Lavagna

This place is adorable and very cozy. I went here recently with some girl friends for dinner and even though we didn’t have a reservation, there were four of us and it’s restaurant week, we were able to be seated within our first glass of wine.
The service and food are really good. We decided to splurge and get pasta– after all we were there for Italian food. We started with the bruschetta which was delicious– very unique with onions and goat cheese. And then shared the pesto pasta and bolognese both of which were amazing and the portions were large. The pesto was excellent, very rich, but the meat was a little undercooked. The bolognese was excellent — I would get that again, but would defiantly get a half portion or share with someone.
We didn’t have room for dessert but they looked great. Next time I would defiantly go in very hungry and plan for a long meal with wine, cheese, dessert. I wished I had tried the Brussels sprout sides and would definitely go back again.
A great date spot, friend dinner or a place to meet with any small group.

This is a cute spot for brunch, and the bottomless drinks are on the cheaper side. The servers were friendly and the food came out at a reasonable time. It was quite full, but when we were arrived (party of 3) we were able to be seated immediately instead of having to wait until our reservation time. While I liked the chicken and waffles it wasn’t quite what I was expecting (I also preferred my friends dishes, eggs florentine & smoked salmon omelette). Anyways I enjoyed the atmosphere and plan on going back within the next couple of months for brunch.

Enjoyed brunch here to welcome in the new year by ordering the goat cheese omelette which was delicious, and the portion sizes was much bigger than I had expected. Though the brunch menu was small it was definitely a great spot to hit up for a unique brunch.

Happy Hour specials are on point, but only for food. No drink specials in sight. Seems like a nice cozy place for sure, but only came here for a quick pint before dinner.

I ate new years brunch here. The salmon omlette was so good! And it was way more food than I anticipated. I’ll be back the price was right

This place is delightful. Came in once for lunch, last year, and again for dinner last night. Most of the meats and produce are from small, local farms. The pappardelle bolognese and a cory (South American white fish) special were amazing. The tiramisu was very good. I had an apple salad appetizer, with a mix of nuts and lettuce, that was also delicious.
The waitstaff was attentive, but not intrusive. Their Politico Mr. Jenkins cocktail — rye, house orangecello, basil bitters and sweet vermouth — was balanced and tasty.
There’s a lot of competition on 8^th St. SE, but Lavagna’s food is so great, I don’t know why they’re not overflowing with customers.

Amazing and fresh food I recommend the chicken and waffles. Made with strawberries in the waffles and fresh fruit. Chicken was great. I got a side of sausage which was perhaps the best sausage patties I ever had. Service was great. Bottomless mimosas for $ 12 which I didn’t get because I was driving.

We came here for the much touted brunch on a Saturday with a large party of 15. We were put in a private room and they served us family style dishes.
The service– 5 stars. Our server frequently refilled our bottomless mimosas very generously, and then put up with our increasing loudness and antics, for which we are very grateful!
The food– meh. We had the Nutella pancakes, which were good, but then what isn’t when you put Nutella on it? We had the sausage biscuits and gravy with eggs. The biscuits were definitely not the southern style of biscuit most people think of. They were very overly dense. I prefer more light and fluffy. The gravy itself was good however. We also had the chicken and waffles, which I would describe as disappointing. The fry on the chicken was barely there, and it wasn’t crispy at all. Clearly no buttermilk or cornflakes where used… The waffle itself was ok. The pancetta carbonara was solid, but slightly one dimensional and I wish it had more flavor. Maybe some larger thick cut bacon pieces for texture or a pinch more salt. However, it kept everyone happy and no one was outright disappointed.
Overall, fantastic service, good ambiance, solid but average food.

So I have dined at Lavagna for Sunday brunch on more than one occasion, and there are several reasons I come back.
Firstly, the price is wonderful compared to other restaurants nearby. For a full brunch meal I usually end up spending around $ 13-​$ 17 which is amazing considering the quality of the food! I have never been disappointed with any of their dishes such as their eggs any style, smoked salmon omelet, and eggs florentine. I’ve ordered the eggs florentine several times and it has always come out consistently delicious! This past Sunday I decided to step out of my comfort zone and ordered the smoked salmon omelet… I have to say, it was exceptional! At first, I wasn’t sure about having smoked salmon in an omelet but the combination of the capers, spinach, citrus flavor and green sauce is just incredible. I was completely stuffed but continued to finish it along with the house potatoes. So basically whenever I dine here, I am always part of the clean plate club :)
Secondly, they have bottomless mimosas for $ 12. Nuff said.
Lastly, the service is always consistently great! Any time we’ve had an issue with our food or needed anything, our servers have always been accommodating and friendly!
I read some of the other Unilocal reviews for brunch and I’m surprised by the one-​star reviews. I’ve never had a bad experience here nor have I ever been disappointed in their food. Not exactly sure why this place hasn’t been consistently good with other people but that’s never been my experience and I’ve been coming here for over a year whenever I’m in town.
Overall, I highly recommend Lavagna for sunday brunch! I also wanted to mention that it might be best to make a reservation for Sunday brunch since its usually packed.

