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Georgetown needed somewhere to grab a bowl of pasta the same way every basketball team needs somebody who is 6’8, can defend multiple positions, and shoot threes—those players make any team better, and bolognese makes any neighborhood better. Thankfully, Mezzanotte is the Italian restaurant that Georgetown was waiting for.
Pasta is front and center here, and you’ll find plates ranging from casarecce with mushrooms to risotto with nettles, though the two most noteworthy pastas are the reginette and the tajarin—albeit for different reasons. The reginette is hands-down the best pasta on the menu, with a comforting beef and pork ragu that’s ideal for splitting with your lover on a gray winter evening. The tajarin al cotello, on the other hand, should thrive in its simplicity, with thin noodles tossed in sage butter and Parmigiano-Reggiano. And yet, the pasta strands clump together awfully fast, with butter separating at the bottom of the bowl. This is a shame, and even more of a surprise when you find out that the chef ran Spinasse’s kitchen for five years, mastering the exact same dish every night.
To go with all of the pasta, Mezzanotte has a solid lineup of seasonal small plates that stretch beyond typical Italian appetizers like burrata, even though they also serve burrata. The vegetables here excel the most—our favorites being the plate of charred carrots with a garlicky ricotta sauce and towers of crispy rye crackers, and brussels sprouts in a rich bagna cauda. You’ll just want to avoid the inconsistently salted focaccia and the sliced-too-thick prosciutto, as these could have been perfect meal-enhancers, but instead highlight some frustrating miscalculations.
But even though it’s not a complete slam dunk, if you live in the immediate area, Mezzanotte is a convenient spot to have in your rotation. Use it for a cold-weather date night at the bar with someone who you have irrationally heated debates about pasta shapes with, or take advantage of their brick patio for al fresco cavatelli-eating in the summer. And just like any basketball player who adds new skills every offseason, we're hopeful that Mezzanotte's constantly changing menu will bring hits that don't even exist yet.
Food Rundown
photo credit: Nate Watters
Focaccia Della Casa
Piatto Di Prosciutto
photo credit: Nate Watters
Slow Roasted Carrots
photo credit: Nate Watters
Cavoletti Di Bruxelles
photo credit: Nate Watters
Reginette
photo credit: Nate Watters