On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Category: American (New) [Edit]
701 Pennsylvania Ave NWArchives-Navy Mem'l (Green, Yellow)
Federal Triangle (Blue, Orange)
Judiciary Sq (Red)
Mon-Fri. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mon-Fri. 5:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
"This restaurant is a example of what others should aspire to, I was attending a scotch tasting later that night, so went light on cocktails…" read more »
Came here during restaurant week and wasn't impressed at all - in terms of food, I'd rate it a 3.5 (overall experience was closer to a 3 though). My boyfriend ordered a lamb dish, which was a 4, but my fish entree, at best, rates in at a 3. The deserts were good, but at an upscale restaurant, that's only standard fare.
Also, I didn't think the restaurant was aesthetically pleasing at all. In fact, it was very austere and felt stuffy even. The only attempt at ambiance was the dim lighting, if nothing else.
Overall, I wouldn't go back or pay full-price to eat a meal here.
I'm so glad a friend of mine suggested dinner at the newly renovated "701 Restaurant" with their new chef, Adam Longworth. One word: Delicious! Both of us basically cleaned our plates during each course. And the fairly large RW week menu options were so appetizing it was difficult to choose!! Overall, I give it 4.5 stars!
By the end of the meal, we were satisfied, but not overly stuffed. My friend "cursed" me, since I work a mere block or so away and can take advantage of their $15 dollar lunch menu at the bar during the weekday when I need a break and a real meal during the work week.
I enjoyed the muted blue elegant décor and quiet atmosphere. Definitely upscale. (The guy with a Caps jersey just stood out like sore thumb.) The new décor is an improvement from the other time I ate here a few years ago...then it looked more like a boring old men's club. The presentation of each course was also quite exquisite
...so onto the food!
Highlight of the three courses---the entrees. I had the best striped bass dish I've ever had...A crunchy rice crusted striped bass over a "salad/concoction" of lentils, chickpeas, spiced eggplant, golden raisins, and cauliflower puree, with a bit of a mashed potato/cauliflower mix on the side, in a curried emulsion. The sample of my friend's Braised Beef Short Rib Rigatoni was so flavorful, with tomato, cremini mushrooms, whipped ricotta...it may very well be what I order the next time.
The Roasted Beet Salad was a nice light start to my meal. Nice combination of red and white beets, granny smith apples, goat cheese, walnuts, and orange yogurt. Small criticisms: the walnuts were huge and it'd be nice if they were in smaller pieces. The type of lettuce ( I think it was endive) on the top was not a personal favorite, but that's just me...overall it was a good choice. My friend had the "Clam" Chowder, which came highly recommended by another "foodie" friend of ours. And we both agree with her. The chowder included smoked potato gnocchi, clams, prosciutto, bacon, and oyster crackers.
The Banana Pudding Profiteroles rounded out my meal, with intense bursts of banana flavor mixed with bittersweet caramel sauce and almond toffee. (You got three, four would have been perfect!). You don't see an Apple Buckwheat Shortcake everyday--at least I don't. My friend's dessert was a very substantial portion of an interesting fruit compote of apple, dried cherries, and figs topped with fresh whipped cream among the shortcake...loved the fruit part...the shortcake was a bit heavy for my taste, but hey, that's typical of buckwheat.
Along with a nice array of cocktails and a large wine list, 701 also has some good non-alcoholic options...the blackberry lime fizz was unique, and my friend raved about the passionfruit (not too sweet!) and mint soda.
The waiter was a bit flighty and seemed distracted, and oddly was totally thrown when my friend asked for her drink with no ice...and no checking in with us at all, which was odd, although another employee took the time to ask about our meal and answer a question I had in detail. And the waiter scored points he originally lost when he took away my friend's drink before she was finished...when he comp'ed it.
A note about the bathrooms: really overly large sinks (so no counter space) and some funky and colorful looking bathroom stall doors that elicit surprise from each woman who walked in.
If you have not been to 701 since the changes, or have not been her before, I highly recommend it.
I'd like to come when the have live jazz on thrusdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
Just had dinner at 701 - I feel like I swallowed a salt lick. I feel like it's one of those restaurants that's expensive for the sake of being expensive - because while the food was okay, it wasn't interesting or innovative or especially delicious. Just really salty.
I started with an appetizer of grilled diver scallops with butternut squash puree, grapes, oranges, capers, and balsamic brown butter. It was a large portion of 3 scallops, but they were overcooked and really salty. I had absolutely no idea that there was butternut squash or capers in the dish - the scallops were covered with some sort of foam (foam looks like spit, but then again I'm not a sophisticate here so that's where my mind goes), and it was basically goo under the scallops with a few sliced grapes and some random orange slices.
My next course was Scottish salmon with potato gnocchi, broccoli rabe, and warm mushroom vinaigrette. Except there weren't any gnocchi, and the mushroom "vinaigrette" was so salty I just avoided it. Not sure what happened in the gnocchi department - I got a scoop of mashed potatoes. The salmon was cooked nicely with a nice crust, but again, soooo salty. My husband had the bronzino, which was much better than my plate. But again - salt overload, with the Serrano ham, olives, and well, salt.
For dessert I had apple brown butter crisp with granny smith apples, brown butter, oatmeal streusel, and burnt caramel ice cream. The portion was enough for at least 3 people. The ice cream was delicious, but the crisp itself was just "meh". It was sooo buttery and gooey, but not in a good way.
