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Columbia Heights (Green, Yellow)
Mon. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Tue-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 a.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
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For a long time, I believed you had to choose a side: 2 Amy's, or RedRocks. And I of course stayed faithful to my beloved 2 Amy's (heyyyy lover, I had a great time with you on Saturday night! You're still my #1!).
I came once and begrudgingly admitted that RedRocks was pretty damn good. I came again and might have quietly uttered the words, "I love this place." THEN I moved three blocks away, and me and RedRocks started getting serious. We were seeing more of each other, becoming more comfortable... and then I tried the goat cheese pesto wrapped in eggplant and, my god, I just want to marry it!! It's just so very, very good.
And I realized, RedRocks and 2 Amy's just can't be compared, and I'm not sure why I was trying. 2A is bright and loud and boisterous, RR is dark and quiet and chill. 2A is a tourist attraction for people coming from all over the DMV and beyond, RR feels much more insular and neighborhoody. Yes, both have fabulous pizza, a great wine selection, limoncello (surprisingly hard to find in restaurants!), friendly servers, and often a long wait to get in. But thankfully, I now realize I don't have to choose. RedRocks is great completely in its own right, and I'm so glad it's my neighborhood pizzeria.
It's actually 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up cause I'm rooting for this place. First off, this is my second time here. I am trying to make a rule to not give places bad reviews after one try (I will happily give a place a good review after one try though... hey, I'm a nice guy and all).
I first came here the week it opened like 2 years ago. I think I read somewhere that they had used up all their money and basically had friends volunteering as waitstaff and souschefs. Maybe I'm totally imagining that, but I figured they needed all the customers they could get. Well, we went and none of the employees had a clue, the food was well conceived but poorly executed. Fast forward to tonite....
We ate early (like 5:30 on a Sunday), so there was no line for inside seating (it was crazy warm out, so the patio was packed).
The bad:
*The men's bathroom was disgusting. It obviously had not been cleaned all day. Not cool, not ok. This isn't a dive bar.
* The waitress overcharged us a bit, but then gladly and quickly corrected it. Methinks she was hoping we wouldn't notice.
The good:
*The food. The pizza crust was fantastic, and slightly meager toppings were yummy. Obvious care went into the preparation.
This pizza won't be for everyone... it's true artisan pizza and it's done well. The prices are fair too. Just doublecheck your bill!
RedRocks has only been around for two years, but it seems like forever. Located in a converted townhouse on the rapidly emerging 11th Street Strip, RedRocks fills a large hole in the Columbia heights nightlife/dining scene.
With an outdoor patio, cozy granite counter-toppped bar, and two floors of dining, RedRocks not only do makes a damn fine pizza, but they also have a pretty damn fine beer selection as well. Six drafts: Alagash Whte, Smutty Nose Shoals Pale Ale, Chimay Blanche, Brooklyn Brown, Peroni and Dogfish Head 60 Minute, and another two dozen bottled, including one of my personal favorites, North Coast's Pranqster, a Belgian style ale, but they also have Dragon Stout Jamaica and Rogue's Mocha Porter.
In addition to their signature pizzas, they serve burratta, a special type of creamy Italian Buffalo milk cheese, as well as brunch (try the eggs with Marinara).
Best pizza in DC. Period. End of subject.
Some of the best pizza in DC!
We recently moved to Columbia Heights and discovered Red Rocks, and we love it!
It has a beautiful interior and exterior, including a comfortable patio. The menu is excellent. We love Danielle, our bartender, who always makes our experience wonderful.
My favourite dish is the calzone, which you can customize with your own flavours.
The wine isn't great but it doesn't detract from the place at all.
We're here at least once a week.
RedRocks pepperoni pizza is the best in town. Period.
Wednesdays are my going-out-and-doing-things days. Usually the activity in question is kickball, bocce or trivia. In an effort to save some money (and in a scramble to live up to last year's new year's resolution of volunteering somewhere), I've begun offering my services to the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) in Columbia Heights.
Thumbs up to the volunteering part, but as for saving money... ha. After a quick but thorough Yelping of the area, I decided Red Rocks was a must-try for a post-service meal -- when else am I in the area? I swung by Pho 14 to try one of their famed avocado smoothies (OMG, I would happily drink one a day for the rest of my life), then headed over to meet a high school friend for dinner.
