This restaurant was in my hotel so it made it easier to stop here when I arrived on the last Wednesday of July. The part of the restaurant where I met all of my sisters was more of a bar type location rather than a sit down location. I ordered two different appetizers for my meal. I got the fries and the chicken wings. I had been informed by the sisters that I joined that I had to always ask for what I wanted because there was like one waiter. The chicken wings and fries came out hot. Though the wings had some charred parts, they were pretty good. They had some spicy green sauce on them and I can't remember what its name was. The fries were decent and nothing special. There was a a tartar based sauce that was good on both the fries and the wings. Overall a decent hotel restaurant but with all of the options for food in the area not necessarily somewhere I will go back to. read more

Circle Bistro - Chicken Wings - New American Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Don't really know about their regular dishes but the food quality for their catering isn't that great. Their great ambiance and friendly service made up for it though. Was here for a big group dinner and cocktail reception. The hors d'oeuvre were amazing. Beautifully created as well as delicious. The little area for outdoor reception was by the swimming pool (which was closed) and was quite nice. They had outdoor heaters (the weather was getting chilly). Circle Bistro is in the basement with little natural light. However, their ambience made up for it, and this place must feel so cozy and warm in winter. read more

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This is a very interesting place for a get together and I was not impressed by the exterior of the hotel but they allow group reservations on a Friday evening and that's tough in DC. We had a little class reunion here and because we were sharing the bar area, it was tough to hear the speaker. The bar seating behind the large pillar is awkward but it's more about the company we keep right? They had a decent selection of bar food and the drinks were just fine: - Chicken Wings - Crab Balls - Veggies with Hummus - Crispy Calamari - Crispy Brussel Sprouts read more

***bar review*** What's a gal to do with idle time on her hand? Grab a drink somewhere, of course! As the presidential motorcade whizzed by (quitting time for Mr. President) I ducked into Circle Bistro not knowing what to expect. The bar is swanky. I know that word gets thrown around a lot, but that is the best way to describe it. I didn't notice a bar food menu, but I did get myself a signature cocktail, the Cherry Blossom. It was just what this gal needed. Made with vanilla vodka, rum and pomegranate juice, it was a sweet way to start my Happy Hour night out. Best part... it was $7 instead of $12! That's a sweet HH deal if you ask me! I'll see you back here. I need to try those fries Kelly G. boasts about! read more

Finally made it back to Circle Bistro after enjoying my first visit over a year ago. As usual I sat at the bar - there was another woman dining alone (who was a regular), and a very friend woman bartender who was quite down to earth. I had a hard time deciding on dinner, and decided to give the burger a try. WOW. I'm glad I did. It was a nice size (not too big) and served on a fresh brioche bun. It was brilliant. One of the best burgers I have ever had in my life. No joke. The price was nice, too. I also had two glasses of a sauv blanc that weren't bad and was entertained by good bar conversation with the bartender and the regular, my laptop, and the comical collection of drunk hotel guests. I really wish I wouldn't have waited to visit Circle Bistro again, as I'm moving soon - but it's just delicious and I intend on being a regular here as much as I can before moving. read more

Went here recently for a friend's birthday party. The bar area easily accommodated a large number of guests, most of whom were able to sit together at a long raised table with barstools. Drinks were generously poured and the bartender was this fantastic older British woman who made sure the birthday boy was well taken care of. Not having had dinner, we ordered a cheeseburger, croque madame and some dips and bread. Cheeseburger was solid, cooked well and the fries were decent. Croque madame came out looking a bit blackened but whatever. About 5 minutes later, a barback came rushing out with an egg and a small container of hollandaise. Perplexed, my dining companion was instructed by the barback to put the egg on top of the sandwich, and then the guy slowly poured hollandaise over the whole thing. Who knew it was do-it-yourself dinner? This place honestly would have had a fourth star if it hadn't been so disgustingly HOT inside. It's a 60 degree evening in Washington and they have the gas powered faux fireplace in full force. It wouldn't have killed them to turn on the air a bit, as I'm sure it would've been warm inside with all the people milling about anyway. Anyhow, it's a pleasant, sleek looking hotel lobby which is good for a slightly older (mid-30s) crowd who are there more for the conversation than the binge drinking (although the latter was well-attended to as well.) read more

