L'Ardente
Italian restaurant · Downtown
200 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001
Highlights
Glam Italian restaurant with a gold-plated pizza oven and 40-layer lasagna
Glam Italian restaurant with a gold-plated pizza oven and 40-layer lasagna
"L’Ardente is one of DC’s poshest restaurants, so naturally, securing a reservation at the Italian spot in the East End is hard. But you won’t regret hunting on Resy two weeks in advance once you taste their 40-layer lasagna. Slide into a teal booth seat in the gold and white dining room with floor-to-very-high-ceiling windows, and order the buttery dish, rich in truffle and cheese, and full of tender short ribs. If lasagna’s not your thing, get the zucca: little bell pepper-shaped pasta served with a spicy sausage ragu with a generous meat-to-pasta ratio. Finish your evening with dessert—and the fire presentation that comes with the tiramisu. Don’t say we didn't warn you." - omnia saed, allison robicelli, mekita rivas
"Strong Lady & The Tramp vibes are in your anniversary future at L’Ardente, an Italian restaurant in East End. Slide into a teal booth seat in the gold and white dining room with floor-to-very-high-ceiling windows. Get the Zucca, little bell-pepper-shaped pasta served with a spicy sausage ragu and fennel pollen that has a generous meat to pasta ratio. And if you tell them you’re here celebrating, there might even be a sparkler in your future." - tristiana hinton, omnia saed, mekita rivas, allison robicelli
"During brunch and dinner on Easter Sunday, L’Ardente will serve porchetta ($44), a Berkshire Porcelet belly rubbed with a spice mix of Calabrian chili, orange zest, fennel, and mustard powder. The pork gets roasted, sliced and is served with creamy polenta alongside parmesan and espelette pepper, plus roasted carrots, Granny Smith apples, and an agrodolce sauce." - Vinciane Ngomsi
"A glam Italian spot whose well-known lasagna is indulgent — 40 layers of short rib and truffle mornay sauce — but the pappardelle is a sleeper hit: wide housemade noodles married to a heavy white ragu and veal, balanced by spicy green chilis and slightly pickled mushrooms. The funghi sourdough pizza shows off a perfect chewy crust from the open kitchen’s pizza oven; with pizzas priced at $25 or less, the reviewer plans a return visit for a more relaxed bar night, peering into the fiery oven and splitting a pie and a few cicchetti with a friend." - Eater Staff
"Eater DC’s 2022 Restaurant of the Year makes all its pastas in-house. Along with that famous 40-layer lasagna, dinnertime highlights include a veal ragu pappardelle with a surprise kick from serranos and the campanelle nere — a squid-ink pasta with a luscious lobster-studded sauce. Pumpkin-shaped zucca in a sausage ragu shows up at both lunch and dinner, and there’s lots of rotating specials at night." - Mekita Rivas
