Masseria

Masseria really raised the bar for me on Italian food. The food and wine pairing was A+ from start to finish. Service was attentive and helpful. The restaurant itself is beautiful with an industrial vibe + warm wood accents. They played Jay Z’s entire Black Album during our dinner, which we enjoyed. IMO, one of the best tasting menus in the DMV & I look forward to the next time I’m back!

Extreme highs in tasting splendor in some courses were disrupted by some surprisingly pedestrian other courses. Attentive service by our waiter was undone by poorly coordinated overall table service resulting in poor / uneven pacing of courses and misses like us waiting without water at the beginning of our meal for nearly 15 mins. A mix of brown wood and soft amber lighting in the dining room against the stark polished metal of the open kitchen created a warm atmosphere. In the end, it didn't make up for a lackluster $1,000 anniversary dinner. Our 6 course meal began with a sampling of antipasti: 1st course: Crudo - Aged Branzino. Radish. Finger Lime. Gherkin. Funghi Fritto - Chicken Fried Chicken of the Woods Mushroom. Foienoli - Foie Gras Mousse. Pistachio. Truffle. Burrata - Wellfleet Oyster. Caviar. Cipollini Onion. Amatriciana - Guanciale. Cherry Tomato. Chili. Black Pepper. Pecorino. Except for a scant few fleeting flavor notes, there was nothing memorable in this first antipasti tasting course, even with a (surprisingly underwhelming) foie gras mousse supplement. 2nd course: Storione - Sturgeon. Celery Root. Celery. Brown Butter. - Nothing remarkable or memorable here. Fegato d’Oca - Foie Gras. Quince. Sicilian Brioche. Pistachio. Mostarda. - Absolutely extraordinary. Every bite was an ascent into the stratosphere. I will dream of this dish for a long time. The combination of these flavors was a masterpiece. 3rd course: Culurgiones -Rutabaga Filled Sardinian Dumpling. Black Garlic. Dandelion. Pancetta. Parmigiano Reggiano. - Quite tasty, very creative blend of elements. Tartufo Bianco - Alba White Truffle. Parmigiano Reggiano Risotto. - Another launch into the heavens, possibly the best risotto of any form I've had. Really remarkable dish. 4th course: Strascinati - Hand Pulled Puglian Pasta. Goat Ragu. Pecorino. - Tender bites of goat ragu with some al dente pasta and just the perfect amount of pecorino made this a solid offering. 5th course: Kagoshima A5 Wagyu Striploin - Sunchoke. Kalette. Beef Fat Crumpet. Red Wine. Beef Tendon. - The A5 was epic on its own, but the bites of crispy and starchy sunchoke and butter kalette with the red wine reduction alongside made this a spiritual experience. Intermezzo: Mela e Uva - Crab Apple. Gala Apple Kombucha. Concord Grape. White Wine Zabaglione. - Quite a delicious and memorable palate cleanser, we would have been satisfied if this was a light dessert and end to our meal. 6th course: Torta al Cioccolato - Baked Chocolate Mousse. Mascarpone. Dulce di Leche. Fiore di Latte Gelato. - They were just showing off here. The chocolate mousse on its own was divine, but then adding the mascarpone, dulce di leche and gelato just sent us back to the moon. As you can see, some really high highs with some middling other courses. I think you can find better sustained Michelin quality experiences elsewhere in DC, and definitely for a fraction of the price. Cocktails were good if not spectacular, definitely not Causa or anything on that level but fine if overpriced ($70 for a French 75 is just silly). Honorable mention for their delicious focaccia paired with that otherworldly tomato paste, which if combined together does taste exactly like pizza.

We had a great experience at Masseria! We did the Chef’s Counter 8 course meal. I think these reviews really depend on where you’re coming from. I am absolutely not equipped to compare multiple Michelin-level restaurants. But if you’re a potential guest or traveler who would consider an experience like this as an extremely rare indulgence, IMO it was amazing. Highly recommend for a special dinner. For expectation purposes I will concur that the upcharges are no joke. I don’t really do seafood and my substitutes nearly doubled the menu price, but the Wagyu beef was next level. The cocktails and wine are what bring the total to its startling conclusion but again, if you don’t do this often it’s kind of a when in Rome experience, so we went for it and it was great. Everyone we interacted with was friendly and I loved all of the design details. It’s clearly going for an elegant but low-key casual feel, which is an interesting juxtaposition but I thought it all came together. The interiors are so cozy and the patio would be perfect in nice weather. We loved it and will remember this meal and experience for years!!

Wonderful meal and service! Justin took amazing care of us for our anniversary! The food was impeccable and absolutely worth the price. The cannelloni with baby goat is up there with one of the best plates I’ve ever had. The octopus was perfectly prepared. The som Kyle was knowledgeable and gave great recommendations. Candice was very helpful as she told us about different dessert wines. Could not have asked for a better dinner!

My husband and I went to Masseria just for fun, and the headline is the food is delicious but we physically cannot eat an eight-course tasting menu. I was soooo full by the end of it, would definitely do the six course if I had to do it over again. The staff were very accommodating and packed our last course to go. Quality of food and wine pairings were outstanding, everything perfectly seasoned, perfectly appointed, does not disappoint. My favorite was the risotto with trout, my husband's favorite was the octopus. They were even able to accommodate my husband's dairy sensitivity, no issues at all, his dishes looked just as incredible as mine. I liked where we were sitting, in the enclosed pergola, it's much quieter than the main dining room, but if you're looking for good restaurant din pick the main dining room.

Creative and delicious food? Check. Air conditioned pergola? Check. Versace plates? Check, check, and double check! Masseria isn't your grandma's Italian food. No shade to grandma; her Italian dishes have a time and a place. Through our seven courses, Chef curated a creative and interesting meal: a pairing of fois gras with ice cream, a perfectly cooked ravioli with a soft egg yolk in the middle, a cut of lamb with a garlic scape and my personal favorite a baked chocolate mousse (topped with a pinch of flaky sea salt) paired with dulce di leche and fiore di Latte Gelato. I pulled all of those Italian terms off the menu--bottom line: chocolate and ice cream but turned up to 100. The food quality and the staff knowledge puts Masseria is up there with Gravitas, Bresca, and Rooster and Owl. The difference? It seems like Masseria is expensive just to be expensive. The $178 per guest is pricey but expected; however, if you want a glass of wine the "lower" end will be $18 and if you want a cocktail. . . $26 and up! Don't get me wrong: I love spending money and I love food and cocktails. I have trouble shelling out more than $18 for a cocktail or adding $200 to the tab for wine pairings. Pre-game at home, go for a lovely dinner, and walk around the block for more drinks if you like. Photos are in the order of how our courses arrived.

The food is so good here! The signature XO sauce lives up to the hype. I haven’t been here since well before the pandemic and was so happy to pop in after attending an event nearby. We sat at the bar so that we could enjoy a la carte because we weren’t hungry enough for the full tasting menu. The food is worth five stars but I’m giving four stars because the bar service was a little lacking. Dishes were not explained to us until we asked and the plates were cleared away unevenly. We felt ignored. I’ll go back again because I love the food. I hope that if I sit at the bar again, I’ll receive Michelin star service.

Masseria didn’t disappoint. I had a lovely birthday dinner here. The service was top notch, the restaurant was beautiful, and the food and drinks were amazing. We added the foie gras mini cannoli, which was SO worth it. They even sent us on our way with a gift bag with some goodies. Everything was perfect.