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Vidalia Restaurant
Category: Restaurants Southern Southern [Edit]
1990 M St NW(between N 19th St & N 20th St)
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 659-1990
- Nearest Transit:
-
Farragut North Metro Station (Red)
Farragut West Metro Station (Blue, Orange)
Dupont Circle Metro Station (Red)
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30 am - 2:30 pm
Mon-Thu 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Fri-Sat 5:30 pm - 10 pm
Sun 5 pm - 9 pm
- Parking:
- Street, Valet
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$$
- Attire:
- Dressy
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- No
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Upscale
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
267 reviews for Vidalia Restaurant
Review Highlights
-
"Date had the shrimp & grits (loved it." In 62 reviews -
"Enjoyed the five course tasting menu." In 11 reviews -
"My date had the pecan bar, which was also delicious." In 10 reviews
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267 reviews in English
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Review from G F.
San Francisco, CA
5/15/2012
The service here is fantastic. And the food is pretty good too! I enjoyed the bread basket for starters with a bit of cornbread, an onion foccacia sample, and a delicious sweet roll. We also enjoyed the crab cake. The asparagus appetizer was just okay, to be honest I don't remember the name, but I feel like we didn't really need it. For entrees we ordered a pork shank and shrimp and grits. Boy, what a lot of food! I was mentally prepared to eat a big meal -because that's what I associate with Southern Food- but in hindsight I probably didn't need to. My advice, go with an even huger appetite than you think.
Being completely full and busting at the seams didn't stop me from getting a plate of (3) donuts for dessert. Why stop after all of the above, and the side of macaroni and cheese (delicious, but made for sharing). The donuts were fantastic. I am not even a donut fan, but I felt liked I died and gone to donut heaven. -
Review from David B.
Charlottesville, VA
5/15/2012
I like to do a fairly thorough read through of Yelp reviews any time I try a new restaurant, especially if it is on the pricier end. Having said that, I'm disappointed that other diners didn't have the same experience I did. Some common complaints seem to be poor service, bland food and small portions. I can't say I experienced any of that.
I came here at 7pm Monday night when the dining area was about two-thirds full. I was I immediately turned off by the rather loud group of people who had gathered at the bar area for happy hour. The bar is not entirely isolated from the dining area, but the design does a nice job of cutting out the noise coming from the bar. If I were looking for a quiet romantic dining spot, I wouldn't come here. But for a casual dinner, the noise level is appropriate.
My friend and I opted for the 5 course tasting menu which was $78. This is a FANTASTIC deal. The tasting menu includes a cold appetizer, warm appetizer, two entrees and a dessert. I went with the foie gras, crab cake, scallops, beef short ribs and pecan pie. Friend chose the foie gras, sweetbreads, duck, quail and mixed berries with cream. I ate a little of every dish and I enjoyed them all. The dishes were definitely on the creative side, and far from bland. I thought the portions were perfect. The kitchen even threw in a basil watermelon dish plus four bite sized desserts at the end. A nice touch to end a great meal.
I would definitely consider a return visit next time I'm in the area. -
Review from Lina F.
5/3/2012
I highly recommend Vidalia for their great food and splendid service. It's a great place for an intimate romantic dinner or to celebrate a milestone. In my case, it was to celebrate a birthday and the restaurant even printed "Happy Birthday" on the top of the menu.
My boyfriend and I chose the tasting menu. The only caveat is you will still need to choose items in each category: cold app, hot app, seafood, and meat. A few dishes that reminded with us were: seared hudson valley foie gras, sweetbreads & waffles, st. mary's style crab cake, and low country frogmore stew. For dessert, I was service with a Happy Birthday dessert sampler! It was a great experience for the eyes and tummy! -
Review from Paul C.
Trumbull, CT
5/21/2012
We were in for our son's law shool grad celebration last Saturday night.
The table was perfectly set, ready when we arrived. Dinner was a leisurely exploration of delicate, hearty, simple, sophisticated Southern cuisine and cooking.
Got it?
A perfect charcuturie plate.
Onion rolls and cornbread.
Jumbo Shrimp with cheesy grits.
A grilled veal chop.
Sauteed softshells.
Brunswick stew.
Grilled scallops
Rare duck breast.
All served with perfect, unobtrusive choreography.
And followed by spiced doughnuts, and holes, with jelly choices. And a layered elegant caramel cake.
We will be back. -
Review from Brett C.
Arlington, VA
5/17/2012
Had the shrimp and grits, fried veal sweetbreads, and greens. All fantastic. Excellent service and warm atmosphere. One of the best meals in DC.
-
Review from Brian W.
4/8/2012
Amazing blend of classical French techniques and ingredients with a a Southern touch.
My wife and I went to Vidalia for our anniversary and we were not disappointed. We both had the 5-course chef's tasting, which allows you to select one dish from each category with slightly smaller portions than usual.