Circle Bistro - molten chocolate cake - New American Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

This spot holds a special place in our family. 11 years ago my husband and I ate here after getting engaged at the U.S. Botanic Garden! We recently went back for a nostalgic dinner and the service was fantastic. The best thing about the meal was the wine & cheese pairing- probably the best I have had in the city, and we have done a few. I actually snapped a picture of the descriptions so that we can look for each of them later. Outstanding dinner! Thanks for taking care of us on our special night! read more

Please note the number of non-DC yelpers who have inflated this rating... no offense but just a word. This place is overhyped and waaay overated by Tom Sistema (always appearing on "best" lists). My gripes: 1.) it is in a hotel lobby and does very little to disguise the fact. it feels like eating in an Ikea sample room- one of the spare ones... 2.) it is overpriced for the food quality and menu is very limited For the same type of food and vibe done MUCH better I would suggest: 1.) Firefly 2.) Ardeo / Bardeo 3.) Peacock Cafe in Georgetown read more

This review is for the bar only. There's not a lot of afterwork drinks options in Foggy Bottom. So when I made plans to have drinks with a former coworker, I wasn't sure where we were going to go. But he recommended here. We grabbed some seats in front of the fireplace and TV. Then chatted over a glasses of really good spanish red wine. We also split an order of their delish roasted potato frites. But the fun came later. My coworker left and my buddy Kristen F. met me there. I had another glass of wine, and she had a Washington Apple martini - which she said didn't taste like it had any kick. Then we ordered "silly goose" martinis - the waitress/bartender made it up for us...hypnotiq and grey goose. Tasted like blue raspberry limonade and went down waayyyyy too smoothly. So why not have another one? And another order of frites, s'il vous plait Enter some cute guys. Cue Gracie actually saying hi and inviting them to sit with us. Cue a little talking, then talking to their friends. THen their friends buying us another martini (Just say no to the metropolitan...tastes like cough syrup). Then invites to cloud...but we passed...I had to work in the morning. So - 4 stars for being the least likely fun afterwork spot in DC. Great wine, great martinis, decent service. The ambiance is nice with the fireplace. But the bar menu is lacking in easy sharable treats other than the frites (not the I'm complaining - cause the frites are good). read more

Happy hour is amazing here. They have great cocktails with champagne and pomegranate vodka and stuff for $5 until 7 (I think). It's right off Washington Circle and one of my happy hour stand-bys. Staff can be a little stuffy, but maybe that's because I always go with 20 cheap med students. It is pretty nice and cozy and loungey too. Nice work Circle Bistro! read more

I LOVE Circle Bistro. I visited on 11/14 and sat in the bar area. Looks like a good place for groups. Martinis were $10 and worth every penny, but on weekdays from 4:30-7:30, specialty cocktails, some beer and wine by the glass are HALF PRICE. Cat's out of the bag. Food is creative, beautiful and scrumptuous (and expensive). My fried green tomato appetizer was $11. It was small, but I would rather have small-and-quality than large-and-junk. I highly recommend. read more

Last minute I had to search the DC restaurant scene to find a place that could accommodate 6 people on a Saturday night . Circle Bistro was able to and they offer free valet parking! Awesome! However I wish I could say more about the food and service. The restaurant is centrally located next to Foggy Bottom and is small romantic and quaint. The server took awhile to get to us and when he did we discovered all the menus we had been given were not up to date and some of the items we wanted were listed in the menu but they had run out. That's a huge pet peeve of mine. Don't advertise something , get me excited and then tell me it's no longer available! Anyhow ended up getting the cauliflower soup , which was great and the scallops which were also very yummy. The menu issue really annoyed me and thus although the food was good , it didn't outweigh my annoyance. Not impressed at all and I personally don't think I'll be back. There are far too many other choices to in DC! read more

I went here with a friend for lunch during restaurant week (my favorite time of year!) We had decided on this place because it was in between both our offices and they had an open reservation. What struck me most was the service- quick, attentive, polite- everything you would want it to be. The food itself was delicious - the chicken was moist and the snap peas were fresh. Also, it seemed like the rest of the menu was reasonably priced, at least for lunch. Definitely worth a stop if you're in foggy bottom. read more

