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    Matera

    3.7 (159 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 10:30 AM, 4:00 pm - 10:00 PM

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    a woman sitting at a bar
    James R.

    Matera is a decent restaurant before going to the Kennedy Center because it is so close and something different from the usual suspects. The menu is not expensive but there is pasta along with some chicken and steak. I had the seafood pappardelle and the server gave me an option of three sauces. I chose the white sauce. The noodles were tender and the shrimp were fresh. Service was quick and there were no issues with making the show. Staff were friendly. It was not very crowded on my visit, but the ambiance is that of a smaller cafe and the noise level was minimal.

    Moscato
    Cheryl T.

    Chose this quaint, small, attractive space to meet a friend for dinner before a Kennedy Center performance. The KC is about 3 blocks away, so the location is convenient. The background music was on-point. However, once the place filled the combo of music and diners talking made the small restaurant extra loud. My dining companion and I had to raise our voices to hear each other speak. What is it with waiters not introducing themselves? I don't want to have to ask their name. Didn't feel like asking so I don't know who served us. Pleasant male appearing person w tats. Ordered a moscato and greek salad and added chicken. The standard greek salad was overpriced at $20. Adding chicken made it $28. Few salads are worth $28 unless it has sushi grade tuna or fresh salmon on it, maybe . The chicken was super dry and tough to the point of being difficult to cut and chew. In hindsight I should not have eaten it. And, because I didn't have the energy to do anything to address the problem, I gnawed the dry meat and gulped it down --which is atypical for me. The salad and a glass of wine came to $46 plus tip which took it over $54 dollars! I don't mind paying for a good meal and this cost too much for what it was. I would return for a drink when I'm the area. Wouldn't likely return to eat.

    a rose in a glass bowl on a table
    A E.

    This is a small hidden gem in this neighborhood. There are not many dining options within walking distance from Kennedy Center, and most are overpriced or low quality. The food here is amazing and the drinks are delicious. Since it is a small restaurant with a few staff members, services can feel slow at times, but they try their best to overcome this by hospitality. Definitely recommended.

    Cru-Driver
    Willie R.

    I came here with colleagues one night before seeing The Color Purple (which was awesome, btw) at the Kennedy Centre. Here is the rundown: -The appetizers were probably the highlight. The fried green tomatoes were nicely done, although the accompanying sauce was a little bland. The mac & cheese was good for non-southern mac and cheese, and I kept coming back to it. I would have liked for it to have had a crispy top, but you can't have everything. They have a nice selection of drinks, my favorite of which was the Cru-Driver. It's a relatively simple drink with rum, orange juice, and lemon juice, but it tasted more like a Jamaican rum punch...which is always a good thing! My duck a'lorange was OK. The duck was not done quite right for my taste and was a bit fattier than hoped for. The sweet potatoes and the wine reduction were good, however. Service was spotty like Spot the Dog. It was rather hit or miss to get anyone's attention, especially toward the end of the meal, when I specifically asked for the check 20 minutes early so that we could head to the theater, and it seemed that we were forgotten about. On the whole, Dish + Drinks is fine, but I will probably find another pre-theater restaurant next time around.

    Pasta
    Julia D.

    First of all, hats off to the waiter (an older, European gentleman). He was very knowledgeable about the menu, patient, and HILARIOUS. Another man, the manager, I presumed, was also great. They were a wonderful pair. The restaurant is within a hotel. It's pretty small, but the space was used well, and the decor was beautiful. I came with a party of 3 (which later became 4). We had calamari, duck eggrolls, grilled salmon, and the shrimp pasta. Every bite of all of the dishes were amazing, the portion sizes were large, and they were able to accommodate all of the substitutions we requested. They didn't have red sangria, but the manager was able to conjure up a wonderful substitute. All in all, it was a great visit. I'll definitely be back.

    Kenneth W.

    We regularly dine at Dish + Drinks prior to a performance at the Kennedy Center. We usually order the duck confit spring rolls and the Ahi tuna tartare appetizers. Photos of our favorite main dishes are attached. Pan seared branzino, topped with lump blue crab meat with rice, spinach, tomatoes; Rack of lamb with arugula salad and sweet potatoes with chorizo. Excellent service. Consistently reliable kitchen.

    Chicken springrolls
    Kevin L.

