FOOD REVIEW: Fiola (Washington, D.C.)

I had previously said that my meal at Corduroy was the best one I have had in my 20 months working and living in Washington, D.C. However, I must now announce that I have had a meal which surpassed the one I had at Corduroy. On March 19 I had a meal at Fiola which was even better. Other people think so as well. Fiola is #4 on the list of Top 100 restaurants in the D.C. Metro area in Washingtonian magazine.

We had the "four savory course" tasting menu for $95 and it was absolutely sublime. Each of the four dishes was equally delicious, with three of the four being fish-based. If forced to choose, I would probably pick the the very first pictured dish, which I believe was some kind of roe and shrimp tartare on a bed of crab. Unfortunately, I can not remember exactly what each course was, and since Fiola's menu changes regularly the website is not able to provide any more information.

I do however have pictures of everything we ate, in the order that we ate them. The glowing green drink at the end was something that I did not consume myself,  but was so pretty that I took a picture of it. I think that it  was a special (non-alcoholic) lemonade (infused with ginger I believe). After four courses we were asked about dessert but we all agreed that we were each pleasantly sated and since dessert was not included in the tasting menu price we decided to end the meal at that point, quite full. Oftentimes tasting menu portions can be modest, but at Fiola they were very satisfying.

I'm sorry that I can not be more specific about what we ate (hopefully the pictures tell part of the story) except to say that it was all incredibly delicious, the service was impeccable and the restaurant is beautiful. It is less than a half-block away from a metro stop (Archives, on the Green and Yellow lines) so it is very convenient.

I strongly encourage you to eat there; I know I intend to do so at least once more before I leave D.C., and this time I'll try and take better notes!

Name: Fiola.

Location:601 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20004.

Contact: 202-628-2888.

Visit: March 19, 2013.

AMBIANCE: A.

SERVICE: A.

VALUE: A-.

FOOD: A+. 

OVERALL: A (4.0/4.0)