| Address | 800 Connecticut Ave., Washington, DC 20006 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (202) 463-8700 |
| Fax | (202) 785-9863 |
Ranked 9 in the top 100 restaurants in Washington, Parry and I expected a culinary journey and we weren’t wrong. Too bad the trek was filled with exciting menu concepts that for the most part fell flat on the plate.
Chef Tony Conte is imaginative offering up plates like Parry’s appetizer of seared scallops in a coffee mustard dressing. The scallops while overly salted were cooked to perfection and the coffee mustard dressing was surprisingly delicious. My duck confit with grilled peaches, and frisee pleased the pallet but didn’t ignite any fireworks.
Parry opted for a main course of Wagyu skirt steak with roasted Chinese eggplant, miso and fried potatoes while I selected the organic chicken breast with roasted zucchini puree, savory granola, coddled egg, and squash blossom. The skirt steak was sinewy and tough and Parry felt the Wagyu sauce overpowered every other flavor on the plate.
My main course fared slightly better. The organic chicken was cooked sous vide so it was tender and moist and the roasted zucchini puree was a smokey delight. The coddled egg provided a rich contrast to the plain chicken and the savory granola, while too sparse, was scrumptious.
Dessert proved to be the biggest disappointment. Parry’s choice of chocolate custard, pistachio ice cream and espresso cream mimicked an upscale version of a pre-fab chocolate cake and forced the rich pistachio ice cream to claim centre stage. My vanilla cheesecake with graham cracker streusel and Bing cherry compote failed to inspire a second bite.
I've eaten here twice, once on a lawyer-type business lunch and once with my teenage daughter. The service was equally friendly and professional both times, something that definitely is not always the case at upper-end DC restaurants. The food is good enough to justify the prices too, although you wouldn't want to eat here everyday if you're paying for it yourself.
The best thing about it is to look at Washington power brokers. I thought it was mediocre all the way around. Food and presentation kind of ordinary. Decor kinda dry. Just didn't work for me.
While the dining experience at the Oval Room isn't quite up to the level of neighboring Equinox, the prices are lower and the portions larger. I take my male guest to the Oval Room, where you have good quality and great quantity and my female guests to the more delicately portioned Equinox.
I had dinner at Oval Room as part of restaurant week. It is relatively pricy (entrees +$30) but the food was excellent. I especially liked their green salad, it was prepared with mache greens, with a very delicate dressing. They didn't have a vegetarian option for the prix fix menu, so the chef prepared a risotto especially for me. Our waiter was formal but helpful and friendly. It has a pleasant, professional atmosphere.
The atmosphere in the Oval Room is well suited for couples making eyes at one another while at the same time providing an invitation for high level white collar crime speak; the ambiance is indecisive and altogether identity challenged. The tight bar and main dining room do not provide any relief to this duality. Despite this, the service is impeccable, and the staff is well versed and eager to meet your every need.
My visit was during restaurant week and was all the rage. Scores of never-would-be-patrons lined up for the price fixé menu. The bread provided was mere table candy, a supermarket style rustic snack that went largely uneaten. For my $20.04, I choose a wonderfully prepared appetizer of beer battered oysters that were not only succulent, but well textured and left no bitter after taste, as I find the majority of battered/fried oysters do. Not to be outdone, the main course, monk fish, was a melt in your mouth experience. The Oval Room could not keep it up, however, as it produced peanut butter terrine with peanut butter crunch ice cream for dessert that, while tasty, was obviously ordered/prepared in bulk for restaurant week and kept in the deep-freeze. It was difficult to differentiate between the terrine and ice cream. Despite the poor finish, all the dishes were well presented and bountiful. On balance, the Oval Room is a must do, once and only once. It is, after all, in close proximity to the Oval Office.