We were taken here as guests, so we didn't foot the bill on this trip. The food was just so mediocre and salty, I don't think I'd bother going back. It's unfortunate because the restaurant is quite pretty inside and the service was stellar. Did I mention it was salty?
***RESTAURANT WEEK REVIEW***
Had dinner with my gf, and the couple we traveled to The Netherlands/Belgium with tonight. Unbelievable. Restaurant Week is not about the restaurant, per se, it is about the company you bring. Only then can you take your broke ass out with friends and enjoy a meal, with wine, cocktails and feel totally rich and special for one night. Or maybe this was just because the server was so vicious with the skills.
Came through the door. Checked out coats. Got sat right by the front door, which although partitioned off, still somehow leaks cold air. (I thought I was oversensitive since I'm bald, my dinner companions all agreed it was drafty. I also knew once the booze and food started to flow, I would warm up, so I shrugged it off.)
DINNER FOR FOUR:
Cava Brut Rose - Crappy but sexy drinking bubbly pink stuff, for some reason. Sour and refreshing like lemonade with water and no sugar. GF loves the cava. I loves the GF. All good.
(also a Jameson on the rocks spilled down my throat early on. We got a drink for free, and I'll never tell you how, because Yelpers can be some restaurant-scamming cheapskates who should be placed on a DO-NOT-SERVE list for restaurants nicer than Burger King.)
RW MENU
Seared Sea Scallops App: DELICIOUS. Beautifully grilled. Nice grill lines on the scallop. Delicious Butternut Squash puree with grapes and baby greens Outstanding. Even my scallop hater gf loved it.
Ceviche: YUMMM! I was really impressed with how clean and fragrant and fresh this ceviche was. The one I had at the place named FOR the same dish (in Silver Spring Downtown) was FAR inferior.
Ordered a $10 glass of Merlot after tasting a sip- can't remember the name)
Rigatoni with braised beef ribs: Rich and delicious. Ribs mixed with sour cream-type goodness resting atop the dish and just made my mouth so happy. I ate all of my dishes soooo slooooowly because I felt like Ratatouille.
My gf got a rice-crusted seabass which was also magnificent. Crispy rice forming a lightly crunchy crust to some really nice skin-on sea bass. I tried the grits that came with the fried chicken my friend ordered, but I was totally focused on my pasta. Wow. I'm going to treat myself to the pre-fixe menu soon.
For dessert I had a chocolate bete with orange marmalade. It was the perfect ending to the meal, I didn't finish it though. I also gave up a few spoonfuls of my pasta. I definitely feel full right now, hours later.
Service was stupendous. The atmosphere was romantic, but still amazing (super high ceilings were nice.) I will definitely go back. Prices were GREAT and they have a ton of deals.
I'm going to go to sleep and dream about how much fun I had tonight.
I came here for a work holiday party. The food here was very average, but I feel like I can't give it a lower rating because we never really ate a full course meal here.
They had a raw bar (oysters, sushi, etc.) and pork (with a huge pig's head out in the open EEEK) and a few other hot dishes that did not stand out to me at all. The shrimp cocktail was delicious though.
The best part of the night, I must admit, was the dessert table. THe mini cheesecakes were superb and the gingerbread snap cookies were AMAZING! I think i nomed down 5 of these.
It was open bar and the drinks were strong and superb. The service there was really awesome-the servers were super sweet and some were cute! ;)
although i did go up and spit on a guy by accident, who turned out to be one of the company's 4 partners, it ended up being a great night and really fun! :)
Though I've actually been here before, I've not reviewed it on Yelp until now.
The convenient, stylish and clubby feel can't be beat, and 701 gets right to its elegant but airy and straightforward undertone. The only regret I have from our recent lunch experience is the lack of available time to return and enjoy the live jazz on some evenings. Love the lounge.
I didn't go all out here, starting with tasty but typical spinach salad (sans bacon) and a grilled cheese (No ham, bitches. Why do you list it as 'grilled cheese' instead of 'grilled cheese and *ham*' so you don't raise an eyebrow when I request...wait for it...no *ham*) which had more than my preferred share of brie but was nonetheless delicious. Service was proficient and cordial. Though tempted to join my guests in a cocktail, I chose to instead communicate the superiority of self-discipline in alcoholic D.C. via abstinence. No wonder your country is going to hell in a hand basket...
I kid...sort of.
My lady and I rolled over to 701 last night. I wasn't familiar with it, but our waiter at Marcel's (my fav place in DC with Komi) told us it was one of his favorite places in town...so we went.
And it turned out to be restaurant week! The menu was great; three courses for $35 and some change. Very nice ambiance inside. We were in one of the wings with a view of the Navy Memorial (701 is right by the metro). The food was great and the service was extremely attentive and I was a big fan!
The bar looks very good for Happy Hours too. Only downsides were the bathrooms are small and that the interior of the restaurant is very noisy and can seem very crowded at peak times.
But overall, the food was terrific and it was a great time. Also, the food came out quick and it was nice as we didn't have to sit around forever like some places.
There really should be a separate listing for those who eat at places during restaurant week.
As the saying goes; you get what you pay for.
Went here after a show and was very happy with the meal. Reminded me of the Oval Room and had a similar feel but slightly bigger space.
Started off with the Steak tartar and was very pleased with the presentation and taste, rich and well balanced.
Had the lamb for main course and it was perfectly cooked and the mash potatoes and dates were also very pleasing.
The wine was also par with the price and I enjoyed the blend.
No desert but espresso coffee was good and so was the wafer it came with.