At 8:15 there were spots open on the patio and inside by the bar. We opted for an indoor table next to a window -- I think it was a good choice, because there was a lot more elbow room and it seemed a good deal calmer. Our server was friendly but unmemorable, which was perfect because we had some serious catching up to do.
I was torn, looking at the menu, between ordering a really plain pizza or something with a load of toppings, but I decided it would be easier to evaluate the cheese and crust with minimal interference, so I chose the margherita pizza with mushrooms. My companion ordered the eggplant pesto plate (goat cheese and pesto rolled into sliced eggplant, topped with marinara and parmesan crostini), and I am so very glad she did.
My pizza was perfectly browned, with that smoky, fire oven-baked taste I adore. The cheese was a little skimpy, but the basil made up for it. The crust was perfect. I had leftovers. Score one for Red Rocks. Now, for the best part: this place made me actually like goat cheese! I usually despise it (I know, I know, that's downright un-American). I was offered a bite of the eggplant pesto and didn't ask what was in it. By the time I figured out what I was eating, it was too late -- the creaminess hit my mouth and I was in heaven. The cheese and pesto melted on my tongue. $10 and you're looking at one of the most delicious food combos ever. Score two.
$9 bottomless mimosas and pizza for breakfast could easily earn a 5-star review from me on a return trip -- who's in??
Not impressed. I was so happy to learn of a cool hip place in Columbia Heights. The reviews here said that the pizza was the best in DC...no way. Heck Dominoes is better. Pete's is still my favorite.
The atmosphere was nice, we sat outside. The waiter was in the weeds and I had to get my own silverware. The salad was good, but the pizza was average. I ordered a simple pizza and added some toppings. I didn't taste the mozzarella and I had double on the pizza and the sauce lacked any special flavor. Eh - average.
Would I go back, yeah if someone loved it and wanted to meet there. Would I recommend it - no - I would probably go to Pete's if I wanted sitdown pizza.
I'd give this place 3.5 stars.
My friend bragged about their breakfast "Sunrise Pizza" (fried egg, potato, parmesan), and I was intrigued. We also got pepperoni pizza and a belgian waffle to share for 3. The pepperoni pizza was great. The Sunrise pizza was a little too dry for me, and the waffle was a tad stale. The fennel sausage that came with the waffle was tasty but cold. Perhaps their other pizzas are better?!?
I enjoyed the outdoor dining area. Small and cozy. Looked like a compact beer garden. They also have $9 bottomless mimosas so not too shabby.
The arc from "promising newcomer on the pizza scene" to "jumped the shark" was depressingly short for RedRocks. After my first visit 7 months ago, I thought this place had some shortcomings but overall stood among the best pizza joints in the city. After my experience tonight, I think it will be a long time (think geologic eras) before I return.
With no outside seating available, we allowed ourselves to be seated inside. That was our first mistake. We then were accosted twice in the span of about 3 minutes by what must have been the universe's stupidest waiter. We selected the Cipolla pizza (sausage & oven-roasted white onions), as well as a meatball calzone, and ordered a couple of sodas. The waiter then comes back to the table and asks if we wanted the Quattro Formaggio pizza. I correct him and send him scurrying to the back, probably to stop the kitchen staff from making the 4 Cheese pizza. He then brings me a soda and asks if we wanted 1 soda or 2. I inform him that we both wanted sodas, necessitating another trip to the bar.
I've written before about the noise level in this place. Tonight, it was simply unbearable. A couple had 2 young children that decided to produce this unearthly keening sound, first in a "call and response" pattern and then in unison. Sorry, yuppsters, but if your 2-4 y/o's cannot sit quietly in a grown up restaurant, then perhaps you should stick to dining establishments that have Play Places and give out toys with their meals. Seriously, I don't want to hear it. Then the hostess decided to seat a party of what seemed like 27 at the table in the corner behind me, resulting in several people milling around seemingly over my shoulder having an animated conversation.
Service - bad. Ambiance - bad. Well, what about the food? Sadly, that was a disappointment, too. The Cipolla pizza was soggy, not the least bit crispy except for the outermost crust. The onions that had been sparingly applied last time were piled on, and were sweeter than I remember them, ruining the marriage of sausage and onion. The meatball calzone was better, except that the meatballs were only good and not great. They tasted like they were made of quality ingredients, but weren't cooked long enough or seasoned well enough to be really great meatballs. At least the calzone was crispy, and the marinara that accompanied it fairly flavorful.
