Ristorante Machiavelli

There are a bunch of Italian restaurants on Capitol Hill. There are also plenty of romantic spots on the hill, too. But you usually can’t have both of these things and not end up spending a ton of money. That is, unless you go to Machiavelli. It’s a wonderfully small, dimly-lit space with friendly servers roaming around carrying metal tins of grated parmesan and wooden pepper grinders, ready to sprinkle and grind. You might have a slight wait for a table, but it usually is manageable and works really well for an impromptu pasta night. Sure, this isn’t the greatest bowl of carbs you can get in the neighborhood, but we’d be happy any day with big plates of garlicky linguine carbonara or spinach ravioli in tomato cream sauce for less than $16. Add a glass of wine for only $8.50 and we’re even happier.