Highlights included the foie gras on buttermilk biscuit (app), trotter with poached egg and hollandaise (app), shrimp and grits (main), and amazingly smoky bison short ribs (main). But the star of the show was the chicken fried sweetbreads and waffles with smoky bacon syrup. Unbelievable.
We were so full and satisfied that we actually took our desserts to go. Definitely plan to go back. -
Review from Hannah B.
3/25/2012 1 Check-in Here
I love the new Happy Hour menu. The have a chef at the bar making little delicious bites is cool. We tried the sloopy joe slider, bbq shrimp (which was more lemon/garlic than bbq - but whatever, but tasted lip lickin good), and potato chips with Tasso ham dip. My HH buddy could not get enough of that dip, she wanted to lick the bowl! There is a good variety of drinks of special as well including my fav IPA :) (Kinda bummed I went on a Monday because Obama was there on a Tuesday)
I would love to try their pre-fix lunch offered during the week but I haven't ventured that far yet. -
Review from Emma P.
Herndon, VA
3/18/2012
Went back to Vidalia for my birthday last night after having such a wonderful experience on my last visit. I was not impressed this time and will likely not go back with so many other fine choices available.
The service was very disappointing. With plenty of room in the main dining room, we were seated in a "cave" in the back with the AC blowing down our backs making it very uncomfortable. We mentioned this to out waiter several times who first said they would alert the manager and then said it was that way to keep the main dining room comfortable. Seems you should be able to keep all you paying customers comfortable at those prices. The waiter also seems less than impressed when we asked for a bit more of the bread to go with dinner. He actually complained to us that he would get in trouble for having not cleared the table when the food arrived. Really? What happened to "customer" service? When served coffee at the end of the meal, the wait-staff all but disappeared making us drink black coffee because we had run out of cream.
The food gets mixed reviews. The fois gras was excellent as was the steak tartare. The fluke was very boring and the pork shank was a disappointment. Dessert was excellent.
The wine pairing, while the price was very appealing, the wine choices were not. I would select my own wine if I were to go back, which is not likely. -
Review from Fatima K.
3/12/2012
It was okay.
I was hoping to be blown away by this place but that didn't happen. The food wasn't bad but as a born Texan, I've definitely had better. This may be amazing southern food for northerners but anyone who is used to intense flavors / well-seasoned food will be underwhelmed and feel a little cheated when the bill comes. A friend cautioned me that this place "does not serve southern food with a gourmet touch but rather gourmet food with a southern touch".
Geez, I wish I could say as much. It wasn't even that gourmet.
Let me explain.
We had reservations on Sunday evening for 6:45. We showed up almost ten minutes early and were immediately seated. My date was wearing jeans and I was somewhat dressed up. I called ahead to make sure that the denim wouldn't be a deal breaker since some Yelpers had claimed this place was snooty. The hostess kind of hesitated to tell me it was okay and then followed up with a meek " the dress code is business casual". After date and I heard this we Kanye shrugged it off and decided that "business casual" would mean "dress down Friday business casual". We ended up having no problem with staff. No snootiness. No neglect. No pretense. No disrespect.
Appetizer: Get the chicken dumpling. It was good. Caveat: you can't share it. It's tiny. Actually all portions were on the lighter side and I'm rather used to "normal portions", so don't give me that "we've all been ruined by super sized food" nonsense. I'm not saying you'll starve but you might want an apple, or something, afterwards.
There are 3 (maybe 4) small dumplings (like the size of a $.25 gumball, not the jumbo ones) and may 2-3 oz of chicken placed in the center. Perhaps if one person ate this it would be an adequate appetizer size but not for two. We asked the waiter if it would be adequate beforehand and he sheepishly said 'yes'.
On what planet?!
Uh, no.
You will be hungry. You will be mad you shared, mainly because the flavors are downright tasty and there isn't enough bread on the table (1 piece of garlic bread, 1 thing of cornbread, 1 biscuit -- each one is a small cube; about 2in. in diameter on each side) to hold you over until the entrees arrive.
Yeah, enjoy / fill up on that drink, buddy!
Entree: Shrimp and grits. Meh! This is supposed to be the piece de resistance or at least one of them for this place. Super disappointing. My guess was that they were trying to do something Cajun. Like mama says, don't ever let them catch you trying. Hmm, not done well. The flavor was there but one step away from being bland. There were some bits of ham thrown in and perhaps that was the strongest flavor, apart from the dijon mustard and a trace of what can only be described as hot sauce. The weird sauce ruined the grits and the shrimp. The shrimp are jumbo and were pretty good on their own but I've never had bad shrimp, so ...
My date got the venison and had to send it back because it was bleeding profusely when it arrived at the table. Yeah, medium rare isn't well-done but it's not rare either. He asked for it to be cooked a little longer and we thought it would come back charred but 20 minutes later it was in fact medium-rare, which kind of makes the point of how uncooked it was to begin with.
