Great (not overly complicated) food, and excellent service. Stopped in without reservations on a Wednesday night, and we were seated immediately. Our server was prompt, friendly, and offered great recommendations. We were pretty hungry and the spaghetti and meatballs (only available as a Wednesday special) and Portuguese Skirt Steak (served with an egg and frites) were both fantastic. We didn't order apps or dessert, but given the taste of what we had (for under $40), we will be happy to come back and try some more. The clientele is a bit on the older side, which is not surprising given owner Ris Lacoste's history at 1789 and Kinkead's, but the atmosphere is open rather than stuffy, and would be a great place to take parents or friends for a nice dinner in town without totally breaking the bank. read more

Might be my new favorite in the immediate neighborhood. Our waitress was wonderful... she was from California, had a great knowledge of wines and was very attentive. This is not a trendy atmosphere, but very comfortable and classy. FOOD: Appetizers: 1. Gnundi- Very tasty ricotta dumplings on top of tomato and eggplant fondu. Delicious! Comes three to an order. 2. Bowl of Mussels- Probably the best mussels I've had in DC in quite a long time. I shared this app with my mother who is from New England, and a big mussels critic. We both loved them. The mussels were tiny and tasty. They were a perfect dish in combination with chunks of chorizo and a light tomato and garlic sauce. Main Course: 1. Grilled Veal Chop- This was my meal, it was fabulous. A HUGE chop served with fontina risotto fritters, fenel, prosciutto, and a lemon sauce. Delicious! 2. Braised Lamb Shank- My mother ordered this and I had a taste... very, very good... and HUGE! Served in a Greek style with chick peas, yogurt, pita, pomegranate, mint and pine nuts. Would rate it about equal to the veal chop. 3. Steak Special- My father had the ribeye special. It was very good as well but I'd say the Lamb Shank and Veal Chop were better prepared. It came with a huge bone that we took home for my dog... so in that aspect it was a winner! This is a great place when you're looking for a quiet, delicious classy meal. Perfect for entertaining out of town guests or a date night. Definitely will be coming back shortly! read more

This place has grown on me. I have been three times and each time is better than the last. It has good ambiance, a little pretentious (could be a good or bad thing depending on your mood), generally knowledgeable and polite wait staff, loud enough to be able to get drunk and loud and not feel like a spectacle. Clever, tasty, stiff cocktails. The only downside is the food: its very good. But its not great. And everything else is so good that it feels like a let down. read more

We've been to Ris several times and have loved the food, but not the austere atmosphere. This time, we got a booth (!) and the rest was perfection. Much more comfortable/cozy/warm. I had a $150 gift certificate for my birthday, and without trying to, we spent within 40 cents of it for a very scrumptious special dinner. Warm bread and fresh butter were delicious. He had a pint of Anchor Steam; I had two glasses of one of my favorite reds - Owen Roe Sharecropper's Red from Columbia Valley, WA. I started with the green salad w champagne vinaigrette and shaved parmesan. Very generous portion, and quite crispy and fresh. Lots of frisee (some people don't love that). He had the mustard-crusted salmon with a side of Lyonnaise potatoes and was happy with both. My main was just amazing - the grilled whole citrus-cured branzino with feta olive oil potatoes, broccoli rabe, tomato caper vinaigrette and roasted garlic aioli. This was my most memorable entree in months (even better than the lobster ravioli at Fiola). For dessert, he loved the banana cream pie, and I really liked the butterscotch pudding. I can't wait to return! read more

Underwhelming to say the least. I went for Brunch, really excited for the food and mimosas. The Mimosa wasn't great, which is why I just bought one, instead of unlimited. I then ordered the Steak Frites Scramble. I wish i would've taken a picture; this dish was disgraceful! It was scrambled eggs with 5 tootsie roll size pieces of steak and fries on the side for $20! I've had this same dish many other places. And for the price you would think you would be getting something more. My friend ordered the eggs any style, but requested veggies be in her eggs and no cheese. Long story short, the dish came out with goat cheese and green beans. She told them she couldn't eat cheese and they simply brought the dish back with the same omelet sans the cheese. They didn't remake it! Then the lady waitress we had charged her for the wrong meal! and charged me for bottomless mimosas, which she never even came back to refill. She had to correct the bill 3x because she kept running off before we could tell her everything that was wrong. The worst brunch experience I've ever had and I will NOT recommend you visit this establishment. read more

