My husband and I go to Pistone's about once every three weeks. Â It is a neighborhood staple for us. Â The food is outstanding, and like other reviewers, we are big fans of the eggplant parmesan, cannoli, and gnocchi. Â We also particularly like some of the appetizers, the smoked salmon and calamari. Â And can't resist sharing a tiramisu for desert. Â We quite enjoy the atmosphere - it does remind me (in a good way) of Italian restaurants I would have gone to with my grandparents, with Sinatra often playing on the sound system, or the piano bar in the background. Â The fresh bread with olive tapanad served before every meal is a nice touch.
Review Source:Ah Pistone's. This restaurant is like a woman who was really beautiful in her youth but refuses to admit that she's aged. Instead of being a good looking older woman she's a parody of what she once was. Imagine Miss Haversham or Bette Davis as Baby Jane. We walked in and I noticed the bar stinks but as we moved into the main dinning area the smell went away and I was relieved for a few seconds. The decor is ghastly. The banquet seating is the color  and appears to have the spongy texture of a cow's intestine and every chair I looked at was heavily stained. They've seen a lot spilled drinks over the years or Bladder Incontinence Anonymous must hold their meetings there. How hard would it be to clean the chairs, reupolster the chairs or buy new ones? THe chairs look like they were new in the 70s so the owners have clearly gotten their money's worth out of them. I was not comfortable.It just felt dirty. Now about the food: it's excellent tasting. However, it was not worth paying nearly $50 for two people in that nasty smelling, old run down atmosphere. It especially wasn't worth when I vomited it up the next morning.  I love me some Italian food but I'll go to Olive Garden or CiCI's pizza ten times in a row before I cross the threshold of this place again.
Review Source:Pistones was sold a few years back and lost its special real Italian kitschy touches. Â The new owners struggled with the restaurants simple concept and removed several endearing items, especially the grandiose salad bar and I mean grandiose. Â It appears anything like the old Pistones no longer exists-- simple southern Italian with warm service and abundance.
Review Source:Beyond and beneath any reasonable standard of "awful".
We waited A GOOD HOUR for our meal to arrive. We actually saw other parties arrive well after our order was taken, and get their meals BEFORE ours arrived. One (smallish) bread basket was offered for a table of 10; more was requested but none was forthcoming. The pasta was probably made on site, but the tomatoes were straight out of a can (in an Italian restaurant? INEXCUSABLE). Â
We had to get up, confront the waiter, twice, before we got our bill. If I had had exact change, the tip would have been ZERO (in retrospect, I'm sorry I just didn't walk out, thirty minutes into this debacle). With so many excellent restaurants right there in Seven Corners, we haven't the foggiest just how this establishment remains in business.
I just fell on love with this restaurant that transports you back to the good old days. My husband and I went there for Valentine's Day and an old love song was being played in the background. The place was full but not noisy and they have a cozy couch areas. I loved the waiter who served us who seemed like this gentlemanly waiter you see in the movies! Â If you're looking for a special place beyond the casual but not super fine dining, this is the place to go to!
We had salmon and mozarella appetizer, the pasta with mussels, and steak which came with a delicious spinach parmigiana.  I enjoyed everything, especially the pasta which had a nice sauce that I dunked my bread in!  The serving was big and our waiter was kind enough to split  the pasta in  two half servings without my asking him!
We live in the Falls Church/Rte 50 area so we are definitely going back here again for another special occasion!
They finally got a new sign so don't be afraid to go in here. Â This is one of my top ten places in DC. Â Put on your slim Mad Men suit and prepare to step back in time. Â
I have taken friends and clients here who said they drove by it for 10 years and never thought twice it.......and then BAM, I have them hooked.
The food is spectacular. Â I recommend the eggplant parm for first timers as it will blow you away. Â Super nice staff that are true pro's. Â EVERYTHING I have had here is good.
I spoke to the owner once and asked him about the sign and he said that his focus is on the food and ingredients. Â He finally took my advice and got the new sign. Â no worries though, I KNOW the food will not change. Â
This place deserves to be packed every night.
