Retrobottega just happened to be a hop, skip, and a jump from our hotel…read more A friend recommended it, and as soon as we sat down I understood why-everyone is so friendly and accommodating. A gentleman who worked there offered to take a photo of us, after watching us struggle with a selfie, the staff quickly grabbed an extra chair when we had a 5th guest, and our waitress was attentive, knowledgeable and sweet. While waiting for the rest of our party I tried two drinks. I can recommend both- retro passion and bourbon ginger beer concoction. We followed that with arancini and fried artichoke. Yes and yes. For the main meals, they generously let us slip large portions. I tried the short rib parpadelle, and although a tad under seasoned, everything was prepared properly and my pasta was perfectly al dente. Out of the 5 who visited 3 did not care for their meal, but I think we could all agree that the drinks, apps, and portions were on point. *So, we ended up grabbing dinner here two days after our initial visit- I can't say I recommend the octopus, and the beef carpaccio was "take it or leave it", but the gnocchi was pillowy perfection...just know that this is a heavy dish!

Finally a restaurant in Adam's Morgan that I would actually want to come back to!…read more Food exceeded our expectations- I had the ossobuco w veal shank - melted off the bone and the only bad part about the risotto is that there wasn't enough of it! The complimentary bread was absolutely divine. One of us got the bruschetta and it was beautiful (and delicious). The space is small but doesn't feel cramped. What really stood out though was the service. We were a little early on our Resi before the restaurant opened. Rather than have us wait in the rain, the staff let us in. They don't split checks, but they did it for us anyway. It's those kinds of little gestures that really make a difference. Bonus- great leychee martini.

The place is cozy and the services excellent. The food was…read moredelicious. I love the mix drinks.

We recently had dinner at Ceibo after it showed up on a ton of recommendation lists. To start,…read moregetting a reservation was remarkably easy which was such a nice surprise. Based on the service along I would come back here. The staff is attentive and helpful and while they chose the tiniest water glass possible, it was never empty. Another fun thing is that they give little tastes to start and end your meal which is such a great way to add to the experience. I will say that while most items were good, certain dishes were oddly mushy? There were just a lot of creamy elements and some additional texture was welcome. The canelones were slightly disappointing as most of the ingredients seem to be in the sauce and they're only stuffed with Swiss chard leaving them a little one note. The desserts however were spectacular! I would go back just for the massini and sundae. Jumping back and forth between them was a culinary delight! The wines were delicious and priced well and overall we had a good experience.

Reveler's Hour may be a little dark on the inside with all the dark wood and…read morelow lighting but the service and the food bring a light to your meal. Firstly, I really have to commend the staff.  They were so attentive and thoughtful.  Our server, for example, brought an extra little light to our table when she saw we were struggling to read the menu in the low light. They were great about checking with us, keeping the water glasses filled and anticipating other needs such as a bag when we wanted to take some of our meal home.  Everyone was very kind and this added so much to our meal.  We enjoyed our progressive meal which reflecting the chef's heritage from both Italy and Brazil.  Our starting mocktails of the ploughman's surprise and the fermented peach soda were good.  The peach soda had a great amount of fizz but could have used a little more peach.  Maybe the nectar just sunk to the bottom and by the time we drank that far, the ice had diluted it.  We preferred the ploughman's surprise, which, coming with no ice (yah!) stayed flavorful to the very end.  Our app of grilled peaches and burrata was tasty but we actually preferred it eaten as its separate components rather than together where the burrata seemed to overpower the other flavors.  Special shout out to the sourdough crisp on top.  Super crunchy and delicious!  The bread was also a stand out in the panzanella.  This dish had a great kick from the jalapeno and was fresh and refreshing.  For our third dish - the bread also was really good.  This time it was garlic knots which everyone looked forward to the moment that garlic aroma arrived at our table.  The summer lasagna came with a very light and slightly sweet tomato sauce which only made us wish we had even more bread!  The main entrée was the picanha steak.  It was very well cooked and though not as hot temperature wise as we would have liked, it was really good even just warmed.  The oven roasted potatoes were just right and the chimichurri sauce was very good (anther longing for more bread - can you see a theme?...)  Dessert was a soft and custardy on the inside corn cake with  mascarpone and espresso dulce de leche.  Although I couldn't taste much of the coffee flavor, the dish was another example of Reveler's Hour comfort food wheelhouse.  The food and the service at Reveler's Hour are definitely worth coming back for.  Next time, we might try to sit towards the front where there is more light from the windows.  There is a small outdoor public lot a block away.