Circle Bistro - New American Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

This is what my nonexistent apartment on the 58th floor of a sexy building in New York City looks like. It's friendly, warm, cozy, laidback, and modern all at the same time. Thank the Lord Kelly G suggested it! Jane, the wonderful British bartendress, whipped up a wonderful Canadian Lemonade -- Segram's honey somethingoranother and lemonade. A taste of summer on a fall day. And the fries -- sooo good. I could see myself returning to Circle, taking off my shoes, plopping on a fireplace-facing couch with a martini in hand, thinking I'm at my own home. read more

Near my office so we stopped in for dinner. Coffee shop ambience, Empty in a Friday night. Never a good sign. Seated us in the back room for some unknown reason even though the main dining room was empty except for a screaming baby. Service was ok but the pleasant waiter seemed to have his mind on other things - asked us three times within a minute if we wanted wine. Weird. Anyway we ordered the pre-theatre menu. It was ok. But the screaming baby was annoying. Then the waiter seats a large boisterous party with an even louder screaming baby one table away in the empty back room with us - even though the main dining room is empty. Bread was stale, entrees had weird mushrooms that didn't seem to fit the recipe, dessert was Kroger special, they forgot to heat the soup. You get the idea. Did I mention the place was empty except for the screaming babies? $116 later we feel like chumps. Plenty of other good places in Foggy Bottom for the same or better prices so do yourself a favor and skip this one. read more

My wife and I wandered into the restaurant around 4PM on a Saturday afternoon. We hadn't had lunch and we were hoping to have a bit to eat before we went to a 6PM show at the Kennedy Center. The chef was at the front desk having a conversation with one of the servers as we walked in. The restaurant staff had just finished up resetting the restaurant from lunch and was not yet serving dinner, but they both graciously agreed to open the kitchen for just the two of us and were willing to adapt for my wife's gluten intolerance to boot! When the food arrived it was perfect! The chef and the server deserve two thumbs up for so graciously taking care of us. You should definitely check this out! read more

Its location on Washington Circle makes it convenient for pre-Lisner Auditorium or pre-Kennedy Center drinks. Last Sunday night, the crowd was mostly out-of-towners from some sort of convention. My friends and I stayed at the bar and ordered from a small appetizer menu. We got drinks and shared fries with ketchup and mayo ($5), a bowl of small marinated olives ($4), and a tasty plate of hard, soft, and blue cheeses ($10). They were fine, nothing spectacular, and more affordable than the dinner menu (where entrees tended to cost $20 or more). The cheeses came with a small basket with nearly enough bread, but our bartender eventually noticed the poor bread-to-cheese ratio and kindly offered to bring more bread. read more

I recently dined here with some coworkers. The menu looked outstanding and given the prices, I was expecting good things. The wine we ordered turned out to be very nice and went well with dinner. The entrees though were just OK. I ordered the scallops which were prepared well but nothing special considering the high price. Dessert was quite good as well with a selection of homemade sorbets being a nice way to finish the meal. The service was a bit lackluster. I don't mind restaurants allowing patrons to take their time and enjoy a nice slow meal. But at times it definitely felt like the waiter forgot about us, leaving empty plates and other items on the table for extended periods of time and forgetting to bring out some items that were ordered. I must say thought that there is a nice little bar as you walk in. Very intimate yet swanky lounge area with several couches, a fireplace, and a few tables make this a perfect place to meet a few friends after work for a drink. I'll definitely be back for this! read more

Meh. Went here with a large group. Service was fine, nothing extraordinary or especially professional. AVOID: The seared tuna appetizer was definitely worth passing on--tuna was tasteless, a bit overdone, and the greens underneath were a bit wilted because they put the tuna on top before it had cooled down. Also, the salad dressing looked like wasabi but tasted like a mild creamy thing that did not go well with either the greens. The house salad looked better, but I didn't try it. TRY: The pan-seared rib-eye. The steak was huge, flavorful, and not too overdone. accompanying sides were pretty sad, though. Ambiance is a bit quiet and 1970s but not in a hip way. Place is probably only in business because of the lack of other great options in the area at the (somewhat lower-than-average-for-the-neighborhood) price point. Unless you're totally bored of the other West End restaurants (which can happen quickly), you're better off walking a few extra blocks to something in Dupont or to one of the other restaurants in the area. read more