All in all I would put it on the same level with the Oval Room and slightly lower than Poste
BAD customer service. We were sat as soon as we walked in the door. Only to be sat for 20 minutes with no waiter, no bread, no water, no service. The place looked great on the inside, I wonder if the food actually tasted good.
We ran into a cooking demonstration by the new chef of 701, Adam Longworth, a couple of weeks ago at the Artists on Foot festival near Penn Quarter. The demonstration that he gave was for the Alaskan King Crab Summer Roll, which is featured as an appetizer on the 701 menu. I had never heard of this restaurant before, but became quite intrigued and wanted to visit.
Fast forward a couple of week later, my fiance and I decided to have lunch here as a special treat. I insisted on ordering the crab summer roll and it was absolutely delicious! The lunch menu has a good array of choices, ranging from sandwiches, salads, burgers and regular entrees.
I chose the petite burger special that day, which was a hamburger topped with onion straws and BBQ sauce. It came with french fries, pickled zucchini and a small salad. The fries were good, they were crispy on the outside but not overdone on the inside and the zucchini was tastefully marinated. The small side salad did not appear to have alot (if any) of dressing on it, but the rest of the plate made up for it. The other half had a chicken Caesar salad which looked scrumptious as well.
The service was very attentive, drinks promptly refilled, and they even used a knife-like object to scrap the crumbs off of the table at the end of the meal. The decor of the restaurant is very classy and elegant as well. I look forward to returning for another delicious meal and don't forget to try the crab spring roll!
Tim Carman (http://www.washingtonc...) and Tom Sietsema (http://voices.washingt...) report that 701 will be undergoing major renovations in early August, including a new chef, so things may be changing shortly.
In the meantime, 701 has a pretty good fix price lunch deal; the Bi-Partisan lunch is three courses for $24. A bit high for lunch, but it seemed to be full portions and there was a decent choice for each course. There are also some moderately price sandwiches if you want a lighter lunch.
The seasonal soup was an excellent sweet corn soup. It was very silky and creamy and highlighted the peak of local corn season well. The citrus papardelle with artichokes was pretty good, although the sample of my friend's baby back ribs were sort of blah.
I was full from the first two courses and ended up taking the dessert to go home. The cookie platter was made up of several extremely buttery cookies. I think there was a lemon glaze, butter cookie, chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and dulce de leche thumbprint cookie. Delicious.
The outdoor seating is terrific and gives you a good view of the National Archives and the Navy Memorial. It would be an awesome way to spend a nice summer afternoon relaxing if you can manage an extended lunch.
A surprisingly decent restaurant!
For a couple years now I have walked past its non-descript entrance and never given it a second thought. Plus, the extreme lack of creativity in its name (c'mon, you can't come up with anything better than your address! damn you lazy!) allowed me to assume it would be just as lacking in its culinary aspects.
I ass-u-me'd wrong!
Upon the offer of a free lunch at this place, I had no good reason to say no. And Im glad I went. To start, the dining room is actually done quite tastefully. It's modern, its bright, it has neat designer lighting throughout. Bear in mind this is run by the same company as Rasika, Bombay Club and various other culinary faves, so the owners know what they're doing, so far as food and decor and everything but naming conventions is concerned.
The menu was short and printed out on some pretty crappy HP laserjet paper, but Ill forgive them the transgression as the substance of the menu was pretty nice. There was a wide array of sandwiches, salads, appetizers (mostly soups and small salads) and entrees (fish and pasta dishes).
I went with a fresh seafood salad, which was greens topped with all my favorite shellfish- very fresh lobster claws, crawfish, scallops and shrimp. MMMMMMMMMMM. What a wonderful combination. And it only cost $16 more or less. My friends got the soft shell crab which came out huge and tasty. They also ordered the ravioli which I was told was quite exquisite, but which I did not try.
Desserts were nothing great, but at this point, I had such a perfectly full stomach I did not want to linger.
In sum, I think there are the best lunch time price points you can get for fresh, tasty food served in a very upscale and stylish decor.
I have to say hats off to the new chef, Adam Longworth. He seems to be all about flavor! (That is no slight to Bobby Varua, I never had a chance to try his cooking during his 701 tenure).
We started with the Beet salad, with compressed apple, orange yogurt and walnuts. The intensity of the beet flavor along with the other ingredients was tremendous. If you love beets, you will love this salad. Even better, the highlight of my experience, was the fois gras, pork belly terrine, served atop a piece of toasted brioche with an olive/grape tapenade (I think?). Whatever the tapenade was made of, it's sweetness when paired with the terrine was amazing. This was a 5 star appetizer.
The entrees sampled, both fish, were very good. The halibut was served with rice, carrot puree and an incredible tamarind, coconut sauce. The sauce made this dish. The fish, being slightly over cooked was the difference between 4 and 5 stars here. It was slight, and I am being picky but it makes a difference.
The next entree was the grilled branzino, with serrano ham, olives and potatoes. This fish was prepared perfectly, but had a few bones in it. This was the reason for a loss of a star for me. Some people may not mind, but I ordered it because I was told it was served boneless, and I had to fish bones out of my mouth on at least 4-5 occasions. I just don't enjoy that. Having said that the flavor was right on.
I love the decor/atmosphere and they have a nice wine list as well. I would definitely try it again.
Overall a very good experience.
Maybe I'm just used to overpriced restaurants in Boston, because when I looked at 701's menu, I immediately thought, "Oh, this isn't bad at all." The restaurant looks a lot more expensive than it is, is what I'm trying to say.