Reveler's Hour is dark, cozy, and intimate, the kind of restaurant that's great for date night or…read moredinner with friends. The front bar has a nice mix of high tops and booths if you're stopping in for drinks, while the dining room in the back is filled with smaller tables. The food absolutely lives up to the atmosphere. Absolutely start with the garlic knot. You can tell the pasta is homemade. The pappardelle is my favorite but you can't go wrong with any of the pasta dishes! Between the warm ambiance, thoughtful service, and incredible food, Reveler's Hour is a great spot in Adams Morgan.

Dennis was an AMAZING server with great service and the food was fantastic! Such a fun birthday…read moredinner!!

The flank steak and potatoes bravas were excellent. The service was quick and very nice. The…read moreambiance was cool and upbeat, a fun place to go with friends. However it was pretty loud if you prefer a quieter dinner. Would definitely go back!

Tryst kept me afloat. The lovely service I have always received, whether at the bar, a table, or a…read moresofa, has been consistent though a decade of visits, as has the engagement of this charming bijou of a cafe with the surrounding neighborhood. Although probably first established while Friends was still on the air, Tryst has kept up with the comings and goings of Adams Morgan, reiterating itself with changes in the local culture and the arts, which are often on display. The building itself has a narrative to it, but it's the centrality of this respite from 'everywhere else' that makes Tryst stand out, lets it occupy memories of comfort and hospitality in my mind, keeps pulling at me to visit time and again. If it wasn't for Tryst, I doubt professional and personal lows would have turned out so rosy, in the end, for me.

A lovely little cafe with super friendly staff and unbeatable vibes! Open until midnight Thursday…read morethrough Saturday (and until 10 PM every other night), Tryst is a sanctuary of peace in the heart of the otherwise lively -- and often chaotic -- Adams Morgan neighborhood. With their extended hours, expansive food and drink selection, and cozy vibes, you can easily hole up in Tryst for the entire day. Personally, I've visited Tryst more time than I can count, and at literally all time of the day. I've definitely taken full advantage of Tryst's extended hours to fuel many, many late-night study and work sessions. I love how cozy the space is, with their slightly worn but super comfy couches and armchairs, dim lighting, and ambient cafe music. The staff is super friendly; you can either order from the counter if you're taking your order to go or just snag a spot and wait for the servers to make their way to you.

Love the ambiance of this place with the decor, live vinyl dj, and a pool table upstairs. They have…read morea pretty standard cocktail menu but a whole lot of wines to choose from. I enjoyed my drink and it was the perfect bar for catching up with a friend. I'll definitely think about trying the food next time however, like the drinks, it's very expensive for "bar food" and an automatic 20% fee is added to every check regardless of your party size. The music gets louder later into the night and the crowd seems to be more in the mood to dance so just keep that in mind when deciding on what time to go! Overall if you're in the area Le mont royal is worth stopping by.

