il Canale

Amazing food and service.
The place was amazing and I love the following that I ordered:

-carbonara
-seafood pasta
-lobster raviole

Dinner at @ilcanale

I got the Ribeye w/ potatoes & asparagus . I got it cooked medium rare and everything was cooked to perfection.
My boyfriend got the lamb w/ potatoes. It was seasoned well and had the perfect texture. No gamey taste at all.
My friend got the carbonara I don't eat pork but she said it was fire.
The service was a 10/10 as well so I would definitely visit again when in the mood for Italian.
follow for food adventures @melrosemunchies

Il Canale is a Georgetown stable for a reason with its fantastic location and tasty Italian classics! With this being my second time at the restaurant, I was excited to try some new menu items.

My friend and I split the Pasta Al Salmon - a cheesy blend with smoked salmon. I was dubious of this combination, but it ended up being absolutely delicious. The salmon was woven perfectly into the noodles. Very fresh and flavorful.

To drink, I tried both the Hugo and Watermelon Spritz. Very light and refreshing - a perfect pairing to the pasta.

The service was speedy and very attentive despite it being a busy night. The ambiance was clean and great for small and large groups alike.

Highly recommend!

We have wanted to come to this restaurant for a really long time, but there's always a long wait outside. We finally were feeling brave enough to wait one day and it was so worth it. The service was slightly slow, but multiple servers come and check on you so overall it was good. The food is delicious, the mushroom risotto was recommended by our server and was a special. It's overall a cute place for date night.
Had to update my review- went a second time with a reservation, and this time the experience was not the best, we didn't get the bread at first, and had to ask for it. It was cold and even when we requested warm bread, we didn't get it. We had to ask multiple times to get the drink menu. And the calamari was not good, has no flavor. Got the cucumbertini and that was good, pizza as always was great and the ravioli was delicious!

This place was very close to the hotel I was and my friends and I thought why not. They had amazing reviews. Got there and were seated at an outside table. Our server was David. He was very nice but clearly the only server for a very large section. It took him quite awhile to tend what we needed like place an order or refill drink. The food was decent--I'd try it again and hope that the place was better staffed.

Stopped in for a late lunch for the first time in years. We ordered two Hugo Spritzes which were quite tasty and split the Georgetown pizza. The pizza crust was fantastic but the sausage could have perhaps had a better crisp and there was almost too much spinach but was a nice portion size and a great white pizza.

Second time eating gluten free pizza from il Canale, and it was so good. il Canale has become my go to place for GF pizza in DC!
The staff is really nice and welcoming.
The pizza has a great texture and it's not hard as a rock, or overcooked. The pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese are delicious. I wasn't the biggest fan of the vegetarian option, but that's more of a preference, I think.

UNIMPRESSED!!
We went in for lunch on a weekend and got sat immediately. We ordered the Prosciutto e Melone, Margarita Pizza, side Meatballs & Chicken. The prosciutto and melon was ripe making it refreshing on a hot day. The pizza was a let down as when you pick it up only the crust will hold. The pizza is paper thin causing everything to slide off. The meatballs were good and the chicken was typical. Since we said we were celebrating, they were nice enough to include a small cannoli which was good. Overall, I think their "Yelp Best" is a thing of the past.

FOOD
We visited for Restaurant Week, and it was lovely! il Canale was always on our list to try, and this was a perfect reason to go. I had their bruschetta, Margherita pizza, and panna cotta. For $25, it was so much food, I had to bring more than half the pizza home with me. The bruschetta was a great appetizer-- the olive oil rich and flavorful and the tomatoes refreshing. The Margherita pizza was not as flavorful or rich as I thought it would be, and there was less basil than I would have liked. Otherwise, it was a large pizza, especially for what I paid, and it was filling. As for the panna cotta, it was light and refreshing and not too sweet.

DRINKS
They have an extensive alcoholic beverage list. Tap water was complementary.

SERVICE
The staff are very kind and friendly!

AMBIANCE
The interior is spacious and has two floors of seating. Outdoor seating is also available with plenty of shade. It's perfect for a family dinner, reunion, work lunch/dinner, rehearsal dinner, etc.

PARKING
Paid parking is available across the street from the restaurant. It's one of the better ones in the area, as it's in a building/underground. It's $14 for the first hour, and $23 for the day. Definitely worth the latter if you're also planning on walking around Georgetown post-meal as well.

Sis and I were craving some gluten free pizza, so we decided to return to Il Canale. This was our first time dining in, we had previously ordered take out.

The pizza was even better this time around, as the crust was super crispy and the cheese was nicely melted. Although, I wasn't a big fan of the Vegetariana Rossa, as the amount of peppers was overwhelming.
We tried the prosciutto and melone as an appetizer, and it was really good. However, we found it odd that it wasn't wrapped, as I've normally had it in the past.

The staff is nice and friendly, and had good recommendations.

It was a bit loud, at times hard to have a conversation.

Il Canale is a great option for gluten-free pizza, I just recommend trying one of the other options .