Pizzeria Orso in Falls Church

I had a chance to visit Falls Church’s newest restaurant, Pizzeria Orso, which specializes in wood fired Neapolitan pizza from pizzaiolo Edan MacQuaid of Pizzeria Paradiso and 2 Amys fame. Though it’s clear that there were some opening week kinks still being worked out, it was worth the long wait on Friday night, and worth another trip soon.

We arrived at the height of dinner rush hour and so weren’t surprised when we were told it would be an hour and a half wait. There is plenty of seating, but this opening was much anticipated and so potential diners spilled out from the small waiting area and into the plaza out front.

Every seat at the bar was taken by diners (I assume bar seats are first come, first served, but didn't ask.) We enjoyed the fantastic weather and waited about 30 minutes, then went inside as it looked like some waiting area seats had opened up and we wanted to grab a drink while we waited. I hope some patio tables (and maybe outside bar service?) are on the horizon...the large lovely patio area seemed to be wasted space. Close to the bar area is some old school entertainment: Pac Man and pinball. We only saw a handful of kids there but I imagine there must have been more earlier in the evening, as we were now pushing into the 8:30-ish timeframe.

When a couple came in and was told it was only a 20 minute wait, we asked how much longer it would be for us, since the math didn't add up, and we were seated promptly thereafter. I'm not sure how we went from a 90 minute wait to 45, but we were happy. Maybe a number of people were scared off by the 90 minute estimate?

Once we were seated, round 2 of waiting began. The couple at the table next to us said they'd been waiting an hour for their food, but all the diners seemed to be taking the waits in stride, knowing it was opening week, and several times we were engaged in conversation with fellow diners. No less than 3 times the restaurant filled with the distinct odor of burning dough, which made us a little nervous (perhaps some burned pizzas contributed to long waits for food?)

Click here to continue reading my review of the new Falls Church restaurant Pizzeria Orso at FallsChurchRealEstateNews.com.