Obelisk

 

3

10

Jon K.

Gainesville, VA

Chick that I was dating took me to this restaurant for my bday.  Holy cow, do they serve you lots of CHEESE or what?  They brought out 5 different types of cheese and I was thinking, "Good god, how many crunches and sit-ups do I need to burn this off next week"....

anyways, I enjoyed their food even though we were squished in the corner of the room.  

For those who can afford fine dining and can afford to dish out 200 for a meal, it's a place to be.

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Elite '08

1031

1603

MiRIAM w.

Washington, DC

After dining at Obelisk it's easy to see why yelpers rank it the best restaurant in DC. In a word: superb.

The prix-fixe menu consists of five courses, three of which you choose. The antipasti comes rolling out after you make your choices and really starts the meal off on a high point. On the night we went the highlights included exceptionally fresh Burrata cheese, lightly battered fried shrimp and amazing grilled Italian chicory which continues to occupy my mind weeks after the meal.

Were it not for the loud commentary of the tanorexic bridezilla seated next to me my birthday dinner would have been absolutely perfect. Still, for the most part, the hypnotic flavors delivered by the kitchen were enough to drown out her incessant whining.

With only 36 seats in the dining room, it's best to think ahead when making a reservation.

If you're still wondering whether or not Obelisk is the right restaurant for your special occasion - birthday, anniversary, hard fought re-election bid, graduation, passing the bar - wonder no more. Obelisk is a place worth celebrating, whether you've got a good reason or not.

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Elite '08

13

105

Sara L.

Washington, DC

4.5 stars.

Why not five?

My fiancee and I went here sort of on the spur of the moment. I've heard it's difficult to get reservations, but when I was planning a few days before his 30th b-day, I called Obelisk to ask if they had a table for two for Thursday night. Woo hoo, they DID!

The only thing that's weird is that you have to call them the day of the reservation -- before noon -- to confirm. I don't know what happens if you don't. They called me twice before I called them back!

Anyway, on to the food. We'd been looking forward to eating at Obelisk for MONTHS, and we've gone to pretty much every other great restaurant in the city but this one.

I can see why it's so popular. Great atmosphere, and it's affordable for fine dining. For $70 a person, you get a TON to eat and it's all very tasty. The cost includes the amuse bouche, cheese course and DESSERT.

First, you get about six "little bites" courses -- of which were really good, except the first one, the cheese that everyone liked so much on here, didn't really do it for me. It was more like an egg yolk than it was like cheese.

Then, you get a pasta course, which you choose from the menu. I got the eggplant ravioli, which was quite good. It was very meaty although there was no meat there!

For the entree, I chose the duck, while my fiancee had the tuna. The tuna was awesome -- perfectly cooked, etc. But the duck? Eh. It didn't wow me. The flavor was good, but it was totally chewy.

But the dessert was TO DIE FOR! I got the chocolate cake on the recommendation of the server. It was the best! It was light and dense at the same time -- weird, I know! -- and had a great caramel sauce. Simple but delish. I could have had five of them.

The reason I'm docking half a star here is one for the duck but two because of the spastic service we received. All of the "little bites" came out quickly, but then we waited like 30 min. for the second course! This is an unacceptable amount of time! The waiters were dealing with some larger parties while we were there, but I still don't think I should wait more than 15 min. for the next course.

When we go back, I hope we don't have this problem again.

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1

13

Nancy T.

Vienna, VA

I've been to Italy 3 times and this is the best Italian food outside of Italy that I've had. The only downside to this place is the difficult parking situation, the tiny size (although that could be a plus, now that I think of it) and the waitstaff. Now, the host/manager was incredibly nice and helpful with the wine choice, but our waitress was just so offputting. I'm not sure what her problem was. The best words I can find to describe her are emo and haughty. Great combo, eh? No matter, the food made up for it. The pork chop was amazing and the pineapple infusion dessert was incredible. I guess they change the menu so much that there's no point in raving about particular dishes. I can say that I enjoyed my meal far more than my husband enjoyed his. I think it all comes down to how you order. Hit or miss. The portions are generous so I let him eat part of my pork chop to make up for the squab he ordered that he didn't care for. Aren't I nice? Aww

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0

3

J J.