I've been a member of Yelp for ~6 years and this is my first review; hopefully that counts for something. I came to RIS exactly one year ago and had a great meal and service. I came back - even with the same people joining me. I had read some recent negative reviews on Yelp, but trusted my past experience. Sadly, this was a mistake. There are two parts to every meal: Service and food. The food was decent and with spectacular service I might come back here again. The service was awful; possibly the worst I've ever experienced in any upper-end restaurant. Yes, it was slow. From sit down ~(7:10) to dessert menu presented (9:30) to bill (9:45) and we were not slow eaters or "taking our time" - this was simply due to not being serviced. But what struck me was how NO ONE received any portion of their meal at the same time as the rest of the table. Two plates would be brought out at a time, with everyone else left to watch those plates be eaten. Appetizers, soups, and salads were brought out spaced out over the course of an hour I believe. Meals were also sporadic, though less so. I ordered a cheese plate for dessert and simply never got it. I ordered a gimlet and the bartender had to come out to ask "Did someone here order a ketel one vodka?" - we fixed the mistake, but the gimlet was awful; pure lime juice. When one of my guests asked what chardonnay she had gotten, she was told it was "a local chardonnay" and couldn't find out. I could go on with a few more anecdotes....at the end of the meal, it was about $550 for 7 people to order ~3-4 cocktails, ~6 appetitizers, 7 entrees, and 3 desserts. I was hosting and so didn't make a big deal to the management, but no one even recognized our experience or missing ordered items or took action to try to improve our meal or perception. I really like Ris' location and vibe for a once a year conf at the Fairmont. Shame I can't ever recommend it again. read more

The first time I went to Ris, a few weeks after it opened, the ambience and service were a little stiff and the food was forgettable. The second visit, this past weekend, went a lot better. Hard to say whether this was a factor, but the group of tables toward the front of the restaurant, rather than right in the main dining room, felt a bit more warmly lit and lively to me. Depends what you're looking for. My brother goes here a lot and says he prefers sitting in the very front by the bar. Slight stumble at the outset: I asked whether the carrot (yes carrot) cocktail was served up, got a yes, and it arrived on the rocks. Well, it was lovely anyway. The starter salad I got, labeled simply "greens" on the menu, could have been just some mesclun and vinaigrette and I would have been happy, because that's all I expect from most restaurants. At Ris, though, it's a colorful and diverse mix of lettuces plus paper-thin slices of radish and carrot, with a delicious vinaigrette. It was also a generous portion (maybe too generous!) for a starter. The cavatelli pasta with butternut squash also was a great combination of textures -- rich and flavorful without being too heavy. What's also nice about the menu here is that they have a $10 burger if you don't want to spend too much. Otherwise, entrees range from $22-30. At the end of our meal, we were brought some fresh Christmas cookies with our check -- and when the server caught me eyeing the remainders as we were preparing to leave, she not only offered us a box to take them home, but added even more to the box. Sure, bribe me with Christmas cookies -- I'm easy. Recommend!! read more

I had the Autumn Pasta....so so. My friend had the Chicken Pot Pie... loved it. hip place...a bit pricey. dont get the bloodie....made with wasabe...and not really that good. read more

Came here on Valentine's Day with my boyfriend because it is conveniently located across the street from our apartment and I had to come home from work late. The food was excellent, though pricey. We had the half-dozen oysters, which were perfect, the quail with polenta, chicken pot pie with braised collard greens and bacon, and chocolate cake with brown sugar ice cream. All of the food tasted excellent and the portions were perfect, as we cleaned our plates. I appreciated the patience and friendliness of the staff. The decor is very pretty and classy. Since it was Valentine's Day, every female received a rose at the end of the meal. My complaint is that the tables were very close together, so I could easily listen in (and participate if I wanted to) on the conversations between the couples on either side of me. read more

