At first glance, you might expect a restaurant called Villa Mozart to serve Austrian or German food, given the provenance of its namesake. Yet the reason why it’s perhaps Fairfax’s top location for Italian cooking lies in the story of its chef. Coming out of culinary school, Andrea Pace’s first job was at the Villa Mozart restaurant in Merano, Italy, and resolved to one day open his own place of the same name.
After working in New York, then locally at Café Milano in Georgetown and Fiore de Luna in Great Falls, he finally got the chance to open his own dining room in the heart of Fairfax. The name? You guessed it, Villa Mozart. The restaurant is living up to its Michelin-starred inspiration in Merano, too, as Pace is turning out inspired Northern Italian cuisine.
The scene: With its subdued, mushroom-colored walls and artsy light fixtures, the owners reach for a touch of modernity. But the Old World is never far behind, as you glance at the sepia-toned photos of Italy on the walls and the single roses on the tables. The clientele is a cross-section of young and old, families and dates, the hip and the not-so-hip.
The pour: The limited wine list here could use some steroids. Two small pages contain about 50 selections, touching the major regions and styles of Italy with about one bottle each, and a smattering of French and New World offerings. Prices generally hover between $40 and $60, but I’d like to see a few more bottles that would be worthy matches for Pace’s cooking.
The taste: Pace’s cooking is a fine blend of Italian sensibilities, married to some classical French techniques and local American ingredients. Take the classic Caprese salad: Here, a rich buffalo mozzarella and fresh tomatoes are dressed up with avocado and chopped olives. Tiny shavings of beef carpaccio emerge from the kitchen suspended on a thin film of clear plastic, dotted with foie gras and droplets of aged balsamic.
Some pastas here are merely pleasant, like a cavatelli with sausage, broccolini and tomatoes, although some reach greater heights. A letter-perfect agnolotti is filled with braised chicken and eggplant, and tossed in a butter sauce with black truffle shavings.
Among the entrees, the pick of the lot is a tender, juicy pheasant breast, served with champagne-braised sauerkraut and an airy polenta mousse. Beef tenderloin and a Black Angus strip steak with gorgonzola sauce will keep the real meat eaters happy.
The touch: The vest-clad waiters sure know their way around the menu, but a few too many details slip through the cracks for a restaurant with fine-dining aspirations. Butter arrives five minutes after the bread. And I’ve been though an entire meal where the food runner got everyone’s choices mixed up at every single course.
Don’t miss: The limoncello soufflé dessert, which comes with a pistachio-and-berry-filled cannoli — a sensational way to finish the meal.
Why you won’t go: Because you’re a seafood lover. While lobster makes a welcome appearance around the menu — particularly in a risotto with mushrooms — you usually won’t find more than a fish special or two each day among the main courses. Pace sticks mainly to turf rather than surf, but with great results.
Why you will go: Because unlike almost every other neighborhood in Fairfax, the area around Villa Mozart lends itself to a pre- or post-meal stroll around the area.
If you go
Villa Mozart
Where: 4009 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax
Hours: Lunch: Monday – Friday 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Dinner: Monday – Saturday 5:30 to 10 p.m.
Prices: Appetizers $9 to $16; pastas and entrees $16 to $34
Information: 703-691-4747; villamozartrestaurant.com
Bottom line: Worth the trip, this modest little place is turning out some of the best Northern Italian in the Virginia suburbs.
