Came with some friends for brunch on a Saturday. Great find near Dupont. Service - they greeted us at the door and luckily led us to our seats as the set-up is a bit confusing with a bar and seating up front, a patio, and then the main dining area in a separate building. It was very busy so service was a tad slow. I got coffee and had to wait a while for the cream & sugar after having to ask for it. Drinks - tried the La Mora and the yogurt drink that starts with an N (sorry not going to attempt the spelling). Both were awesome. Food - delicious! And I was surprised by what I thought was the best: roasted cremini mushrooms and smoked polenta side. (You know something's going to be great when they list 'butter' as an ingredient on the menu). The beetroot dip was good, not great. The burrata was amazing -- hard not to order a second. The hen eggs were great, but nothing too special as compared to the other dishes. The steak fries were great with a very garlicky sauce (be warned). We tried both the cheesecake and root vegetable cake for dessert. I have to say I loved the cake -- it was like a more delicious carrot cake. The date flavor overwhelmed the cheesecake but it was still tasty. Overall I recommend the spot, and you can expect it to be busy. Enjoy! read more

I dine with 7 friends and/or cousins once a month and for brunch this Sunday we chose Iron Gate. Everyone was pleased with their collections and for me the highlight was the burger and the eggplant wrapped in bacon dish which wasn't my entree, but tasted, and was blown away. I also chose the fried eggs that came with potatoes and a green salad. That was tasty as well although my eggs were a bit over cooked. As a chef you know when you've over cooked eggs therefore the eggs I received should have never made it to the plate, although edible. It's just my choice of wanting my fried eggs over easy to be just that. read more

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Today we had Brunch for the first time but definitely not the last! There were four people in our party and we could not have had four more diverse dishes. Angus Burger, Catfish, Poached Eggs and Lemon Pancakes. Everyone LOVE their meals without exception. Sean, our server, was the friendliest, attentive and professional people I've ever met. The restaurant itself is warm, comfortable and welcoming. Can't wait to get back for dinner! read more

Amazing ambiance, less than friendly staff and no happy hour specials. My friend and I went around 5pm on a weeknight and sat at the bar. The staff was disengaged, inattentive and seemed to have an attitude when we asked questions about the menu. Also, the signature old fashion cocktail was amazing. The bartenders may not be friendly but they are true mixologist. I would recommend the restaurant but would suggest asking for the manager if you encounter unfriendly service. read more

Iron Gate has a longer history than all but a few DC restaurants. It has always been a lovely place with a cozy indoor area with a fireplace and a beautiful outside dining room under a grape arbor. Before it closed briefly in the early 2010s, however, the food was pretty bad and the service indifferent. The place is still just as pretty and now the food is more than adequate. Not spectacular--zucchini blossoms were overly greasy--but the good outweighed the bad. Gnocchi, for example, had an almost perfect consistency and came with a decidedly tasty well spiced tomato-based sauce. Is it spectacular? Nope. There are better meals. But Iron Gate has pretty good food in a really lovely environment. read more

Service beyond excellent and intimate ambiance, but my wife and I were not impressed with the food. The octopus and the donuts were great, but we didn't really like anything else we ordered. Everything was prepared well, looked beautiful, and cooked perfectly...we just didn't enjoy the flavors. I think everyone should give this place a try, but we won't be back; there are too many other places in DC we want to eat at. read more

First time for lunch. Sat outside. Helicopters overhead multiple times made it difficult to converse. Chair was wobbly. Had the lamb kabobs. Friend had the blue catfish. Kabobs were tasty. Catfish was bland and overly breaded. Portions were quite small. Perhaps the inside seating would have made experience more enjoyable - with a different order. read more

Always a pleasure. Lovely outdoor seating and delectable food. Vegan options available.