First, I agree with other reviewers that the staff is pleasant and attentive and not overly so. That means a great deal. However, the menu is "eclectic" at best and while I appreciate fusion and blending, I had trouble putting together a selection of items that made sense. Even the tasting menu (that I did not try) seemed like great individual choices but not a cohesive experience. The food was good, especially the Veal Cheek and Risotto. The wine was very average, not unreasonably priced but again, didn't seem to match the food choices. Interesting cocktail menu that I didn't try, but not up to a real high end cocktail bar offering. Mid-range, nice atmosphere. Looks consistent. But nothing (except the service, which again was very, very nice) stands out. read more

Nice location Like the ambience. Ok wine selection Good service. Food was tasty but not exceptional. Fairly pricey. read more

Staff was incredibly friendly, food was amazing, and the atmosphere was great as well. I got the grilled branzino and even though I'm not a huge fan of fish, I loved it. It's really just an excellent place overall. If you can afford the high price tag, I would highly recommend it. read more

RIS - Butterscotch pudding - YUM - New American Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

This was our first visit to this icon in DC. Our server was very helpful and had a great depth of knowledge about everything on the menu. We tried most of the items she suggested and were not disappointed. The menu changes daily, so this was a real help. For appetizers, we had the littleneck clams. We liked them, but they were a bit salty for our tastes. The French Onion soup was good as well as the molasses grilled Quail. Wild mushrooms were sautéed in garlic, butter and sherry sauce and were excellent. For main course. The crispy fried whole snapper and grilled Tuna were awesome. We had a great time. It was a memorable event and we look forward in returning to see what else the chefs decide to create. read more

I went there for date night this Saturday wanting to be impressed and 'oooh and ahhh'. First of all, the bar is below average. The bartenders seemed stretched a little thin and who wants to watch CSPAN at a bar. The decor we liked, but some genius had decided to schedule a catered event behind us. Some crusty old lady in a mink put her hands on and leaned back on my girl's chair, really!?!?! She gave me a look and moved forward at the first chance possible without slapping her hand silly. Needless to say, we had to move around to the other side of the bar because of what could of been a benefactors reception at the Phillips and very LOUD. Granted, we were a little early, but after waiting 45 minutes for our reservation (apparently the host had not mastered the skill of keeping track of waiting guests who move to different seats at the bar), the hostess tried to put us at the first table near the door, worst table in the house. To add insult to injury, the table had been free and available since we got there. After expressing my discontent at the seating, the hostess moved us to a better table in the back. Frankly, I was about to leave the restaurant after such a horrible first impression. Atmosphere- After the horrible FOH/ Bar finally seated us, I seriously wondered why we had to wait so long. Half of the tables were vacant. We sat next to what looked like a professional escort and an old man. Seriously, she was 35 years younger than him. My gf sat with her back to a large glass window. All of the woman who had their backs to the window had the uncomfortable sensation of being right in between hot and cold. Many were wearing coats to warm themselves up. To all the ladies, bring a sweater or a wrap. Keep in mind, all of these missteps were from a restaurant that had many bottles of vino over $1000. But, I am glad we stuck around. Our waitress quickly turned things around. We got a nice bottle of wine for $50. The spicy shrimp tempura was very good as a starter. My gf got the monkfish Ossobucco, which she enjoyed and finished completely. I ate the short ribs which were very good, but not excellent by any measure. The dessert was the highlight for me. I think Ris makes their own ice cream with interesting flavors like sour cream and bourbon chestnut. I don't think I would repeat. The crowd was a mix of about 70% above 60 folks who looked like a post-Kennedy Center crowd and 30% first date people. Definitely not hip or innovative food-wise and left something something to be desired even for a high-end hotel bar (it's above the Ritz). Do yourself a favor walk around the corner to Blue Duck Tavern for a better experience. read more

Just went to lunch at Ris, my first time. It was just lovely. The Margarita Scallop appetizer was delicious, a true invention to treasure. I'll have it every time I go, which will be again. The hostess and wait staff were so friendly and helpful. Their patience with our timing was appreciated. The food is fantastic, the atmosphere light and breezy and the drinks unusual and varied. This was the first and it won't be the last, too much to peruse in one sitting. A true find. read more