Washington, DC

Amazing food and service. Best cheese I've ever tasted.

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2

30

Marissa O.

Arlington, VA

After the raving reviews about this place, I thought I was going to have a food experience like none other.  That did not happen.  That being said, this was a very very solid meal.  

Highlights: first three courses.  They had a fresh cheese drizzled in olive oil with a little salt and fresh pepper.  Spectacular and a great way to show off a great cheese.  Most of the dishes in the first course were great.  The pasta course was delicious too, as the was cheese course.

Lowlights: the last two courses.  Perhaps it was a mistake on our part, but my dining companion and I opted for the steak for two.  It was nothing special, and the sides, a tiny bit of broccolini and onion rings were unimpressive.  I only include dessert in this list b'cos by the time dessert came round, I was so full, I don't remember what dessert was like.  I just ate it, but clearly, it was not enough to make an imprint.

I would like to give Obelisk another chance, and maybe pick another entree to see if that made the difference.  But overall, it was good, maybe sometimes great, but never completely out of this world.  And it was too much food.

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Elite '08

29

232

Sarah F.

Arlington, VA

Obelisk served me the best meal I have ever had in DC. The only complaint would be that my stomach wasn't big enough to hold all of it. For $65 pre-fixe I got sardines, then cockles (sp?) which were soooo good, then raviolis, sea bass, a cheese course and for desert fabulous grapefruit and lemon sorbets. The service was amazing, very attentive and friendly. There are only 11-12 tables in the place so you get alot of attention from your server (not in an overbearing annoying way). The menu looks like it changed very often (it is handwritten and photocopied) which is always a good thing. Also, it give me another reason to go back and see what other delicious foods are in store.

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0

11

almond t.

Washington, DC

I went here long ago for a birthday dinner, and while I can't remember now what I ate at all--I do remember it was very good.  A great place to take a date for a special occasion.

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Elite '08

17

57

Laila L.

Washington, DC

Update 3/13 -- we went back last night. I'd live there if they'd let me.  

Highlight of this meal was the dessert, which was a custard made with dessert wine.  My favorite part about this place is still that you can just be relaxed and silly.  They love food and they want you to have a good time there.  Check pretense at the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If only I had more stars to give.  If I try to describe the food here I'll probably stop writing and just go back and try to have dinner there again tonight.  I would go back just for the cheese served as part of the antipasti.  Everything I put in my mouth was delicious and balanced, well-presented, but not too presumptuous.  (Well...except maybe for the terrine on taste -- my adventurousness has some limit right before jellied cured pork).  I got the feeling that the servers and the kitchen just love absolutely incredible food. There was no need to shove it in your face that it's a great restaurant.  The food and the wall-sized wine cabinet speak for themselves.  You know what else I noticed -- no music guiding me as to how I was "supposed to feel" eating in there.  Really a foodie's dream come true.

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Elite '08

39

106

Kristy R.