I had a great dinner here 2 years ago. Tonight it was so bad. Extremely rude bar staff. Sliders were dried out and bun burned. Likely sitting around a while but still took too long after ordering. If you want cheap happy hour, awful food and bad service. This is your best choice. read more

Convenient if you're staying at the hotel. The good is just ok. The bar has a few tvs so you can just hang and enjoy some drinks. The wine menu is pretty good. read more

Circle Bistro - New American Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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This is the kind of place I want to like -- it's a cool, sleek, modern space that's reasonably (enough) priced and in walking distance of my office. But the place is plagued by persistent food AND service problems. First, the food --- everything here is quite literally tasteless. Take my lunch here the other day: the sweet potato and carrot soup was utterly flat. Sweet potato soup should be rich; its bright orange color should be an indication of its sharp, warm, deliciously complex taste. Instead, this was like sipping yellow chicken broth. The curried chicken salad-- which is usually one of my favorites-- was served with a completely blah (undressed) green salad and two *burnt* pieces of bread (since when do people want burnt bread?!). The chicken salad itself scored points for not being mayonnaisey, but it also tasted completely tasteless - perhaps the Circle Bistro needs to invest in some salt and pepper shakers for its kitchen so that their dishes can be a bit more lively. And the service here is unbearably, painfully, terribly slow -- I know that lunch time is busy here, but the basic premise of weekday lunch is that people need to eat and go back to work. Very few people want to to spend TWO HOURS eating lunch. It took about 25 minutes for our soup to arrive, and another 25-30 minutes for our lunch to arrive (and our waitress performed my pet peeve- clearing plates before everyone was done). If they could get this place together, it could be such a cool, slick destination, but right now it's someplace I avoid. read more

This place exceeded my expectations. I came with a friend who made reservations and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a pretty big space and the tables are not on top of each other. Both of us were happy with our wine selections (sauv blanc/pinot noir) and enjoyed a nice meal without being rushed. The fried green tomatoes. LOVE. They are seriously doing something right with those. My salmon burger was perfectly cooked and seasoned and was quite filling. And for $12, it was a fantastic meal. My friend's steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned and she inhaled it in a most unladylike manner =). We ordered the peach cobbler for dessert but this is where I had to deduct a point. The peaches tasted a little like canned peaches and the crust was more like a shortbread cookie than a crumble. Tasted good, just not what I expected. Overall, a really decent meal. Also, their breads are really good and it would be nice if they left a basket on the table instead of coming by and offering a small, puny looking piece. read more

Severely lacking - We stayed at the hotel and stopped in here for lunch. A colleague and I both ordered the open-faced wagyu steak sandwich. It was very bland and unappetizing, and I could not bring myself to finish it. We had breakfast there the next morning and the experience was just as bad. Service was slow and poor both occasions. For example, at breakfast I asked for a spoon and the server never brought me one, so after waiting for about five minutes, I just grabbed one from another table. The previous day another diner in our group ordered french fries with their burger and was brought a salad. read more

Oh, let's Howl at the mercifully concise dinner menu! The squash soup with roasted pumpkin seeds, embellished with a wisp of walnut oil and pomegranate coulis, was served very hot. Delicious! My two guests had the baby caesar and endive salads, both were good. The endive salad came with walnuts and gorgonzola cheese ( just the right amount). For main courses, I had their scallops. Very good and tender all around. One friend hs the fried chicken and the other friend had the lamb steak. All three main courses were great. Nice modern quiet place. read more

What an undiscovered gem! I'd been eying this place for years and finally stopped by for dinner yesterday with some friends. I should have come years ago. We sat outside and the atmosphere and weather was perfect. There was an entertaining British waitress that added to our fun. We had mussels (incredibly big and fresh), salmon rillette, burger, pork chop, salmon cake, ahi tuna. Everybody loved their dishes. Plus they had a nice Primitivo blend. They have a pre-theatre prix fixe which I hope to try out sometime. Since we ate outside that was considered "bar area" and we got the bar menu prices for the apps. My only concern was that this was a Saturday night and the place was virtually empty. So I implore you to check this restaurant out so it can stay in business and be enjoyed by me and others. read more

