The Room
Tosca opened on F Street in 2001 — Massimo Fabbri's Northern-Italian dining room dedicated to the proposition that DC needed a working Italian-fine-dining destination at the Penn Quarter address. Twenty-four years later the room is one of DC's longest-running Italian-fine-dining institutions and a regular Washington-political-class dining destination.
The Washington Post has held Tosca on its top-Italian-restaurant rankings every year of operation. The Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence recognises the Italian wine programme.
The Food
The menu runs Northern-Italian classic. The hand-rolled pasta programme — the cacio e pepe, the seasonal-rotating ragù, the brown-butter ravioli — runs daily. The wood-grilled bistecca, the salt-baked branzino, and the seasonal Italian secondi handle the menu's spine.
Wine programme runs heavily Italian. Cocktails are aperitivi-led. Service is the Italian-American brigade book.
Best Occasion Fit
Close a Deal: Tosca is the Penn Quarter Italian deal-dinner alternative to a chain steakhouse.
Impress Clients: International visitors recognise the long-running Italian-fine-dining language immediately.
Birthday: Birthdays at Tosca are warm, Italian-fine-dining affairs the room has hosted for nearly a quarter-century.