Dessert: Pecan pie. It's super sweet. Syrupy sweet. I'm a fan of pecans and ridiculous levels of sweetness but this was too much for even me. I wish I could say the pie was great but it was once again really just okay. The crust was kind of dry. I dare to think / say I've gotten better pies from grocery stores.
At the end of the day, I'm not sure if I would recommend this place for anything other than the dumplings but seriously I wouldn't send someone out just for dumplings. I mean they weren't that good. If you need a chicken fix go to Marvin's and get the Chicken and waffles. That is seasoned to perfection! If you want grits done right go to America Eats. For the price there are better dining options -- Ahem, Corduroy (venison and chestnut puree -- enough said), Cityzen, Citronelle, Blue Duck, Rasika, Mini Bar, Zaytinya, etc. etc. etc.
Sorry Vidalia. You kind of let me down. -
Review from Christine C.
Manhattan, NY
3/6/2012
Went to dinner here last Friday and had a good time!
#1 Service was great. We were having a girls' night dinner - one of our ladies was pregnant and another had some food allergy issues. Our server went to the chef who made some recommendations and also offered to make modifications.
#2 Yummy drinks! I had a good sauvignon blanc. Then we went to the bar and they made us drinks based on what kind of liquors, flavors, etc we liked. For a restaurant, rather than a cocktail bar, I found that pretty impressive! Oh and my friend liked the blood orange lemonade, although I can see how it might become a bit cloying after too many sips.
#3 Food! I tried the crab cake appetizer, short ribs, scallops, and shrimp and grits. The standout was definitely the shrimp and grits. I could eat that dish every day. The scallops were also pretty good. Short ribs were tender but a tad bland. Crab cake was good, but a little bit on the salty side.
Overall, I had a great time and the servers / bartenders were so great. We had an 8:30 reservation and pretty much closed the place down. We finally got kicked out (very politely) around 11:45. But everyone was so friendly up until we left: the managers joked with us, the servers gave great recommendations, and we chatted up the barback and bartender until close.
A little on the pricey side, but I would recommend it for a nice, friendly Southern-inspired experience! -
Review from Alycia J.
Washington, DC
2/4/2012 1 Check-in Here
Vidalia is an upscale dining experience without being self-consciously hip or over the hill stuffy. Comfortable, chic, delicious Vidalia has become one of my favorite places to "do lunch".
I first tried Vidalia for lunch during Restaurant Week. I had the five onion soup, the shrimp and grits and the pecan pie. The meal was so good that I returned for lunch to be pleasantly surprised by the 19.90 prix fixe menu. This time I had a seared tuna appetizer, Paparadelle with tiny, melt-in-your-mouth lamb meatballs, and a chocolate bread pudding for dessert. Delicious as expected. -
Review from John A.
Herndon, VA
4/10/2012
lookin for a good place to hold an informal dinner party for 10. chose this place based on their rating on Washingtonian's top 100 in DC. they had the #10 spot.
anyways, out party left the place wondering how they got their rating... really, the food was absurdly average. they attempted go outside the "box" but didn't quite make it. the price to eat there was pretty high. overall, would not recommend this place to my friends. so sad.... -
Review from Wayne K.
1/24/2012
MmmMmmm...this was good food. I went here for Restaurant Week with my special friend (and I don't mean special in that she can win a gold medal at the Special Olympics).
We both started with the onion soup, which I thought was really good and creamy. Then came our entrees. My friend had the shrimp and I had the duck. Both were really excellent. The duck was not super tender (but maybe that's how it's supposed to be), but it tasted excellent. We ended with dessert. My friend had the peanut butter s'more and I had the key lime cheesecake. Although there was actually no s'more with the peanut butter, it was still great.
Overall, my experience here was fantastic. The waiter was nice and never pressured us to leave, even though we were there for several hours and at the end, we chatted with the owner for a little while. He seemed like a very personable guy.
I can't give it a full 5 star experience, but it's damn close. -
Review from Susan C.
1/17/2012
My girls and I had dinner here during winter Restaurant Week. Overall, we had a positive experience and enjoyed our meals. Everything on my plate was cooked to perfection; the flavors and textures were balanced nicely. Each dish was aesthetically pleasing and the portions were just right. Our server was cheery and attentive without being overbearing.
My only complaint is the bar service. I got there earlier than our reservation so I sat down at the bar to order a glass of wine. The bar tender muttered a quick hello but never followed up to take my order. I gave up after about five minutes and closed the drink menu. There were other patrons at the bar but they were already eating/drinking; there was no line or crowd waiting for service.
I would definitely go back to Vidalia for lunch or dinner. -
Review from Roland S.