I was here for the New Years Eve dinner. The menu was a special for the NYE, so I can't comment on the regular food menu. The ingredient was fresh and the food was well prepared, but there was no wow factor to write about. I would recommend this establishment if you are looking for a quiet and private dinner for yourself. On another note, I remember there wasn't too many customers, which can be a positive thing (if you want more space and privacy), or negative thing (because it can be so quiet). read more

Circle Bistro - Happy Hour Food Menu. - New American Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

Have you ever had a meal that you would describe as "confusing"? This was a confusing brunch. I have to admit that for this review, the service largely overshadowed the quality of the meal. Let me start with the good news: -the food is not bad. I ordered the omelet, as did a few of my friends with me. We all enjoyed it. One of my friends really enjoyed her burger. -I also ordered a side of the frites (fries) and they were among the better french fries I have had. -We were able to get a reservation for 8 for Sunday brunch quite easily. I think I know why... And the bad news: -Our orders got majorly messed up. They forgot at least 5 or 6 items. And we had to tell them repeatedly what we still needed. And they weren't all that apologetic. It was confusing and frustrating. -A couple of my friends were disappointed that they did not have one of the items, I think it was french toast. Seems a bit odd, considering the menu is not huge. -The service was rude at times. -The coffee was $4. That is ridiculous. I am sad to say I will not be returning. The food was OK, but overall, I was not impressed. read more

I must say that I am only reviewing the bar because I did not eat there. It was a Wednesday around 6p and I couldn't find a stool at district commons so i decided to give this place a shot. Aside from the awkward entrance ( personally i'd rather see the entrance unchanged because it won't attract tons of people and turn it into a loud and unfriendly bistro), it was an amazing find! A bar with good $4 HH wine, you can have a conversation without shouting and the bar was manned by the most amazing bartender who gives you space while being attentive. If you are in DuPont and want a good date spot or just a good bar to hangout where you can talk. That's the place to go. I give the bar 4 stars. Maybe next time I'll eat there. read more

I had the pre-theater menu, which is a choice of one of two appetizers, a choice of one of two entrees, and a choice of one of two desserts. It's a deal that's overpriced and not any faster service than ordering a la carte. That said... I really enjoyed Circle Bistro. The food is excellent, starting with unique and wonderfully-flavored butter for the bread. The soups are thoroughly enjoyable and flavorful. When it came to the steaks, the chef didn't seem to differentiate much between medium rare and medium well, but all at the table (including me, the medium well fan) thoroughly enjoyed them, and the salty spinach and mashed potatoes that came with them. (And I say "salty" in a it-seemed-like-it-was-too-much-but-grew-on-you way.) The dessert was excellent - all of us got the chocolate shortcake, which was great, but even without that, the large dollop of rum whipped cream (or something to that effect, a little heavier than whipped cream, and with a technical French name) and the chocolate cylinder were a Heavenly dessert on their own. The atmosphere's fancy . . . -ish. They do what they can with basically a basement restaurant in a hotel. Warm, almost Spanish tones on the walls, attentive service, diners speaking in hushed tones... Oh, and the wines -- $10 for a glass of a regular old domestic wine?? And not even special ones. If that's not an attempt to be a fancy restaurant, I don't know what is. Overall, it's a solid "good". read more