Visited Lavagna during restaurant week. 2 of the 3 of us enjoyed our meals. My friend who chose a pasta dish was the unhappy camper. Personally, of all the options on the restaurant week menu that was just a bad choice. Streak was tender, sprouts were delicious, potatoes yummy, chicken tender. The fried ravioli and mussels were tasty apps. The biggest disappointment was the dessert. I have never had such a dry, tasteless tiramisu. Wish I went w the mousse because the tiramisu was a horrible end to an otherwise enjoyable meal. The 3 stars rather than 4 was because of the dreadful tiramisu and the sewer stench that we kept inhaling. They really need to fix that.

I was in the DC area this past weekend visiting a friend who recently moved there. We came here for brunch on Saturday at around 1:30 pm. It wasn’t too crowded, and we were seated downstairs right away. We went ahead and ordered drinks right away; a mimosa for my friend and a mixed berry bellini for me. My drink was good, but there is something about ordering a fruity cocktail that isn’t served with any fruit that I find weird, but that’s just me. It was a good amount of champagne, so can’t complain too much.
We weren’t sure what to order; it seemed like there were lots of options that sounded pretty delicious. We both ended up settling on the Italian Sausage Gravy because I have never had a marinara based «southern gravy» before. My scrambled eggs were cooked perfectly (I hate runny scrambled eggs) and the sausage gravy and biscuits were just what I needed after a long bus ride from NY!
I am surprised this place has such a low rating. It was clean, the service was impeccable, and the food we ordered was great. Maybe we came on a good afternoon and got lucky, but I would definitely come back.

It passed the Italian Wife test, easily.
We had the fried ravioli appetizer, bacon risotto, and lamb papardelle. All were very good. Portions were appropriately sized — we left full but not bloated, with no leftovers. Prices were reasonable. Service was attentive and professional. Nice décor. Not terribly loud, even on a Saturday night.
Location is very good — 2 blocks from the Metro (Eastern Market station), walking distance from Capitol Hill on a nice day.
We would definitely return when next in the District.

Let’s face it, my grandparents are jerks. They have on more then one occasion driven a server to suicide. Perhaps it’s because they survived the depression, or perhaps they just like to question everything and be penny pinchers. For this reason, we do our best to run interference, protecting the unaware against their malevolent ways.
It takes a rare server to well, serve them, and perhaps somebody that I can only classify as mythical, like a unicorn, to please them. Margeaux took great lengths to please them, explain every freaking menu item, keep our drinks filled (I drink like a camel), and to my surprise she even convinced them to get sides.
The food was very good as well. I enjoyed the lamb pasta, granny liked the filet, wild grumpy gramps liked the risottos.
I can’t say enough about this place.

Fantastic brunch spot and hidden gem on Barrack’s Row. We stopped by without a reservation and with a puppy and were immediately seated in a shady spot outside, which provided a prime spot for people watching. The staff was extremely friendly and attentive, bringing a water dish with ice cubes over for our puppy without us even having to ask.
The food was great! I really enjoyed the arugula omelet, which more than filled me up. For just $ 12 you can also get bottomless mimosas for 90 minutes. The waiter was a true pro as my glass was constantly topped off, making the $ 12 more than worth it. While the outside provided a nice view of the Barrack’s Row activity, inside had a nice classic vibe to it too.

I can’t believe BitchesWhoBrunch gave this place A+, not once but three times!
My husband and I ordered exactly what others have raved again and again — mascarpone pancakes and bacon risotto. The pancakes were dry and flavorless. The side of fruit salad screamed laziness in preparation. How appetizing is it to include the rind of the melons? My risotto was so salty borderline inedible. The additional side of sausage patties was served cold.
Although our waitress was warm and sweet, she struggled to provide the basic service — sugar/​milk for coffee? salt+pepper for the table? It was quite annoying needing to wave her down again and again.
Overall — Want brunch? keep walking, try next door, actually a whole block of restaurants to choose from — my advice, anywhere but Lavagna.