Once the food was brought, we had a quick "Everything OK" followup, and then we didn't see our waiter for the rest of the meal except as a blur heading to tables nowhere near ours.
So, there you have it, Yelpers. In the future, I'll stick to 2 Amys, where the pizza is crispier, the meatballs are more flavorful, the wait staff not seemingly stoned, and the noise level at least approaching manageable.
I'd been curious to try this place for a while, so I dragged a friend there last night after work.… Read more »
Since having moved just blocks away from RedRocks four months ago, I've become quite a fond quasi-regular patron here. I've stopped by for take out pizza a handful of times and have dined-in an equal amount. The service is still just-decent-enough and the pizza continues to impress me visit after visit. Then, yesterday I had my first RR brunch experience and learned RR can do more than just a tasty pizza. But more on brunch later..
My favorites of the red sauce pizzas (rossi) are the Salsiccia and the Toscano. I like to substitute their spicy marinara on both and substitute mushrooms over the olives :) For the whites (bianche) I'm a huge fan of the Rugola and Pesto pizzas. Once they accidentally left the sauce off (crazy talk) yet it was still super delicious!
The brunch menu packs both standard favorites (french toast, Belgian waffles) and also has a pizza-place twist (Sunrise Pizza, Pizza Omelet and Eggs in Hell). Two of my fellow brunchers got the pizza omelet and loved it (it looked amazing, almost like a frittata) and two others got the sunrise (b'fast) pizza and added meat to it.. both were in heaven. I opted for the RedRocks Deluxe: two eggs, choice of prosciutto or fennel sausage (I had the latter), breakfast potatoes and yummy baked toast. My only complaint was the fennel sausage patty was thin and overdone, but still tasted pretty good.
Of course, assuming you're in the mood, you definitely should partake in the bottomless mimosas or $5 Bloody Mary's. Craving a spicy Bloody, I went with the latter and I have to say, they're pretty darn good. A spicy kick of Old Bay seasoning and BM mix paired with a generous shot of vodka and a few olives.. it made for a killer bloody mary. I was a bit disappointed they didn't have celery as the menu states, but whatever. My girlfriends went with the bottomless mimosas. For being prepared a head of time in a pitcher, they were made just right with equal parts Champagne and OJ.
Still, with their shoddy service and paired with the every so often 'tude or lack of knowledge you get from the employees (mainly hostess) and few errors to the food orders, I'm sticking with a solid 4-star rating. If they can work out these kinks, I may have to inflate my rating.
Walking up the stairs to enter Red Rocks, you're immediately hit by the appealing aesthetics of the… Read more »
The first time I went to Red Rocks, I wasn't really that impressed, but I have since visited twice more and I really think they have amazing pizza, the caprese salad is awesome and their brunch is delish. I shared the eggs in hell (over easy eggs in Marinara sauce with awesome grilled bread for dipping) and the French toast with a friend and both were amazing. The service is usually quite slow but it was brunch on a Saturday, so I didn't mind. The time I went for dinner was similarly slow but didn't really bother me. This is my new neighborhood place for delish pizza. Way cheaper then Pete's.
Really loving this place lately. Come with a friend, split an antipasto, pizza and bottle of wine on Monday and walk out spending around $30-40. Great ambiance, great beer selection and great brick oven pizza.
Brunch is also quite tasty. Coffee is served in a huuuuuuge coffee mug and trust me, they refill those puppies, too!
I think my favorite part about Red Rocks is where it is--in an old rowhouse with a great front yard that they've turned into outdoor seating. A+ in my book on all accounts.
I was really impressed with Redrocks. I was expecting a dinky neighborhood spot, but they serve really good pizzas and have a great selection of beers. The pizzas are really good and they have a nice variety. I had the Salsiccia pizza (mozzarella, sausage, and roasted red peppers). Plan was to take some home, but I ate the whole thing...
Also, the brunch is awesome. The french toast is really moist, and the waitress said that it's actually one of the healthier items on the menu. The veggie omelet was okay, but I had the scrambled delight and the parmesan cheese added a lot of nice flavor. It gets noisy inside, but the patio is super nice. And the $9 all you can drink mimosas are also kind of amazing.
