Tarì Trattoria brings the Amalfi Coast to the outskirts of Union Market
Tarì Trattoria, the work of Francesco Amodeo, serves homemade pasta and raw fish on the ground floor of an apartment complex.
Located on the ground floor of an elegant apartment complex just outside the bustling Union Market district, Tarì is known for its homemade pasta, brilliant raw fish, and coastal ambiance. Its owner, Francesco Amodeo, is also the founder of Don Cicco & Figli, the acclaimed Washington, D.C., amaretto producer.
The modernized Amalfi Coast recipes served at Tarì have their origins in Amodeo's childhood in the picturesque village of Furore, and are also inspired by restaurant kitchens throughout southern Italy.
The fregola sarda salad ($16) combines pickled mussels, roasted red pepper purée, fennel pollen, and cilantro gremolada. Bread baskets keep arriving with herb focaccia ($7), served with olive oil in ceramic pots imported from Italy. A generous portion of cured fish crudo is balanced atop burrata, garden tomato, and tonnato sauce in the Amalfi Antica starter ($21).
At any given time there are four types of fresh pasta, starting at $25, with dishes ranging from traditional Calabrian fusilli to Prince Edward Island mussels and beef ragu.
A curved bar showcases the owner's extensive line of bottled amaro, and is where neighborhood regulars like to sit. There are also cozy nooks for dates, and enameled sculptures resembling sea anemones, shipped with great care from Italy, add a splash of color to the wood-paneled dining room.
Espresso martinis with reposado tequila are all the rage, and Tarì's frothy version is no exception. Even so, any drink prepared by the talented bartender Ulf Andreas Ekholm, a former member of Left Door, is a good choice. For example, a striking Opalite Spritz made with edible gold ($15).