Oakland, CA

Due to a couple years of relentless business travel, I'm not particularly fond of business trips.  To mitigate my travel related bitterness, I like to take my best girl (ME!) out for a nice meal.  So I yelped at the office in DC and Obelisk came up at the top for Dupont circle.  
I stopped by Obelisk on the way back to the hotel and they said they were booked but I could leave my number in case they had a cancellation.  The woman was nice but I thought, whatever, like they'll actually follow up if they get a cancel?  An hour later, there's Obelisk saying they've got a table, woo-hoo!
The dining room is small and can get quite noisy but I loved the quaint feeling.  Decor is decent but nothing amazing.  It's basically saying, hey we want you to be comfortable and all, but let's be clear, we're about the food.  
And they are indeed.  
My antipasti was five small plates including:
-House-made burrata with a perfect amount of high quality olive oil, salt and pepper, just beautiful.
-Roman chicory (I think - it was crunchy like cabbage) with anchovy dressing.  Excellent!
-Veal tongue with green sauce (good and I wanted to adore it but I wasn't in love with the consistency).
-Chicken liver pudding with candied hazelnuts.  Love the savory/sweet combo.
-Eggplant crostini with the just the right amount of acid in there to give it some kick.  
And hello, this is just the antipasti.  After mingling among all these jewels I was having one of those wonderful food experiences that makes one glow.  To add to that, the couples on both sides nicely chatted me up, wondering why I was eating alone, then asking where I worked, did I want more restaurant recommendations, etc., very sweet.  
I continued on the prix-fixe with squab with farro and spinach.  Then a cheese plate that had THE best house-made fig jam, not too sweet, a really wonderful accompaniment.  Dessert was a chocolate hazelnut cake, yum.  
The server was also kind enough to recommend wine with my courses and they were excellent.
All in all, a lovely food experience, kind service and a beautiful night.  Not too bad for a business trip!

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Elite '08

12

128

Ramon T.

Brentwood, CA

This joint looks nothing like a restaurant from the outside and more like an unimaginative brownstone, but when you do actually do enter to partake in their prix fixe menu (among the 15 other people eating in here, since this place is pretty damn small),  the culinary maven inside of you will definitely not be disappointed. Parking is a bitch though in this area so cab it if you can, and as previously mentioned, this place is tinier than a McMansion's living room, so make your reservations way in advance.

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0

3

travis f.

Washington, DC

The three best meals in my life have been eaten at Obelisk. The dining room is intimate and the staff are very attentive to, but not pushy with, their customers. It feels like you're eating at your own home. The food is amazing and well worth the price (which is very reasonable given the quality).

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Elite '08

63

281

Deborah H.

New York, NY

First thing's first: if I weren't sick to the point where I couldn't smell or taste, I'm 98.153% sure I would have given Obelisk five stars.  I'll update this when I return with full sensory perception.

Obelisk offers a five-course prix fixe for 65$.  Hailing from Manhattan, this is an incredible steal, especially considering the freshness and quality.  My favorite course (probably due to limited stomach space) was the first: soft, velvety goat cheese slightly reminiscent of good buffalo mozzarella, fried cous cous, tomato gelatin, crab cakes...  It was pretty much a meal in itself.  I also adored my next course: a creamy mushroom soup with so much flavor it punched through my congestion.  I didn't eat much of my venison, cheese plate, or dessert, but my dining party ensured me everything was magnefique!

Service was impeccably friendly and well-trained.  I can't wait to come back and write a full-on review.  This place has the potential to break into my top five meals...   Ooohhh.

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1

12

Gayngry ..

Arlington, VA

I would have to say hands down the best meal that I have ever had in DC.   There was so much food that I can't even remember everything that was served.   We were so stuffed when we left that we actually decided to walk home to Columbia Heights.

The staff was great and recommended a great bottle of wine that complimented the food perfectly.   My 2 favorite dishes from the night had to be the second course (beet ravioli served with in a brown butter walnut sauce) and the main course which we split the suckling pig. They carved it table side and the skin was crisp but the meat was very moist.  

The only negative thing that I can think of from the night is that I felt like the courses were served too quickly. I felt rushed and had to quickly finish each course when they brought out the next because there was no room on the table for the extra dishes (we were seated at a small 2 person table).  

I can't wait to go back.

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Elite '08

259

173

Deb I.

San Francisco, CA

I needed a special occasion restaurant. It was Mother's Day weekend, I hadn't visited my mom and stepfather in over a year, had spent every major holiday for the last several years with my ex-SO's family. I did extensive online research and also asked around to friends who knew the area. Obelisk came up a couple times so I made a reservation.