[4.5 but rounded up for good measure]
This is arguably the most delicious pizza in DC. Red Rocks serves their pies with a classy italian-style crust with a nice crunch and has some truly great (as well as some truly mediocre) pizzas. Living in this neighborhood and coming here regularly, I've come to realize that the Puttanesca (muscles on pizza!) and the Eggplant pizza are the only ones I will ever need to order. The Eggplant Pizza is smothered in fresh pesto sauce which is quite delicious. Get both and split them with a friend! Not only does the half red/half green appearance of the half and half pizzas look beautiful, but the consistency and flavor of the 2 come together to deliver a full roundhouse kick of tasty delight.
They carry both Smuttynose Shoal's Pale Ale (on tap!) and Abita Turbodog (in bottles), some of the best beers in the country! The service is usually pretty nice and quick and if you can get a seat outside you get to see all the cool dogs in the area coming to the large dog park across the street. If you're taking the time to drive in from outside DC to go to 2 Amy's you'll be just as happy here. If you're already near Columbia Heights there's no reason to not come here regularly. The kitchen is also open later than any other bar/restaurant on this stretch of 11th St.
I used to LOVE this place - the only place I'd go for pizza. In particular, I loved their pizza with white onions and fennel sausage, as well as the funghi, which had cherry tomatoes, garlic, and parsley along with the mushrooms.
Then, a few months ago, they switched management, and I can say that I'm not impressed. The mushrooms are now basic white mushrooms (used to be something more flavorful), fennel sausage (which used to be AMAZING) now has no fennel flavor, toppings are skimpy, and pizza is overall soggy.
VERY DISAPPOINTING. Bring back the old yumminess and I'll gladly come back - I miss it!
Went here for my birthday and I was disappointed. My girlfriend and I have been meaning to hit this place up for so long since it's so close and we really like the outdoor environment. Unfortunately, when we saw rain in sight, we decided to stoop indoors.
It's pretty cramped on the lower floor and we were seat right next to the greeter along the foot traffic route so there was constant hustle & bustle throughout the whole evening. Dunno why we weren't just seated upstairs because I noticed it was empty when I went to use the restroom. Because so many other were afraid of it raining, it stay loud and I couldn't really hear any the conversation intended for me (the tables are so close, you won't know who you're gonna hear from one minute to the next).
I got myself a little white pizza with spinach and garlic but a few bites into it I was still looking for the flavor. It was spotty with taste (meaning some bites were better than others) and overall a bland and blah dish...much like the whole experience.
Oh well. I may try it again when it's nice out and I'm feeling optimistic.
I came here with a large group of friends on a Thursday evening- big mistake! Given the size of the place and its popularity we had to wait for a bit more than an hour to get seated. Even when you are seated the space feels crowded b/c there are so many people around you that it is almost like there is always someone over you- this is for me the worst thing about this place! Not the place's fault but it affects my willingness to come back here. I dont like feeling trapped!
The pizza is good. We order a variety of pizza's and all of them were tasty! Service was friendly and efficient (given the crowd). However, in my book two amy's, voce and match box top this place.
I will probably return if someone really wants to come here, but wont make an effort or go out of my way for it. Its good pizza- nothing more nothing else.
Two thumbs up for the location!
I wish I could be a bit more articulate and descriptive with this review, but literally the second before our pizza arrived, my best friend dropped the bombshell that she was pregnant. I mean honest to goodness the words were still coming out of her mouth when the waiter put the pies down. So I'm not entirely sure what really happened during the rest of the meal. I mean I know there was pizza, and I know it was underwhelming. But the rest is pretty blurry. When the girl you have known since you did power hours together freshman year of college announces she's going to be a mom, what you are eating at that moment is sort of an afterthought.
So I guess I'd say if you want to drop some news on your friends and you don't want the food to overshadow said news, this is the place to do it.
Redrocks definitely makes my best restaurant list.
They may just have the best pizza in town. It's never too greasy, always packed with fresh toppings and I never leave with that gross feeling one expects after eating pizza. My favorite is the Salsiccia, which has fennel sausage and roasted red peppers. They also have a really good olive plate appetizer I'd recommend.
