Washington D.C. (including Baltimore) - DC over Memorial Day; Eat/Kennedy Center

Hi, all.

I'll be doing a quick trip to DC (in on Thurs, out on Sat) to see "Follies" at the Kennedy Center the Friday night of Memorial Day weekend. Staying at the Willard and will be solo. Wondering where would be a good place to grab a bite (steak, seafood, French) in the area with enough time to make a 7:30 curtain? Bar seating ok and sometimes preferred. And, what about the Roof Terrace restaurant in the KC; is that a good option?

Thanks for your help, everyone!

Marcel's (http://www.marcelsdc.com/), a French/Belgian restaurant at 2401 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, offers a 3-course pre-Theatre menu for $58 (+tax & tip), which also includes roundtrip car service between the restaurant and the Kennedy Center. The food is very good and the total package is a good value. I've not eaten there solo, but wouldn't hesitate to do so. I know there is bar seating. I've not eaten at the Roof Terrace recently, so can't comment on that.

The Roof Terrace is not particularly good - I would avoid it. Marcel's is a good recommendation. Kaz Sushi is also very good. It's about one mile away.

I agree that the Roof Terrace is not worth going to. I've been to Marcel's once and thought it was good. Another good option is Notte Bianche on New Hampshire Ave.

If you want to eat earlier, Hook in Georgetown is a good seafood place and you can walk or take the circulator bus to connect with the Kennedy Center shuttle. (I enjoy the walk from Georgetwon if the weather is nice.)

Thanks so much for the info! I appreciate it.

Kaz Sushi is excellent, but doesn't open until 6:00. You _can_ be in and out in 45 minutes and to the Kennedy Center with plenty of time for curtain, but if you like to eat leisurely, you might want to save it for another time.

If looking for steak - Bourbon Steak at the Four Seasons in Georgetown can work. You can grab a seat at the bar - it is a a short cab ride to Kennedy Center. Opens at 5:30 on weekends. Some other options - right next to the Willard you have The Occidental Grill good bar and food. The W Washington on the corner of 15th & Pennsylvania is the J&G Steakhouse. A block away from the Willard is Old Ebbitt Grill- a fantastic place with excellent food/bar and the best raw bar in town

I took some out of town guests to the Roof Terrace for dinner. Expensive, small portions, and only "fairly good" quality. Tourist trap.

Georgetown is so close so there are many options -- or for that matter, Foggy Bottom or even downtown. The closest walking distance place at which I've had a good experience is Dish, which is only 2 blocks (I think) from the KC.

My wife and I had a good dinner a couple of years ago at Notti Bianche, 824 New Hampshire Ave. NW, slightly closer to the Kennedy Center than Dish. But either place would be fine... so you should, of course, see if one or the other has a 1,000-point OpenTable reward offered :)

Have to concur with other posters on the Terrace. Try Circle Bistro or Rivers at the Watergate for upscale beaneries in walking distance.

If money and a taxi ride are no object try Vidalia or Kinkeads.

Have to concur with other posters on the Terrace. Try Circle Bistro or Rivers at the Watergate for upscale beaneries in walking distance.

If money and a taxi ride are no object try Vidalia or Kinkeads.

Kinkead's is okay and not terribly expensive, and the walk is only 0.7 miles, so easily doable, ESPECIALLY in May.

The best seafood I've eaten in America is at BlackSalt in Palisades, well worth a cab if you really wanted to do that, and in my opinion - better than Le Bernadin.

Marcel's is a great tip as well, since French was an option, as well as RMINIONE recommending Bourbon Steak. Both would be nice options that are walkable to Kennedy Center.

I absolutely love Kaz as well, but the walk would be a bit further and as ambyr mentions, it doesn't open until 18h00.

Enjoy your time in Washington!

-jeremy

My favorite spot in the area is the West End Bistro (http://www.westendbistrodc.com/) - Eric Ripert's restaurant at the Ritz. Unbelieveable food, great atmosphere, and the bar menu is particularly good. Not a far walk, and there's a free shuttle bus from the Foggy Bottom metro that takes you there (http://www.kennedy-center.org/accessibility/other.html).

Kinkead's is okay and not terribly expensive, and the walk is only 0.7 miles, so easily doable, ESPECIALLY in May.

The best seafood I've eaten in America is at BlackSalt in Palisades, well worth a cab if you really wanted to do that, and in my opinion - better than Le Bernadin.


Enjoy your time in Washington!



I enjoy Blacksalt as well (although I wouldn't call it the best seafood I have eaten in America), but would not recommend it for this particular outing. You would have to call for a taxi to pick you up(as getting one in that neighborhood is by no means assured) , and with the possibility of traffic tie-ups around the Key Bridge affecting access to both M Street and the Whitehurst, I would save this restaurant for another time.

