Dining in DC: Sette Osteria

Growing up I lived on 14th street...way Uptown...almost on the line between D.C. and Maryland. Far away from the bustling and sometimes seedy nighttime activities that took place in Downtown D.C. on 14th street. But that didn't stop my classmates from teasing me for living in "the redlight district" (by the way why did kids even know what a red light district was at our age and why are kids such jerks?).

Since my childhood the 14th street corridor has come A LONG WAY from being a place you should immediately vacate once the work day was over. It's now a place people stroll up and down on weekends. Lined with upscale retail and specialty restaurants, you can get decision paralysis trying to pick a place for brunch, lunch or dinner. I recently got a chance to check out a spot that's great for all three.

Sette Osteria - located on the corner of 14th and R streets in Northwest - gets its name from the Italian words "Sette" meaning lucky and "Osteria" meaning tavern. This "Lucky Tavern" serving homestyle Italian dishes is fairly new to the 14th street corridor, but no stranger to the DC food scene. They have a well established location on Connecticut Ave, NW and one in Miami, Florida's Wynwood neighborhood. (Art Basel brunch anyone?)

All three locations make their own pastas and sauces from scratch and cook pizza's in a wood burning oven. Your meal starts with a basket of house-made focaccia from that same pizza oven. We tried the Salumier (cured meat board) and Tavolozza di Formaggi (cheese board), which came with fig jam, honey and grilled bread. I totally want to recreate this for my next picnic at Jazz in the Garden. We also tried the Calamari & Zucchine Fritti which was fresh and delicious and came with a spicy tomato dipping sauce. I have a serious love of burrata so we tried the seasonal dish of burrata over avocado, tomato and basil and it did not disappoint.

We were pretty full from the antipasti, but who can say no thank you to house-made pasta? Certainly not me. I tried the Cacio e Pepe - a dish that is having a moment right now at restaurants around the country. A mix of tagliolini pasta, parmigiano and pecorino cheeses, black pepper and olive oil. It was simple and delicious. Our waitress Melissa was very warm and attentive and expertly selected a Riesling to accompany my dish; her choice was crisp and refreshing and it's flavors really came alive when paired with my pasta. I didn't catch the name of the busboy who was stealthily clearing our dishes in between courses, he was so smooth we looked up a few times and thought...where did this clean new silverware come from? That's the sign of excellent and coordinated service at a restaurant - no break in your conversation, but you're ready for the next part of your meal.

For dessert I had a scoop of the lemon Sorbetti to cleanse the palate, followed by the Panna Cotta - a creamy flan topped with toasted sliced almonds. It was light and full of flavor.

Photos by Arielle Lewis Studios

Happy Hour is from 4-10pm on Sundays and Mondays at Sette Osteria and from 4-7pm and again from 9-10pm Tuesday through Saturday. The happy hour menu includes $6 cocktails, $5 draft beers, $6 glasses of wine or a carafe for $18 and a bottle for $25. Not a bad deal! There are several food items priced at less than $10 available during happy hour. And multiple options for pizzas for just $12. I also hear that brunch at the Dupont Circle location is a scene thanks to their large patio area so I'll definitely have to check that out.

For an expertly executed authentic Italian feast check out Sette Osteria.