History of Present Indulgence: We came for dinner in a group…read moreof 8 to celebrate our friend's birthday before heading out for a cabin weekend in West Virginia. I was very excited about the French-Canadian, always-changing menu. Physical Exam: Taste - The Prime Rib Sando was a preemo sandwich of balanced cheese and meat between two slices of toasty sourdough. The Cheeseburger Americain was a standard 3.5 out of 5 American cheeseburger that beats the average suburban chain restaurant burger with its double patty and sesame bun, but isn't gonna knock your socks off like a steakhouse burger. The poutine kept my socks on too (I was particularly excited about the poutine and ended up a tad underwhelmed). The biggest disappointment was the mozzarella sticks, which...... I'll just get to in the service part. Cocktails were mid. All interesting concepts, but most missed the mark. the Polar Express was a little too sweet, I forgot what the name of the riff on an old fashioned or Manhattan I had but that was okay, and the Fleur de Citron tasted like when you ask for a Sprite and they ask, "Is Sierra Mist (now Starry) okay?" and you reply, "yeah that's fine," but then what you get is actually a flat 7-Up. Ambiance - This place runs on vibes like America runs on Dunkin'. Live DJ, neon lights, feels like a place you wanna eat a little, dance a little, drink a little. Fun place. Tanked by the service. Skip to the Assessment/Plan if you don't want to read this novella retelling of our evening. Service - Relatively early for the dinner service, we were the largest and one of only a few tables in the restaurant. I counted 3 other tables seated (small parties of less than 4 each) and a few patrons at the bar. It took about 20 minutes before we first got our menus and the guy who handed them to us didn't say a word just dropped them off. Then it took another 20 minutes before he came back to get our drink orders, and 1) seemed like he was having a bad day, which... fine, but 2) was rolling his eyes when some of us were a little between some options and wanted a recommendation, which... alright my guy let's chill. We weren't talking loud, we weren't drinking before and being obnoxious, we just wanted to ask about what some of the drinks were like on a very cool menu of cocktails we haven't tried anywhere else. Upon returning with our drinks, he accidentally spilled a not insignificant amount on my friend sitting across from me, and while we reacted and started handing him extra napkins, he just glanced at him, finished giving out the drinks, and walked away. No "oops", "my bad", "oh let me get you some paper towels", nothing. So at this point, we're all staring at each other like "Did we do something? Do we smell?" Whatever, friend's birthday, we've been talking about this cabin weekend for several years and it's finally happening, let's just vibe. Now another 20 minutes went by and we were getting antsy because we wanted to order our food but it looked like there wasn't a lot of staff, and we didn't want to upset anyone by hurrying them. Another man came over who we thought was going to take our orders. Nope. He starts picking up our menus so I say, "Oh, hey we haven't ordered yet." To which he replies, "OK, but I need the menus." Alright cool, yeah, that makes sense if he needed them for other tables and can leave us with a few to share. Nope. He just took them and placed them back at the host stand. Awkward stares across the table again. Whatever, we had enough, I guess. Tick tock, tick tock. A third guy came over, and when he smiled and asked, "Hi are you all ready to order?" I was like "Oh finally a human being!" Food took another 20-ish minutes while we nursed our drinks and really had no interest in ordering another round (not that anyone asked us). We ate. We chatted. We had an okay time. We were super ready to get out of there. Oh right, the mozz sticks. Le Mont'zarella sticks. They had one order left of four sticks for $18. We were one of the first diners. You can imagine after all the above, that's just a major facepalm emoji. Assessment/Plan: Hail Mary full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God pray for Le Mont Royal to improve their service, now and at the hour of ASAP, because the place has so much potential, and maybe it was just an off night, or the staff just finished arguing with each other in the back so they took it out on us, but dearly beloved Lord it was like we offended nine generations of their ancestry from the moment we walked in. With "a 22% service charge has been added for your convenience," I thought we were getting Punk'd. The always-changing French-Canadian menu is a cool and unique concept, but it's a lot of bark with very little bite. It didn't make the disappointing service worth it. "This life hasn't turned out quite the way I want it to be." -Rockstar, Nickelback

This is the coziest place to be in the winter! The vibes in here are perfect, and they serve the…read moreentire Chez Billy Sud menu, so you really can't go wrong. I had the steak frites, which was cooked to my preferred temperature (a rarity for steak frites) and the fries were perfectly crispy. All of the wines we had were delicious, and I can't wait to come back and try the burger!

Moody, dim lighting, and may I say, better than the vibes in Chez Billy Sud itself, the sister wine…read morebar is the move. It would be a great place for pre dinner drinks or a moody date. There is a bar area and some couch seating but come early, it does get busy and it is hard to find places to sit. They have the same menu as Chez so you can get some appetizers. The bar service is always fantastic and they make a great cocktail- both French 75 and old fashion or dirty martini was fantastic.