Just returned from a wonderful first dining experience at Pistone's. Â A quiet Monday night but the food and service were excellent all around. Â Starting off with a pair of reds, cab sav and pinot noir by the glass, we decided to share a garden salad and caprese salad. We opted for the small portions of fettuccine in a veal ragu and pene rigate for the meal. Â All the food was timed just right and the service was attentive without being overbearing. Â Great ambiance reminiscent of a number of notable Italian places I've been to in Queens and Brooklyn. Â I will definitely be headed back.
Review Source:I went here last night for the first time since the 70s, and the choice to go was a good one. Â The food was delicious, portion sizes were good, and the service was great. Â The decor is definitely old school, but hey, who cares, when the food and service are so good. Â No one in our party had the mussels, but they must be good, because almost every other table around us had at least two plates full. Â The Chicken Parmesan & Spaghetti Carbonara were delicious!
Review Source:I love this place. The bartenders are so nice and attentive. The food is very good - definitely try the Petto di Pollo and the Eggplant Parmesan (fantastic). The caprese salad is delicious as is the sauteed spinach. And they put prosciutto on the bruschetta... genius. The dining room feels very "Godfather," very 1950's gangster hangout. They also have a great wine selection. If you are hosting a group they have a very nice private party room downstairs. I've started recommending this place to friends because they never disappoint. Telle and his crew do a great job!
Review Source:My husband and I tried this place after always driving by and wondering about it. The interior is super cool and retro. We are really into mid-century stuff, so we were pretty excited. I felt like I was in Mad Men or something. We sat in a big cushy booth and it was very romantic.
We had a really nice dinner. The bread was good and they served it with a homemade black olive tapenade that was amazing! We ordered a really good bottle of Dolcetto wine.
I tried the linguine pescatore which was a huge plate or seafood and linguine in a really nice wine and garlic sauce. It was a ton of seafood for the price. I couldn't even eat all off the mussels. My husband had the veggie pasta, which was tasty but not too exciting. We had a big side of garlic spinach which was really good.
We tried the tiramisu for dessert. It lacked flavor and was mostly whipped cream.
We really liked the service. It was old fashioned, where they leave you alone, but are still available if you need them. He was polite and served the wine correctly.
One note: the bar area was crammed full of grey-hairs singing kareoke, which was pretty funny at points. The restaurant only had a few other tables that night.
if you are looking for fast service and a hip trendy place, this place is not the one for you.
If you are looking for a cool throwback place with good food, romantic atmosphere, and no pretentiousness, this is your place.
I've been to this place for dinner once and drinks twice.
It is a throwback to old school Italian in every sense. Â The food is fantastic (half Italian here, so nice to see that there's obviously someone Italian in the kitchen), prices very reasonable for the quality (stuffed lobster was huge and orgasmic), with old world style; half expecting the Rat Pack to walk in.
There's a piano bar, and if you want to feel young, go into the piano bar (I'm in my 40's and felt like the youngun). Â The bartender (forget his name) is cute, friendly and accommodating.
This is a great place for a special occasion or a treat for a loved one (mom or grandma). Â I have never seen the place crowded and not sure why.
I was impressed with the taste and the presentation of our plates of pasta, tonight!
We got the chicken canneloni and the rigatonni with the seafood...I was amazed at the variety of seafood that came with my rigatonni and we got olive tapenade with our bread when we asked and delicious salads and a good portion of wine with each pour : ) We are going back!
I found out about this place through Living Social and kind of wish I hadn't as this place was not worth it.
The outside of the place and the sign has the look of a truck stop motel but I figured it might have been a hole in the wall type place. Â
The inside was dark and dingy and just felt like a smoky bar and not in the good sense so we decided to sit outside. Â
Service was utterly slow and the waiter barely stopped by. Â The food was not bad but nothing that would make me want to come back to suffer poor service for.
