New Italian restaurant opens in D.C.
Ulivo Italian Kitchen & Wine Bar opened on February 26th in the Park View/Pleasant Plains area of Washington, D.C. The new establishment features Italian cuisine and a curated selection of wines.
The restaurant is the first solo venture for owner Tim Monaghan, who left a career in banking and finance to enter the hospitality industry. He gained front-of-house experience at several French restaurants, including Georgetown's Apéro, Lutèce, and La Bonne Vache, before opening his own establishment. In the kitchen, Monaghan is joined by chef Nick Perkins, who previously cooked at Petite Cerise and Cece's Roland Park in Baltimore. The menu focuses on handmade pastas, with dishes like mezze rigatoni with a vodka sauce bolognese and fusilli with bresaola-braised collards. Notably, nothing on the menu at Ulivo is priced over $30, a conscious decision by Monaghan to "keep the cost down and keep the arrogance down." The beverage program complements the accessible Italian fare with a focus on spritzes, negronis, and a selection of Italian wines. The restaurant at 2737 Sherman Ave NW accommodates 65 to 70 guests indoors with an additional 20 seats on its patio. In a move to maintain a casual neighborhood feel, Ulivo operates on a walk-in-only basis. The space was previously home to another Italian restaurant, Capa Tosta.