We've eaten at Iron Gate several times in the past few years in each of the dining areas. Every visit has been fantastic! The rabbit gemelli is to die for (also, this past week it was a pregnancy craving for me... sooo good)! From the delicious food to the impeccable service, we always leave Iron Gate looking forward to our next visit. Tried the rice pudding this time for dessert, it was light and refreshing yet decadent... the perfect way to close a meal. Also, for anyone looking for a mocktail that is a joy to drink and you don't miss the booze, they make a delectable pineapple, yogurt, rosemary concoction! read more

I went to Iron Gate for a graduation party. The back garden area was able to be reserved for our private group, and the meal was a delicious, family style selection of various delicious foods. My favorite was the sesame crusted feta with honey- I am currently frantically trying to find copy cat recipes online! I also really enjoyed the bean salad and the gnocci. Each dish was something I would not have thought to order, but I enjoyed each and every one. The staff was very attentive and thoughtful and the location itself is beautiful. read more

Would love to bump this up to 3.5 stars because of the attentive and friendly service, but 4 seemed like too many (apologies to the servers and other attendants, who were on point)! So...I kind of get the sense that Iron Gate is coasting a bit. It has built up this mystique due to the fact that it always seems to be totally booked AND it feels like such a hidden gem! Those iron doors? So cool! However, I have to say that in a city that is now filled with interesting, inventive, beautifully plated small plates, the food at Iron Gate feels (dare I say) somewhat uneventful! I also found the food to be lacking the sort of finesse you can find elsewhere (e.g., Chloe). Sure, you can add edible flowers and burnt husks to a dish, but what does that do for the actual flavor? And sure, the dishes are "instagramable," but what about the temperature of the dishes' components? Do they make sense? In my experience, sometimes they didn't. A few temperatures, consistencies, and flavors were either a bit off or just not memorable. The cocktails were tasty, but again, we can get great cocktails in lots of places now! Also didn't love the condition of the bathrooms upstairs. Alas, maybe I'll try lunch or brunch some time, but would not recommend a late dinner there! read more

Came here for brunch - the food was amazing and the place itself is very aesthetic. We had the stuffed brioche pinwheel to start, and then I got the baked hen eggs. Loved them both, and the other 3 people I was with all got the lemon-ricotta pancakes and were really happy with them. The only thing is the service was incredibly slow - there weren't that many people there and it still took 45 minutes for our food to come out. Definitely want to come back for dinner though! read more

Bottom line: ok food, rude service. The wait staff started off the evening on a bad foot by "schooling" me when I asked for help in picking out a wine. I told the waiter what I normally like to see if he could suggest something similar. With a condescending sigh he proceeded to tell me that my examples were so different from each other he didn't know what to recommend and that they didn't really carry wines like that anyway. My biggest regret of the evening was that I didn't leave right then. After a long wait the waiter finally explained the tasting menu to us. Then another long wait and our drinks finally came. Then another long wait and someone finally took our order. After that the pace picked up to a reasonable tempo. Given the hype of the place (and the snootiness of the waiters) I expected the food to be great. It wasn't. It was interesting -- which is not a descriptor I often use with food. If it had been interesting and delicious, that would have been great and I probably would have forgotten all about the rude waiter. But it wasn't delicious; it was just ok. The best dish was probably the bread. And maybe the pickled baby eggplant. As someone else mentioned, the portions were small. Not a big deal in and of itself. Taken as a whole, however, and combined with the rather large price tag ($300 for 3 of us), I would have rather gone someplace else. Blue Duck Tavern, for example. read more

Went to Iron Gate this past weekend and holy cow, the quality of the food was out of this world. My favorite dishes were probably the ricotta gnocchi and the risotto, but everything we ordered was delicious. Iron gate has a small plates/tapas concept, which makes it perfect for trying a variety of things the menu has to offer. They also boast a great cocktail and wine list, sophisticated atmosphere, and extremely friendly waitstaff. Overall, this is an A+ establishment and I can't say enough good things about it. Will most definitely be returning in the near future! read more