The Food was of 5 star Quality! It was the bartender /manager guy that was just down right rude... He held a personal conversation with a customer, boasting about his wine knowledge for 20 mins, while ignoring all of his other customers. It took absolutely no time for our food to arrive after we (the patrons) finally got to place our orders. As I alluded to earlier the food is worth a 5 Star rating it was unbelievable... Its Fast, Its Tasty and its Clean, I guess that I just had a bad experience at the bar, I'm glad that I was dining alone!!! read more

Nice refined mature place with a great wine list. The octopus salad was not as tender as in the Adriatic but seemed to work. The French onion soup nothing special, the pine nuts in the lamb shank makes it fun, the steak is yum and the pasta good enough. It's pricey but with good service. read more

Have passed this place multiple times, always hesitant to go in bc of the yelp rating. I'm not sure where those people actually went though, because dinner tonight was outstanding. Everyone was so friendly, the ambience was lovely and, the food!! I ordered the hanger steak and was astounded at how well it was cooked. The flavors were amazing. Others in my party ordered the lamb shank and salmon (which was the fish special of the day) and we were all equally in heaven. For dessert we shared the pear tart dish, and although we were all stuffed, how the pastry seemed to balance out the ice cream made it a battle of wills to actually put down the utensils. I would HIGHLY recommend this restaurant and can not wait to go back! read more

RIS is most certainly a five star establishment. The atmosphere is very fancy but fortunately lacks the pretentious attitude. All of the people with which we had interaction were polite and friendly and the food was absolutely fabulous. We had the... Scallop Margarita - delicious cold appetizer with frozen tequila, scallops, red onion, avocado. Very good Perogi - two perogi with sausage. Cooked perfectly and wonderfully complimented Duck - moist, flavorful, delicious - the potato side with this dish was nothing to celebrate but were good. read more

Truly a five star dining experience Dining at RIS was the highlight of our extended weekend anniversary celebration in DC. Truly fabulous food paired with exquisite wine and great beer in a cosmopolitan setting with wonderful service - what's not to like? We started with the classic wedge salad which was expectedly delicious and the asparagus and gingered grapefruit which was an unexpectedly delightful melange of European and Asian flavors. We moved on to the Chicken Milanese (again expectedly delicious) and the Rabbit Pappardelle which was quite simply one of the best dishes I've eaten this year. Umami filled with amazing flavors and textures it was just perfect. Lastly, we finished with Ris's deservedly lauded butterscotch pudding and a light and delicious strawberry rhubarb filled cannoli. The Seguinot-Bordet Chablis was an exquisite and all too rare find on a 'by-the-glass' menu - buttery yet crisp and not over-oaked like so many Chardonnays. My Troegs Mad Elf Ale while not quite so rare was equally delicious with plenty of floral notes to back up the hoppy bitters. The service was wonderful if slightly on the cold side and Ris welcomed and charmed us as she walked the tables later in the evening. Lastly, I would recommend dining early or late as we did to enjoy the marquee menu. read more

Seven of us went to RIS for Brunch on the final day of Restaurant week. The decor is sharp, the coffee was excellent and we all enjoy our meals. A really nice time. A few in our group enjoyed the bottomless mimosa a little bit more then they should have, good thing we were walking and Ubering. read more

We went to Ris last night for my birthday. I had a nice time and enjoyed the food and would definitely return. I would give Ris a B+ but frankly, given all the hype and the high-profile chef, I was expecting a bit more. Like I wanted to be blown away and I was not. Ris is a nice experience. Good location, nice decor, not too loud, pleasing ambiance. I thought the service was good - our waiter was nice and helpful. Looking at past reviews, I guess it must have improved over time. While I enjoyed my meal a lot, I have to admit that it was not incredible. I had the greens salad (good with a nice dressing), pork chop (a bit salty but good with nice sides) and my partner enjoyed the pork postole (soup) and the chicken pot pie. Everything was well prepared, flavorful, and nicely presented but I was expecting more than -nice- I was hoping for wow. I had a nice glass of Sancerre and we skipped dessert. The restaurant got crowded while we were there but it was nice that it did not get too loud. The crowd was not very diverse - seemed like mostly older DC types (perhaps Foggy Bottom residents), upper-mid-level govt bureaucracy types, and young DCites on dates. Ris is good and pleasant and I would return again and recommend it especially for a date night or dinner with the parents. read more