When we arrived, I thought perhaps I'd made the wrong choice. Obelisk is in a tiny townhouse off Dupont Circle. The decor is not fancy - it literally looked as if someone had one day decided to turn their living room into a restaurant and went out and bought some tables and chairs to fill the room. No music, so you could hear every conversation in the room. I'm generally of the opinion that ambience does matter when it comes to a dining experience, so I was worried that the dinner would be disappointing.

I didn't need to worry. My meal at Obelisk reigns in my memory as one of the best meals I have ever had. Possibly takes first place.

The menu is fixed price with five courses. Each course offered three choices, and since there were three of us, we decided to order all differently so we got to try every single dish on that day's menu. We also ordered a lovely red wine that was recommended by our waiter, I wish I could remember what it was.

The meal started with an antipasti platter that included fried anchovies, carpaccio, prosciutto, among other things. All delicious, each piece perfectly flavored - even the prosciutto was perfect on the palate, not overly salty like most prosciuttos I've had. Then came individual dishes with baby buffalo mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes, sprinkled with olive oil and kosher salt. WOW. I had never previously, and never since, had mozzarella that good. The texture was amazing and the salt balanced out the flavor perfectly. I could have eaten just that and would have been happy.

The pastas were delicious - so good that my mom, who was on one of those low-carb diets, couldn't help but devour hers and parts of ours. The meat courses were excellent, especially the steak (our least favorite was the squab, just because it was a teeny bit of a hassle to eat - lots of bones, little meat - but it was still good). Desserts were perfect - nothing too rich or too sweet, just the perfect finish to balance out the marathon meal.

Everything was perfect. A meal this good is not only appetite-satisfying, it is emotionally satisfying.

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2

12

Violet o.

Washington, DC

ABsolutely fantastic value for the quality of service, delicious meal and overall ambiance.  For the price you pay here for a 5 course meal, you could barely get the entree at similar-caliber restaurants.  If you havent gone here at least once, you should.  
Crab cakes melt in your mouth.....ymmmmms

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1

41

Bradford S.

Durham, NC

This is a special restaurant.  I have always had amazing service at Obelisk (thanks Kat!).  The space is small and intimate (so make a reservation).  The food is incredible (and plentiful -- 5 courses)!  It is exciting to see how the menu changes over the seasons.  I've had a hard time discovering new restaurants near Dupont Circle, because I always want to come HERE!

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9

79

Michael H.

Washington, DC

A lovely space and beautiful presentation.  However, the dishes are conceptually weak and tend to lack flavor, creativity and ultimately any reason to return.  I have tried this place several times due to the inflated zagat ratings (but see the user reviews), but cannot find much to like about it except the aesthetics.  The prices are exhorbitant and the dishes mediocre (not to mention very, very small).  Most dishes overemphasize oil and salt, and cheese is involved in most courses.  Worst of all, the flavor profiles in each course tend to remain the same rather than build or play off of each other.  When the predominant flavors are salt and oil, it is not a good thing.

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1

12

D W.

Washington, DC

If I could eat at Obelisk and Komi only for the rest of my life, I would be happy.  This place puts the food over all else, and it shows.

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1

51

Neil S.

San Francisco, CA

AMAZING.

Small, Italian restaurant on P street. You'll take thre hours to enjoy course after interesting curse for a fabulous evening. Kat always takes care of us.

Best breadsticks on the planet...no seriously...

The hand-written menu changes daily.

Cool space that's a little old, a little new, very Italian, very urban hip cool without trying...

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Elite '08

213

317

Tom D.

Washington, DC

I have been here 4 or 5 times. Each time I leave thinking I had a wonderful meal, but there was just a little chemistry missing.

You do get to try some interesting things, last visit we had pig ear salad as part of our antipasti -- I can't say I was a huge fan.....actually, I can't say I was really overwhelmed by any of the antipasti.