Food was fantastic (we ordered multiple tapas), the wait staff excellent and cheerful, and the wine recommendation excellent as well. Wish we could go back again tonight for our last night in DC but they are booked. Next time!! read more

I have been here both for dinner and brunch, which are vastly different experiences both in quality of food and price. The dinner was a while ago and I remember being dazzled by every single thing we ate, including dessert (try the yeast donuts!). This is a great place to have dinner for a special occasion, but book well ahead of time and plan to spend some money. Brunch on the other hand is much more affordable (not cheap by any means but not any more expensive than other brunch places in DC). We didn't order any drinks though, which I imagine are very pricey there. As starters my partner and I shared the yogurt with pistachio, honey, and figs and the side of toast with jam and chocolate tahini. They were both incredible, would highly recommend both. For entrees, I had the hen eggs that come with pork and he had the cheeseburger. He was unimpressed the burger (fine but nothing to write home about) and I didn't love the hen eggs and actively disliked the taste of the pork, which I actually spit out. He didn't like the taste of the pork either. I still give this place four stars because dinner is amazing and there are still exceptional things to eat for brunch, plus the service is great. Just be careful about what you order from the brunch menu. I think it's safer to go with a dish inspired by Greek/Mediterranean cuisine rather than American, which is just not their speciality. read more

Cannot say enough amazing things about Iron Gate! First off, the ambiance and environment is spectacular, completely understand why it's been continually voted 'DC's most romantic restaurant'! Perfect place for a date night or special occasion, or just a romantic night out! The food was a million times better than expected. Because of the 'fancy' feel of the restaurant, I was expecting small portions and high prices - not at all! I found their prices quite reasonable and the portions were perfect to be satisfied but not overly full. We had 3 appetizers (deviled eggs, bison tartar, and stuffed dates), along with 2 pastas (carmelized ricotta gnocchi and squid ink gnochetti), along with 2 desserts (cinammon panna cotta and olive oil torta). Everything was AMAZING, every bite was delicious. And the best part? The whole bill was only $60!! For 3 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts. I've definitely spent more at restaurants of lower quality and less ambiance. Iron Gate is worth every penny and a really unique and special dining experience in DC. Don't miss out on it! read more

Unfortunately, a friend recommended this restaurant for late night drinks. Once there, we inquired about a table and were told that we would be contacted once one opened up. Well, we sat outside on the patio with drinks until the place closed. During our stay, the tables in the front of the bar were never occupied. My friend inquired about them several times but was told that we would be contacted once something opened. This along with the smokers on the patio made the experience very unwelcoming. read more

Cool Greek American spot in DC! Went here twice on a recent trip for lunches. Got the lamb keftedes one day and gyro the second. Both were great but the lamb was a bit small for lunch, even when sharing an appetizer. Gyro ruled. read more

Some of the best food and service I've had. We did the family dinner. Three course of delicious food. The sesame crusted goat cheese was superb. Focaccia, tahini, skirt steak, all amazing. I don't think there was a dish I didn't like. Will definitely go back!!! Oh their cocktails are out of this world! read more

Loved this restaurant when I visited my daughter in September. I wanted to come here again for my birthday in December. I called to make a reservation and explained that we would be drinking wine but one person in our party drinks non-alcoholic beer. I asked them if they served non-alcoholic beer and the hostess answered that they did not. I asked if we could bring some with us since I understand that they offer a cork fee for wine but I was told they would not accommodate. I am so disappointed! This is a great restaurant but I am disappointed that they wouldn't help make one of our guests feel comfortable eating dinner there. Lisa read more

I loved this place. I went for a birthday dinner and had such amazing service, wine, and food! I am gluten free and the waiter was so kind and worked with me to ensure whatever I ordered was okay. He was even able to talk to the chef about making some gluten free pasta dish for me. I would definitely recommend this place for any intimate dinner! read more

