Opening: Osteria Marzano

Osteria Marzano, a 6,100 sq ft venue located on the ground floor of the Metro Park Office Complex in the Kingstowne region of Alexandria, is now ready to fully serve all Northern Virginia residents (or any DC residents looking to escape for an hour or two). With over 30 years experience with Italian cooking, Chef Carmine Marzano has developed a menu filled with handmade pastas, hearty (meaty) main courses, brick-oven pizzas, and “Assaggini” small plates uniquely available at the 40 seat bar. In addition to the 40 seat bar, Osteria Marzano also features a full dining room, two private rooms and outdoor patio dining, seating 269 people at full capacity.

Osterio Marzano co-owners, Chef Carmine Marzano and his daughter Elena Pouchelon

We were recently invited to try  a selection of items from the menu, including pizza, pastas, pork, fish, and bar bites. 

The 12” plate-sized pizzas are made-to-order in a 900° gas-fired “Marra Forni” Brick Pizza Oven imported from Naples, Italy, and the crust is soft and doughy. Eight signature pizzas are available on the menu, though you can also easily make your own pizza. Guests can choose between six cheeses, nine meats, thirteen vegetables, and four sauces. 

Fifteen pastas, including a risotto of the day, are included on the menu. Meatballs, grilled chicken, shrimp, and grilled salmon can be added to any pasta dish for an additional charge. Whole Wheat and Gluten Free Pasta is also available.

To start off our meal, Polpette (meatball, spicy Marzano tomato sauce with a scoop of ricotta), Bruschetta (grape tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and basil on toasted bread) and Calamari (served crispy with marinara sauce and fresh lemon) were passed around the table. For being fried, the calamari was surprisingly light, and despite my loss of love for fried foods, I really did enjoy the calamari. However, the standout was definitely the juicy meatballs. 

A wonderful selection of cheeses and charcuterie were served. The cheese selection is served with toasted bread, homemade fig jam, and Virginia honey, while the charcuterie platters are served with herb focaccia and toasted bread.

For dinner, my table mates and I split our selections of Linguine Alla Vongole (linguine with little neck clams, garlic and white wine sauce or marinara) Salmone Alla Griglia (Grilled Atlantic salmon over sautéed broccolini with garlic fingerling potatoes and salmoriglio), Pappardelle Al Ragu D’anatra (Homemade pappardelle pasta sautéed in a duck ragu) and Om Pork Chop ( Grilled Berkshire kurobuta organic pork with yellow, red and green peppers in a white wine sauce served with fingerling potatoes, grape tomato). Though I was the one who suggested we order the pork chop, the linguine with little neck clams turned out to be my favorite dish.  It was light but flavorful. The duck ragu on the pappardelle pasta was also outstanding, and the fingerling potatoes were the perfect accompaniment to several of the dishes.

Osteria Marzano is located at 6361 Walker Lane. Suite 140 (Metro Park VI) Alexandria, VA 22310. Osteria Marzano is open Monday-Saturday 11am-11pm, and Friday-Saturday, the bar is open till 2am. The website is still in development, but keep tabs on www.osteriamarzano.com, or visit Osteria Marzano's Twitter and Facebook feeds for the latest info.