Other perks: Redrocks has an excellent beer menu, cheap wine options, a nice relaxed atmosphere inside, patio seating if you can get it and its always affordable. It's the perfect neighborhood restaurant. I'm really pressed to think of anything negative. Redrocks is one of the best things about Columbia Heights.
I went here upon reading that it was the best pizza in DC according to a food blog...or was it the washingtonian? Either way the pizza was pretty good. We got a simple pepperoni and a white pizza. To start off with we had the meatballs al forno. The meatballs were tasty but not enough and definitely not worth their price (Cost as much as a pizza). The pizza was good and if I lived in columbia heights I'm sure I would come here a lot. The outdoor dining is pretty fantastic. The restaurant seems to be an old renovated house. That being said, I would not call this the best pizza in DC. 2 Amy's takes the prize.
Either the gayborhood moved to Columbia Heights when I wasn't looking, or this restaurant is mysteriously a mecca for twinkie things. Not a complaint, just an observation. You won't find me complaining about a little extra calorie-free eye candy over dinner.
As many others have already mentioned, the pizza rivals some of the other established pie offering in the DMV. I actually preferred the more crusty bread foundation of the pizzas here over the chewiness that 2 Amys is so well known for. Having just had Matchbox pizza for lunch, I was in a pretty decent position to compare the two and conclude that they're reasonable comparable in quality.
My Toscano pizza with mozzarella, enormous and thin slices of salami, and giant juicy black olives was packed with flavor and held together well, regardless of whether I ate with fork and knife, or just picked it up with my hands. The crust was a little bit salty in a yummy sort of way - possibly brushed with olive oil and sea salt? I'm hazarding a guess on that. Priced at roughly $12, it was plenty for me; in fact, I offered a slice of mine up to a dining partner and still left completely satisfied.
Plus, they offer a rockin' beer list, both draughts and bottles. It was the first time that I'd seen (and ordered) a Chimay Triple. A little bit too creamy for my taste, but yummy and intoxicating nonetheless. Anyone heard of Smuttynose before? A first for me.
Can't say I'd go out of my way to return here, considering that its competition is far more geographically convenient for me, but if invited, I'd be hard-pressed to turn it down. Especially for a seat out on the little patio on a nice day. Seems like Columbia Heights warrants a little more of my personal exploration time.
Yay soycheese! Yay half priced bottles of wine on Mondays! Yay happy hour specials! Yay Redrocks!
I had a great time at Redrocks. My soycheese pizza was tasty albiet a bit saltier than the one I normally get from Paradiso. The toppings were fresh and my friends arugula salad was yummy. One of the people I went with got a peperoni pizza that was dripping with grease although my veg pizza was a bit too dry. The wine was pretty good for being only $14 for the bottle. They have happy hour specials until 7pm and free wi-fi during lunch (according to the chalkboard above the bar).
I'll definitely be back since I can walk here from my house.
their breakfast pizza is enough to warrant them an extra star. seriously. the service still blows beyond all belief, but the breakfast pizza keeps me coming back for more. my love for this pizza is almost masochistic in that I will put up with 20+ minute waits for silverware and idiot waitstaff to get a bite. I have to wonder if the cheese is laced with some euphoric chemical.
Red Rocks is a sad, sad case of emperor's new clothes. It's not as great as everyone makes it out to… Read more »
For a neighborhood with such a large hispanic population, the food at Red Rocks was downright laughable. (BTW, I meant to give this place ONE STAR, not five. Typo, yo.)
First of all, my complimentary chips and salsa never came. Did our (non hispanic) waitress just forget them? Since it was my first time at the restaurant, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe you're supposed to physically order the chips and salsa? Maybe it costs something? I don't know, cause it doesn't matter--I'm not going back now.
Second of all, their drink selection was terrible. Sure, they have like a million bottled beers, but where's the Dos Equis? Or what about the Pacifico? I couldn't even find a frickin Tecate. My wife and I nursed a couple Coronas while waiting for our nonexistent chips and salsa. Weak.
And when our tacos came, that was the last straw. They were served in the traditional open-faced style, but they were huge! Seriously, I'm not kidding. These tacos were TOO big. Like the size of a pancake, or a pizza or something. It's possible that this is how tacos are made in some kind of weird latin american country like Peru or Madagascar or something, but I doubt it.
In summary: no chips, no salsa, no guacamole, no go! Skip this joke of a taqueria and save your money!