On a separate note, Blacksalt also has a fish market, which while expensive, is really top-class.

Although J&G Steakhouse is certainly well-regarded, I did not particularly enjoy my meal there last weekend.
Marcel's is probably the best recommendation for nearby dining/ease of transportation, but my personal preferences would be, for restaurants in the general vicinity, West End Bistro, Ris or Blue Duck Tavern OR, not in the general vicinity but easily doable with a taxi, Central.

Although J&G Steakhouse is certainly well-regarded, I did not particularly enjoy my meal there last weekend.
Marcel's is probably the best recommendation for nearby dining/ease of transportation, but my personal preferences would be, for restaurants in the general vicinity, West End Bistro, Ris or Blue Duck Tavern OR, not in the general vicinity but easily doable with a taxi, Central.

Cheers - I thought J&G was too highly reviewed as well. MY wife and I had a 5 course prix fixe for $59 or something god-awfully low, and were completely stuffed. However, that didn't translate to a great experience. The food was okay (good at best) and the courses came out LITERALLY right after another - when one was being taken away, another set of servers put our new plates down in front of us - not a good experience and we had no time for breaks between any of our courses.

That said, the dining room was nice with some good views of the Monument - but I wouldn't go back...

Ris or Blue Duck are good recommendations and WestEnd Bistro is good as well - I think the OP wanted fish at first, so Kinkead's is always available and easily walkable (but I still don't recommend that) and I without a doubt would tell ANYONE to goto Central (gone four times with the fifth time being on Friday :) ) - simply one of the best all-around restaurants here in Washington.

-jeremy

I really appreciate everyone's input. I'll be in DC for two nights (landing at DCA--allegedly--at about 4:30 on Thursday) and am thinking of eating near the Willard that evening. Several people have mentioned Central; I'm guessing that's Central Michel Richard which looks to be nearby at 10th and Pennsylvania?

Friday, the evening of the show, based on the recommendations here, I'm leaning toward Bourbon Steak, Kinkead's, West End Bistro, or Ris. I'd like to be able to eat at 5 or 5:30 and have plenty of time to get to the Kennedy Center without wolfing down my dinner and racing like a madman, and I'm not at all familiar with that part of town. And seeing the show is the specific purpose of the trip.

Can't wait to get there; I haven't been in DC for about 9 years and am really looking forward to this trip! (BTW, it's amazing how many restaurants that are listed in the April, 2002 "Where" magazine are no longer in business)!

Thanks again for all the info.

Bill.

I really appreciate everyone's input. I'll be in DC for two nights (landing at DCA--allegedly--at about 4:30 on Thursday) and am thinking of eating near the Willard that evening. Several people have mentioned Central; I'm guessing that's Central Michel Richard which looks to be nearby at 10th and Pennsylvania?

Friday, the evening of the show, based on the recommendations here, I'm leaning toward Bourbon Steak, Kinkead's, West End Bistro, or Ris. I'd like to be able to eat at 5 or 5:30 and have plenty of time to get to the Kennedy Center without wolfing down my dinner and racing like a madman, and I'm not at all familiar with that part of town. And seeing the show is the specific purpose of the trip.

Can't wait to get there; I haven't been in DC for about 9 years and am really looking forward to this trip! (BTW, it's amazing how many restaurants that are listed in the April, 2002 "Where" magazine are no longer in business)!

Thanks again for all the info.

Bill.

Enjoy everything...

Yes, the 'Central' everyone is referring to is on 10th & Penn NW, pronounced 'cen-trawl' and is one of my favorite go-to restaurants in the city. Just make sure to grab reservations (opentable.com) because the place gets really packed. Oh, and if you know about it - Central won the James Beard award for Best New Restaurant for the whole of the country in 2008.

Your set of restaurants for dinner before the show at the Center sound good and the closest to the Kennedy Center is RIS (at 0.6miles away), although Bourbon Steak is probably closer, since you can take the Rock Creek Trail directly from the Four Seasons down to the Kennedy Center without many traffic lights - just the runners and bikes passing you by.

If you have no aversion to walking a few minutes, you can make the short trip ~10 minutes or so from ALL restaurants to the Kennedy Center and you obviously won't have to worry about crossing busy streets, etc, since the whole area is walked a lot by folks. Also, there is a free Kennedy Center shuttle bus from the outside of the Foggy Bottom Metro Station (I & 23rd St) that you can take (no, you don't need to be a Metro rider to use the free shuttle) if you have a disability or if its pouring rain.

Good luck & Have fun - take a look at the Galleries to see any special exhibits going on while you are in town!

-jeremy