Cheap Eats 2007: Pizzeria Paradiso

Reviewed by Cynthia Hacinli , Michele Kayal , Todd Kliman , Ann Limpert , Don Rockwell

Pizzeria Paradiso - Georgetown

3282 M St. NW
Washington, DC 20007
Phone: 202.337.1245

Cuisines:
Pizza, Italian

Opening Hours:

Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

Nearby Metro Stops:
None nearby

Price Range:
Moderate

Dress:
Informal

Noise Level:
Chatty

Reservations:
Not Accepted

Website:
Click here to open in new window.

Best Dishes
Atomica pizza, with salami and red pepper; Genovese pizza, with pesto and potatoes; Margherita pizza; Bottarga pizza, with egg and mullet roe.

Price Details:
Appetizers, $4.95 to $6.95; entrees, $9.95 to $17.95.


Back in the early ’90s, Washington was a delivery-pizza kind of town where unusual toppings meant broccoli or pineapple. Then along came Ruth Gresser and Peter Pastan, whose Pizzeria Paradiso, wedged into a P Street brownstone, introduced the city to a new kind of pie—a yeasty dough made bubbly and pliant in a wood-burning oven and adorned with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and good olive oil.

Pastan has departed, a bigger Georgetown location has joined the tiny Dupont original, and there’s now a roster of boutique beers and beer cocktails, but not much else has changed. You’re still greeted with a finger bowl of oil-soaked olives. The lemonade is still tart and sparkling. And the excellent pizzas sport winning topping combinations like the Atomica (a spicy scatter of salami, dried peppers, and black olives) and the Bottarga, which pairs a runny egg with Parmesan shavings and dried mullet roe.

Like the pies, the rest of the menu is best when it’s simplest: creamy white beans and Italian tuna; fresh mozzarella with sun-dried tomatoes and chiffonades of basil; and prosciutto wrapped around goat cheese, served on crostini.

Open daily for lunch and dinner.