3/19/2012 1 Check-in Here
Classic fine dining with a bit of southern charm. I had dinner here last week, a bit late on a Saturday night. The staff was incredibly knowledgeable about each dish and very attentive to the table's needs. The mandarin old fashioned was a fantastic cocktail, and the chicken and dumplings as a delightful starter - an upscale twist on a down home classic. I almost got the sweetbreads and waffles, which a friend said was very good, but the bistro mac and cheese won out. It was well worth it. The food, service, and atmosphere were all top notch.
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Review from Lia M.
12/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
My team had a holiday lunch at Vidalia. While I thought it was good, I was not overly impressed. Food is three stars, service two. Hostess was friendly enough; but service was quite lacking. I feel like our server was definitely trying, though he was not friendly; but he just did not quite have the needed skills. For example, repeating my request for limes, yet still bringing lemons; making a face when a colleague needed to order a salad, as her vegetarian entrée was not filling.
Onto the food - I ordered the prix fixe lunch: calamari, catfish, and buche de noel, along with a Torrontes wine. The Torrontes was light and paired well with the meal - I am a big fan of Torrontes anyway. Bread was delicious and served warm. I tried both a roll and the cornbread and both were tasty. I was not a fan of the calamari - while the two grilled pieces were quite tender, the texture of the stuffed piece did not agree with me. Catfish was good though, and I loved the accompaniment of mustard greens. Including myself, three people ordered the catfish, and each piece was a noticeably different size, which was odd. The buche de noel, a huge chocolate and cream swirl topped with meringue decorations and drizzled with cherry sauce, was the standout. It was not overly chocolate-y and the cherry drizzle added a nice flavor.
However, due to service and quality vs. price, Vidalia is not on a return list. -
Review from Benny R.
Washington, DC
3/25/2012
I enjoyed a visit to Vidalia during Restaurant Week. It didn't appear they watered down the menu, the food was excellent, service attentive and friendly, all-in-all an excellent experience.
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Review from Lorena B.
12/17/2011
I was invited here for a holiday dinner with a friend's company and was very satisfied. Our server, Grace, was amazing! Having a friendly and knowledgable server like her really made it a great dinner!
The food was upscale southern but unlike other upscale restaurants, it's served in huge portions. The bread was brought to the table fresh out of the oven and there were 3 types in the basket. I stuck with the cornbread because it was so good- definitely not Jiffy mix.
I ordered the Berkshire pork rib chop for my entree and a side of mac and cheese. It was a good thing I skipped the appetizer because the chop was as big as my head! It was cooked perfectly at medium and topped with bacon marmalade and heirloom beans. Definitely something I would order again. The mac and cheese was phenomenal! It's made with cheddar, goat cheese, and smoked bacon and served in the skillet it's baked in.
Dessert was Oktoberfest, which is molten chocolate cake with chocolate chip-pretzel ice cream. Very rich and decadent without being overly sweet.
Skip the hush puppies that are served with the pork chop. They taste and look like they're made with sawdust. Also, avoid the tall bartender with long dreadlocks. He's rude and is only nice to regulars, I guess. When I sat at the bar to wait for my friend, he came over with menus but when a middle aged customer walked up and asked for something, he walked away while I was in mid-sentence. That irritated me so I said I'd just have water when he finally returned. He snapped up the menus without a word and brought water like 10 minutes later. Classy. -
Review from Ed G.
Alexandria, VA
1/15/2012
We caught them on the last night of restaurant week. It was my wife's birthday and we were pumped to try the #10 place to eat in DC according to the Washingtonian's recent "100 Best Restaurants" issue. It was also special since it may have been one of the last nights out for us in a while since we have a baby girl on the way in a couple of weeks.
To put it mildly, we weren't disappointed.
They sat us in a corner of the restaurant that was quiet and easy to carry on a conversation in. The place is really nice and quite comfortable.
I ordered the salmon cured in citrus for an appetizer. It had an unreal horseradish sorbet, along with a lemon creme, delicate pieces of dill, and pickled cucumber and shallot. The crunch factor came in the form of small, perfectly cubed and crisp pumpernickel croutons. So good. Just an awesome few bites of food.
My wife got the smoked sweet potato ravioli with wild mushrooms. I only had a bite of the mushrooms, but there was nothing left on her plate. Again, very good.
For an entree I got the NY strip steak, which the server said was a prime cut that was dry aged for thirty days in-house. The chef cooked it to my preferred temperature beautifully. It was served with wild mushrooms, and a killer "steak sauce," that left my wife drooling. Oh, and did I mention it was an extremely generous portion? I really wasn't expecting such a large amount, but -- because it was so good and the accompaniments spot on -- I didn't mind a bit.
My wife got the short rib. Now I know she liked it a lot, but it wasn't the best we've ever had. With that said though, the plate was cleaned and the entree thoroughly enjoyed. The sweet carrots and red pearl onions were nice companions to fairly tender and flavorful meat. Having it just a tad more tender, and swimming in my steak sauce, would have put it over the top.
