Dino’s Grotto

Let me start with the positives:
–Great service from a very friendly and helpful server.
–Cool drink specials partnering with a charity! (Most of the drinks were gin, which I don’t enjoy, but I found one that I enjoyed)
–Gluten free options for my friend
The not so great:
–The atmosphere is dated, and I sat racing a refrigerator and an overflowing storage room in the back of the restaurant. It didn’t feel like a DC restaurant experience.
–The food was boring and didn’t have all the ingredients. We had to ask for the missing cheeses for our pastas, and my boyfriend’s pork chop was half fat.
I had a fine time, but I don’t think I will be returning here anytime soon.

One of the best restaurants in DC! Off the beaten parh. Local. Fresh. Delicious. Uncompromising. Authentic food for real people. Nothing contrived. Crayons for kids.

Dino’s has a fantastic Monday night happy hour – $ 5 for each of the bar food items, and great cocktails for $ 8. The ambience in the downstairs bar is less romantic mood lighting and more comfortable, well-​lit European bar. Heartily recommend the sardines which were perfectly grilled, duck fat potatoes (more like a potato hash), the charcuterie board (great selection of meats and olives), and while the wings were pretty good, they were a bit overcooked, but the sauces were great.

Good:
— I went with a couple of friends for one of their birthday’s, and the waitress brought us shots to celebrate!
— The food was really good … especially the pasta dishes
— Lots of good bread
— Awesome drink selection
— Really friendly waitress
— prompt service!
Bad:
— The atmosphere isn’t … perfect. They could maybe make it more romantic or dim the lights …
— Portions for some items on the menu are pretty small for the price (artichokes were about $ 12 for a couple little pieces). Compared to the prices and portions of everything else, this seemed a bit small.

Overall okay– did not quite live up to my expectations.
Service was sub par– our waiter took 20 minutes to even address us and continued like that throughout the meal.
The duck fat potatoes were extremely good as well as some of the other appetizers.
For the entrees– the funghi (mushroom pasta) had almost no taste but was still okay because pasta is pasta, let’s face it. The Tagliata (one of the steak dishes) was also just okay. The meat wasn’t super High quality and the sauce/​marinade tasted like straight up parsley. It wasn’t horrible but not something I would recommend or order again.
I personally would give this place another shot and see the other things on the menu, however don’t order the entrees mentioned above.

We dined at Dino’s recently and we were impressed. The ambiance was good, the wine list was fabulous with some very unusual selections. The food, so we had a table with six different meals selections and everyone was satisfied. And the service at one point had Dino’s providing some guidance with the wine selections. Overall a very pleasant surprise.

Happy hour!!! Impressed.
Go down the stairs to the bar. Great feel to the place. Sit and get a menu. The happy hour has a decent selection!
The deviled eggs were by far the best thing I tried. I could have gotten 3 orders of just this and been happy. The happy hour order comes with 3 halves. Comes out and it looks great. But I think it’s the hidden little spice of siracha that makes them great. Not overly spicy but just enough to round out the experience. There are other melding of spices too… Mmmmm…
The mussel pot is good. Decent amount and good tasting. Could use more bread for the sauce. Just check which day is half priced pots…
The brussel sprouts are ok. Needs something…
The potatoes are yum! Cheese. Duck fat. Mix it all up! All the goodness is at the bottom…
Still more to try…

I don’t know why you would go to happy hour anywhere else — Ric is one of the best bartenders in the District, the food is head and shoulders above anything else in Shaw, and while it can be a bit pricey the happy hour specials make for a phenomenal deal (and they are all day on Sunday!). You can keep your shoulder-​to-​shoulder crowded roof deck, I will take a burger and a cocktail at Dino’s any day.

Loved it! I see many other reviewers are posting their favorites, but I don’t think I could pick one item that was the best. I went with a group and we had several appetizers and tried each other’s entrées– and everything was wonderful. What did stand out that really made our experience amazing was the service. We started at the bar for cocktails– and Andrew was attentive, kind, and really made sure we enjoyed our whole experience by giving thoughtful suggestions on cocktails and appetizers.