The Pizza at RedRocks was pretty good. You get a 10 inch pizza - you could share 2 of them with 3 people or each eat your own which is what we opted for. Our waitress was friendly, but the timing was quite off.
We ordered our drinks (they have a full bar which in my opinion is always a plus) and an antipasto for an appetizer. So far so good. When our waitress brought the antipasto to the table we ordered 3 pizzas. No more than 10 minutes later the pizzas arrived. We were no where near finished with our appetizer, it was obvious we were not ready for the pizzas. It didn't matter to the wait staff - the 3 pizzas were plopped down on our table despite our stunned looks. The tables are small and the restaurant is cramped, but the pizzas are good. I think we will be back but I don't think we will order an appetizer next time.
This place is a fine place for a meal or a drink. It's small so just know that you'll probably have to wait for a table, particularly outside, which isn't so bad since there's a good selection of beer and wine. The food is reliably tasty and the atmosphere is lively and friendly. The fact that it's 3 blocks from my house makes it a frequent stop for me and my friends and family.
Accidents can happen at any restaurant and their reputations are built on how they deal with them. The last time I was at Red Rocks, a large piece of glass (a chunk, not a shard) was on my pizza. I think it came from the base of a broken glass. Thankfully I spit it out before I swallowed. The waiter immediately comped us the meal and offered us another round of drinks. The restaurant even gave me a gift card. These gestures aren't hollow. It was a jarring experience and had the restaurant reacted differently, I would not feel so forgiving. But my experience tells me that it was a fluke and I respect their efforts to bring me back.
This is one of the first places in my Columbia Heights neighborhood that I actually LOVE. The pizzas are consistently really yummy and the various salads and appetizers have never let me down. My favorite things about it might have to be the staff and the outside seating area- both always make my visit a truly relaxing and happy experience. I dread winter coming, but the inside is super cute too.
The only slight downside is the price- my husband and I go for food and a few drinks and the bill is always around $70. If it were a bit cheaper we might go more often. However, I will say you pay for quality and you get it. Props to the owner for bringing a great (non chain!!) establishment to a growing neighborhood.
Extremely poor pizza. However they made the dough - it wasn't working. The base was really wet and the toppings slid off. The toppings were mediocre too - I think it's because they weren't fresh. I'm baffled how RedRocks can be billed as a top pizza place in DC when it gets the fundamentals wrong. I'm willing to give it another try, though, on the chance that it was an off-day for them.
The service was prompt and friendly and ambiance was pleasant - that accounts for the second star.
OMG 2 Amy's has some new competition!! This is an interesting restaurant on the fringe of Columbia Heights. Their service is lacking, but their Pizza is just like 2 Amy's with a little extra spice.
Located on the corner of a residential street in an old townhouse, I somehow felt like I was at a college part when I arrived. I was waiting for my table up in the front porch, sipping a beer, making fun of people with my boyfriend. The crowded patio (former front yard) with everyone drinking beer just gave me the feeling of a party back in my CUA days.
Anyway, we were seated in the upstairs room and waited for a while. There was one waitress working the whole room, and she was slow. After a while of listening to our neighbors weird/funny conversations (it was impossible not to hear them as they were on top of us practically) our food arrived. The peperoni pizza was just awesome! The crust and cheese reminded me of 2 Amy's so much! The sauce had more of a kick to it. It was kind of spicy, but not really. I finished it all and left feeling stuffed!
This is a cool spot. If you live closer to this than 2 Amy's you might as well just come here instead. They are both crowded, have outdoor seating, and are great!
Went here for lunch the other day and really enjoyed it overall. When it comes to pizza, I love nothing more than a pie cooked in a wood burning oven. I tried one pizza with sausage and red peppers and another pizza with chicken and broccolini. Both were really tasty. My only complaint would be that under my pizza there was a puddle of liquid. I imagine it either came off the melted cheese or that the plate was wet when they put the pizza on it, but it made the center of my pizza really soggy, so that the slice was falling over when I picked it up. Either way, it was good pizza and I would definitely recommend stopping by.
As someone who is allergic to dairy, I have great respect for any pizza place that puts enough care into their menu to make delicious non-pizza items. So I can't attest to the quality of the pizza (though my friends seem to like it) but I can say that their sandwiches are delicious, even with the cheese removed.