I had their Hudson Valley Duck Breast (comes on a bed of carrot purée and a polenta soft brick), their Bacon Brussel Sprouts, and tiramisu cake.
I literally couldn’t help making «mm» noises during my first 3 or 4 bites of the duck entrée. Haha, needless to say, it was really good. I thought the portion looked small (i snuck a peak at the photos on Unilocal) so I ordered the brussel sprouts. But those were just okay. It did do the job of filling me up and making the portion big enough to satisfy.
We ended with a tiramisu cake which could have been more moist but was still satisfying enough to eat almost the whole thing on a full stomach. Lol my friend had a couple bites. :p
Enjoy!

Solid 3.5 stars for food and service. Rounded down because my experience was pretty basic.
Came here for Sunday brunch — made reservations for 4 at 12:15. When we arrived the place was pretty packed, but we were seated right away. Our server was friendly, but nothing outstanding. I do give him an A+ for refilling our bottomless mimosas though! He never let the glass get empty. Always a plus for that! Besides that though, he wasn’t too interactive.
The food was pretty good. I got the mascarpone pancakes, which were light and fluffy. It was tasty and flavorful even without the syrup. The nutella on top also added a nice touch. Surprisingly it wasn’t overly sweet with the nutella & syrup either. The side of fruit was actually a bit disappointing. Some of the fruit (melon & pineapple) weren’t ripe yet. My siblings shared the chicken and waffles. The chicken was seasoned well, but the pieces were pretty thick and the skin wasn’t as crunchy as I’d like. My friend got the spaghetti carbonara, which to me tasted just okay.
I wouldn’t mind coming back here, but I won’t be in a rush to do so.

So my friends and I decided to make reservations here for an after Easter service brunch. While the overall experience was pretty good, it did leave much to be desired. Please allow me to start with the positives.
The real shining star of this restaurant is the food. Most of the ingredients are locally sourced And the Italian inspired twist on many of the dishes makes the food unique and delicious. I ordered the Smoked Salmon omelette. As someone who has been to most of the brunch places in dc, I must say that this was probably one of the best omelettes I have ever tasted… Period! The salmon was flaky, smoky and the right amount of saltiness. The eggs were light and fluffy. It was filled with sweet, caramelized onion. And it was served with crispy home fries. I can’t say enough, the food was great!
Now, here is where I must point to a few of the negatives. For starters, I HATE when restaurants won’t seat a party until everyone is there. I kind of get this practice, but it is super frustrating. We had a reservation for 7, and the host would not seat us until the 7^th person arrived… Annoying! Once we were finally seated, the waitress was very slow to take drink orders and eventually food orders. Additionally, she seemed almost annoyed to be serving. However I digress, my biggest qualm with brunch was the «bottomless» mimosas. I use that term very loosely, as I saw the bottom of my glass more often than not. As someone who goes to brunch for the drinks moreso than the food, I pay particularly close attention to the drinks and the speed at which they come out. Not only was the service and refills slow, but the mimosas were FLAT. At one point I was convinced that they were just mixing Chardonnay and Sunny Delight. It had gotten to the point that half the table asked for glasses of ice to pour the mimosas over because it tasted more like a mixed cocktail than a refreshing and bubbly mimosa.
Overall, I would probably visit again. I can’t say enough about the omelette I had. However, I will not be paying for the bottomless again.

Had a great brunch here a month or so ago. wonderful service and nice atmosphere (chill by lively and a cute look not fancy but not hole in the wall). I will Def will return for other meals.
Had chicken and waffles with a side of their house cured bacon (yum) and sausage (yum). There were some delicious looking/​sounding pancakes I believe wth ricotta on the menu that I want to try.

In attempts to kill some time waiting for our dinner reservation down the block, some girlfriends and I had stopped in for a few bottles of wine and appetizers. There wasn’t really an operating bar at the moment but we had no problem sitting at a table. Our waitress (I wish I had remembered her name) was awesome and very helpful. It just so happened to be Wednesday night and Lavagna does ½ priced wine bottles so we definitely indulged a bit and loved every minute of it.
I found a wine I actually loved and will have to seek out: Allegrini Amarone della Valpolicella Classico DOC (2009) Big and bold and properly aerated before serving and raved about and loved a few bottles of this we ordered. We also ordered a few appetizers: Bruschetta done differently with crostini topped with fresh heirloom cherry tomatoes and carmelized balsamic glazed shallots over lemon ricotta. While tasty, it completely through me off guard expecting bruschetta but tasty conquers all. The vegan gf ordered Brussel Sprout sides and we ordered a Salumi platter for four to share: Sliced Duck, Sweet Capicola, Rabbit pâté, Tomato Basil Colby, Gouda, and Swiss which came with enough bread, Pickled veggies, assortment of jams.
Lavagna was a great pit stop for a quick drink and bite. I’ll have to return for brunch and/​or dinner to explore more of their menu.