Amazing food. Good drink. Hostess could have had less attitude. The polenta was phenomenal. Cheese plate was off the charts. And the wild boar ragu was stupid good!!!
Recommend highly.

After being regular-​ish patrons of Dino’s in Cleveland Park, we came here with some friends to celebrate a birthday. This location is a little different from their previous location. We started in the bar downstairs (it is deafeningly loud down there and very hard to have a conversation). They have, of course, a nice selection of mixed drinks and draft beers. We then went upstairs for dinner. The food and wine were excellent, of course. But the prices are steep. They mostly stuck with their Italian-​themed food; the bisteca is excellent as always. The feel is a bit more open than it had been.

I dined here for the first time over Valentine’s Day weekend; while I realistically don’t expect FANTASTIC service over major holiday weekends, in theory the service should be decent at best given the holiday. The service here, however, was unacceptable. The food was also bland and boring.
First, the service: while we were seated promptly, my husband and I literally had to flag different people down to get our waiter’s attention. We didn’t receive bread, olive oil, WATER, the dessert menu, or OUR CHECK without having to flag down and ask either our waiter or the hostess to bring it. In fact, we gave our dessert order to the hostess (!!!). While our waiter’s personality was fine, and he attempted to make up for the complete lack of service by comping one of our (gross, but I’ll get to that later) desserts, it was too little and too late after a disappointing experience and meal. I would have rather him just explained why the service was so poor. Valentine’s Day is a major holiday and it’s not unreasonable to expect good service on what is supposed to be a special occasion. Did I mention that he didn’t even bring out one of our appetizers? That’s right. What a terrible experience, seemingly run by a bunch of amateurs.
The food: Bland and boring. The menu online looks incredible, but what you get is surprisingly bad. Who messes up ITALIAN food? These chefs, apparently. I ordered a clam appetizer and a seafood pasta, both of which tasted like two or three lemons had been squeezed into each dish; I couldn’t even taste the seafood over the lemon, and there seemed to be no garlic in my pasta dish. Again, the food was underseasoned and just overall disappointing, since the standard seafood pasta dish (pasta, clams, white wine, garlic, olive oil, crushed red paper) is one of my go-​to dishes in any Italian restaurant. But wait, it doesn’t stop there! After fighting to obtain a dessert menu, we ordered an interesting-​sounding dessert (homemade vanilla gelato drizzled with balsamic vinegar), which included the description, «…simply the best…». Unfortunately, what came out was probably closer to «simply the worst» and most uninspired desserts I have ever had. Imagine Breyer’s vanilla ice cream (what they served us was NOT gelato, and was barely passable for restaurant-​quality ice cream), with some balsamic drizzled on top. That’s it. Gross. To be fair, the «Nutella cappuccino» (spoiler alert: not an actual cappuccino, but closer to a chocolate pot de crème, but it’s not like our waiter had the time to explain anything to us), was good, but could not make up for a terrible meal and a waste of money.
Overall, I won’t be visiting here again. The awful service combined with the bland food makes this one of the most disappointing Italian restaurant experiences I’ve had in a while. I’m still shocked at how an Italian restaurant can ruin Italian food.

Great happy hour specials! I loved that their drinks were unique… So unique that I snapped the menu: p I recommend the hot toddy for when it’s cold outside. It tasted like a spiced warmed apple cider but really strong (woot)! I highly recommend the duck fat potatoes and the charcuterie — both of which fall in the happy hour specials! They make their own charcuterie in house so I got to try fancy thangs like brain… Which I now know I don’t like haha.