They have about six craft brews on tap and probably another 20 in bottles.
And they also have a dog-friendly outside patio!
One minor complaint... I've been there twice and each time had a different waitress who was "very expressive" as one dining companion put it. If the group you're waiting on seems tired or low-key, a good waiter or bartender will match their tone... both of these women were waaay too perky for us.
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* I rate this 4.5 stars out of 5 stars. *
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Tonight was my first time going to Red Rocks, and undoubtedly they have some of the best pizza in the DC metro area. Overall I enjoyed my dining experience at Red Rocks, but the service definitely was slower than I would prefer.
The restaurant's indoor atmosphere was the kind I like -- it was kind of "dark" dimly-lit and very relaxing. Even though the upstairs floor was basically full, it was not too noisy and I could talk and hear my boyfriend without a problem. One complaint I have read on Yelp is about the service being pretty bad -- well, from my experience I agree with that. For example, I think there were something like 10 tables on the upstairs floor, yet there was only ONE waitress to service all of our tables! So as you can imagine, that made the service VERY SLOW. But once the waitress took our pizza order, it took exactly 15 minutes for the pizza to arrive at our table (which is pretty reasonable). But once we were finished eating, it took FOREVER to get our check and pay it and leave.
Now, onto THE FOOD. I ordered a "classic pepperoni" pizza and requested red onion and red peppers be added to that. Once the pizza arrived, I took a few bites and then thought, "Hmmm.... am I blind or do I *not* see any red onions on here?" My boyfriend looked at my pizza and didn't see any -- I then asked the waitress and she didn't see any. The waitress then apologized and said she would get me another pizza that was configured as I had asked. However, I told her it was not necessary to do that since it tasted really good "as is" -- so long as she took the charge off for red onions that I never got.
So, the PIZZA TASTED GREAT!!! The pepperoni was slightly crisp (perfection) and was SPICY -- so much so that with the red peppers added, there was NO need for red onions -- so that is why I was OK with eating the pizza despite it not having my original request of red onions. The best way I could sum up the pizza is that it was like a combination of 2 Amys pizza and Ella's pizza. The CRUST was FANTASTIC -- perfectly baked and slightly crunchy on the outside, but thick and CHEWY on the inside. Truly a PERFECT CRUST :) And the pepperoni was one of the best (if not THE best) pepperoni I have ever had (it ranks right up there with Geppetto's Pizza in Bethesda -- I always thought Geppetto's pepperoni was a level better than the rest -- but Red Rock is a very worthy contender).
Another thing I *really* liked about the pepperoni on the pizza was that there was A LOT of it. I can't tell you how many times I have been disappointed with a pizza restaurant putting one or two pepperoni pieces per slice (that's not enough for me! LOL). The only restaurant that has put more pepperoni on a pizza than Red Rock is Geppetto's Pizza in Bethesda (which puts an arguably gluttonous amount of pepperoni on their pizzas).
The amount of cheese was just right (not too much, not too little), and most importantly the FLAVOR was GREAT. It very much reminded me of a MORE flavorful version of a 2 Amys pizza. Red Rocks pizza had a perfect spicyness, zesty flavor to it.
Based on the pizza ALONE I would have given Red Rocks 5 stars. However, because of the super slow service (of 1 waitress having to serve all 10 tables upstairs by herself) -- in addition to the screw-up of not putting red onions on my pizza that I ordered -- is why I give Red Rocks 4 stars (really 4.5 stars) instead of 5 stars.
Would I ever go back to Red Rocks again? HELL YES!!!! Their pizza was so good that I would definitely give it another go (I might try going during a less busy time). I highly recommend going for the pizza alone (and this is coming from a VERY picky pizza person).
You + Me + Bottomless Mimosas + Pizza AND Brunch + Sun = Happy Sunday...
I seem to be on quite the DC pizza kick these days... It seems that everywhere I turn, there is a new place serving up pizza and I am quite happy to HAVE to go try all of them (yes, twist my arm...). Ironically though, my friend K and I ended up at Red Rocks in Columbia Heights to check out their BRUNCH. We heard rave reviews from a friend about their brunch (and bottomless mimosas...) -- plus, it was a gorgeous spring day here in DC, so a place with a sizeable patio for outdoor dining can't be beat.
