Cafe Dodici — more than just a place to eat!

Cafe Dodici — more than just a place to eat! Our goal is to provide you with a fulfilling dining experience with quality food, skillfully prepared and enjoyed in a welcoming, refined dining environment. Restaurateurs Lorraine Williams, her husband Alessandro Scipioni, and their niece Tsalika Rich have a unique philosophy on life and food that they share with each customer through the cuisine and ambiance at Cafe Dodici.

“Dodici” means “twelve” in Italian. It was chosen as the name because 12 plays a significant role in many areas of our daily lives—- 12 vibrations of tone, which gives us music; 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night, 12 months in a year. It is also a central theme in life from all over the world— Christianity’s 12 disciples, the 12 deeds of the Buddha, 12 astrological signs and on and on! In essence, the ‘magic’ of 12 affects your life every day. We share that “magic” with you!

Much time and energy has been devoted to the ambiance of our dining room and to the new gathering room for private parties, “Patricia’s Room.” To create a harmonious dining experience for our guests, Lorraine consulted a Feng Shui Master in China. Cafe Dodici’s decor is a compilation of artwork and artifacts from around the world. The two chandeliers were handmade and painted in Florence, Italy. There are paintings by Iowa artists as well as artists from India, China and Italy. We are especially proud of the oil painting of downtown Washington from 1907! We strive for an environment where you feel both pampered and relaxed—where you feel welcome again and again.