DC Coast

Review by DCMAFoodie on February 20, 2009

Review by finerthings on November 28, 2007

DC Coast, one of the sister restaurants to Ten Penh, Ceiba, and Acadia is an excellent choice for seafood, but disappoints in originality and noise level.
We were fortunate enough to sit on the third level, which is the quietest, but having descended to the bathroom in the basement, I could hear how terribly noisy it was on the main and lower levels, so we were lucky to have the table we had.
The food was tasty, but pricey; however, the presentation of the Tuna Tartare is amazing, served in the half coconut almost like a cerviche, and the hot peppers and onion made it seem like more of a ceviche than a tartare.
Bottom line is that it's a tried and true seafood place, but don't expect any new age fusion drinks, you'll have to go next door to Lima for a mojito or margarita, but the service with a smile makes it an all around excellent place for a date or business dinner.

Review by j_flowers on June 5, 2006

Took the fiancee here for her birthday and we both loved it. I would rank this in the top tier for DC. If you're going here on a date, you must sit upstairs, otherwise you'll be cramped and have to talk loudly to be heard.

Appetizers we split: Goat cheese and mushroom chile relleno and the Field Green and Mushroom Salad. Both were excellent. The relleno had a very nice and light batter and had several kinds of tasty mushrooms. I could have gone for more salsa. The salad had mixed field greens on one side and a mushroom/grana podanna cheese mixture on the other. The honey truffle viniagrette was incredible.

For entrees I had the crab tower and she got the mushroom-crusted halibut. The crab tower had a perfectly fried soft shell topped by a very good crab cake, all over a corn, tomato, okra, and leek succatash with a tabasco beurre blanc. The crab cake wasn't as good as Kinkead's or those in Oxford or St. Michael's on the eastern shore. But the soft shell was as good as any I've ever had, and I've eaten dozens if not hundreds of them. The halibut wasn't anything special in my mind, but it was executed perfectly and my girl was extremely happy with it.
For dessert we split the chocolate bomb. I'm not a big sweets person so my description may not be that accurate, but I think it was a ball of chocolate mousse on top of something crunchy all covered in a layer of dark chocolate. It was garnished with mandarinquats, a hyrid kumquat/madarin. Very tasty.
2 aps, 2 entrees, 1 dessert, 2 cocktails and 5 glasses of wine: $174 incl. tax and 20% tip. And worth it!

Review by mspatterson on November 23, 2004

We were seated upstairs in a corner, which means we escaped the noise but it felt a little claustrophobic, particularly with the table next to us soveryclose. The complimentary little loaf of sourdough was good but hard to parcel out without just ripping it apart with your bare hands. Both of our entrees were delicious. My friend's pork chop was huge and the yams were tasty. My scallops were good-sized though there were only four of them, but the eggplant and cauliflower were plenty. (It does make for a colorless meal, though.) My dessert was one of the best I've ever had. A chocolate and peanut butter bar that is bigger than most candy bars, accompanied with honey and carmelized bananas. I would have licked the plate if I thought it would have gone unnoticed. As always, it's the service that puts a place like this over the top, and our waitress, Denise, was delightful.

Review by tjb on August 9, 2004

DC Coast is one of my very favorite seafood restaurants in the area, and they get bonus points for having a truly wonderful Restaurant Week deal! Instead of the limited menu typical of most participating restaurants, DC Coast allows you to choose any entree a soup or salad and a choice of desserts for $20 (lunch). They are wonderful! I highly recommend them at any time, but particularly encourage people to take advantage of their deals during Restaurant Week.