This place has been here forever, and I have walked by it so many times. A friend finally invited…read moreme out and it was such a blast! Every wine I tried was something totally new. They were on the tail end of their winter menu, and the sparkling wine that my friend was super excited about was phased out. But I just told the staff what kind of wine I was in the mood for and they chose something wonderful for me. I took pictures of the bottles, I'll track those down and post them later. I'm glad I managed to find red and white wines that I enjoyed. I also noticed that they had a crunchwrap on their menu and I had to try it. It was smaller than I thought, but the flavors going on?? Spectacular. There will also these dumplings... SWEET POTATO DUMPLINGS! And they had sage and candied walnuts. Ultimately they tasted more like a dessert, but I was obsessed with those and loved how unique they were. I'd return here, there's just too much good stuff to try! Can get pricey if you want to try a lot of wines, though.

Lovely place for a drink! I decided to get an old fashioned which was quite good! Also ordered the…read moreburrata which was delicious! Service was very friendly and quick!

We came to this spot for brunch and was genuinely impressed by the food, atmosphere, and service…read more The vibe here is just awesome! Buzzy but not overly loud, with stylish decor that sets the perfect mood for a relaxing brunch with friends or family. To kick things off, I had a mimosa and an iced latte. For food, we ordered the Escargots à L'ail (first timer with this!!!) It was six escargots swimming in a flavorful garlic parsley butter, with flaky puff pastry rounds for dipping. I was definitely nervous, but the flavors were rich without being overpowering, and the pastry added just the right amount of flavor. For the table, we shared the Warm Pistachio Crusted Goat Cheese Ball served with honey and some decadent red wine caramelized onions. The combination of the creamy goat cheese, sweet honey, and savory onions was absolutely amazing. This was definitely a highlight and highly recommended for sharing.. One unique thing: they offer bottomless mimosas and bellinis for one hour. We don't see much of bottomless mimosas in VB, so I found this exciting. For my entree, I couldn't resist the B.E.C.C.: crispy bacon, creamy scrambled eggs (although I swapped in a fried egg), and gruyère cheese all piled on a freshly baked croissant, plus your choice of fresh fruit or Basque potatoes (the potatoes are great, by the way). It hit all the right spots. A buttery croissant, salty bacon, melty cheese, and the yolk from my fried egg just tied it all together. Service was top-notch: attentive, knowledgeable, and friendly without ever being intrusive. All around, this brunch was a winner! So glad we came here.

I had heard about Amelie for some time now and went with friends this past weekend. I give a 3 star…read morebecause it's a mixed review. I found my food to be pretty good and my friends liked their orders. The wine selection is also very good. My order was pretty large though my friends' portions were smaller and I ended up being the only one eating as they finished and then the server grabbed their plates before I was finished. But what detracted overall from the experience was the ambience and service. Maybe because it was the weekend, but the restaurant is so loud you need to shout at each other. The cacophony of conversation, open kitchen, laughter, screeching and music just ruins it. The service is spotty. The gentleman bringing the food basically tosses it on the table and hopefully it slides to your place. Water is aggressively poured wherever the glass is even if they need to reach acrosss your face while you're speaking. Plus they grab your bread plate after appetizer even if there is bread on it and you want it. Apparently bread service is only for the first part of the meal. So food and drink was good, but overall experience was not. We decided we won't go back. BUT, it seems very popular so you will need to make that call. I suggest trying to get a table at the front of the restaurant.

I made reservations thinking it would be an upscale restaurant, but when I got there, it turned out…read moreto be more of a wine bar with food, so I definitely overdressed. That one's on me. I ordered the Mushroom Risotto, and my sister got the cheeseburger. The food was good, just nothing super memorable. It's a nice spot if you're mainly there for the wine, though. Most of their options are on the drier side, not many sweet ones. As someone still easing into the wine world, my palate isn't that mature yet, so I was honestly craving a nice Moscato instead. As for ambiance, it is a nice place for some drinks after work with a medium level of volume.

What a wonderful vibe. Very well attended, convivial, friendly. Food and wine were delicious,…read morepresentation was nice. Just a very pleasant experience.