I don't know about their brunch, but boy my Dinner will go down in Legend as one of the top 5 meals I've had in DC. I came expecting great things. Usually that's a sure fire recipe for disappointment, but I'd tasted what executive chef Ethan McKee was capable of when he was head toque over at Rock Creek Maza and he made that magic without the benefit of butter. Butter, as it turns out was the first thing that had me swooning at Circle Bistro. It's the somewhat cheesier European variety that comes out whipped up with a little salt and pepper. Think movie popcorn butter. I had to make a conscious effort not to fill up on it because four courses were on their way (before 7 Circle Bistro offers 3 courses for $35 - and you're not just limited to the cheap stuff like most prix fixes, anything on the menu is game. Of course I still couldn't make up my mind so I ended up paying for an additional appetizer to make it four courses. I didn't regret it.) Course 1: Salmon Tartare - I don't really like Salmon, but McKee did such great work with raw fish at Rock Creek that I decided to give it a try. There was no evidence of the oily fishiness that I usually associate with salmon, just bright, clean, vibrancy brought out by the citrusy yuzu vinagrette and peppery mache. Add might I add they don't skimp on the portions. Course 2: Potato Crusted oysters - I prefer my oysters raw, but I had to give these a try. Hands down best fried oysters I have ever had. Rolled in minced potato and fried to a perfect crisp, served with a creamy bacon dipping sauce. All the flavor of a good potato skin with a tender oyster instead of that pesky skin. Course: 3 Rack of Lamb - Cooked to a perfect medium rare. Nice sear on the outside, tender and juicy inside. Served with ramps and morel mushrooms. I was getting plenty full by this time, but I still managed to clean my plate. Course 4: Cheese Plate - OK I was too full by this point and running a little late for work. So I took this in a box and gave it to the bar back at my place. He assured me it was good. Service: Efficient an unobtrusive. Thanks for not asking me if I've dined here before and going into a fifteen minute explanation of your restaurant's philosophy. I'm so sick of that shit. Great wine list to suit all palettes and wallets. I have since been back for Happy Hour, besides drink specials and 1/2 price apps, you can take your booze poolside, making for some great outdoor imbibing. read more

Terrible! My entire family was disappointed with our meal. I ordered the club sandwich and a mixed green salad. The sandwich was too big and poorly assembled to eat. It fell apart in my hands and left me holding a chunk of turkey and tomato. The accompanying french fries were soggy. My salad was wilted and overdressed. My parents and siblings also ordered burgers and steak, none of which were cooked to order. Their salads and fries were also in a poor state. The best part of my meal was the small glass of orange juice I ordered. This meal was far too overpriced for quality and very poorly done. read more

Ambiance was cool; everything else was completely and utterly unremarkable with service to the ditzy side.

Good food and atmosphere, but definitely the most quiet bar I have ever seen - particularly on a Sunday night where there was an important game playing. Service is slow, slow, slow (and why is there only ONE person manning the bar and serving as wait staff???). It felt like a very intimate environment for us (we were about 15 people) and the space wasn't big so we filled up most of it. We sampled their sliders, shrimp spring rolls, chicken skewers, ricotta rice balls, bruschetta and a few other items. All were good, none were extremely memorable. read more

I recently went here for dinner before a show at the Kennedy Center. The meal was excellent everything I ordered and my date as well was very good. I loved the carrot soup and the duck confit they were superb! Our entree's were good as well but not as amazing as the small plates were and the dessert was a huge let down to me... just too sweet with too much going on, but my date loved it. Our waiter was excellent she made sure we were out of there in time to get to the show and did a great job of explaining the menu. Overall its a great dining experience but i suggest just ordering small plates to share. read more

We used to go here after work all the time, since it was near and we were alcoholics. You try working for the Red Cross during a disaster - it's nerve wracking, man! Makes you turn to drink. Anyway, I can't remember her name, but there was an older woman bartender who was just the coolest. Once we became regulars, she treated us all the time and made going there a treat. Get the fries. Their food is usually pretty good to begin with, but there is something about the fries that just blew me away! read more

I would not recommend this place to anyone. I had heard about their breakfast many times and wanted to try it b/c it is well situated for work-related bkfst. I was very disappointed when I finally made it there. The food selection was very limited, the service was not good- to a certain degree rude, there was no ambiance and the food was only ok. I've also had lunch there a few times after b/c a seminar I attended had meals there. Non of them were more than normal. If you have a choice there are many more places in the area that I will recommend before this one. read more

Beet cucumber gazpacho Jumbo crab cake

Had an excellent experience here during restaurant week which I think is a true rarity because most restaurants have lost touch with the entire concept. Circle Bistro did it right on every level from beginning to end and left me and my 3 girl friends with one princess worthy girls night out. Dinners for me don't usually last more than two hours but I got to the Bistro at 7:30 and we closed the restaurant close to midnight. Every dish was delicious and filling. Rarely do restaurant week restaurants satisfy in their McDonalds like rush to get patrons in and out the door. Jane at the bar was a doll and made amazing Cherry Blossom cocktails. Mo, one of the managers was stupendous! Him and the hostess staff were so understanding when my party was about an hour late for our 7:30 reservation. Excellent menu with superb service. Look forward to my next visit! Parking perk: Free Valet! read more