The black truffle gnocchi was SO GOOD. I took leftovers home and my parents ate them and even though I was full, I ate a few more because I couldn't bear to see them gobbled up by someone who isn't me. That's how good they were.
The service was great and our waiter was funny. I asked him where the cookies on the cookie plate come from and he answered, "CVS." Haha.
Their desserts, while beautiful, aren't that great. Stick with the salads and main courses.
We had dinner during their extended Restaurant Week. The entire menu was available. We had a Friday 8:00 pm reservation. When we walked in, there were at least a dozen tables open. It felt like 5:00 pm. This was strange because when I placed the online reservation, only seatings at 6:45 and 8:00 were available.
Our waitress was solid, although she had this habit of topping off our wine glasses each time she walked by, even if only to add a tablespoon of wine to the glass. The timing between courses was too long.
Dinner: I'm not eating meat for Lent so I was limited to the vegetarian options. The cold asparagus salad was okay. The sweet potato gnocchi was bland. Some of the pasta was cold, some of it was hot. The chocolate molten cake was okay, but nothing I would recommend or eat again. Boyfriend was okay with his meal, but not wowed. There were bits of shell in his lobster dinner. Definitely disliked his cheesecake. Stale dinner roll.
Note to 701 management: Some other waiter placed two ice buckets (for other tables) right next to our table. I was boxed in and could not leave without hipchecking the buckets. Seriously, you have a big space. We told our waitress, who immediately moved the buckets. However, ten minutes later, the other waiter moved a bucket back and ran off. We were leaving soon anyway and let it go.
What sucked and why we will not be back: Our tab with tip was $175 (Restaurant Week). Not worth it at all (and don't give me grief that $175 is to be expected for dinner with wine in downtown DC) other than I got to spend quality time with boyfriend and experienced something new. In fact, I feel so strongly about this, that regardless of the tab, I would not be back.
A group of five of us went to RW and it was impressive. Now, I'm basing this on a the food in concert with the price; if I had to pay full-price for some of the food, I might only give three stars.
First, the service. We had a waitress who was very good. She was really putting on a good show for us and guided us very well.
Next, the atmo. Also very good. We were in a large booth across from the piano, so I was very happy to see good friends and hear soothing music. The room is also very graciously appointed, so I felt good about the choice.
Last, the food. Better than average. I think we all enjoyed our apps: clams, salad, scallops. I had the last item and it was fresh. The main courses we had were the duck, the short ribs, and the lobster. Those who had the duck liked it well enough. A friend and I had the short ribs. He really liked it but I'm a pretty good home cook and I have done this dish better. My husband even commented so. He was the smart one. He got the lobster, which seemed to be the bit hit.
So, service and atmo are 4.5 stars, while the food is only 3.5 stars. I would definitely go to 701 again, but I bet I'd rate it lower given the higher prices I'll be charged for just better than average food.
Another business lunch--and I definitely wasn't the only one. This place seems to cater to the "trying to impress my client" crowd, although if that is truly your aim, may I suggest a location with better food? Maybe the Capitol Grille or Ten Penh. I haven't sent either of my bosses back.
701 seems more concerned with appearances than tasty dishes. And the dishes, while being expensive and sort of bland, were tiny. Teeny tiny. But they looked nice. So...
Our waitress, while certianly good at her job, somehow got on to telling us about how she had an au naturale birth with a midwife, and she drank guiness her entire pregnancy, and her baby was 6 feet tall when he was born.
Really, america?!
I was there for restaurant week. I got the duck and it was my first time trying it. I loved it! I would go back again...
The drinks are also very good specially their mojito.
I ate here for lunch during Restaurant Week. I had an arugula salad as an appetizer and chicken for the meal. The chocolate cake needed ice cream or whip cream. It was slightly over baked. The pineapple sauce was nice.
The overall experience was positive, but I don't think I'd pay full price for each of the courses. Nothing spectacular.
RESTAURANT WEEK REVIEW
Decor: 4.5.
Service: 4.5.
Food: 3.5.
I had one of the best evenings I've had in a long while at dinner here last night. Admittedly, I also spent more than at any prior restaurant this week (the wine list starts higher than other restaurants I've been to, save perhaps Equinox, but the quality of the wine they serve is also better [and more extensive]). Still, I'd come back in a heartbeat, despite the good but not amazing food.
DECOR:
I love the decor. The abstract artwork on the walls, bright colors of the walls, spacious but well-broken up dining room, and dim (but not dark) lighting create a posh-feeling but welcoming space. The mixture of curved couches and chairs surrounding several of the tables (including the one we sat at) allow for easy expansion of a table to accommodate late arrivals without the hassle of moving chairs. Very convenient. The highlight of the "decor" (read to include general ambiance) was the live jazz music (starting at around 8:30/9) - fantastic, and not so loud that we couldn't talk at a normal volume over it, despite that we were only 10 feet away.
SERVICE/DRINK:
The waitress and other servers were tactfully doting on us, and our waters remained ever full, as did our wine glasses. The sommelier was the best I've ever encountered (even better than the great sommelier at Rasika) - he chose excellently, and our choice of a Jermann Red Angel Pinot Noir (2004) evoked not only a description of the wine, but also a history lesson on the region in which it's grown. Amazing, simply amazing. That wine was followed by a Meyer Family Syrah (2007) that was also excellent (and a bit more full-bodied, as requested), but that our waitress recommended. Waiters/Waitresses being able to answer substantive questions about wine? I'm impressed.