We were happy to find a spot outside in the sun. We were both starving by this point (K from a good workout...me, I was just hungry). The service was very prompt and pleasant... despite our hunger and the quick service, it took awhile to pick out something to eat because everything on the menu looked great. And although I came for brunch and often can't resist brunch (I'm a savory brunch fan, and the prosciutto and mozzarella omelet was calling my name), I caught a whiff of someone's pizza and was done for.
RedRocks offers a wide variety of pizza options, with eighteen total (9 "pizze rosse" and 9 "pizze blanche"). I was tempted by many of them (I love my toppings), but decided instead to just go traditional and get the Margherita (tomato sauce, buffalo mozzarella, basil, olive oil, and sea salt). K went for the brunch and had the "scrambled delight" (scrambled eggs with Italian sausage, mushrooms, parmesan, served with breakfast potatoes and toast). And two bottomless mimosas please.
Overall, the food was tasty and satisfying. The pizzas are thin crust (as I like them), not soggy, and very flavorful. I would have preferred to have a bit more mozzarella and basil on my pizza, but was pleased with the flavor. K enjoyed the egg part of her scrambled delight, but the potatoes were not as pleasing. K admitted to not being a breakfast potato kind of girl, but I surely am...and these weren't particularly noteworthy. I tend to like my potatoes a little bit crispier, these were almost too...doughy? And covered in an orange sauce that made them a bit too salty. The mimosas were quite tasty, although some batches were a little bit light on the champagne.
All in all, it was a beautiful day to be out and I was happy that we went to RedRocks. I would go back to try more pizzas and perhaps try out an omelet or two.
The only great thing about Red Rocks is the location, if you live nearby. Most of the food is pretty average tasting..with the exception of the Sunrise Pizza which tastes like eating a piece of cardboard with an egg on one side.
Sometimes the service is non-existent. When I had the aforementioned sunrise pizza I'm pretty sure our waitress was mugged and dumped on the side of highway somewhere because we barely saw her.
The margherita pizza is very good in a plain sort of way..and the patio is nice. But there's much better pizza to be had in DC. like uhhhh...Dominos?
Skip the pizza and go get an empanada at Julia's!
The pizza was good, but the service will probably make me stay away in the future. Ordering both drinks and food was painfully slow. The server seemed constantly distracted. There were multiple times when one of us would ask a question and the server would literally completely ignore it.
Paying for the meal was even worse. It took forever to get the check which was rung up incorrectly. Then the correction took double that time. During that time I went to the restroom and just saw our server chatting away in back while we had been waiting.
I heard the raves, and expected to be just a little disappointed, but the pizza here is AMAZING. How do they get the crust so chewy? Each bite is like a dream.
The bar is also inviting and has a great beer selection. The inside is intimate and has professional service-- it's unbelievable how quickly the pizza arrives at the table!
This place is pretty darn good. Good pizza options, willingness to take customs orders, and a decent selection of beer and wine. I was there a while ago, and so I'm having a hard time recalling specifics (which perhaps speaks to why it's only getting 3 stars: not that memorable), but I'd certainly be happy to go back.
The outdoor patio is nice, as well, provided the weather holds up.
My boyfriend took me out here for a Sunday afternoon romp just to enjoy each other's company and the spring sunshine. We sat outside to enjoy the weather. The waitstaff was really slow taking our order, and it didn 't seem organized as to which waitress was serving which table. The fact that our food emerged less than 10 minutes after finally placing our order made up for the slow start.
Our customized pizza was deliciou; the crust was some of the best I've ever had and the melted/just burnt cheese was aMAzing. I couldn't finish my $5 bloody mary, which was delicious, but maybe I'm just a lightweight.
The pizza is delicious, absolutely. BUT, the kitchen messes up once in a while when you custom order toppings on more than one pizza. They've scrambled up my orders a couple of times which is frustrating, but the wait staff is usually very nice and the service is pretty quick.
Definitely go for brunch in the summer. Sit on the porch and enjoy bottomless mimosas and breakfast pizza with eggs and cheese...amazing!
Neighborhood: Columbia Heights
Category: Pizza
Washington, DC
Category: Pizza
Neighborhood: Columbia Heights
Category: Latin American
Neighborhood: Columbia Heights
Category: Latin American
Neighborhood: Columbia Heights
Category: Latin American
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