Yelp, you need to have multiple categories to rate. Primarily because if the bar is decent, I can't remember the food. This place, I can remember the food, and it was excellent. But I SO much more value the cocktails, and they really nailed the cocktails. We started at the bar while waiting for the table (I lied-- our reserved table was ready immediately, but I spotted a bunch of interesting amari behind the bar, so I wanted to linger). Given license to show off his creativity, the bartender Nick produced some outstanding drinks. He had clearly thought out all the ingredients and the proportions. We had exclusively wonderful drinks, which perfectly complemented the outstanding dinner. But I'm all about the drinks. You'll have to wait for my wife's review to learn about the food (which, to my less-cultured palate, was phenomenal)! read more

This restaurant is magical. We have come here twice - once for a birthday and once for an anniversary, and it has totally exceeded our expectations. Michelin peeps need to eat here! The burrata has been a stand-out, as has the small dishes - especially the veggie ones. The meat too - oh wow, they have some sort of smoky wood situation that they do with the grill that is just amazing. The drinks are also great. I thought the wine list was unique and really well chosen. Get the orange wine or the leathery-red from Greece! Service is also 5 star - very knowledgeable, great recommendations, attentive but chill. The best part is this place is not pretentious. They just cook damn good food. It is also beautiful on the patio - wisteria and string lights and fire pits. Just go. Can't recommend highly enough. read more

I arranged a birthday brunch here for one of my best friends. They easily accommodated 10 people on their lovely back patio! The food was so delicious, and they had some healthy choices as well as unhealthy! It was so fun! read more

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Went for brunch and food is surprisingly inexpensive for the locale. The pricing us fair but the food is very good.

I've been to Iron Gate a few times now, and I love the atmosphere and unique seating. The food is great, and you get to sample a lot of different things. read more

WOW! We had an amazing dinner here the other night. We made reservations for a Saturday dinner to celebrate our anniversary and they treated us spectacular. We were greeted with complimentary champagne and our waitress was great. She talked to us about the menu, what we could expect with each course and how many plates that most people end up ordering. We started off with a round of oysters, which were fantastic and also shared the burrata dish which was 10/10. As our meal went on, we ordered gnocchi and lamb sausage and we got to try the fish. All three dishes were fantastic. The flavors were on point and the dishes were well balanced. We shared a good bottle of wine, I do wish that the somm shared a few more recommendations or had ask about price points. We wrapped dinner up with a cocktail and the staff provided us with house seasoning to take home with a signed card for our anniversary. Very happy with our choice in coming here! read more

Love the food and the atmosphere here! Definitely eat by the patio if the weather permits. The whole outside area is covered in vines so you are definitely protected from the sun. Their menu mostly consists of small to medium plates. They did have a gyro and burger entree when I went that's probably enough for a meal. My coworker and I decided to get 4 different plates to share: cornbread crostini with tiger shrimp, buratta, gnocchi, and lamb. Everything was delicious and seasoned perfectly and of course presented beautifully. Don't miss the desserts either. I was a little disappointed with the cannoli, it wasn't fresh and looked it came from the freezer. read more