Nothing special and awful service on top of that. I believe it might have been due to handing over a living social coupon, I did witness our server visiting other tables more frequently. We were seated outside on a Saturday night immediately however that's prob bc its closer than bringing us inside. The menu did not show up until more than 15 mins of being seated and after I had gotten up to get it on my own. While the mare misto appeared appetizing in actuality it was not. There were also several little fruit flies buzzing about, one sky dived into my glass of wine.
Review Source:3 May 2012
I'd like to suggest your trying Pistone's Italian Restaurant at Seven Corners. Actually named Pistone's Italian Inn, but not really an inn as they have no rooms to let. The name is confusing; one bartender there told me that hardly a day goes by without someone phoning for over-night reservations. Anyway, Pistone's is a diamond in the---not rough, well-adorned. The cuisine is excellent at a reasonable cost. Telle Bonoduce, the chef-owner was culinary-schooled in Abruzzo, Italy, his home country. His dishes are as fancy as they are delicious!
--Richard S. Otto
I grew up in this Falls Church area... almost 30 years... and never once thought to try Pistone's. And honestly, probably never would have if it hadn't been for the LivingSocial deal they ran this year.
This place is something straight from the late 70's. Plenty of indoor seating and a small outdoor patio surrounded by blooming pink Azaleas.
The waiter greeted us promptly and was super friendly. Started us off with a basket of warm bread and butter.
We ordered the CALAMARI FRITTI and the MOZZARELLA FRITTA to start our meal. Both were OK. The marinara sauce was nice and tangy.
For our main course we ordered the LASAGNA and the PETTO DI POLLO with SAUTEED SPINACH WITH PARMIGIANO CHEESE.
The Lasagna was made with crepes instead of lasagna noodles which was kinda weird to me. It made the dish super soft. I probably wouldn't order this again. (see picture)
The Petto Di Pollo was delish! Pan fried chicken topped with pancetta, mushrooms and a marsala wine sauce. It comes with your choice of side... we choose the sauteed spinach which was also tasty. But I bet the mashed potatos would have gone wonderfully with the marsala wine sauce. (see picture)
All in all, it was a nice place out of the routine chain restaurants. I could see myself returning and trying something new.
We visited this Falls Church icon for the first time after more than a decade living here. Â How sorry we are for not patronizing it sooner. Â This place is a break from stereotypical chain Italian restaurants. Â They're fine, but it's nice to dine at an old school, long-established family Italian restaurant with subdued, elegant decor. Â In one word: Â Mature. Â So this is a really nice place for a date, event or business meal. Â
I had the Rigatoni Pescatora and my spouse had Salmon salad. Â The presentation had the WOW factor. Â Absolutely ridiculously delicious with ridiculous portions of seafood (mussels, clams, shrimp, and scallops) compared to EVERYWHERE else I've dined on similar dishes. Â I don't know if I'll order anything else when we return here. Â And the side salad with a perfect oil and vinegar dressing was entree-sized, too.
I had really high hopes after reading other reviews, and I've lived literally less than half a mile from the restaurant for 3 years and had yet to try it. Â But, I was really disappointed. Â The prices were a little high in my opinion. Â I had the linguine special with jumbo lump crab meat. Â The noodles that came out weren't even linguine! Â But, besides that, I felt the dish overall didn't have much flavor and the vegetables were over cooked. Â I did have an excellent dirty martini, though, and the salad was great. Â In the future, if I were to go back, I will simply sit in the bar, which seems to have tons of character, and get a cocktail, salad and maybe just a side of spaghetti.
Review Source:3.5 stars.
Pistone's... what an unusual place this is. As others have said, walking into Pistone's is like stepping into a time warp. I went on my first visit a few weeks ago. The outdoor seating leaves a little to be desired; it's right at Seven Corners so it feels a little exposed. I don't blame Pistone's for that since when it was originally set up there were likely a lot fewer cars on the road. I don't know that I would have enjoyed myself as much sitting inside though because it was INCREDIBLY loud in there thanks to some interesting live music. It might be a little muted in the actual restaurant seating area; I hope so anyway.
