Pitango, a family-owned artisanal gelatería, has opened its 6th location in the DMV area. We went to the opening of the Adams Morgan location and concluded this may just be their best location so far which is a hybrid of their other locations serving coffee, savory sandwiches, gelato and alcoholic beverages.
When I first heard of Pitango neither the name nor logo sounded appealing to me so I had low expectations going in. However I let the product speak for itself, and boy did it shout loud with pride and quality. You walk into the Pitango Adams Morgan cafe and find a clean and minimal interior. The cafe’s interior is a work in progress with plenty of bare walls that will be hopefully dressed soon. It seats 40 people, with an outdoor patio that seats 15. The best part is it has wifi making it a great morning spot for the early risers and coffee lovers (picture below is my favorite working spot).
Speaking of coffee, we sampled their latte and were impressed by the subtle flavors. Their coffee is a customized blend created by local DC roaster Chris Vigilanti that conveys a smooth and toasted caramel flavor. They had the same mugs as Dolcezza which threw me off at first (especially since they are both serving the top gelatos in town). Note to our readers who prefer almond milk, Pitango serves a barista series almond milk so that’s good news for you! For our readers who prefer a spiced drink (aka alcoholic beverage), Pitango offers specialty drinks and alcoholic affogatos, combining spirits, like prosecco or liquor, with gelato, sorbet and coffee. Pitango Gelato + Café will have prosecco on tap, as well as Italian-sourced beer and wine.
Now all this drinks talk has made me hungry. Their food menu is Italian-inspired featuring staples including charcuterie, sandwiches, salads, and pastries. Notable DC chef Alex McCoy of Alfie’s and the upcoming Lucky Buns, consulted on the savory menu.
Now on to the heart of this article, the gelato. To summarize for you, Dolcezza has some serious competition. Pitango’s flavors were bold and from every bite you could tell the ingredients were of high quality. Pitango Adams Morgan will be the first gelateria in DC to showcase the Cattabriga Effe 6 Effe 6 Vertical Gelato maker, which will bring gelato production to the front of the house so that customers can view the gelato being churned in an old-style vertical gelato machine from Italy. The vertical gelato maker also allows Pitango makers to have full creative control over the quality, consistency and flavor – the vertical opening allows gelato makers to add unique and fun ingredients to create customized flavors. My top 3 flavors were: Pistachio, Mango and Hazelnut.
Now go get your gelato on.
Follow Pitango here: Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.