I've been given a choice between these 2 in DC for a small upscale dinner.

Any advice?

I assume you mean the Melrose in the Park Hyatt( there is a Melrose hotel in the area).

I don't think there is any comparison. Kinkead's cooks fresh fish. Melrose prepares excellent dishes with a chef who always seems to be there.

Kinkead's is a noisy happening, while Melrose is quiet and sophisticated.

Melrose has dance band on Fri-SAt, and free corkage on Sun.

Fish is fish, and cooking is cooking and Brian Mc Bride knows how to cook.

Kinkeads is quientessential DC.

But I'd pick Melrose in a heartbeat.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by gleff:
Kinkeads is quientessential DC.

But I'd pick Melrose in a heartbeat.</font>


What is quintessential DC? Like the Palm & Prime Rib are the other two Q's?

I have to give my nod to Kinkeads, or its Virginia offshoot Colvin Mill. The Washingtonian gives Kinkeads 4 stars, and Melrose two. You may surmise from my username, I like fish.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by scubadiver:
I have to give my nod to Kinkeads, or its Virginia offshoot Colvin Mill. </font>

Colvin Run Tavern is Kinkead's restaurant in Tysons Corner, and it's focus is meat.

Nice place.

Poor service.

Decent but disappointing food.

It gets some good reviews, but I have yet to be impressed there.

From what I understand, business is down ~ 70% there as well.

I'd go to Melrose in a second. Very pretty restaurant. Food is exceptionally good. Great service. And it's a very DC scene. Power breakfasts are great there, too. (the hotel is great: excellent suite deals on the weekends.)

I am anything but a fan of Kinkeads and Colvin Run. I have never had a good experience at Kinkeads, and I had to go there for lunch a lot when I was a K St. lobby guy. Lame food. Fairly bland space. Really snooty, too-cool-for-school service.
I remember once picking at a plate of mahi-mahi and thinking: this is really terrible.

Now, I should say that Mrs. M.Leo and I had a very, very nice dinner for her birthday at Colvin Run, not too long after it opened. We had a nice table in one of the pretty dining rooms (do NOT sit in the dining room in the front, with the view of parking lot...) We had the set dinner, with wine pairings for each course, and it was fantastic. Great service. When we went back a few months later, we were treated terribly and walked out. Amazing. We have not been back since. I know a lot of people who have a similar story.