Anyway, the food was pretty decent. They're generous with the bread and the portions are more than is needed. The place definitely has its own vibe. I kept expecting Martin Scorsese's mother to come out with a big pot of meatballs and yell at me to watch my language and eat more.
I will likely come here again next time I have a hankering for Italian food... perhaps on "country music night" (or not). I don't think Italian food should be made fancy and expensive and for that particular cuisine prefer to stay as far away from chains as I can (no offense to Maggiano's or Olive Garden fans; it just doesn't appeal to me). I think Pistone's will be a nice option when the mood strikes for a nice, local and established place.
My wife and I go to Pistone's about once a week, and spend way too much money on alcohol (and food). Â But, we have a great time and love the regulars patronizing the bar. Â We always sit in the bar, as that is what we prefer, plus Bill is a great bartender. Â
The crowd is on the older side, but the stories you hear are ones to cherish. Â The place could use some remodeling, but hey, that's part of the places characters.
We highly recommend the white pizza, the chicken parmigiana, chicken Marsala, and the burgers!
Pistone must be Italian slang for the time period that encompassed the movie Casino. I'm not kidding when I say walking through the double-doors of that ominous white building is like stepping right into Scorsese's materpiece. Everything you expect is there. From the Captain & Tennille duo singing in the bar... Â to the waiter that's obviously been working there since he dropped out of high school 40 years ago... to the booths and menus that were around when Jimmy Carter was elected president. If it wasn't so classically stereotypical, it would be creepy. (Okay, it was still creepy... but also entertaining.)
The food itself was impressive in that everyone expected it to suck and it didn't. I thought for sure everything was going to be so very obviously frozen, but as best as I can tell, it was made in-house. Nothing was stuff you'd tell your friends they had to to try, but pretty much everyone cleaned their plates so it couldn't have been all that bad. What's more, I heard more than one person comment that the prices were relatively reasonable.
I honestly don't know what else to say about you, Pistone's. Just tone down the creepiness factor enough so that I don't feel dirty after I leave and I'll give you more stars. Or... maybe just keep on trucking until your style is hip again. If that happens, I promise I'll come back and write an update.
I've lived in NoVA my entire life and remember driving past this place, wondering how it seemed to stick around for so long when the parking lot never seemed full. Â I finally wandered in 3 years ago.
I've been here a handful of times with the husband and we're fans. Â We've had the filet, pork loin, prime rib, pasta, the salad bar - and desserts. Â Never once have we had a bad meal. Â The food has always been delicious, the service has been great.
On the weekends, the parking lot looks packed in the evening. Â I know they have something different for bar entertainment every night.
This place is like a time warp. Walk through the door and find yourself transported to 1981. Settle yourself into a comfy booth and enjoy the bread and excellent olive dip. Order the petto di pollo and be treated to a large flattened bird, topped with generous amounts of prosciutto and mozzarella. Or get the seafood rigatoni and enjoy a massive saucer of pasta and plump scallops, shrimp and mussels. At $14 you get what you pay for. Martinis arrive in a birdbath and are appropriately muddied with a splash of olive juice. Room for desert sir? Fuggedabout it. The entree was huge!
Review Source:If you want to feel like you just landed in North Jersey and have a inkling you might get wacked while you wait for your dinner then you came to the right place!
I've driven past it countless times and always see cars in the parking lot.  So Charity and I decided... its time to give it a try and we were in a real hunger for some good italian food.  I ordered the spaghetti and meatballs and was impressed to say the least we had bruschetta and house salads garlic bread and split a dessert (the cheesecake is not bad but not great)  the only thing I would say needed to be improved was the variety but everything we had was great  I will be going back to try more items on the menu in the near future.
NO NO NO !!!!
I went there for my Birthday with my family...I had no choice!!!(what a Birthday Celebration, right?! Sigh)
Well, the inside feels old and crowded.....and a bit D-E-A-D. The menu was not extraordinary...just order what I was able to eat. Well the food was worst than frozen food. I mean any "debutant" in cooking could have done better! I forced myself to eat my seafood pasta just because I was hungry. Everyone in my family was just disappointed in their dishes and I didn't even bother to order a desert for my birthday! I just wanted to leave...well I had a nice pleasant surprise as soon as I came home...my food came back up! Yes, it did...my stomach didn't even want to digest it! I drive by it everyday and look at it with despise!