Dessert for us was a no brainer. Although a few of them sounded really good, we both ordered the peanut butter smore's. It was the perfect ending to a fabulous meal. The textures were perfect -- a crisp airy crust and topping book-ending soft layers of chocolate mousse and ganache. The stars of the show were the two dollops of meringue that were bruleed and artfully set off from the desert on the plate. The only thing that would have made this even better? The addition of two more gooey meringues to drag the rest of the chocolatey-peanuty wonderment through.
Uhm, did we enjoy or dinner? Yes. The food was awesome, the meal well paced, and the service was perfect. Ask for Donald if you can, he was really great.
We will definitively be back. Although next time we'll need a baby sitter. -
Review from rs a.
Washington D.C., DC
3/20/2012
Private Event
I have not eaten here but my experience in trying to set up a private event (dinner) for my prestigious nonprofit organization has been unbelievably unpleasant. I would think that a restaurant would be happy for business but it is evident from the staff's rudeness that this is not the case.
I have called several times (during not busy hours--at 9:40 AM and ~3:00 PM) and the staff behave as if they are doing me a favor by answering the phone. Yes, I know that I can email your special events coordinator. I'm not calling just for fun---no, I have several questions and matters to go over and it's easier for everyone if we go over some details on the phone vs. writing out a lengthy email (the nonprofit's private dining policies are confusing) and going back and forth several times before coming up with a contract.
The attitude I received was rude, condescending, snooty, snotty, crabby, entitled, and "superior"---as if their jobs are *so* much more important than mine. It is an attitude that is quite pathetic and has driven me to plan this event at another restaurant. Needless to say, I will encourage my coworkers to coordinate events anywhere but here. My organization coordinates thousands of meetings and private dinners a year so Vidalia can kiss all that potential business good bye.
In short, the staff needs a seminar in customer service. Very disappointing and embarrassing for a high-end restaurant. -
Review from Beth K.
Washington, DC
12/29/2011
I went with a couple coworkers for a nice, sit down lunch to get a change from Chop't or the other usual suspects. We all chose the fixed price, three course menu. I had the broccoli cheddar soup, hangar steak, and buche du noelle. Everything was fantastic, seasoned well, and cooked perfectly. The meal started with a bread basket, which...who doesn't love bread?
Overall, I'd definitely come here again, and for $25 for a really good lunch, the price is unbeatable. -
Review from Sheila B.
Chevy Chase, MD
5/11/2012
Four of us ate at Vidalia the other evening. Three of us chose the 5 course tasting menu, so we had a pretty good sampling of dishes. My husband and I were quite disappointed with the food, which in general lacked flavor. I should note that two of our party had the soft shell crab which they enjoyed. But other than that, nothing at all special or memorable. We were quite surprised given that the restaurant is still given high ratings by the Washingtonian and the Post restaurant critics. I don't get it. Oh, and while the service was pretty good, the food came out of the kitchen veeeery slowly. After two hours, we had been served only two of our 5 courses. The server was good and I assume this pace was due to the kitchen. After two hours I had to tell him that one dish per hour would not do, as my husband had to catch a flight the next morning. After that the pace picked up. All in all, no reason to return. Oh if you want ham, pork or bacon in every single dish. this might be the place for you!
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Review from CHRISTOPHER F.
Arlington, VA
3/13/2012
Excellent although the fish stew is a meager portion
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Review from Pragna H.
2/19/2012
We had our pre-Valentine's Day dinner here. We did the 5 course meal. SO GOOOD!
The place: Very chic yet not screaming chic-ness! Classy.
A few greats from this place:
1. Service. I think service makes or breaks a place like. When you are paying $200+ for the entire meal, yes you want service like Vidalia's. The servers knew the food, which is a must!
2. The cornbread. The small piece of delicious, moist, buttery cornbread is a little piece of heaven. Corny, I know. Heavenly, definitely!
3. Steak tartare. Perfect first course sized portion with a sunny-side up quail egg on top. Absolutely chic and quite French. Or French meets the South. Or French inspired South. Well by the time you'll figure it out, you have cleaned off your plate and enjoyed every moment of it!
4. Chicken and dumplings. Not yo' mama's chicken n' dumplings. Much much better.
5. Scallops entree. It comes with a piece of crispy pork belly. Pork belly is probably one of my fave things to eat. It was perfectly crisped on the outside, decadently fatty and juicy on the inside. Unfortunately, this was on my boyfriend's plate, so he got two bites of this and I had to settle for one.
6. Bison short ribs. Another piece of juicy, moist, fall off the bone tender piece of meat. Need I say more?
7. Molten chocolate cake. I was about to make the worst crime of all, order seasonal fruit for dessert. Thankfully my soul was saved at the nick of time and was gratified with this piece of decadence. This dessert is worth risking weight gain, or breaking diets or even being chased by a dog (almost).