Review by smiranda on May 18, 2004

I hosted a wedding reception for 47 people in their Wine Room. Only 44 showed up; but I paid for 47 anyway. For a large party like this, the restaurant demands a 20 percent gratuity. I was permitted to bring my own wine for a $20 per bottle corkage fee; but that deal has since been modified. Now, the corkage fee is pegged to the price of the cheapest bottle of the same size on their wine list. (Their wine list has some exceptional wines, ranging from $25 for a pinot grigio to $125 for Silver Oak, Alexander Valley.) The caesar salad was very good; but meager. It consisted of three or four small, tender leaves of romaine lettuce drizzled with dressing and grated cheese, and a few croutons. I didn't see or taste any truffles in their truffled mashed potatoes.The creme brulee was very good.The bar tab seemed a bit high, from $2.75 for a soft drink to $10 for a martini.

Overall, I would rate this restaurant as good, with good service and ambience; but not a very good value.

Review by micheleeats on January 29, 2004

Having been to DC Coast several times before, I was already expecting a great meal. To start with, I love the tall, sweeping ceilings, the giant mirrors behind the bar, and the wide open spaces. The brass mermaid in the entranceway is majestic. This is a lively restaurant with a bar crowd full of the usual DC suspects -- lawyers, politicians and business travelers visiting DC for conferences. Not having a reservation or a desire to wait for a table, my friend Steph and I sat at the bar. We each ordered wine. Steph's wine was served in a glass laced with someone else's lipstick, but other than that the wine was an immediate success. For our appetizer we ordered the foie gras and poached pear, which was... heavenly. The foie gras melted in your mouth and was highlighted by the subtle sweetness of the spiced pear. The balsmic syrup added poignancy. Absolutely worth it, even though it took about 20 minutes to reach the bar and cost $16 an order. Steph ordered the grilled salmon with a jumbo fried shrimp and creamy grits bathed in a cajun-style shrimp butter. The salmon was cooked perfectly mediu, the jumbo prawn crunchy and flavorful, the grits absolutely creamy and nicely edged with the spicy shrimp butter. I ordered the whole crispy striped bass, served with a side of cucumber relish. Although I'm not a skeemish person, some of my neighboring diners were, and the vision of this very large, crusty fish, perched on its belly with head and tail attached and wrapped around the edge of my plate, and its scary mouth gaping open, caused quite a stir. The salty crispiness of the skin was superb, although the fish itself slightly overcooked. Its dryness was, fortunately, corrected with the salty garlic soy dipping sauce accompanying the fish. We both found the portions to be just about right. We moved on to dessert and shared the roasted apple with mascarpone cream and balsamic caramel. This was served with wafers of crisp, nutty, airy wafers. Again, a great balance of flavors.

Overall, another excellent dining experience. If I could change anything about DC Coast, it would be a small adjustment to the prices. Appetizers, desserts and wines tend to be just a little steep, even for what it is.

Review by attycrow1 on January 13, 2004

The Chinese Lobster was a tasty and unique (in my experience) presentation, in a bed of crispy, buttery spinach. We ate in the large lower room, loud and bustling, but not obnoxious. Salad and dessert bookended a tasty meal.

Review by Michelle Sicola on January 8, 2004

DC Coast is consistently excellent. No matter what the people in my party order, we are guaranteed a fabulous dinner. The fois gras is the best around -- it melts in you mouth and has amazing taste and texture. Over the years, I've had everything on the menu but my favorite is always the Chinese lobster -- interesting, tasty and very different. And the souffle -- always the best. We ordered the white chocolate souffle the other evening and even though I am not a huge fan of white chocolate, the cosistency and taste was to die for.

Review by iadams on December 8, 2003

Fans rave about DC Coast's seafood entrees, and while they shine, a recent visit highlighted the lamb and beef main courses available on the menu. A touch-and-go wine experience (corked Burgundy, notably removed from the bill to our surprise) was overcome by the gorgeous appetizers - the crabcake and fried oysters each deserve a second visit. For entrees, the generous lamb shank melted from the bone and another item, a rack of lamb special with a mint puree baste, was extraordinary. The highlighted scallops with pumpkin gnocci and cider reduction paled in comarison, with less memorable flavors and few gnocci. Desert is well worth the experience, and will give one more reason to come back for a return visit. Service was excellent, though the bar staff may have been the exception to the rule.