I was out on a run to Home Depot, planning to hit Vapiano's on the way back to Rosslyn. Â I saw Pistone's and thought "hey, I'll try something different."
When I went in, it was like walking into a De Niro movie: Â dark, brick, wood paneling, old posters, a cozy little bar, Sinatra playing. Â It basically felt like an Italian supper-club out of the 1960s.
Sat down and ordered a Caesar salad and the spaghetti carbonara. Â I asked if they had any specialty cocktails, and all the waiter could think of was the "Italian margarita". Â Had one, and it was actually pretty good: a basic margarita but with limoncello in place of the lime juice. Â Note though that it packs a good punch, as it substitutes a liqueur for fruit juice.
I honestly haven't had much carbonara before, but I was basically pleased with what I got. Â I was at first horrified that the bread came with margarine instead of butter (who does that these days?), but thrilled that it also came with a tapenade made of kalamata, anchovies, and parmesan. Â Just slightly oceanic without being too fishy.
Overall not the kind of place I'd use as a go-to, but it was a really neat old-school dining experience, basically un-ironic retro. Â Worth dropping in to try that out once.
A strange place, scarily empty on a Friday night but actually the eggplant parm was pretty good. The bar there seems to be more happening than the restaurant. Can you say Karaoke? It's one of those places I'd probably not go to again, but if, for some reason, I had to go, I wouldn't be that bummed. Good luck finding your way into the parking lot!
Review Source:I dated someone whose Mom always raved about this place... per her suggestion, I had the surf and turf (mind you, this was almost 4 years ago). I remeber the steak being good but the lobster being not everything I thought it should be for my first time trying lobster....
Used to have live entertainment here... kind of a family feeling in the place. Not bad, but not great.
Parking and location are awkward, but not something that can be easily changed.
I had lunch at Pistone's Italian Inn yesterday. Â I was not impressed.
I had initially considered the salad bar that looked nice but was not anything special. Â When I learned that it was $14, I decided that it was too pricey.
I ordered the crab cake sandwich. Â It was full of crab but was on a roll that was quite dry and overly toasted. Â There was tartar sauce on the side but it did not moisten the sandwich enough. Â I ordered the side of fettuccine with white sauce. Â The sauce was very creamy and rich. Â However, the creaminess was not a plus as it was better described as runny.
The server was very nice and the ambiance was also nice. Â However, for lunch, it was too expensive for what I got.
Whoa, how badass is adding a business to Yelp that has been around for at least 20 years. Â For serious, this place has been around forever and I must have passed by it for the last 20 years of my life without going in. Â Hell, I even went to high school not too far from here. Â This restaurant is almost like that homeless person you know is there but choose to ignore for whatever reason.
Seeing as how my friends are all punks with various excuses as to why they can't do dinner ("I am still at work", "I have to eat with the wife", "I live in a different state"), I was forced to eat alone. Â Punks, the lot of them. Â In any case, the meat eater in me decided to order the prime rib with a side of fries. Â The prime rib was decent and reminiscent of the prime rib once served at Orleans House. Â The meat was covered in au jus on the plate and served with a side of horseradish. Â Sadly, there was more gristle than I would have cared for. Â The fries were pretty tasty. Â The bread that they served before the meal came with butter and crushed olives. Â That was unique.
The place looks a lot better than how it looks from the outside. Â The inside looks like an old school Italian style restaurant, the kind that you'd see in Goodfellas. Â The bar area has live music, and the walls are thick enough that it doesn't affect the dining area. Â The dining area is also not very big. Â The service was pretty good.
For the time being, I'll give it 3 stars until I go back and see how the Italian food is. Â Also, for those of you looking for a salad bar, I asked the waiter and he said that they offer the salad bar everyday 11 am-3 pm.
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