8. Peanut butter and smores. I don't like peanut butter, but this didn't have a lot of it. The man yumm-ed and oo-ed and aah-ed.
PS: I hear the GA pecan pie is really good too. I am not into pies, but thought I would share this bit of intelligI am definitely going back! -
Review from Laura W.
Lexington Park, MD
3/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
So good!! Amazing margaritas and the bartender was very friendly. Didn't enjoy the deviled eggs, but everything else was delicious. The bread and the homemade marmalade and Amish butter was fantastic.
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Review from Mariel J.
2/6/2012 1 Check-in Here
Vidalia is a nice restaurant with upscale southern food, and it's located right around the corner from my work, so very convenient for me. The entrees can be a little expensive, so I'd never been there until recently, but their happy hour deals are great. They have $3.50 beers (and an interesting selection), and a number of $3 appetizer options - we tried crab cakes, onion rings, and deviled eggs - small portions, but all really tasty! The wines were still priced $8-$10, though that may actually be a deal, since the wines on their main list are often $15-$20 a glass! Cocktails were also around $8-$10 on happy hour. They had a nice lounge space with black leather couches. Definitely a spot I'd go back to!
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Review from Maureen P.
Alexandria, VA
11/15/2011
Bad Sunday night dinner experience this week! I have feared that Vidalia was drifting into hotel diner/tourist territory, now believe that as truth.
Bar: Arrived 6 pm or so. Bartenders are not welcoming, very focused on watching the Redskins and Ravens lose. Sorry this isn't a sports bar, so that didn't fly. Music in lounge is loud, irritating club music (aka not appropriate for Sunday night of relaxing).
Table: They sat us on top of another couple (tourists) in a relatively empty restaurant (incidentally the couple next to us took pictures of every piece of food that arrived). Vidalia had those big, useless plates at each setting which I find not tasteful (along w/ large salt/pepper shakers).
Server: Terribly loud, overly attentive and did not understand the nuances of serving courses. She was "nice" but not trained to the level of $30-$50 dinners.
Food: Not good. I had the pork tenderloin which had very strange pork fat plastic bubbles around it. Each cut of meat (cheek, loin) was over-cooked (asked for medium) and not inventive at all. Not a good meal. The bread was very good. Sadly, our server explained loudly about how taking home bread would cost 75 cents. Seriously?
All in all, not a good experience. Vidalia will not stack up to the other spots in the DC business district. -
Review from Anand S.
Washington, DC
2/26/2012
Went here for a belated Valentine's day dinner. Excellent food and service - definitely a special occasion restaurant.
We started off with the chicken and dumplings, which were outstanding. The chicken confit was full of flavor and the ricotta dumplings have the perfect texture and provide great balance to the chicken. I also had the she-crab soup (a special appetizer), which was not too hot, not too cold, just right, and was pretty good (but it was in need of some pepper).
For entrees, we ordered from the specials menu, we had the pork rib chop and the fluke with lobster. Both were stellar. The pork rib chop was HUGE, and it came with crayfish hush puppies. The fluke was perfect with the celery root puree and the lobster meat underneath was phenomenal, best lobster I've had in quite some time. We also had a side of the mac and cheese, without the ham. It was unbelievable, and the bread crumbs on top added to the amazing-ness of the mac and cheese.
Finally for dessert, we had the peanut butter s'mores, which were awesome. Peanut butter mousse, roasted marshmallows, and crunchy graham cracker ice cream. Really great way to end dinner.
The service was very good, and the waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu. The presentation was excellent and they offered to keep the food warm if we had to step away from the table.
Overall, a stellar meal at a great restaurant. Pricey, but worth every penny. -
Review from Amanda f.
Herndon, VA
4/5/2012
Great food and outstanding service. Will keep this in mind for future special occasions!
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Review from Kathleen K.
Washington, DC
8/18/2011
I've heard that this is one of the most popular RW destinations, so my BF and I tried it today. The food was impeccable - the steak tartare, heirloom tomato salad, duck confit, catfish, and pecan tart were all excellent. Also loved the breads - brioche and cornbread with red pepper jelly. Portions were very small, but that's not surprising given the restaurant's normal price point. I would rather them leave items off the RW menu than to have a bunch of upcharges, but that's my personal opinion.
Service was a little off, and is the only reason I'm not giving 5 stars. The host/hostess were extremely courteous, as was the man who bused our dishes, but our server had an attitude and made several errors - didn't re-set silverware between courses, brought me the wrong entree, put the check down while we were still eating, etc. These are things that I would overlook in a lower-end restaurant, but at such a well-regarded restaurant I expect a high standard of service, quite frankly. Some restaurant staff go out of their way to make you feel welcome during Restaurant Week, and others don't... today's experience was in the latter category. Loved the food, but the service just doesn't live up. -
Review from Mark L.