FOOD:
If only the food were slightly better, the restaurant would have earned a near-perfect rating, yet it was good enough to not detract from the rest of the experience. Also, it's nice that there was such a large selection of dishes offered for Restaurant Week.
Specific dishes:
Soup de Jour (Butternut Squash): my friend ordered this and I tried a bit. Very tasty, with the flavor of fresh squash shining through. Still, not as good as Equinox.
Lamb Risotto: Excellent. Best risotto I've had in a while, and the highlight (food-wise) of the meal. The cheese was flavorful, the risotto not overly soggy or dry, and the lamb perfectly cooked.
Coconut Braised Lobster: I was really excited about this dish, but the lobster, while being good, was nothing special. The coconut and garnishes seemed an afterthought, and tasted quite lackluster.
Beef Short Ribs: my friend loved this, but I found it simply too difficult to get the little meat off of the bones to be worthwhile. What meat I did manage to try was flavorful and well cooked though.
Chocolate Molten Cake with Grand Marinier: the cake was fine, though molten cake typically has a liquid center, which this most definitely did not. That was somewhat disappointing. The Grand Marinier was good though...
Apple Tart: good, but not great. Pretty flaky, but not as fresh-tasting as I would've liked in an apple tart.
Overall, I'd definitely come back, but not necessarily for the food, more for the atmosphere, wine and music. Perhaps a good bar stop.
We visited 701 for Restaurant Week and my 28th birthday in January. We looked for the most expensive place on the RW list, as we figured we'd never be able to afford it otherwise. Frankly, I was rather disappointed.
It's been months and months, so I can't recount to you exactly what we got - I had some sort of jerusalem artichoke soup, which was heavy but v nice, and I think my partner had a beet salad? Maybe I'm making that up.
There were three girls at the table next to us who were one course ahead of us - when we got our appetizer, they got their entree, etc. Well, they got their entrees, finished them, got their desserts, and finished them by the time we were served our entrees. Mine was fine, but my partner's steak was so tough that he couldn't cut through it with the steak knife that he had to flag down a server to bring him. To their credit, he did have a new steak within 5 minutes. To their discredit, it took flagging down the waiter for the knife and THEN flagging down another waiter for the new steak to make it right.
The service overall was just pretty lousy. We finished our wine while waiting for the entrees, but were never asked if we wanted more. It really seemed like they were having difficulty with the traffic, and as a result we were totally blown off. Not a good thing when this is your one big chance to make an impression on customers who might want to come back for another special occasion. While the food was good, we won't be back.
This might be 3.5 stars. First of all, note that this restaurant's a little tricky to find, but maybe I'm the only one to think that since I was late and frantically running around the plaza looking for a restaurant that's supposedly on Penn. It's technically on Penn, but there's a big plaza of sorts in between the restaurant and actually Penn Ave, so look out for the bank next door, Chevy Chase?
The decor is nice. I'd recommend getting a little bit dressed up for this place. The service was also extraordinary. We were well-attended to the entire meal.
As for the food, I had the pre-theater fixed price dinner recently with family and was able to taste several items on the menu. The menu is a bit limited, with only 3 options each for the appetizer, entree, and dessert. I had the mushroom soup which was delicious. It's milk-based rather than cream-based, so it's not quite as fattening, but it's still rich and creamy and delicious. For my entree, I ordered the califlour ravioli which I strongly DISLIKED. It was strangely, overpoweringly citrusy. There were interesting ingredients, such as broccoli rabe, artichokes, fennel, but you couldn't taste any cauliflower in the incredibly flat, thin raviolis. I know cauliflower isn't the strongest flavor, but there was no texture either. It seemed like any cheese ravoili, except without much filling since it was so thin! As for the broth or sauce, it was SO lemony and bitter. Blech. It tasted like someone squeezed 4 (cooked) lemons over my pasta which let me tell you tastes quite bitter. It was so bizarre. My sister had a taste and agreed it was odd and unappetizing. However, the guests that ordered the steak said it was to-die-for. And my sister's cod was DELICIOUS and had very interesting (slightly spicy) flavors. Yum! As for dessert, all 3 were a hit. The chocolate pot de creme is tiny but my friend seemed to love it. And the sorbet and berries were pretty standard, but I would note that the size was huge. Yummy big bowl of berries, topped with 1 scoop of coconut sorbet.
All in all, I'd go back, but would not order the cauliflower ravioli.
With Restaurant Week around the corner, I'm going back to review some places that I ate at before. Their menu is seasonal so they will not have a lot of the things I ate but hopefully it still helps.
Food: Since we went during Winter RW, the food was appropriately comfort food which was good but not spectacular.
-Appetizer, I had the boudin blanc- a delicious sausage- with glazed cipollini onions and a red wine reduction. This was probably my favorite part of my dinner.
-Main course, I had the lamb shank, which was huge, and mashed acorn squash. This is one of those times less is more. I felt overwhelmed and the flavors were all kind of muddled. I love meat but this was just to much. I don't think I could even finish half of it. Conversely my friend had the butterfish, which was tiny but he loved it.
-Dessert: Molton Chocolate Cake. It was fine but not memorable, which I should have known but I was in the mood for chocolate. I should have gone with the Pumpkin Bread pudding which ended up looking better.
The highlight of the night was something Vicki C. (one of my friend I went with) already wrote: "One of our friends had the bouillabaisse and ate it all except the mussels because some of them had not opened. We asked the waitress about the mussels, and she came back 5mins later with a WHOLE PLATTER of stewed mussels for the table-- compliments of the chef!!" --I echo her sentiments: great service!