    It was ladies' night out on Friday, and I got to tag along with the girls to Dish, located just inside the entrance to The Water Inn. The hotel itself isn't challenging to find, but you need to be paying attention when going south on 25th Street, because the awning is a little obscured by overhanging tree branches. As other reviewers have already noted, this place is pretty intimate, but I really liked the space. It's very simple and modern, with lots of dark woods and glass and a little bar in the back. I'd guess that it seats around forty people, so definitely make reservations. Unfortunately, we had just missed their pre-theater fixed price meal at $35 for three courses and runs from 1700-1900 each night. Alas, I the earliest reservations they had for me on a Friday evening were for seating at 1900. I didn't realize the Inn's proximity to the Kennedy Center! I just kind of figured that maybe the university had some kind of arts or theater building in the area and that local residents liked to attend - someone was nice enough to point out that there's an actual professional performance center around the corner. Still, we were not deterred. Between the five of us, we ordered three appetizers: the chicken spring rolls with delicious spicy honey peanut(?) sauce; the crispy calamari with really great marinara and some kind of dip we thought might be an aioli; and the star of the show, the goat cheese tart. Wow - they really saved the best for last. Spiced walnuts and dried cranberries on a mesclun mix, all topped with a piece of pita and a glob of warm goat cheese sprinkled with chili powder. The combination of flavors, textures, and temperatures made for a foodgasmic experience. I think this may have been the highlight of the entire meal for me. The entrees came out shortly thereafter. I really liked how tender my lamb chops were. It was a really generous serving, because I shared one chop to each of my four other dining companions, and easily had another four or so for myself. The crisp light salad that came with my chops had a clean, fresh dressing on it that complimented the heaviness of the meat well. Other highlights were the roasted(?) sweet potatoes with the chicken dish that were ever-so-slightly charred to lend a little smokiness to them, the wild rice that came with the tilapia, and the crab cakes - 86% jumbo lump crab meat! Those things were flavorful and meaty and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I think if I came back, I'd probably order that. We went with the recommended dessert of seasonal cobbler with vanilla ice cream. It happened to be a mixed berry cobbler - we were told fresh raspberries, but it appeared that there were possibly other berries in it, as well as pear. Regardless, it was executed flawlessly. Overall, the food at Dish was superb. The service was a little questionable - although our server was very friendly and attentive, at some points she was a little too in-your-face. At one point, she stopped by our table to present us with a salad that was going to another table - I had no idea what to make of it. On the way out, we did encounter an astonishingly large roach that scampered out of the hotel. Maybe it wanted to come home with us! Potential food safety violations aside, I'd definitely come back to Dish, especially for that pre-theater meal!

    Rachel C.

    Ended up here because of its proximity to my Airbnb for dinner with my sister. They have a three course "theater goers" meal which was a great deal ($40 for appy, entree and dessert). I had calamari, salmon and we split the apple beignets and flourless chocolate cake. The food was delicious and beautiful but the service was even sweeter. Carlos took care of us from the moment we walked in. Our glasses were never empty, he let us sample a wine, and he was generous with his time and recommendations (which we solicited). He kept thanking us for being there- and he seemed sincere about it. All in all a lovely meal - highly recommend!

    On the bottom is the pork chop.  Top is the tagliatelle with sausage.  Both were awesome!
    Nicole W.

    This review is long overdue. I had an amazing experience here last month. The restaurant is tiny and tucked inside the boutique foggy bottom hotel "river inn". You have to walk into the hotel lobby to get to the restaurant. The lobby is very welcoming and there is a cozy fireplace. We had 6pm reservations and were seated promptly. The restaurant is tiny... Only about a dozen or so tables... So I recommend reservations! Our servers were wonderful... We especially loved Keith who helped us make excellent wine selections to go with our meals. My friend and I started with the mixed green salad and the duck spring rolls. The duck didn't taste particularly fresh (possibly frozen) but the salad was crisp and tasty. Loved the candied walnuts and cranberries! For entrees my friend and I shared the roasted pork chop and the tagliatelle with Italian sausage. Both were delicious!!! The pork chop was tender, melt In your mouth, the pasta was fresh, the sauce was very flavorful. Unfortunately we had no room for dessert. I want to note that my friend was super disappointed that the price of the pre-theater menu went up... It's $40... But Yelp falsely says its $35. Overall awesome cozy spot for dinner! I recommend it!

    Lamb Chops
    Jennifer P.

    The lamb chops were so good! I would definitely come back just for this dish. Excellent service too!

    Yummy desserts!!! Apple beignets w/ praline ice cream and pistachio creme brûlée

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    Great Italian meal and service. Love the dog theme in all of the artwork. Would definitely go back.

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    Page 1 of 4

    Matera Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Matera

    Do they have gluten and dairy free options?

    Is this a good place to bring my grandchildren ages 22, 19 and 14?

    The food is delicious and the staff are very friendly. It is not as busy as some other places so the entertainment factor might be a little low, especially for the 14 year old, although I saw some young people (10-12yo) there while I was there.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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