Last night our house guest for the week wanted to take us out and chose the tiny Osteria da Volo in the center of Adams Morgan, which is so small, I hadn't ever noticed it in its three years of existence! We were warmly greeted in the tiny space which was quite loud at 730pm, but small corner table was a treat and we were quite happy when the large slice of soft focaccia arrived with a peppery olive oil laden with cooked garlic cloves, rosemary and more.
The space is very small and has delft-ish table tiles with wicker chairs and an open kitchen the size of anyone else's bathroom!
The wine list is small and offers 8 reds (6 by the glass) and 6 whites, also all by the glass. We chose the 2018 Falanghina La Capranegra from Campania which was crisp yet has a slight creaminess to it and went amazingly well with our huge starters(FB photos) of Octopus Salas with a kicky Romesco sauce(dressing) over potatoes, cherry tomatoes, arugula, red onion and octopus confit. The Polpetti are three huge meatballs in sauce covered with cheese and are enough for a meal!
90% of the mains here are pasta and Volo does it voluptuously with huge portions(all three of us had doggie bags!) and lots of specials, so it's very hard to choose. I had the Fettuccine Amatriciana which had a spicy marinara sauce and small crispy bits of pork belly; they do spicy really well here! Will had the Pappardelle special with Wild Boar Ragu which was superb, but a bit over rich with too much ricotta cheese on top, while our host chose the same Pappardelle ai Funghi, which must have had a pound of varied mushrooms in it laden with porcini and earthiness and a beurre blanc, white wine sauce. The pastas are excellent and we were all happy, but very full very fast. We also enjoyed a superb Montepulciano d'Abruzzo 2017 from Filari that was more medium bodies than many of its kin Montepulicano which can be lighter.
Our helpful and friendly server Jamal brought over glasses of grappa as we declined dessert knowing that when the carb craze hits, Volo is where to go!