Have you ever had such high expectations for a restaurant that you leave and you’re so rattled you don’t know if everyone is crazy or if it’s you?
Sadly, my expereince at Dino’s wasn’t the most spectacular, but I am willing to head back for happy hour or dinner just not brunch again. I love Shaw and I love supporting the local businesses in the area, but after this brunch at Dino’s I want to do it all over again.
Brunch is a great deal, but not the most amazing food on the planet. for $ 29 you get bottomless beverages (bellini, mimosa or bloody) and your choice of an app and entrée or and entrée and dessert. Not bad, right?
My meal:
+Mimosas, but quickly switched to Bellinis
+Duck Fat Potato– These were just potatoes. A little cold, nothing special.
+Sloppy Giuseppe– Braised brisket (Shenandoah valley beef co~op) onions, tomato sauce, fontine & crucolo cheeses ~ choice of egg– yum! Doesn’t this description sound amazing? I opted for sunny side up eggs because hello braised brisket and a gooey egg, a dream! Unfortunately, I felt like everything just sat out before it was brought to our table. The eggs were over done and cold and so was the brisket. The meat was tender and juicy, though that was the best part of the meal.
+Cappuccino di Nutella– Mascarpone,​bourbon cherry, whipped cream, cocoa– YUM! This was excellent, but not what I expected at all even after the waiter explained it to me. It was freezing cold like it was just taken out of the freezer…
Can you sense a theme? Everything was just cold. I must say, my glass was never empty which was awesome, but I came here for the food not the drinks. I suppose we will if the winds take me back to Dino’s Grotto after this strange brunch experience.

We tried the «ten bites of the grotto» special. The restaurant was very accommodating in serving my friend a vegetarian version of the menu (and then I got to try even more bites!) The waiter was personable and funny (forgot his name unfortunately…)
My favorites were the deviled eggs, pickled salad (from the vegetarian bites), octopus, and wild boar pasta. I also loved the balsamic sauce with gelato for dessert.
My only slight complaint was that there was almost too much rich food, I would have liked something more plain to replace either the potato gratin or the lasagna. But everything was delicious! I would come here again for a regular dinner.

This is a very solid brunch option amongst an overcrowded U street brunch scene. I hadn’t heard about this place until my friend mentioned it as an option (she apparently read the b*tches who brunch review of it). For $ 29 you get one appetizer, 1 brunch entrée, and bottomless drinks (you can choose from mimosas, Bellinis, or bloody Marys) which is a pretty nice deal. We didn’t have reservations but came in shortly after they opened at 12 and the place was almost empty– we ended up getting seats at the bar.
My friend and I ordered the burrata and deviled eggs wrapped in prosciutto to start. The burrata was excellent, according to my friend (shipped from Italy), and the deviled eggs were probably the best deviled eggs I have had in a while– perfectly creamy with a zippy sauce. The proscuitto was a nice touch– crispy like bacon. Then I ordered the bacon nutella french toast that came with this delicious peachy spread. I am normally not a sweets person but this sounded so good I had to try it– and it didn’t disappoint. My friend got the risotto and also enjoyed it thoroughly. All in all a good brunch experience– worth going back to.

This is an amazing gem of a restaurant located in my Shaw neighborhood! It has a cozy, familial vibe about the place, which is located in a row house. The «upper level» is the dining /​restaurant portion– and the «basement /​lower level» entryway is more of the bar /​happy hour portion– however you CAN order off the full menu in the bar and the Happy Hour pricing seemed worth checking out in the future.
I was literally craving fresh, handmade pasta for a full week– which is how we happened upon this experience.
My date and I split an appetizer, (2) half-​sized pastas, a bottle of Chianti wine and (2) dessert cheeses– the total came to just under $ 100 which we thought was reasonable.
For starters:
We shared the «Cauliflower Gratinare» appetizer, which was covered in cheese. It was everything I love about cheeses vegetables. It’s a mix of local cauliflowers so you get the sensation it’s more than one vegetable too.
The pasta:
I ordered the «Duck Bolognese” — it was a fantastic hand-​made fettuccine and tomato based sauce. Exactly what I was craving. My date ordered the «Funghi– Everyday Pasta». This was a VERY lightly flavored dish– seasoned primarily with sage and olive oil. If you’re looking for something flavorful and hearty this would not be the one to pick. But, since we were splitting everything it worked well.
The dessert:
We couldn’t decide on an appropriate dolce to round out the evening so we opted for the dessert cheese– because I love cheese. The «St Stephen» is a triple cream cow cheese and is the consistency of whipped butter. It was good, but I think would have been elevated to greatness if served with apricots or something sweet. The second cheese we sampled was the «Ubriaco al Pepe” — it is a medium/​hard cheese with a thin rind of peppercorn coating– it was addicting! The cheese plate is garnished with toasted baguettes and almonds.
We both agreed that we would definitely be returning. They take credit cards, they take reservations (Open Table!) and the service was attentive and prompt. You really can’t beat that!