My friends and I visited Ris last night to celebrate New Years Eve. Everyone in our group found their meals to be absolutely amazing, and personally, it was one of the best meals I have ever had! I had the lamb shank, which was very meaty and cooked to perfection. My meal came with generous sides of garlic spinach and feta potato au gratin, both were delicious. The atmosphere was elegant but relaxed, perfect for a group setting. A perfect meal/evening almost took a turn for the worse, but thankfully the Ris staff was exceptional. As a bus boy was clearing our soup dish, he spilled soup down the back of my dress, and a friend's dress. The staff immediately rushed over, helped clean it off of us, and offered our entire group complimentary drinks, and comp'd my friend and my meals. This solidified the "5 stars" in my mind. Very rarely do you find a wait and management staff that is so accommodating, and professional. read more

Went to RIS for valentine's day and was very impressed. We were not seated immediately but were able to grab a comfortable spot at the bar. Our table was available within the next 10 minutes and we were tucked away in a cozy corner. The waitress was not the friendliest but she was efficient. We ordered the tasting menu for which consisted of 5 courses for $80. I didn't see a tasting menu online but seems to be a current trend that a lot of restaurants are doing. 1st course was delicious lobster bisque shooter. 2nd course were the scallop margarita which were surprisingly good and refreshing. Very much like a ceviche in flavor, but surprising in texture. 3rd course was salmon which had a great sauce and fresh vegetables. Fourth course were the braised short-ribs which were tender. Lastly, was a chocolate cake. After 2.5 - 3 hours it was all very well prepared and worth experience. read more

Beautiful restaurant with seats perfect for people watching and chatting it up with friends. A nice menu for late night eating .. Delicious but not too heavy. The menu boasts a great selection of salads and seafood dishes. Also glance over the wine list especially if you have something to celebrate. There is a perfect bottle just for you. read more

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What a delightful experience! Dining at the Ris was superb. Prompt and professional service and the food quality is very high! I'm a chef and I truly enjoyed my lunch today. Happy to see a place that offers a very high quality. Staff was extremely friendly and accommodating. Thank you read more

I belong to a group that would have hosted its dinner tonight at RIS Restaurant. Instead, RIS delivered meals to our doors so that we could hold our meeting virtually AND enjoy another delicious meal from RIS. The food was delicious and came with carefully written re-heating instructions. There were several choices to please any palate. And the food was delivered with great care and social distancing. I hope others will think of RIS and RIS Lacoste when they look to hold a group function. read more

Tonight I had the wonderful experience of having my dinner delivered to my door for an organization meeting. RIS Catering cooked, prepared and delivered my dinner. The roast chicken and potatoes were succulent, the salad crisp and tasty and the dessert delicious. I highly comment RIS on their attention to detail and ease of preparation. It was a wonderful and delicious dinner! Thank you, RIS. read more

The food is great and the prices are excellent. Also a great location. Service needs a HUGE improvement. We made a reservation last Saturday---they could only give us 4:45 pm. We arrive get settled and they give us a lunch menu. I asked if we could have the dinner menu (it is now 4:55) and the hostess seriously says that dinner begins at 5:00 and she needs to get permission. By the time we left at 6:20 the restaurant was half empty--makes you wonder why they could not give us the originally requested reservation time of 5:30. Again--the food is great--but the service really detracts from the restaurant. read more

Ate here for the first time and was completely underwhelmed. For starters the decor is terribly outdated. To add insult to injury, at the end of the night once we had finished dinner, we saw a mouse scurry across the dining room floor!! Food was good but nothing to warrant the high prices. My chicken Milanese tasted more like a Wiener schnitzel but at least it was warm anD had a heaping mound of spinach though I could have sworn menu had said dish came with arugula salad. No need to rusH here considering the number of other really good restaurants in DC read more

Not as nice as advertised. Near the hotel but disappointed that the concierge recommended it. Atmosphere is near a family chain restaurant. Kind of old school. read more