Washington, DC
8/28/2011
Summer RWeek dinner at last after wanting to go here for quite a while to try their southern staples. For its location, I especially like the fact that the restaurant is a full-1.5 level down (less noise) with a casual classy decor.
On the food side, what stood out were the heirloom tomatoes salad, shrimp and grits, cornbread and of course the baked Vidalia onion. The pecan pie was good but too sweet for my tastebuds.. Vidalia certainly is not your everyday food place so it's a special treat for your senses.
For RWeek places, I always ask myself if I would return otherwise. I would probably say no to this place because of the cost and the richness of the food. Definitely a quality place though. -
Review from Meg R.
8/17/2011
Note: this is a review for my experience during Restaurant Week.
Being from the South, a bit of nostalgia hit me as I walked into Vidalia and was greeted with magnolia flowers and artwork featuring vidalia onions. It was almost as though I'd stepped off a D.C. street and into Georgia. The bar area is pleasant, with dim lighting and subtle decor. Unfortunately, further back in the restaurant, the ambiance you are greeted with seemingly disappears. My friend described it as "bland."
My three friends and I were excited to try Vidalia during Restaurant Week, having heard good things about the variety and selection on the prix fixe menu.
I will say that the RW menu is larger than many I've seen, although it is a special menu prepared for the occasion. Unfortunately, many of the signature dishes include supplemental charges. The shrimp & grits is an additional $5 and the duck is an extra $8. There are also up-charges on the watermelon gazpacho and fried green tomatoes.
My meal consisted of the heirloom tomatoes appetizer, the pork chop, and the red velvet cheesecake. I enjoyed everything I tasted, but the pork chop was not the star of the meal - that title belongs to the heirloom tomatoes. While all my dishes were good, I wouldn't say anything truly stood out and would cause me to return to the restaurant to taste the normal menu. In fact, my pork chop was a little tough and required substantial work to cut. I did love the lentil salad with crayfish that came with it, though.
I do think my dining partners out-ordered me. One ordered the wahoo, and I found it to be prepared perfectly. Another sampled the short rib, which was a fairly large portion size that was flavorful and cooked just right. We all loved our desserts, agreeing that my friend's pecan tart was the best of all the ones we ordered.
The service left something to be desired. It's unfortunate I've come to expect this from establishments during Restaurant Week, but I always keep my hopes up for that restaurant that takes full advantage of the week to seek out new customers. Vidalia's service just didn't win me over in that regard.
Overall, I'm glad I tried Vidalia during Restaurant Week since I got to sample a variety of dishes - though I wish I could have tasted the more signature dishes at the standard prix fixe prices. -
Review from Kelly H.
8/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Vidalia is a unique restaurant that has its own charm - southern that is! The cozy dining area and dimmed lights make the dining experience very home-ish..and puts you into that comfort food mood. If you are also an onion lover like my husband - you will definitely like this place. You may not like the dishes at this restaurant if you are a fan of huge traditional southern comfort cuisine. Dishes at Vidalia are more well proportioned and more culinary artsy.
Great place to have a romantic dinner or to have business lunches. Not too loud even with big crowd. Do not underestimate this place because you have to go underground - it competes well with other DC power lunch places on K street.
Their shrimp and grits is to die for - and seasonally designed desserts are also not to be missed! I also love their cornbread crusted cat fish dish - really tasty with chunks of craw fish in the sauce.
I am really not a fan of chain restaurant - so Vidalia serves me well regarding that as well! So, get your southern charm on, and try this place - you won't be disappointed.
Happy dining and sipping! -
Review from S. Sandra P.
Alexandria, VA
1/13/2012
Restaurant Week (RW) January 2012.
I hadn't been to Vidalia in quite some time so I thought I'd give it a retry during Restaurant Week. I was actually pretty pleased, and RW did what it's supposed to do - convince me to try this place again.
The food was pretty good, especially for RW. The onion soup was fantastic (it's cream-based, in case, like me, you didn't pay attention to the description) and the posole was well-spiced and tasty. The trout was well-cooked and came with a colorful side of veggies. The short ribs were adequate but I have to say, I missed something green on the side. It came in a potato puree but, although it was supposed to have carrots, there were none. The ribs were tender and nicely salted but not otherwise flavorful so a bit humdrum. The desserts were good. The pecan pie/tart was good (very buttery and crunchy, so definitely A+ on texture) and the lemon chess pie tasted like a lovely lemon custard in a pie shell.
The service was pretty good - we went at 7:15p on a Wednesday but they were pretty busy, bc of RW. Given that, the waits between courses wasn't that bad, although the waits between wine pours could've occurred more frequently.
The wine list is pretty good too but I didn't like that they had a short list of "RW specials" for wine, which they give to you first. When you ask for the full wine list, you'll see that those "specials" are the exact same price so I'm not sure what was so "special" about those wines unless they were especially bad and Vidalia had a lot of those bottles left. That felt a little "bait-n-switch".
