I’m Hoping Old Ebbitt Grill Is Not Showing Its Age

 Old Ebbitt Grill

675 15th Street NW

Washington, DC 20005

Old Ebbitt Grill was another restaurant that I had on my restaurant wish list for many reasons. Yes, they are the second most reviewed restaurant in the DC Metro area, with over 11,000 reviews and a very impressive 4.2-star rating on Yelp. Not surprising since they are right in the middle of DC attractions, and across the street from the US Treasury building, and a short three-minute walk from the White House. They are also located less than a block away from our hotel, so if I could sense that Katie was running low on energy, we wouldn't have to go far for dinner. 

Like many areas of this city, there's also a lot of history at Old Ebbitt Grill. It started in 1856 when William E. Ebbitt bought a boarding house near where Chinatown stands now. Guests and boarders there included many presidents, famous statesmen, and military heroes, who all patronized its premises. Over the next 127 years, the boarding house transitioned into a saloon and moved numerous times until it found its current home on 15th Street in 1983. It also became one of the crown jewels of the Clyde Restaurant Group, which also runs the Hamilton around the corner on F Street. 

The present-day Old Ebbitt Grill reminded me of a set from House of Cards, where you can easily imagine President Underwood making some shady backroom deals to enhance his agenda. I'm not sure if the movers and shakers of government eat and drink here or not. Still, with all the dark wood here, the fine artwork on the walls, and the Victorian-era decor, it will have you craning your neck to see if the guy in the suit entering the restaurant is your congressman or maybe some talking head you've seen on your cable news show of choice. 

We tried to eat here earlier during our trip, but were met with a wait of an hour or more. We decided we'd give it another shot to dine here, as we arrived just before 8pm on a Monday evening. It was much easier getting a table this time, as we only had a wait time of five minutes. We were seated at a table near the back of the still bustling dining room. The tables are pretty close together, so if you are averse to eating close to others or just want some privacy, you might want to request a booth. 

The same menu is used for both lunch and dinner at the Old Ebbitt Grill. The primary focus of the menu is seafood, with oysters being a big draw, apparently. They offer an oyster happy hour two times a day, 3pm - 5pm, and then again from 11pm - 1am. There's also raw bar platters, caviar, and other tinned fish to choose from. Not a seafood fan, don't worry, there's plenty of starters, entrees, salads, sandwiches, and burgers. Entrees are priced between $23-$55, while burgers and sandwiches go for anywhere between $17-$28. Katie had a grasp on what she was going to have, while I was on the fence. Let's see if Old Ebbitt has seen its best days already, or if it's still as good as their Yelp rating says. 

We started with a Bread Basket, which, unlike their sister restaurant, The Hamilton, around the corner, was complimentary. The bread came out lukewarm, but the whipped butter was easily spreadable. Our server, Robert, was not shy about refilling it a few times for us. He must have sensed that we were carb people. 

This time it was Katie's turn to try the Jumbo Lump Crab Cake Entree ($47.99). Not unexpected, but it was very similar to the one from The Hamilton. It was about tennis ball-sized with minimal filler and big pieces of crab in each forkful. Since this was our last crab cake of the trip, I believe this one was the gold standard for the four that we tried in DC. It beats out the one from The Hamilton because it was left in the broiler a bit longer, which gave this a hint of a crispy texture, which I enjoyed. The fries were nice and crispy, and the cole slaw was not overly dressed, which some people, like Katie, really enjoy. I like a little more dressing on my cole slaw. The tartar sauce was nicely done, but we used it sparingly because the crab was so good. 

Man, I had my sights set on many things here: meatloaf, the Reuben, bacon cheeseburger, and swordfish. With the help of Robert, I went with this Duroc Pork Chop ($34.99). This bone in pork chop was massive, unlike the tiny ones my mom used to get from the supermarket that she'd fry in Crisco, which made them even smaller. The pork chop was a little charred, as you can see from the picture above, and the outside edges were slightly overcooked. The inside portions were the money bites. Very tender and moist. It's gotta be tough to cook a pork chop this big evenly. The plate was smeared with a sweet potato puree and brussels sprouts with thick-cut bacon pieces. The sprouts and bacon helped cut the richness of the pork, and I thought the sweet potato was just okay. I would have liked mashed potatoes instead. 

Not that we needed it, but we selected the Warm Apple Crisp ($11.99) for dessert. The menu proudly proclaims that they use Virginia apples in this, with an oat-almond streusel, and a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was a very comforting dish, and not overly heavy, which was nice since we were eating late for us, 9pm. With a scoop of ice cream this big, we did not have to duel with our forks over it. The apples were good, and the streusel was not overly sweet. 

I was pretty pleased with our visit to Old Ebbitt Grill. I can conclude from this meal that it's definitely not a tourist trap, even though they are so close to a lot of the major attractions in DC. Although I haven't eaten at all their restaurants, I get a sense that the Clyde Restaurant Group knows what they are doing when it comes to the restaurant business. The menu was varied, the food was delicious, and the service we experienced from Robert was well above average. If we had a few extra days, we would have returned to try their brunch. 

I'm definitely not really into art, but a highlight on day four of our DC adventures for Katie was a visit to the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art. She was an art history major in college, so she was definitely in her element here. I was just happy when I could find an empty bench or chair in the gallery we were in. In case you were wondering, the above piece is Madonna with Child by El Greco, created between 1597 and 1599. 

Out of five egg beaters (because in 1856, the same year this restaurant was founded, was also the year that the first egg beater with rotating parts was invented), five being best to zero being worst, Old Ebbitt Grill gets 3.5 egg beaters. 

For more information about Old Ebbitt Grill, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.ebbitt.com/