My wife and I were excited to try out a new finer dining establishment, but Iron Gate let us down from start to finish. The bar wasn't even crowded for pre-dinner drinks but the one bartender couldn't keep up and we waited a good 20 minutes for one drink each. Dinner was an absolute train wreck. We were seated and then waited 20 minutes to see a waiter. Despite initial misgivings, we did the full tasting menu with pairings (one of each option down the menu). First, the shot-gun approach to appetizers (i.e., the small seasonal plates) was weird. Many of the small plates did not work together and the wine pairing fell flat with all but one of the five options. I did love the bread, though, as well as the carrot and beat plates. The salad course was OK and the wines paired pretty well with the food. I just about lost it, though, when they paired the seafood stew with a sweet Greek fortified wine reminiscent of Madeira (i.e., a desert wine). The striploin was a bright spot and paired nicely with the wine, but the pork belly lacked taste and was overshadowed by the cannelloni on top and a wine pairing that did not work. Desert was OK, but Iron Gate destroyed our final memory of the place with a dried out small desert offering that came out with the check. I think it was supposed to be something like a ginger snap, but it was bland and reminded me more of a dog treat or something. A real quick note on the Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde wine pairings here. A few worked marvelously while others were completely out of tune with the dish. I'm not sure if Iron Gate ran out of wines they originally intended to pair with certain dishes, or if the person pairing the wines has an inconsistent pallet. Also, while I realize that Greek wine can be tough some times, a few they served had to be taken with food as they did not smell/taste good on their own. In my experience, truly good wine works on its own or with food and a nice bouquet goes a long way when you have a sip right before your first bite of a dish. In sum, I'm all for paying good money for good food, wine, and service, but this was a miss on all fronts for us. There are just too many other good places in DC to waste time here. read more

So I would have initially rated this as 3 stars due to my experience during a previous visit. The food was terrific but our server was very short and curt to the point of being rude. It was my girlfriend and I's 1st anniversary and we wanted a nice romantic dinner and had heard great things about this restaurant. The next day I called the restaurant because I felt they should be aware of the server's attitude. The manager, Paris, was very apologetic and offered us a redo on them. It was certainly not my intention to get a discount or even free food, which is why I called the day after. The fact that they offered was extremely generous and telling that they care very much about their reputation that they did not want this to be our experience. This brings me to our recent visit. They started by giving us a great table in a quiet corner of the restaurant and poured us a complimentary glass of champagne. Our meal was terrific and our server was wonderful and attentive. The kitchen even sent us a dessert for our anniversary. I was very pleased with our experience but even more impressed by the fact that they went out of their way to make it right despite the initial experience. I would highly recommend this restaurant because it has a great atmosphere, wonderful food, and excellent management who are attentive to their customers. read more

The vibe is amazing with some lighting great bartender, food is yummy. Would come back. The plates are small similar to tapas so order plenty. read more

The service here for the tasting menu was very good. There were a ton of waiters helping all tables and keeping things moving. We felt really taken care of which was nice since it was pretty pricey. HOWEVER... I do have one major complaint... We were first time visitors in DC spending the day at museums, until we got a random number calling us from iron gate. It was about our reservation we had that evening asking for a credit card number to save our seat????! I'm not sure who in the world would feel comfortable with giving that over the phone to a place and number they have never heard of or been to? It's only dinner people! I get the reasoning but no you can't ask that of your guests. It's not a hotel. After literally having to argue with the general manager over the phone for twenty minutes and taking time out of my vacation to be on my phone in the lobby at a museum we paid for, I was finally able to opt out of that. Not good service and not a good way to start out someone's dining experience with iron gate. It's a shame because we had a nice experience despite what we went through to keep my reservation read more

My wife and I went here with another couple in March and ordered from the standard tasting menu. It was exceptional - one of the best meals I'd had in a long time, and certainly the highlight of our trip. So it is with a heavy heart that I must report our most recent visit was quite the opposite. For months we looked forward to our return to DC and Iron Gate, and this time we decided to go all out with the chef's tasting and wine pairings. At $520 for two with tax and tip, it was no small financial investment. But our previous meal was so amazing, I was sure it would be worth it. It wasn't. I'm not a restaurant critic so I'll spare you the detailed rundown of each course. Most of the food was good but completely unexceptional. Shrimp was overcooked and steak was cooked well but ordinary. Desserts were okay. We noticed throughout the meal that the party next to us, who had not ordered the chef's tasting, was receiving many of the same dishes. So what exactly were we paying a premium for? I also found the service mildly irritating. To save money, the restaurant uses a device to pour wine that keeps it from oxidizing. The only problem is that the device causes it to pour veeeeerrrryyyy slowly - practically dribbling out of the bottle. Like 30-45 seconds per glass. Which means every ten minutes or so, the meal is interrupted for lengthy small talk with the sommelier. Bottom line for me is that Iron Gate is a good restaurant, but for $250+ per person, there should be no chance that your meal might be unexceptional or ordinary. Unfortunately, those two adjectives perfectly sum up our visit this weekend, so we won't be returning. read more