We were at RIS for lunch during the restaurant week. No one is expecting a miracle from the restaurant week menus but it provides a preview of the restaurant for the next visits. Unfortunately our experience with RIS was not satisfying at all. They were understaffed for a busy week and it was quite annoying for us to search for a waiter all the time even for simple things. Food itself was also flat. Onion soup was OK while tomato soup saved the day. My steak frites was overcooked. But my partner's burger was even worse. It was not just overcooked but burnt (literally). And the service was very slow. So slow that we asked for our deserts to be brought to the table to save some time while we were still having our entrees since we had already spent 1.5 hour in the restaurant for a simple lunch. On the other hand, ambience of the restaurant was nice and bright. read more

Super friendly lunch bartender and professional service. They offer three lunch menus: a la carte, a three course set price for $25 and one course with beer or glass of wine for $15. I live around the corner so I gave it a shot and left very satisfied! My octopus salad was bomb. read more

Nice location, decent decor and large space. The food is good, doesn't have the overly amazing on the menu. Our server for lunch seemed a little underwhelming-he seemed to be annoyed we were having him work so hard during 4pm. read more

Enjoyed a lovely Sunday brunch with some lovely ladies. My huevos rancheros was perfectly put together and not heavy like most brunch dishes are. We even scored a cookie plate which rounded off our meal quite nicely (peanut butter cookies were delicious, chocolate crisps were tasty aside from sticking to your teeth, and the double chocolate cookies weren't bad). Our waitress was very friendly and was nice enough to let us linger longer than our meal to chit-chat, which was nice since the dining room wasn't busy at that time either. An elegant, well-proportioned space with attentive wait staff to enjoy a quality meal with good company. read more

Overwhelmingly underwhelming. 2.5 stars, potential to reach 3, but not a lot more. Ris is billed as a high-end restaurant, and certainly bills like a high end restaurant, but fails to reach expectations on all fronts. Given its two block proximity to at least two other restaurants that do succeed in this niche (Blue Duck Tavern and Westend Bistro), I expect that the crowds that currently swamp Ris will eventually dissipate. The first impression we got of Ris was the din. It was packed at 8pm on a Tuesday night. In a truly high-end place, noise control would have been planned for in the design of the space. Not so here. Ris has very low ceilings, no sound dampening panels on the ceilings or anywhere else, it is narrow at the bar and very, very wide in the seating area. My guess is that the sound funnels back towards the seating area. It is very, very, VERY loud in there. In addition, the decor is really uninspired and, again, the main seating area is very wide and undivided, lacking any sort of intimacy. The front of the house was gracious and efficient. The waitstaff however, was quite obviously inexperienced in fine dining. Our waitress forgot a lot of things and the runners avoided eye contact when we were obviously wanting things. Our waitress forgot to give us menus, forgot to give us bread, forgot to tell us that they were out of a number of items until we ordered them, didn't appear to know the wine list and forgot our wine, etc. She also pitched her favorites quite hard. Finally, she shoved through the chairs of the two tables by us on more than one occasion to the surprise of both people sitting there. She was very nice, but from the way she conducted herself, this was her first foray into a high-end dining room. I suspect that Ris hires people without much experience in this area and therefore diners may experience less than high-end service on occasion. The food itself was lackluster and, to my mind, included a lot of filler that is not mentioned on the menu, ostensibly either to keep the cost down or because they were running out of the choice ingredients. For example, the Endive, Walnut, Blue Cheese and Apple salad sounded great, but was mostly frisee and spinach. There was plenty of endive and apple too, but not much walnut or blue cheese. The whole point of the dish, to me, was to play off the blue cheese, but there was just a smattering of crumbles in the dish. Similarly, the octopus salad could have been a truly great dish - the octopus appeared to have been brined and served in a way I had not seen before and it was delicious. All four tiny pieces of it. The yogurt was a great accompaniment. There was no cured lemon or feta that I could find and hardly any cucumber. There was, again, however a large amount of frisee and spinach. Again, the main ingredients barely found their way on the plate. (There's a theme here, folks.) For mains, we ordered the Smoked Paprika Crusted Muscovy Duck with sweet and sour cherry sauce, candied orange, almond wild rice and caramelized endive, which came with perfectly cooked duck, one cherry, no orange, a lot of rice and endive. Although it was a very successful dish, again it appeared that the kitchen was skimping on critical ingredients. What was described on the menu as Grilled Portuguese Skirt Steak served with an over easy egg, rice and fries with a sauce of pickled hot peppers, beer and blackened onions was just steak, egg, rice and fries. There might have been 1-2 tiny pieces of onions and endive on my plate, but there wasn't much of hot pepper flavor or anything that resembled a hot pepper. What was on my plate was very bland and uninspired. The fries were not above ore-ida quality and the rice was soaked. Finally, we ordered Butterscotch Pudding cocoa crisps and chantilly cream, which was reasonably decent, albeit somewhat bland and strangely gritty. The bar and wine list are very nice, and the bar has TVs behind it that show sports / news, which unfortunately is a rarity in DC. The wine list is a gem: It has classics and well-chosen, more obscure smaller producers, all of which are very reasonably priced. The bar itself is quite pretty, with good beers on tap (brooklyn amber, troegs, etc) and a nice selection of wines by the glass. The specialty cocktails we sampled were too sweet, but not by a lot. The bar was, however, unwilling to transfer our tab to our table. Further, there are tables immediately behind the bar, again ensuring that the bar area will always be too loud to be enjoyable. In sum, Ris just isn't worth the money. There are two choices (Blue Duck and Westend) that are in the same price range, that fit same niche (business / upscale), have the same general type of cuisine and are within two blocks that are exponentially better in every facet (food, decor, ambience and service) than Ris. read more

