| Address | 1001 16th St., Washington, DC 20036 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (202) 783-2599 |
| Fax | (202) 783-3444 |
Fran O'Brien's has wonderful steak. This bar/restaurant is in the basement floor of the hotel, so it's a bit dark. It's sports-oriented, with televisions in the bar and dining area. The service is wonderful. The meals are a la carte. After an extremely disappointing experience at Bobby Van's (we will never go back) this is now our favorite steak place. The restaurant supports Rolling Thunder and other veteran's groups. You may also have seen it mentioned in the Doonsbury comic strip a while back.
I don't usually go to steakhouses, I think I was expecting a greasy steak and very poorly done veggies, but they were both excellent. The filet here was amazing. The asparagus was huge and potatoes perfect.The meat was seriously like velvet...if meat can be described as that. We had a bottle of red wine that wasn't too expensive and hit the spot. The bar isn't young or too loud, but a great undiscovered happy hour spot. We also found out that Fran's hosts injured vets from Walter Reed on Fridays to eat and drink for free. Great food and really great community service. If you're going out to treat yourself, this would be the first place I'd recommend.
This is a steakhouse and the meat is excellent, but the menu has other things. Lots of pictures of Washington Redskins on the walls. This is a kind of "old boys" restaurant where cigar smoking is allowed and encouraged. It's in the downstairs of the hotel (but run separately). Prices for everything are separate (ala Mortons) One pound baked potato is $5, side of mushrooms is $7-8. But the service is excellent and the tables are well spaced apart and seats are comfortable. It is a place where you can have a meal and actually relax and the waiters (I've never had a female server) don't rush you. It's expensive, but worth it.
A good steakhouse, but not affiliated with the hotel in whose basement the restaurant resides. Al a carte will have you spending $5 for a one pound potato and $7 for mushrooms. Good quality food, but unless you can take a $168+ hit for dinner, you may want to use it only for special occasions. Losts of sports memoribilia - Fran O'Brian played football. Also, cigars available, so cigar friendly, which is good if you smoke cigars. Lots of televisions. In a windowless basement. Great service.
