RPM Italian : Modern New Restaurant

Finding new restaurants in the city is one of my favorite things to do. I'm that one friend who is always down to eat or that person who could recommend 5 different places to eat at based on the occasion, mood, etc. I have an infamous “ Where to Eat At” list that I am currently tackling; the list is a bunch of restaurants I haven’t eaten at yet. I recently got a new job, which provided me the perfect excuse to get dressed up and try RPM Italian, which was my number one draft pick on my list. Before going anywhere new I typically read yelp reviews online to determine if I want to go there or not, but with RPM I knew just based on pictures that it was somewhere I definitely wanted to visit.

RPM Italian is a fairly new restaurant owned by Giuliana Rancic and her husband, located at Mount Vernon Square. On their website, they don’t have an explicit dress code, but I would recommend for you to dress nicely. Upon entering the restaurant I was immediately blown away by the ambiance of the place. When you enter the dining section, your eyes are immediately drawn to the unique lightings in the ceiling and the stark white walls. If I had to use one word to describe RPM, it would be chic. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant was modern, energetic and fun. I've been to a lot of upscale restaurants before, but I think it’s safe to say, that RPM tops all the others I have been to in the ambiance category. I went on a Thursday night with a party of three and it was pretty busy considering it wasn’t the weekend.

Now to the important part, which is the food. I decided to be a tad bit adventurous, emphasize on tad bit and ordered the Pappardelle Bolognese- Hand Cut, Pasta, Short Rib Ragu. The short rib pasta was really good and fulfilling. At first glance, the portion might seem small but the plate that it was served in was more like a bowl, so it had a little depth to it.

My sister had the Tuscan Pork Roast, which was a very generous portion size.

She was unable to finish it all and had leftover for the next day . My friend had the RPM Steak Grigliata. I tried everyone dishes and my favorite was the pork , but my sister thought my Pasta was the best plate out of the three. Nevertheless, I thought all three dishes were pretty good and the Moscato d'Asti we had definitely complimented our meals.

We also indulged in a dessert and I must say that RPM has the most extensive dessert menu I have seen at any restaurant. After a heated debate (lol not really) we decided to get the Hazelnut Tartufo , which is Dark and Milk Chocolate with gelato inside vs. the Torta Meringata. The Hazel Tartufo was amazing!!!!! and was enough to share between three people.

What was also nice and different about RPM was that when we got the bill, gratuity wasn’t automatically included. Based on pictures it’s easy to assume that RPM is expensive, but I promise you it’s affordable. Our overall the bill was $130 (keep in mind that we had 3 drinks, 3 entrée, and a dessert), that’s pretty good to me. I think RPM would be a great place for girls night, date night, lol essentially for every occasion.