New Italian Restaurant 'Aperto' Opens in Foggy Bottom

WASHINGTON, DC — Contemporary Italian restaurant Aperto has just opened in Foggy Bottom, and Head Chef Luigi Diotaiuti is hoping to build on the success of his other D.C. eatery, Al Tiramisu in Dupont Circle.

The restaurant opened at 2013 I Street NW and will be serving lunch and dinner, including a three-course take-out express lunch for $25 and an in-house selection of cured meats and cheeses.

Diotaiuti has cooked for the likes of George Clooney, Hillary Clinton and Harrison Ford, and he has also "cooked at some of the top restaurants in France, Italy, Sardinia and even at the James Beard Foundation," a statement from the restaurant claims.

“I am thrilled that Aperto is now open in the former location of Primi Piatti, where I was head chef prior to opening Al Tiramisu,” Diotaiuti said in the statement. “It has been such a dream of mine to continue to share my Basilicata-influenced Italian cooking with Washington in another location."

The interior is meant to evoke the feel of an authentic Italian kitchen. "Aperto" means "open" in Italian, an atmosphere Diotaiuti said he hopes to create in the restaurant.

Image via Aperto