Getting a reservation off OpenTable the same day was a cinch. I really liked all the vinegar drinks. The Crema di Cioccolato was excellent. I’d come back just to try more of their dessert and other pastas.
Now i originally came to try their burger. It was juicy, tender and perfectly medium rare. Unfortunately I didn’t find it extraordinary. Wasn’t a big fan of the ciabatta bread they used in place of buns. But I guess that’s the novelty of it. The menu mentioned it had anchovies. I couldn’t figure out if they were hiding in the patty or sauce. Couldn’t really taste it either.

Three and a half stars for a good happy hour: tasty seasonal food, and semi-​experimental drinks. Portion options to cater to differently sized appetites, or for those hoping to dine on multiple items in the same sitting. I prefer the space of the downstairs Grotto Bar rather than the generic restaurant format upstairs, but the décor of both definitely offers a more modern vibe than their old space in Cleveland Park.
Must haves–
+ Vadouvin deviled eggs: plenty of components in this mouthful of delicious, with just enough anchovy pungence.
+ Grilled white nectarines: hits the sweet and savory notes just right, the pancetta is just crisped and the marscapone bursts in your mouth.
Also quite good–
+ House cured pastrami spiced duck: presented on a bed of salad, with beautiful rendering and seasoning on the duck.
+ Duck neck: tender, albeit simple.
+ Duck fat potatoes: flavorful and not too greasy.
+ Gianduia nico: gelato ratio was evenly layered, even if the chocolate sauce was a little boring.
+ Caramelized plum upside down cake: cinnamon-​scented gelato to go with a firm crust on the flipped cake.
Solid–
~ Fried not green tomatoes: great crust on this, topped with similarly fresh ingredients like red onion dice.
~ Salsicca: housemade pasta is rustically misshapen, but lots of flavor from the sausage.
~ Risotto blanco: good consistency and flavor.
~ Blue catfish puttanesca: cooked until flake-​tender, and I’m an olive fan.
~ Eggplant parmigiana: simple classic.
~ Pan-​fried chicken w/​sauteed kale: meat could’ve been cleaned a little better with bone shrapnel after butchering, but a good crust and I dug the pesto. Kale was fine and tender enough, though I wish it had been cooked down with at least a meaty stock.
Could do without:
— Gnudi: the texture akin to half-​creamed spinach packed into a ball. Okay but not worth repeating.
— Gelato con balsamico: I love balsamic vinegar, but it was so strong that it obliterated the taste of the vanilla gelato and lingered long on your palate.
— Saffron panna cotta: too much gelatin in my batch, it was much firmer than it should have been. Berries underneath were a little tart.
— Melon gazpacho: ate like watery salsa.
Great bartending service from Abi. Prefer the Ric Flair over the SP69, both of which were tastier than the Peechnut. Leva Matande better balanced than the Hit Man. Tasty beers on tap. Future hit list: Four Horsemen; sloppy Giuseppe, bacon-​wrapped Nutella-​stuffed French toast; wild boar pappardelle, funghi polenta, duck breast, poached peach, and maybe a HH burger or mussel pot.