Overall, the atmosphere is swanky but not stuffy or overly pretentious. It felt very "DC" power spot and the live piano player was a good addition. But I don't know, as a poor law student, if I would come back with their regular prices.
OK! Here I go....FYI: I rounded up from 3.5 stars.
Went with my friends last night. We were a party of five. One of us was late but the elderly charming host was more than happy to seat us. Much of my experience is that only full parties will be seated.
Excellent classic atmosphere with a piano too! Yes, and a piano player who knew his stuff: Fly Me to the Moon, Send in the Clowns, Cuando Cuando Cuando etc. Only thing bad was the dirty fork at my setting. Easily fixed.
I had a wonderful starter of tuna and hamachi (yellow tail) sashimi with drops of a thin tangy citrus sauce. Accompanied with a taste of tartare as well.
The Hawaiian Butterfish was a tad dry but was balanced out with juicy orange wedges. The fennel and dill gave it a nice balance.
The pineapple upside down cake was a nice surprise as the cake was like a buttery cornbread with fresh pineapple inside. This was served with a dollop of delicious mint ice cream.
The dinner course was delayed 45 minutes so the management came to us even before we complained and informed us. THey bought a round. Then the waitress lost our dessert order but she didn't try to cover it up. That's admirable.
The food was great here, the ambiance not so much. Surprisingly, some of the best food I have had in DC (along with Hook).
I highly recommend the ahi tuna roll to start. I don't know if I'll be back just because it was a little stuffy. Desserts not that great and they ram out of a lot of stuff by the time we got there.
The got demerits for the weird, boys club, steakhouse ambiance.
701 was quite a disappointment. Don't get me wrong - it wasn't horrible and there were some redeeming qualities but we had too high an expectation. The decor is kinda blah - think 80's hotel restaurant. They play live jazz music which is nice but when you're seated next to the musicians you literally have to scream over the music.
I reserved a table for 6 and they must have run out of tables because the one we were seated at could seat 10. There was literally a foot and a half of space between each of us at this round table. We could all outstretch our arms and barely touch fingertips - it was so strange. My voice is pretty shot from the seating arrangement. It was also awkward making eye contact during conversation because you'd have to turn your head around 280 degrees to address everyone. I know we were here for Restaurant Week but c'mon!
This is also another of those stingy restaurants that surcharge anything that was remotely good. I got the ribbons of tuna for appetizer which was very good - strips of tuna with the tastiest, spicy crushed avocado, with a crispy rice wafer-y thing and garlic sauce. Now this was surcharged $3.00 which was fine because it was so yummy. This really irks me when restaurants do this during RW - the surcharged items are the only ones that are on the regular menu and they have special apps and entrees for RW. These RW apps and entrees tend to use cheaper ingredients and it's so obvious when your choices are salmon, chicken and ribs that this isn't necessarily on their regular menu. The strips of tuna were the only app on the regular dinner menu.
The only entree that looked remotely interesting to me was the $4 surcharge option of the Roasted Grouper. The sauce on the grouper is what saved the dish. It was served with diced vegetables on top of it which reminded me of a relish so I had to scrape that off. The risotto cake was pretty darn good though. The grouper was one of 3 of the options from the regular menu which all had surcharges and rest of the options were designed to rip us off. It's really a shame because several of our group did not like their entrees and now we're never going to come here again (or recommend 701 to anyone) because of an experience with the food that's not even on the standard menu. That's what they get with trying to cheap out on us foodies, two of which are influential yelpers, hehe :)
Lastly were the desserts - none of which can be found on the regular menu. 3 had the warm chocolate cake which was edible and the other 3 had mango tart which was repulsive.
I did the math and I am not happy. I paid $37 for my meal - regular price of the ribbons of tuna app is $12 and the group was $24. At $36, all I got was an okay dessert for free. It wasn't even free - cost me a dollar! I could have come here any other day of the year and gotten the same meal for the same price less dessert.
So not a good deal for RW! They need to take a page from places like Kinkead's or Ceiba and open up your entire menu. Some restaurants do detract from the regular menu but certainly don't skimp out on the ingredients they use and they don't add surcharges. It's unfortunate because there standard menu sounds really good which is why I chose 701 in the first place. As a restaurateur, why would you want to be discriminatory towards RW diners? Yes, we're here for a deal but that means we'll also return and pay full price if we have a good experience and recommend it to others who will pay full price. I find it rather insulting.
I'm probably coming off like a disgruntled cheapo RW diner but it just says a lot about the restaurant when they participate in RW and the best deal they can swing is a $1 dessert. I'm sure 701 thought they would get good PR from being an RW participant but I'm too shrewd to let them get away with charging me full freight during this special biannual weeklong event and not to tell everyone and their mother.
It's actually more like 3.5 stars...
My friend and I came here for RW this past Wednesday evening. I was pretty excited because I kept hearing good things about 701 - even though some of the reviews only gave 2 stars.
Our reservation was at 7pm and I got there a little early. Coat check is in a little foyer before you get to the host stand. I had mixed feelings on this for two reasons...well the good - is that it's convenient. But since that's the first area you hit when you get to the restaurant, I almost felt obligated to check my coat and then when I was leaving to retrieve my coat, I was really cold waiting to get it because it's right by the main entrance doorway. Brrr.
Anyway. When my friend arrived, we were promptly seated and greeted by our server. I liked that we had basically the whole menu for options and I had a hard time deciding because everything sounded so good.