Squash ravioli with a very mild blue cheese followed -- but the dish was dominated by orange zest -- and in my mind needed something like a simple sage butter sauce to make it complete -- but still very good.

I had the lamb chops for my secondi -- highlight of the meal, very simple and perfectly cooked.

Secondi was followed by a nice cheese course and dessert. It is worth a visit -- time seems to slow down and you get to enjoy 5 course over the course of 90-120 minutes and service is top-notch. Atmosphere is elegant but not stuffy....you can hear most conversations in the restaurant....so it is not exactly intimate -- or is it?

It is more expensive than Babbo in NYC when all is said and done with food, wine and tip -- and it does not leave me with the same impression.  That probably isn't fair, but many people do speak of Obelisk as one of those types of food experiences......it doesn't quite hit that level with me, but it is still one of the better restaurants in DC.

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Elite '08

22

51

Irene Y.

Washington, DC

As a result of a lucky football bet, I won dinner at Obelisk.  And it did not disappoint.  Like Komi, its another fixed price, expensive, converted brownstone restaurant in the heart of Dupont that has great ambience and great food.

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Elite '08

123

203

Mary Kay S.

Washington, DC

I love this little place.  I've been here twice -- the first time during my honeymoon. It is intimate, and romantic, but not in a cloying kind of way. The waitstaff is professional and low-key.

The food was fabulous both times.  There are occasional experiments that the chef tosses out that aren't necessarily my favorites, but I really appreciate his adventurousness, and the knowledge that we won't be getting the same old same old.  

The ingredients are always so fresh, and high quality.  I remember particularly an appetizer topped with the most exquisite parmesan I have ever tasted.

Not cheap, but perfect for that special occasion.

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368

434

Jennifer S.

Arlington, VA

This Italian restaurant in a Dupont townhouse serves a fixed-price menu that changes daily and focuses on the simplicity of each dish's ingredients. Five courses of deliciously simple yet inventive food is the reason to go though. Even the breads and pastas are made in-house, but one negative (for me) is that the choices are limited among the courses, making it  challenging for vegetarians and picky eaters. I'd recommend calling in advance for a sneak peak at the menu if you have this issue. One tip: save room for dessert - this is one of those restaurants where the dessert doesn't take a second seat.

The atmosphere is elegant yet cheery and despite the close proximity of the tables around you, it manages to be intimate in a good way.  It's not exactly library quiet though.  Reservations are needed and you better make them WAY in advance (there are only 35 seats and they fill up quickly!).

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Elite '08

55

141

Sean G.

Washington, DC

There are only 36 seats in chef Peter Pastan's townhouse restaurant (next to Pizza Paradiso in Dupont) -- so you cant just go walking in off the street, you need reservations.  
Get them.
This is my FAVORITE restaurant in DC. The food is northern Italian and brilliantly turned out. Pastan changes the menu daily to reflect his whims and the best offerings from his suppliers
The wine list is long but not too tough on the wallet and leans towards Italian wines. Wish I could award this place 7 stars -- its way out in front of the pack.

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16

127

Jon F.

Berkeley, CA

This place is excellent. The antipasti are wonderful, as are the paste. The desserts were a little off, but this is generally very fine food and the prices aren't too bad. Tops for Italian in the city, as far as I know.

www.thegourmetpig.com

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2

31

Carsten S.

Washington, DC

expensive, sometimes hard to get a table, but the food is exceptional. best italian food you will get in washington

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Elite '08

22

385

andrew m.

Los Angeles, CA

this is a really great restaurant.

so great that i thought i was sure to score on prom night after taking my date here. i ordered mushroom soup. it smelled like butt. the soup was good but i didn't get none.

the food is still great. but stay away from the butt soup.

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3

12

Jenny g.

Washington, DC

i'm a sucker for italian and this place does not dissapoint

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