Enzo Livia’s Italian restaurant, Spezie (“spices” in Italian), is back. On L Street just off Connecticut Avenue Northwest, Spezie closed briefly for renovation last summer and reopened in the fall with chef Cesare Lanfranconi presiding in the kitchen.
Mr. Lanfranconi made his reputation in Washington with his splendid Northern Italian cooking at his restaurant Tosca. Whether delicate or robust, house-made pastas were sauced with complex yet light combinations that lingered on the tongue. Fish and meats were cooked perfectly and accompanied by just the right side dishes, leaving an appetite for creamy, often frothy, desserts. These were standard fare.
Unfortunately, the dishes at Spezie often fail to reflect the chef’s demonstrated talents. There was nothing wrong with anything we tasted; everything was good, but the preparations were uninspired and frequently oversauced.
Pastas are the mainstay of Italian restaurants in Washington. Unlike a dish of pasta served in Italy between appetizer and main course, pasta as the main course is the usual American taste. Spezie will split a pasta if you wish to share.
Spezie is popular with downtown diners. An expanded bar in the front includes a high table for drinking and dining; it’s a pleasant space, decorated with framed spices in geometric patterns. The wine list has a fine selection of Italian bottles. Service is attentive and competent, and the hosts come around frequently, but not too often. Noise happily is under control.
The menus at lunch and dinner are rich with choices. Appetizers include such dinner specialties as lamb carpaccio, crab and corn fritters, a fritto misto of seafood, and oyster stew. Flash-fried calamari, main-course salads and a dish of poached salt cod with tomato and garlic mashed potatoes sparkle on the luncheon menu.
Pastas run from ravioli filled with roast veal, prosciutto and spinach to spaghetti with cauliflower, pine nuts, raisins and saffron. There’s a risotto of the day and pizzoccheri, a dish of buckwheat noodles with Swiss chard, potatoes, Fontina cheese and garlic.
Main courses are varied, with a selection of fish — baked, grilled or sauteed — at lunch and dinner. Lamb chops, beef and veal chops are always available; chicken at lunch is a staple.
Remembering Mr. Lanfranconi’s exquisite pastas, we ordered the gnocchi, made with ricotta rather than potatoes. They were good, if slightly on the heavy side, sauced with a fresh tomato sauce with strips of fresh basil.
The house-made ravioli filled with roasted pumpkin and amaretto cookies in a fresh sage butter sauce are reminiscent of the chef at his best. Luscious and smooth, it’s a splendid dish.
On a recent evening, the soup was English pea, enlivened with a spoonful of crabmeat. The crab did nothing to enhance the pretty bright green soup, but the surprise of a tiny dice of red beets swimming in the plate certainly did.
A tart of baked zucchini, eggplant and ricotta was not up to standard. The thin base was crisp and fresh, but the filling was disappointing: not enough zucchini, undercooked eggplant and too much cheese.
Among the main courses, a dish of herb-crusted lamb chops would have been first-rate had the chops not been drenched in a heavy black olive sauce. The lamb was tender and delicious once the sauce was scraped off, and the accompanying artichoke hearts braised in white wine and roasted potatoes were perfect.
The sauce was overwhelming as well in a serving of wild salmon filet. The fish was wonderfully fresh and moist, undercooked as requested, but it was covered with a dark, powerful porcini sauce that obliterated the taste of the fish. The side dish of spinach was welcome for its fresh simplicity.
We tried the classic panna cotta, a cross between a Bavarian pudding and a custard. The dessert was a bit on the rigid side, but the flavor was fine and the berries were fresh.
RESTAURANT: Spezie, 1736 L St. NW, 202/467-0777
HOURS: Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; dinner 5:30 to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday
PRICES: Appetizers $11 to $13 (lunch), $11 to $14 (dinner); pastas $15 to $17 (lunch), $18 to $24 (dinner); main courses $21 to $25 (lunch), $27 to $35 (dinner)
CREDIT CARDS: All major cards
PARKING: Limited street parking; no valet parking, but there’s a garage in the building and another across the street.
ACCESS: Wheelchair accessible
METRO: Farragut North (Red Line)
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