We had just arrived in DC at the Ritz and decided to have an early dinner at RIS. As we walked in - I felt the exhale of a tired eatery. While the staff was pleasant they could not shake the ever present atmosphere of melancholy or the underwhelmed grimaces on each of the dinners face. We started with a very typical onion soup and the Rosebud ravioli - both dishes were nondescript and absent any noticeable seasoning. Shall I mention that the bread was dry and hard as a rock. Unfortunately the entrees were no different. A flaccid stew of confused ingredients. Set your watch people - the count down to the end of RIS has begun! read more

I remember when Ris first opened. I lived above the restaurant and we were all invited to the grand opening party. It was exciting that a new restaurant was opening in the neighborhood. Around 4 years later and dozens of visits, I will never go back. The food is good. It is comfort food with a modern twist. It once had a price balance on the menu, but it has changed and unless you are getting the hamburger, expect to pay. I honestly have no problem with the price though. If the food and service is good, it's worth the money. And that is why I have finally decided to write my first YELP review tonight. In fact, I just got home from Ris, I am tired but still feel compelled to write this review. The bottom line is this; our server was polite but after an hour of waiting for our food, and my salmon coming our raw I had questions. The server told us that they had lost six line cooks the week before and apologized. A few minutes later, the GM (not sure her name) told me I was lying about the time it took to get our food and said the ticket had only been in for 25 minutes! That's where I take offense. Our reservation was for 7:30. We got there at 7:20. We ordered by 7:35 and did not get our food until 8:40! For her to tell me that I was lying is unacceptable and if I was Doris the owner, I would be ashamed to have a GM like that in my restaurant. Like I said before, I have been to Ris dozens of times, spending hundreds each visit. I will never go back. What did they give me for the wait and messed up food? 1 glass of wine and took the Salmon off the bill. They didn't even give my fiancé a glass of wine. If you want condescending management and a huge wait time, pay the money and go to Ris. If you want better management and pay the same price, go to West End or ANY place in Georgetown or Dupont. Scion in Dupont has amazing service and is about the same price point (actually cheaper!) Its too bad the GM had to accuse me of lying! Who does that?? read more

So I went to RIS with a good feeling about the food and ambiance. I couldn't have been more wrong, it started with problems with my seating arrangements. Then our waiter was quick to explain but with a pompous snarl, I ordered a salad and was very dissapointed to find out that the dressing tasted old and too heavy in anchovies. I ordered a steak which was the only silver lining of the night. One of my sides was kale which tasted like a salt quarry. Finnaly dessert was nice but the espresso had a strange after taste read more

I got cheese pierogis. They lacked flavor and there were only two of them - since the dish was $13 I expected a bit more. To make up for the deficit in pierogis, they were served on a massive and overwhelming bed of sauerkraut. The service was fast and courteous, but I would avoid ordering this dish. read more