There comes a time in every young person's life when she grows tired of the Bravo/HBO/MTV reality show watching, greasy burger eating, ratty-sweatpants wearing existence, and she suddenly wants to take a step into a cleaner, shinier, classier world. A world filled with intellectual interests, like...the ballet. And before the ballet comes a fancy dinner with a fancy wine list. There's really no better feeling in the world than blowing loan money on temporary, basically frivolous luxuries. I highly recommend it. Karen and I were watching the 7:30 performance of the Nutcracker at the Kennedy Center, so we made dinner reservations at Circle Bistro for 5pm. Plenty of time to savor our food and make intellectual conversation under the influence of many glasses of wine. So to start, we ordered a bottle of the (Shooting Star?) Riesling to share ($36). We figured, hey, finals are over, we're going to a ballet, might as well make a night of it and splurge a little. For dinner we both opted to order from the the Pre-Theater prix fixe menu ($35 appetizer + entry + dessert). I chose the soup of the day (butternut squash), the hanger steak with fingerling potatoes and forest mushrooms, and the chocolate bread pudding. While we were waiting for our food to arrive, Karen and I were served a basket of absolutely delicious bread with two fat circles of soft butter. The bread was crusty, and I was afraid it would be tough and hard to chew, but it wasn't! It was soft and chewy in the middle, slightly crunchy on the outside, and the crust itself was dotted with fat kernels of salt. Like a pretzel. Genius! And so yummy with the creamy butter. We made quick work of the bread, but luckily just as I was beginning to long for more, our courses started to arrive... Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. The butternut squash soup was creamy, fragrant, and simultaneously sweet and savory. The sprinkling of pine nuts on top added an interesting textural contrast to the smoothness of the soup, and were very tasty. I'm generally not a fan of soup at all, but the butternut squash number was so good I scraped my bowl clean. I ordered my steak medium rare, and it came to the table perfectly cooked -- just a little seared on the outside, perfectly juicy and still red in the middle. So tender, so good. The fat rosy slices came atop a bed of fingerling potatoes and were topped with loads of forest mushrooms. Having never eaten a "forest mushroom" before, I was a bit taken aback by them at first. They didn't look at all like normal mushrooms -- more like blackened, demented broccoli -- but one bite had me convinced that these were the best mushrooms I'd ever eaten. The tendril-like bits on top were slightly crispy from cooking, while the rest was juicy and melt-in-my-mouth delicious. Salty, garlicky, with a good mushroom-y kick. These little fungi paired perfectly with the slightly under-seasoned potatoes, and were a great flavor complement to the steak's beefy goodness. There was nary a speck of food left on my plate by the time dessert rolled around. Ahhh, dessert. Probably my favorite part of any meal. And this particular dessert was spectacular. Bread pudding is always tasty, but sumptuous chocolate bread pudding is even better. The thick, rich, chocolate-y cake was so so so good, and when eaten with the dark chocolate sorbet tasted exactly like a molten lava cake. The butterscotch/toffee chip that came with the ensemble was buttery and sweet, and delicious both alone and with the chocolate. If there weren't so many classy people sitting around us, Karen and I definitely would have licked our plates. I think one of my favorite things about this Circle Bistro experience, aside from the awesome food, was how perfect all the portions were. I mean, we all THINK we want bath tub-sized servings of soup, 24oz steaks (except for Su...he wants 54oz or bust), or pan-sized helpings of chocolate cake, but who really can/wants to eat ALL that food? Circle Bistro definitely doesn't serve the stingy portions fine restaurants are known for, but they don't overboard either. At the end of our meal Karen and I were completely satisfied, border-line stuffed, but we didn't feel disgustingly full, and we weren't food coma'd out. A good thing too, 'cuz it would have been soooo un-classy to fall asleep during the ballet. read more