Paulo's and I have a love/hate relationship. I have been there and loved it, while other times the food has been sub-par. This past trip was one of the former experiences, and I think most of my dinning mates would agree.
Instead of your typical olive oil and Italian bread on the table, Paulo's provides everything-breadsticks and a dip that is like a combination of an olive tapenade and hummus. It sounds weird, but it is so good! I really could just take a jar of this dip home and put it on my sandwiches. But who comes to a restaurant just for their free bread?....oh right, I've done that before.
On to the main course, Paulo's is famous for their homemade pastas and pizzas. The pizza pictured at the top of this post is their brunch pizza, which is topped with tomatoes, pancetta, cheese, and two sunny side up eggs. Although this may not sound appetizing, every friend that has
ever ordered it has raved about it. I had the pizza pictured directly above, which had a red onion, rosemary pesto, goat cheese, oven roasted tomatoes, and pistachios. This was really one of the best pizza combination I've ever had! Of course, this may be swayed because I my recent obsession with goat cheese, but I would highly recommend this pizza.
My disappointments in the past have been with their "homemade" pastas, which sometimes taste like old olive oil. I know, I know, I'm being a bit picky, but when I eat my gnocchi I want it to taste like a fluffy potato pillow and not the oil used to keep it together! Still, although this place has got some great happy hour and brunch specials, the sometimes poor quality of food has left me rating Paulo's as only three stars.
Rating (out of *****): ***
Price (out of $$$): $+
Address: 1303 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
Website: http://www.paolosristorante.com/