It's a pretty restaurant tucked away near DuPont circle. Went here for a birthday dinner a duex. While the food and drinks are great.. the service needs to change. Our servers were forgetful - which is totally fine once but if that happens during the course of the entire meal .. it distracts from the experience. We ordered the pork meatballs, grilled octopus, risotto and the gnocchi and that was enough food for 2 (these are small portions). I think this place could really go up notches if they focus on the service and giving people a nicer experience. Food and location are great though! read more

Amazingly cute covered patio, great food. I'm vegetarian and many appetizers were veggie friendly, though I would have hoped for 1-2 more main dishes. We had some sort of dip with thin crispy bread which was amazing, and the gnocchi was very well cooked. Everything tasted great! read more

I have now been here twice for brunch, hoping that my first time was just an off day for them. Not so. The bottom line is their food is so oversalted as to be inedible and I do mean absolutely inedible. I was dehydrated the entire day after. The foraged mushrooms--salty. The eggs with the salsa verde--the simple greens salad that came along them was *salty*. What kind of salsa verde is basically olive oil that drowned any other taste. Salsa verde does not have olive oil in it. Hello! Farro salad was basically balsamic vinegar drowned. Parsley almond salad-good. Sesame-crusted feta--good. Everything else, total disappointment. I just have never seen a place be this obsessed with salt. Inedible for me. Third time will not be the charm. read more

Wife and I came here for our anniversary and were extremely pleased with our experience. It took us a couple of minutes to find the entrance, as it can be easily overlooked at night. However, once we walked inside we were immediately impressed with the ambiance and we were only in the restaurant's bar area. We were escorted back into the dining room, and seated near its fantastic fireplace. Immediately, we were greeted by the General Manager who congratulated us on our anniversary and poured us two glasses on champagne. They offer a 4 course (@ $60?) and 6 course (@ $90?) tasting menu. Being that we are complete foodies, we ordered a four course and a six course (we were, almost, able to experience the entire menu). Each course consisted of fresh ingredients and were a perfect portion controlled amount. The staff explained the ingredients and preparation of every course they presented. The food was amazing! In addition to our dessert, we were given an extra edible congratulatory treat that was very thoughtful. At the end of the meal, we received a happy anniversary card that was signed by the entire staff. The staff was extremely thoughtful, the food was amazing, and the overall environment is befitting of an anniversary. We will definitely be recommending it to our friends. The prices are worth every penny. read more

You enter off the street and are transported to another time. The room has a sense of age that's comforting and it even smells comfortable, if that makes sense. At the bar, creative cocktails to start. I had dinner in the tasting room and Chef Tony Chittum's multicourse menu was spectacular. Start with several shared small "Tastes" and construct a 4 or 6 course meal. Everything was beautifully presented and delicious. Service was perfect and the wine list well chosen, interesting and well priced. Next time, I want to try the more casual and rustic a la carte menu in the front room, but I will most definitely be back for the tasting menu again. I've only tried a few of the options and others beckon. read more

Couldn't even get service. Came in with a friend last night, the two hostess looked around, looked at each other and one said they were fully committed for the evening. The other hostess said they wouldn't have availability for about 35min, we were willing to wait. They offered us to sit at the bar and they would come get us. Sat at the bar, the bartender walks back and forth passed me at least 10 times, even sat a glass of wine in front of me by mistake and passed it to the gentleman beside me no menu, hello etc. Im pretty energy sensitive and the entire vibe from those at this establishment was very off putting and disappointing. I suggested to my friend that we'd leave because we certainly weren't welcome. read more