First: I was torn between the ribbons of tuna and the Asian pear salad...I went with the Asian pear salad and was not disappointed!
Second: I had the duck leg with a pumpkin risotto garnished with a balsamic redux and pomegranate seeds. The duck was delicious! The risotto was disappointing though...it was a bit more mushy than I prefer it to be. Mushy as it was, I have to say it did pair well with the wine I chose.
Third: My friend and I both opted for the Lemon Cheesecake. Somehow, our server got a bit mixed up and brought chocolate cake - which looked delicious, but was sent back because we wanted cheesecake. It was great - creamy but not heavy. Mmmm.
Service was great. Our server was friendly and attentive and there was always someone to refill a water glass or clear an empty plate.
Ambiance was nice - I liked the decor and the jazzy piano music was a nice touch. I am glad however, that we weren't sitting right by the piano because I would have probably had to have started shouting to my friend.
I was in a glorious food/wine coma at the end of our meal and luckily, the restaurant is conveniently two hops from the metro.
This is a good find for lunch near the sites, as there are not a lot of options. A lot of business folks dining so you may feel a bit out of place in shorts and sandals. Really enjoyed the rack of lamb salad.
As we have been yacking in Talk, about Restaurant Week..I took a look at the list o' places and just realized that 701 is participating. Since I haven't been back here in, like...forver..it may be time to go back. I certainly can't spring for a 3 course meal here when it is not a "special" like a price fix event (aka Restaurant Week).
The food here is complicated, yet traditional. Like the foie gras ravioli. Seriously, where else have you ever seen something like that on a menu? I didn't realize what I ordered until after I had devoured it, but it was indeed deer. They called it venison which I am pretty sure is the same thing. The sweet potatoes that the meat came with were scrumptious.
Get there a little early to allow time to sit at the bar, have a drink and listen to the live jazz.
I've dined here a number of times over the years and have never had one lackluster meal. The service is extremely attentive (this last time our waiter kept replenishing the the cherries in my sister's Shirley Temple [no, that's not meant to be dirty.]) All of my meals have been well-prepared, beautifully presented, and lick the plate delicious. The winner this last trip was the amazing white chocolate panna cotta.
I am also impressed by 701's ability to not be taken over by one particular "crowd". I suppose the price makes it more attractive to older people with money, but there is always a large younger contingent around as well.
A group of us went for RW last year. Duck confit was great. Caviar platter was short-lived... kind of tiny.
One of our friends had the bouillabaisse and ate it all except the mussels because some of them had not opened. We asked the waitress about the mussels, and she came back 5mins later with a WHOLE PLATTER of stewed mussels for the table-- compliments of the chef!!
The staff is friendly, and there was live music, which was nice.
701 was good, but not great. Yeah yeah, I went for Restaurant Week, but I didn't come in with super high expectations and left pretty pleased. It was my three other RW dinners over the course of the week that made me realize that 701 was lacking.
I came with a large group and had a 8:15 reservation for seven people. We weren't seated until 9pm. Certainly didn't start us off too happy, considering several girls work early hours (start btwn 6-7am) and thus I had purposely avoided making a later reservation. It was also extremely frustrating that every time we asked about our table, we were told that it would just be 5-10 more minutes.
Still, we were excited and really looking forward to a great meal. The appetizer choices actually sounded good, offering mostly tasty-sounding salads. I went with the Tomato, Mozzarella, Avocado salad as did most of the rest of the table. I love Caprese salads and adore avocado, so this was right up my alley. Good, but not amazing. The only other app ordered at my table was a Grilled Shrimp Salad with Asparagus that looked great and was pretty well-liked.
For my entree I splurged for the $4 surcharge and had the Mango-glazed Pork Chop. One other girl ordered it as well and we enjoyed it. It was flavorful and tender and it went well with my wine suggested by the waiter. Again, pretty good, not mind-blowing. The other five people ALL ordered the Spice-crusted Salmon. Three of them scraped off most of the heavy crust, like Lucky Karmz, but the other two didn't find it overwhelming. In general, they liked it, but no one loved it.
For dessert, out came 1 Mango Tart, 1 Berries with Cream, and 5 Warm Chocolate Cakes with Passion Fruit Ice Cream. I ordered the chocolate cake (obv), and was disappointed by its appearance when it came out. Fighting the urge to ask them to slab some frosting on the dry looking lump, I took a bite and was pleasantly surprised. The warm, moist (ew I hate that word) molten cake was absolutely delicious and I loved it with the ice cream and berry sauce.
My reason for giving the exact breakdown of our seven meals is just to make the point that the menu left much to be desired. Their normal menu sounds amazing and was a large part of why I chose the restaurant. We realized that we'd have a different, more limited menu and perhaps a few surcharges, but the fact that only two options per course appealed to such a large party just shows that the menu was neither inventive nor exciting.
I'd like to give 701 another chance, but with so many other restaurants bookmarked here on Yelp, their disappointing RW performance means it might be a long while before they get another chance.
I am a HUGE fan of this place for after-work drinks. There is a very spacious bar/lounge area (complete with lots of tables and couches), and it is far enough away from Verizon that it does not get overly crowded even on event nights. Mo, the bartender, is awesome -- love him!
I am less of a huge fan of this place for dinner. For prices charged, food was only okay, and service was TERRIBLE.
As a San Franciscan, I consider myself to be a bit of a food snob. I'll fully admit it. I thought that the food in DC was decent, but I wasn't blown away by too many restaurants. It also seemed like most of the DC food spots were either not fancy at all, or they were quite expensive; there didn't seem to be too much in between. Well, I'm happy to say that 701 is a great dining destination which won't totally break the bank. (Most dishes run in the low to mid $20's.)