After reading a couple of reviews and reading Bitches Who Brunch’s review of this place, I was looking forward to the food, but dreading what the smell would be like. I have never read so many reviews that talked about how much a place smelled, so I hesitantly told my husband right before we walked in… you know, to ease the blow. But upon walking in, we smelled nothing but food. I was relieved and even more eager to eat. So, this is an updated review to all of those who went to Dino’s and had a bad smell experience… it didn’t happen to us!
We had reservations, though we did not need them. We entered into the top floor, not really aware there was a bottom entrance. (but there are two in case you were wondering). The bottom floor is basically just the bar, bathrooms, and a couple of side tables. Though we didn’t sit downstairs, my trips to the bathroom were pleasant because the bartender was very nice.
We sat upstairs at a small two top table and were greeted immediately. We were brought mimosas (I asked for a bellini which was yummy), and water. The bottomless mimosas were served in regular wine glasses, not flutes and the ratio of sparkling to (freshly squeezed) juice was FANTASTIC. So our glasses were large and always full. The deal for brunch was $ 29 for one small plate, one entrée and bottomless mimosa, bellini, or bloody mary (which you can mix back and forth if you choose). I am so bummed that I didn’t try the Bloody Mary (very unlike me), so I cannot report on that. But the mimosas though… mmmm.
For our small plates:
Me: tomato salad with amazing fresh mozzarella
Hubby: house salad with grated parmesan
Thoughts: Both of our salads were great, though I preferred his better. If you like A LOT of cheese, definitely pick the tomato salad, I ended up giving my hubby most of my mozzarella. I liked the overall taste of his salad though.
Entrees:
Me: Venison and Eggs
Hubby: Burger
Thoughts: My venison looked slightly unappealing because it was smothered in sauce, but it was DELICIOUS. Being from NC, I have eaten my fair share of venison, and trust me, you can over cook it. It will be chewy and just unpleasant. BUT THIS venison was cooked absolutely perfectly. Seriously. Even down to the way I wanted the cook (medium). Oh man, it was good. The eggs were fried and a touch greasy, but still very good. (if you have a hangover, ORDER THIS DISH!!!)
This dish came with homefries (potatoes) which were very yummy, but I switched my potatoes for the hubby’s salad.
Hubby’s Burger:
DELICIOUS. He offered me one bite of it, and it was cooked just wonderfully and was served on ciabatta bread, which I always think is a good call for a juicy burger. I looked up after eating a couple of bites and his burger was gone. He thought it was one of the better burgers he has had in a while.
The staff was friendly and very talkative… if not maybe a little too talkative, but overall a great experience.
The mimosas though… YAS!

If you’re a foodie, I consider not attending Restaurant Week to be a sin. Naturally, I slaved over my RW choice for weeks. I finally landed on Dino’s after nailing down a deep desire for homemade pasta and seeing the rave reviews.
When I walked in, not a soul was dining. Panic washed over me as I wondered if I had made a horrible choice. Was the food terrible? I was soon to find out.
A pleasant hostess greeted me and asked how she could help. I informed her of my reservation and was quickly seated.
The waiter was quick to bring water and bread. I let him know that I was not interested in the deviled egg and tomato soup small starters, and I placed my order.
I was then presented with the tomato soup that I had declined. After several minutes, the waiter returned to apologize. The kitchen hadn’t understood his notes, and they had refrained to fire my appetizer while I had the amuse. He let me know that they had now fired the appetizer, and I should receive it shortly.
I ordered the duck fat potatoes. They were good but not great. They were a little overdone for my liking, and I would not pay that much for them.
For the entrée, I ordered the free form lasagna. This was by far the highlight of my evening. The fresh pasta was lovely, and the huge chunks of bacon were unexpected. I liked the cheesy type bechamel. The sauce wasn’t meaty (which was great for me), and it had a slight spice that left it as a unique sauce that made you want more. Definitely a great dish. I also saved some bread to pair with it. The multigrain bread is wonderful, if a bit crunchy.
For dessert, I ordered the gelato dish modeled after Nico in Italy. If you are apathetic about hazelnuts, do not order this. I felt like I had been punched in the face by a hazelnut. Wow. Certainly true to its flavor. I would have preferred a nice chocolate cake, but I respected this dessert.
When I paid, the hostess came over to me and apologized for the long wait times between courses (it was a slow but not annoyingly so) and for the pre-​app mix up. She gave me a free drink on my next visit. This service is above and beyond what I would expect, and I have a lot of respect for that. Kudos to them.
Ultimately, this was a good meal. Was it worth the cost? No. Would I go back? Probably, but I would make some different ordering decisions. Teach me your pasta ways, Dino’s Grotto.