Via Veneto - Alexandria

We've been visiting Via Veneto for many years, and it has always been one of our favorite spots. The food is incredible, the staff is exceptionally friendly, and the atmosphere is stunning. We never feel rushed or pressured to leave.

As for our entrees, we both left our plates mostly uneaten. The Chicken Florentine was a breaded piece of chicken served atop a bed of spinach with melted cheese and sauce. While the chicken was tender, it was quite flavorless—absolutely no seasoning, and it felt like it came from a pre-packaged source. The spinach was simply awful: bitter, soggy, and it tasted like it had been microwaved or sat in water. The cheese was melted but lacked any browning, which hinted at more microwave cooking. The lemon sauce didn’t have any flavor either—not even a hint of lemon. Everything was just... bland. As for the Spaghetti Puttanesca, I’ll admit the sauce had some good flavor; I enjoyed the taste of the anchovies. However, the noodles felt like they came straight out of a box from the grocery store. For an Italian restaurant, I would expect them to take pride in their pasta, but that wasn’t the case. The sauce itself was overly watery rather than the thicker tomato sauce you would typically expect. I felt like I was in a cafeteria, with sauce splattering everywhere. Both dishes were accompanied by a small bowl of grated Parmesan cheese, which was of surprisingly poor quality—10% of which wasn’t even cheese. It’s disappointing, especially when you consider that the restaurant claims to be upscale. They clearly didn’t bake the bread properly, opted for dried noodles, and served cheap cheese. Our experience with the service was also lackluster. We weren’t offered a list of daily specials, nor did the waitstaff check in on us after our meals arrived. A simple inquiry about how things were tasting would have been nice, especially since others at the table next to us inquired about specials. Had they asked us, we likely would have sent the Chicken Florentine back to the kitchen. Overall, I won't be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. The only thing this place seems to have going for it is its location. If you're looking for a nice Italian meal, I suggest making the 15-minute drive to the old town instead. The service may not be outstanding there either, but at least they'll offer a decent meal.

I wanted to take my wife out for a romantic dinner, but this restaurant fell short. The ambiance was quite lacking. The salad was dull, even less interesting than a basic diner salad. The bread was served without any olive oil or butter, which was disappointing. The veal Parmesan was served in a small portion and the bread and sauce were just not up to par. With so many excellent restaurants in Northern Virginia, this one really misses the mark.

Everything was delicious. I had the lasagna and a house salad.

This was my first visit to Via Veneto, offering 'Authentic North Italian Cuisine, ' which was highly recommended. Unfortunately it was a major disappointment. I ordered the Lasagna Bolognese...which could be charitably described as 'Bolognese Light. ' Delicate house made pasta, very good; but the sauce was a light quickly made tomato sauce with little meat and no aromatic vegetables. There was cheese on top...the Lasagna was not baked but quickly assembled and browned under a broiler to melt the cheese. The result was an almost flavorless dish. This was accompanied by a 'House Salad ' which one might expect at a cheap Diner a few bits of Iceberg lettuce, several little dices of pale winter tomato, one black olive, quartered, and a nondescript 'Italian ' dressing. A Bread Basket provided slices of a crumbly Baking Powder bread which seemed to have been made without any salt again, tasteless. I ordered a glass of the Cabernet Sauvignon which was neither good nor bad. Since my friends wanted dessert and coffee I ordered the Flan and black American coffee. The Flan had obviously been sitting in a refrigerator at least overnight. It wasn 't very light or silky in texture, and there was too much and quite cold thin caramel syrup. The coffee, however, was excellent. This was quite disappointing. With so many excellent restaurants to explore in the Washington DC area, I won 't return to Via Veneto.