Centrolina
In Centrolina's first ten years, Amy Brandwein took her white Bolognese of ground veal, beef, parmesan and sage off the menu again and again, only to put it back each time.
Why go
Amy Brandwein spent eight or so years cooking for the Italian chef Roberto Donna before she opened Centrolina in CityCenterDC in June 2015. She wanted it to feel like California cool with New York hustle and bustle.
Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post ate there that first month and came back often over the next ten years. In June 2025 he found it packed when competitors aren't
and as enticing as when I first ate there in June 2015.
Most nights, he wrote, Brandwein stands in front of the open kitchen. I have to earn it every day,
she told him. You're only as good as your last meal
(Washington Post).
Come for the pasta. Honestly, I've never had a pasta here that I haven't Hoovered,
Sietsema wrote. His gnocchi ate like clouds embedded with sails of crisp pork jowl.
He called the white Bolognese so smooth, so comforting
(Washington Post). Allison Robicelli of The Infatuation found it packed with veal and studded with acorns, which give it a nice, earthy undertone.
She wrote in 2024 that the squid ink bucatini, in a lush tomato-eggplant ragu,
makes you pause your dinner conversation, no matter how lively, in order to close your eyes and sigh contentedly
(The Infatuation).
Brandwein says she has a soft spot for Sicily, and Sietsema tasted it in her crudo. One night it was lightly seared bites of swordfish in a pale green sauce, electrified with jalapeño.
Everything he ate from the wood fire was a home run
except the grilled beef tongue, left on the plate as thin, leathery slices of meat.
He credited the snapper to a chef who knows a beautiful piece of snapper doesn't need much more than salt and pepper and a little time over a wood fire
(Washington Post).
Robicelli described two ways to use the room: Come here dressed to the nines for a five-course dinner, or post up at the bar in your best blue jeans for a cocktail and focaccia so light it might float off the table
(The Infatuation).
Order this / avoid
- Order: the white Bolognese (Sietsema, 2025; Robicelli, 2024).1
- Order: the squid ink bucatini with tomato-eggplant ragu (Robicelli, 2024).2
- Order: a crudo and a fish from the wood grill. Sietsema's list in June 2025:
Any crudo, any pasta, bread service, grilled fish.
1 - Order: the green panna cotta with crème de menthe and chocolate if it's on. Sietsema (2025):
a distinguished farewell.
1 - Avoid: the grilled beef tongue (Sietsema, 2025).1
What locals & experts say
- Rose Previte, the D.C. chef (The Local Palate, 2025):
Female-owned, modern Italian with bread and baked goods and rotating specials to die for.
3
Good to know
- When: lunch and dinner Monday to Saturday, shut Sunday (Washington Post, June 2025).
- Price: in June 2025 dinner appetizers cost $9 to $24, and pastas and main courses $28 to $52.
- Noise: Sietsema measured 75 decibels in 2025, loud enough that you must raise your voice.
- Where to sit: in 2025 Sietsema's favorite seats were the tucked-away Table 26 and any stool at the central bar.
- Ordering: servers were happy to bring a few appetizers before you commit to main courses, every time Sietsema asked.
- Next door: Piccolina, Brandwein's all-day cafe, is across the alley.
Verdict
should-visit — Go to Centrolina for Amy Brandwein's pasta, starting with the white Bolognese, and for fish grilled over wood. In June 2025 pastas and mains cost $28 to $52, and Sietsema found the room loud enough to make you raise your voice.