Others in our group did this, and I thought it was a good way to drink but that the menu choices were too few to have made it a better deal.

Fiola Mare definitely deserves a 5 star rating. From the food to the service, it was one of the best dining experiences I have had in a while.
Hubs and I were celebrating our anniversary here and right away they greeted us, seated us, and wished us a Happy Anniversary. Our server was very nice and very attentive the entire evening and other staff would also walk by to make sure everything was going well through out the night.
We ordered the raw bar platter as an appetizer and WOW. It was huge! Oysters, clams, mussels, crab legs, shrimp, prawns, lobster, tuna tartare, and UNI! We were almost full after that but we had more coming.
We ordered the spaghetti with clams. Fiola Mare offers half portions on their pasta dishes which is great since we didn’t really want that much pasta and only wanted to sample. It was SO delicious. It was rich in flavor and I enjoyed everything. I could have licked the bowl for the sauce. The other nice part was that they knew we were sharing so they already divided our pasta into our own dishes.
Next was the Branzino and a side of warm corn and Farro salad. The fish was cooked perfectly and the corn and Farro salad was delicious. They also gave us an extra side of the spinach and I thought that was very nice of them. The spinach was really great too. I actually liked it more than the corn and farro.
Then our server brings us a few little desserts on the house! They were so cute and very tasty. She also gave us a happy anniversary card too and I thought that was a very touch.
Our bill came down to around 200 $ which I thought was really good considering how much food we got and we also had a half bottle of wine too.
I would definitely come back here again! One of the best restaurants in DC!

Absolutely Superb! Fiola Mare does it right from the front door. Amazing staff with attention to every detail. Not to mention the security mgr that was pleasant and quite informative about the area. I am almost speechless with how to describe the tremendously savory taste of the meals we enjoyed. If you come with 3 or more in your party the «Fiola Mare Raw bar“sampler is a must. I can’t imagine you ordering anything from their menu that you will not be happy with. Caviar, Branzino, Pasta’s all were excellent. I will sum this review up with one word
«Glorious» Bön Appetite.

SUPER buen ambiente y deliciosa comida. Lindo el lugar frente a los botes. Gente simpática.