Although I may update this later, right now it's only 3-stars because the food was good but not great, the service was good but not great and the sketchy list of "RW wine special" made me wonder. However, I will definitely give this place another go to try out the full menu in the near future! -
Review from Howard R.
Staten Island, NY
2/2/2012
Had an excellent meal there last night 2-1-2012. The staff and kitchen did an excellent job of handling a large crowd of 35 people. I greatly enjoyed at the scallops appetizer and salmon entree. Will go back next time in town!
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Review from Sandy C.
Washington, DC
4/26/2011
This restaurant is definitely unorthodox in a satisying approach. I've been hearing cornucopia of positive critiques on the palatable and dainty dishes served here. The harmonious and romantic atmosphere made me feel very welcoming. The service that we recieved was absolutely great! They were agile and accomodating to our requests.
They have a huge variation of winery to choose from. I'm more of a white wine person, so I chose Chardonnay. The complimentary items we had from the kitchen were soup and bread. The soup was very thick and creamy, a bit too salty though, but still very flavorful. The bread came with butter and this tangy, sweet, onion spread that was amazing. I have the biggest sweet tooth, that's probably why I enjoy the spread so much.
For my starter (appetizer), I chose from the daily Chef Inspirations menu and had Shenandoah beef tartare. This cold delight was served in a very small proportion, like every other dish on the menu. The exquisite Southern cuisine here, is compacted with pungent ingredients. it's knowledgable that this restaurant place much effort into making their dishes both succulent and appealing.
This was my first time here, so I asked for recommendations from the servers and they did an excellent job elaborating the menu. For my entree, I had the sheared rare tuna, which was one of recommendation from the servers. The entree contained about 4 pieces of round, thick, slices of tuna and foei gras. The tuna was precisely cooked; outter piece of the tuna was seared and the middle of it was still somewhat rare, hence, the name of the dish. The tuna was good, however, not as flavorful as the foei gras. I believe the tuna is distinguished for its' perfectly seared meat. I have never had foei gras before, but it was definitely a great experience. The foei gras has a sharp flavor to it. It's quite different from anything similar I had before. Its' fat containment gave it a natural hence of sweetness coalesce with this light sauce, that emphasize its' natural fatty flavor.
My ultimate favorite part of the course, the DESSERT, oh yes! I had the Georgia pecan pie that was served with this lemony, creamy, tarty, ice cream, that was arrayed with caramel, lightly salted. Got to give them credits, because this was the BEST pecan pie I've had. The pie was still warm when served to us. The pecan itself was fresh, the crust was soft and buttery, and the fillings melted in my mouth.
I enjoyed this restaurant, definitely have to come back here and try more of the desserts! LOL -
Review from Melanie M.
Washington, DC
1/14/2012
Went to Vidalia for the first time for Restaurant Week, and had a great lunch! The pork belly was a delicious treat, and the dessert (Georgia pecan pie and vanilla ice cream) was decadent.
My only complaint? Our waiter could not have more dismissive. It soured the experience somewhat. Funny enough, it was only after I paid the check and left my usual tip (which I guess he thought was generous), was he attentive and smiled and was friendly. Are you kidding me?
Despite the waiter's attitude, I'd definitely go again for lunch and possibly a happy hour... I'd like to think that my experience with the staff was not the norm. -
Review from Ben R.
Arlington, VA
9/19/2011
One of the best restaurants I've been to. Everything we had was great, but the duck stole the show.
A relaxed, quiet ambiance with a great menu, extensive wine list, and good service - what more can you ask for? -
Review from V. B.
Washington, DC
3/21/2012
Service, food, interesting menu all rate highly. Still dreaming of the duck broth. broth! It was that good.
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Review from Monica A.
Arlington, VA
8/15/2011
I went to Vidalia today for restaruant week and I was very impressed with both the food, service, and decor. I really enjoyed the Southern cuisine, the fresh ingredients and the rich flavors. I had the lemon ricotta ravioli, shrimp and grits, and pecan tart. I loved all three of my courses, ravioli was very light and refreshing, the shrimp and grits were flavorful and the shrimp was cooked perfectly, and the pecan tart (I'm from Texas, so pecans are my middle name) was great too.
Only two critiques, my boyfriend loved his meal too, he got the fried green tomatoes, catfish, and mint chocolate dessert, But his catfish looked more like half of a piece...he really enjoyed it, just wished there was more of it. Secondly, I did enjoy the shrimp and grits, the grits had a great flavor but I thought the texture was too thin an runny, I like my grits to be thick, but whatevs, I didn't cry about it.
Oh and the cornbread. Thank you. It was the perfect balance of having some sweetness to your cornbread without it tasting like a piece of cake. I would really recommend Vidalia and they have $19 lunch special so even when it's not restaurant week, they have a good deal that I would love to check out again.
