Amazing - Teatro Goldoni

[italy531]

Last night we had the most amazing meal at the Chef's Table. Fifteen courses but only because we ran out of room.

Olive mousse
Seared Tuna w/fried capers
Italian sushi (goat cheese, asparagus, wrapped in proscuitto)
Raw salmon belly in a cone (This was sweet but wonderful)
Seafood soup in an egg shell w/basil jelly and olive oil (from the chef's parent's home)
Veal Carpaccio topped w/black truffles - items to add to it were aged parm, something related to celery, mushrooms, frisee, with a lemon olive oil dressing (Enzo described this as a cold stone creamery approach to carpaccio as it was served on a marble slab and each component could be added into the mix)
Cigar box carpaccio of branzino - Apple wood smoked with an olive oil dressing, scallions, and blood oranges
Foie gras custard w/pea soup topped with steamed milk, porcini powder and fried leeks
Lobster risotto (the cherry tomatoes and lobster were each braised seperately and then added to the risotto)
Large porcini mushroom ravioli stuffed with ricotta, spinach, and a quail egg - This was so rich but melt in your mouth good
Gnocchi w/braised beef - The lightest gnocchi I have ever tasted
Sea Bass w/3 types of fennel in a saffron broth
Seared duck w/a chesnut mousse and a chocolate basalmic sauce
Eggs and bacon which was a vanilla panna cotta, with mandarin orange puree as the eggs, then the bacon was a light wafer sprinkled with sesame
Chocolate cake w/hazelnut chocolate ganache w/apple cider and prosecco that you poured over it. There was also an orange caramel sauce and a palate cleanser of marscapone ice cream w/pistacchios.

I don't think I have even begun to describe each of these dishes in enough detail but I am amazed that I can remember the amount of details that I have. I think it just goes to show how memorable the food and experience was.

So for the next big celebration get thee to the Chef's Table at Teatro and have your own amazing experience.

[mnadel]

This sounds wonderful. What was the per person cost?

[italy531]

It was $125 per person for food and then we shared a wine pairing that was $60.

[Bonz]

That's great to know. But for the typical dining experience in the normal room, I will never go back. On a weekday when the place was virtually empty, I experienced very expensive food that was poorly prepared and lacked culinary merit, was served grissly veal that was far from choice grade, and was treated to service that exhibited extreme indifference (on the rare occasion when the table was visited). I am willing to believe that a different experience could be had at the Chef's table -- but having experience the poverty of the main room, I doubt I would patronize it.

[Ootek1]

I've only had the standard two or three course meal at Teatro Goldoni, but I've never really had a bad meal there. The food can be a bit expensive, but I don't think I've ever had anything from them that was poorly prepared, and I am positive that none of my meals there "lacked culinary merit." Teatro is not my first choice for Italian in DC, but it is my first choice if what I really want is a hearty risotto; I think they make some of the best risotto in the city. They sometimes have a shrimp and butternut squash risotto that is out of this world good.

Granted, I haven't been there in about a year...