Pizzeria Paradiso-- Georgetown

We’re back. After an unintended hiatus, your favorite pizza bloggers are here with a new review. Feels like forever since we consumed some 'za. Let's eat!

Sunday afternoon, Liza and I made our way to Georgetown for lunch and a movie. Saw “Slumdog Millionaire.” We liked it well enough. Feeling generous, I’d give it three stars.

Afterwards, we walked a couple blocks to Pizzeria Paradiso on M Street.

Pizzeria Paradiso has a rep as one of the best pizza joints in D.C., so we were expecting the best. This is Neapolitan pizza.

This restaurant has a very cozy feel, kind of like sitting at the kitchen table at home. The wood-burning, domed stone oven is right there in the middle of the restaurant.

The tables are a little too close together, which is okay if you like to eavesdrop on conversations.

The wait staff wears shirts with "Eat Your Pizza" on the back. Okay. Will do. (Guess I'm a sucker for not-so-subliminal advertising.)

This is a bustling place, but we were quickly seated on this late Sunday afternoon.

Pizzeria Paradiso has an impressive beer menu. You had to sit and study the beer menu for 10 minutes before deciding. Liza went with some kind of apple beer that was a little too sweet and fruity for her taste. I had a dark Russian stout that was actually brewed in California. Hmmm...

We ordered a mixed green salad and followed that up with a Bosco Pizza.

The Bosco has tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, red onions and mozzarella cheese. Good mix of stuff.

The fine chefs at Pizzeria Paradiso say they put a lot of emphasis on their crust, and it shows. This was perfect crust--not too hard, not too soft. The toppings were generous, but not so much that the pizza drooped.

Liza enjoyed the crust so much that she poured a little olive oil on her plate and finished off her slices with a dip.

The pizza's flavor was excellent. You could taste the tomatoes in one bite, the spinach and red onions in another bite, the mushrooms in another bite.

I thought the tomatoes tasted great, but Liza thought they were a little bland.

Minor complaint, though. Said Liza: Pizzeria Paradiso is “consistently good,” and perhaps best of all, it “re-warms well.” (Liza had a leftover slice after we got home.)

This was a satisfying pizza.

Folks, believe the hype. If not the best pizza in D.C., then it’s among the best. Paradise!

Liza’s rating: 3.5 stars
Gary’s rating: 4 stars