Cafe Italia I - Arlington

I love the old charm of this restaurant. I've visited a couple of times and enjoyed it every time.

After visiting a competitor down the street a month ago, my return to this restaurant confirmed that it is indeed our favorite Italian spot on 23rd Street. The staff was friendly, the food was excellent, and we thoroughly enjoyed our dinner on the covered terrace. We can't wait for our next visit!

Very friendly. yolanda the host made her feel like a long lost friend. there was nothing to complain about. the waiter was very attentive. good place to go.

My wife and I couldn't decide on lunch locally, so we checked the Open Table app and found Cafe Italia with good reviews a short 15 minutes away in Crystal City. It had been pouring rain and there weren't many folks out and about yet. As a result, we were only the second table in the restaurant. We sat out on the closed in patio area, to enjoy the nice temps (finally) and despite a leak in the roof nearby, still had a pleasant experience. The food was terrific and the waiter's attentiveness was prompt, but not overbearing. They offer a fixed price multi-course lunch, but we chose to order off of the menu starting with a basket of freshly baked bread and bruschetta plus salads with a great house dressing. For entrees, a calzone and chicken piccata were plentiful and well prepared. We look forward to another visit soon.

Our party of 4 got there on time and were seated in a fairly empty restaurant. We ordered after about 5 minutes (our choice as we were debating on appetizers). Then we waited over 40 minutes for our meals. We did not order anything complicated (2 salads and 2 pastas). The bread was mediocre, the soup too salty, and the calamari too chewy. The raviolis were amazing...but that was it.