100 Very Best Restaurants 2017: Osteria Morini

Cost:

Photograph by Scott Suchman

About Osteria Morini

Cost:

cuisines
Italian
Location(s)
301 Water St SE
Washington Navy Yard, DC 20374

Every neighborhood should have an Italian joint like Morini—warm, deeply satisfying, and as reliably great for $10 Monday pasta specials as it is for date night or a visit with parents. (We’ve done all.) Though the ocher-toned osteria is part of New York restaurateur Michael White’s empire, it feels far from an outpost. Credit rustic comfort fare from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region that favors house-made pastas and robust secondi such as wood-grilled veal chops, plus homey desserts such as spiced rice pudding with butterscotch. When the weather warms, the riverfront patio is the place for seasonal Bellinis and one of the best prix fixe brunch deals in town. Moderate to expensive.

Also great: Tortellini in brodo; octopus with tonnato sauce; squid-ink pasta with mussels and chilies; scallops with blood orange; pear-gingerbread tart.


Ann Limpert
Executive Food Editor/Critic

Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.

Food Editor

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.

Jessica Sidman
Food Editor

Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.

Kristen Hinman
Articles Editor

Kristen Hinman has been editing Washingtonian’s features since 2014. She joined the magazine after editing politics & policy coverage for Bloomberg Businessweek and working as a staff writer for Voice Media Group/Riverfront Times.