The Endive and Watercress Salad is a good starter. We both preferred the Moulard Breast of Duck to the Crabmeat stuffed Chatham Cod, though that was also good. The Garlic Mashed Potatoes and the Haricot Vert (green beans) sides were yummy. The wine list was good, with both international and domestic choices; we enjoyed the Acacia Pinot Noir. To finish off the evening, you can't go wrong with the Chocolate Almond Top Hat and the Chilled Lemon Souffl. I would definitely go back, even if it's just to enjoy bar food and listen to the live jazz. DC is looking sunnier to this Californian!
See PC W's review for details...it basically sums up my experience
I had
- Heirloom Tomato Salad - Fresh Mozzarella, Avocado, Banyols Vinaigrette (average)
- Spice-Crusted Salmon with Tomato and Vegetable Vinaigrette (yake- the spice-crust is basically unedible, i scraped it all off)
-Mango Frangipane Tart with Tropical Fruit Salsa, Coconut Ice Cream (average....it was just mango on top of a really hard tart...I only add the mango)
FYI - RW lunch and dinner menu are very similiar...you can get dinner apps and entrees for $20 during lunch...also they have regular pre-theater dinner for $28...
My boss and I took clients here for lunch today. It was good, but unspectacular. First, the decor- the restaurant is beautiful. Bright colors, sweeping curves, and the room isn't fully open: there are different barriers that keep the lines of restaurant while providing a bit of privacy and volume control. The service was impeccable. Before I could even ask, my water and diet coke were discreetly refilled or replaced. The bread was phenomenal, particularly the spicy cornbread and whatever bread was salted. Aforementioned boss had the delicious looking Alaskan King Crab roll. I was disappointed with the size of the menu (not much being offered for lunch) and the lack of clear description as to how the dishes were assembled and accompanied. My short rib reuben was much too greasy, the bread too large, and it fell apart. It also had an element of spiciness that wasn't mentioned on the menu, thus the disappointment. The salad accompaniment was barely dressed- it seemed covered in a light slick of oil with no acid or herb presence in the least. However, great service, a fine bread basket, and the pleased reactions of my fellow diners lead me to give this a 3 because I suspect I may have just ordered poorly.
Truly excellent service. Atmosphere is classy, but perhaps a bit stuffy. I love the piano though!
The wine list here seems impressive, but they were actually out of alot of the wines. The lobster salad to start is very good. I ordered the gnocchi with great expectations...and ok perhaps, I'm a NY or BA snob, but is this realy the best gnocchi in DC? Granted it was very good and I liked the freshness of the vegetables, but still it left me wanting more.
The big plus cam during dessert. I had ordered the chocolate molten cake, and it arrived in a kind of collapsed form. The chef was not happy with the presentation, and threw in a cheescake to make up for it. My boyfriend had already ordered the apple crumble. So 3 desserts!!! Yum
I would recommend 701, but it wasn't out of this world.
My mom and I had an outstanding dinner here on Mother's day. It didn't hurt that it was warm and sunny, and we got to sit outside on the terrace in the late afternoon/early evening sunshine, but still. We had outstanding service. We both loved the asparagus salad with three vinagrettes. The truffle gnocchi were positively decadent, and the turbot was light and flavorful. The chef even came out to say hi when we gave rave reviews to our server. We both felt this was a gem of a restaurant, perfect for pre-theater dining, all of 10 feet from the Archives Metro. I'll definitely go again next time I'm in DC!
Well, I voted for the moderate price range since the husb and I went there for lunch and we didn't get an appetizer. I imagine one could drop some serious cash at this foncy place.
Three stars because: the food was perfectly delish. Husb had the BBQ sandwich, which was all fancily done and placed delicately on some deliciously fluffy bread. The breads they gave us were very good, but a little oily. My dish - cold salmon salad - was really good. Yummy julienned vegetables, grilled salmon, lime dressing - what was not to like, right? Gentle reader, please continue:
Minus two stars because: the portions were ridiculously small for the prices we were paying. I was left hungry for the rest of the day. My salmon, though quite pleasing to the palate, was on a tiny bed of lettuce and veggies (though they were delicious). Salad too small, housewife too hungry!
Oh yeah, and the waiters were looking at us all snobby because we were wearing jeans. Hey! It was lunch, and we were visiting the Smithsonian. I mean, c'mon. We can't all wear suits all the time, right?
It's been about a year and a half since I went here, so all I remember is that it was wonderful.
I have an aunt who;s in govt relations for a pharma company and is in DC once or twice a month - so I got to go out with her a lot...like every 6 weeks depending on our schedules. She took me here as a treat for graduation and it was the perfect "big girl" dinner. We had delish champagne and a great meal (I know it was - just not the details), and enjoyed the swankness. They had live piano music. Just a great place to take the parents or business guests to have a great meal and chill
Just as proof - look at my reviews of Rasika and Ardeo - 701 is part of the same restaurant group - and they do a dang good job.
Day & Night promotions
Neighborhood: Georgetown
Kitchen: Best barbeque in…
Neighborhood: Glover Park
Washington, DC
Category: Italian
Washington, DC
Category: Restaurants
Washington, DC
Category: Restaurants
Washington, DC
Category: Steakhouses
Washington, DC
Category: Restaurants
Because not all RW options are equal. Here are…
Yes folks, I have the good fotune of having…
Loading...
