Ceiba

The food here is great and the service is good. Definitely try their guacamole! Their drinks are a good price for HH. Definitely recommend the caipirinha, margarita and my favorite, the mojito.

Three and a half stars for great late night happy hour deals. I’m not sure if they were trying for a staycation feel, because the hotel lobby vibe was mildly confusing. Food was decently tasty, but nothing with major wow factor to intrigue me beyond the bar menu posthaste. Cocktails were reasonably strong and as rum-​centric as to be expected. Not too big a bar, but service was fine. Duck flautas were texturally a bit odd, but I was glad to see the inclusion of tentacles in the lightly battered calamari. A little sad that I didn’t get around to trying more of their menu before closing: conch & clam chowder, lomo saltado montado, hot pressed cuban sandwich, feijoada, seared duck breast, gnocchi, ceviche, fufu mash.

Great ambiance and some hit or miss food. It took me ages to make it to Ceiba and my experience reflected the wide variance of the reviews I had read.
Things that made me happy
–Caipirinha was done very well, tasted very much like the ones I had in Brasil.
-«Hot Lava Stone» Queso fundido con chorizo. This was cheese, caramelized onion and chorizo that came out in a hot iron bowl. It’s finger licking good except that it’s initially so hot you’d probably burn your fingers off. Great cheesy, spicy flavors/​It comes with some tacos too and also went well with the chips like bread they provided at the table.
Things that disappointed
–Brasilian seafood stew (aka a moqueca). It just didn’t taste very much like what it was supposed to taste like. I know I wasn’t going to get a dish just like in Brasil but I expected it to be vaguely similar. The sauce was WAY runnier than it was supposed to be, tasted pretty salty, and it just didn’t have the same flavor. It could be that they didn’t use dende oil which is a huge part of an authentic moqueca dish. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t good. No other way to put it. I’m not even that picky of a person.
I’d recommend this place for HH especially since they had great drinks but for food I’d probably go elsewhere.

I’m sad to report that Ceiba is coming to a close after 11 years (
).
This spot one of the reasons I miss working downtown. Their ridiculously early (and late) happy hour always had amazing food and drinks, and this is one of the only places in the District where you can get a legit Pisco Sour. (Happy Hour Specials:
) It’s pretty hard to find a good happy hour spot near Metro Center, so this staple will be missed. This is also a good standby for when you can’t get in to Old Ebbit and want to meet up with a friend who’s in town for a conference.
If you do get to hit them up before they close, I recommend their freshly prepared guacamole (comes in a stone bowl/​mortar/​pestle thing) and whatever ceviche special they are having. This is also one of those places that constantly changes their menu, so you were sure to see something different. Some dishes I’ve really enjoyed here before:
Green mango with cashews and red fish
Traditional ceviche
Shrimp ceviche and avocado in tomato
Ceiba, you will be missed!

Amazing Latin Fusion food. Started off with the Queso Fondito with Chorizo (Great dish that wasn’t too greasy) and the tortillas that were served on the side were nice and warm. Great start to the meal. For my entrée, I picked the Brazilian Seafood stew which came with a nice piece of rock lobster, scallops, shrimp & mussels in a nice flavorful broth that wasn’t too intense to mask the quality of the seafood. The Complimentary caramel popcorn to end the meal was a nice touch ! Great Spot !!!

I am a creature of habit…
When i am in a hurry…
At lunch…
I have been here many times in the past for drinks and even dinner. Love their version of the Spanish Caesar with shaved Manchego, Serrano ham and marinated anchovies, The ceviche sampler and the Big Boy Gaucho Rib Eye. If you stop by for dinner be sure to convince someone to order the «Feijoada». Probably one of the better braised pork shanks in the dc area.

Today I swung by for a quick lunch. I scanned the menu and ordered the simple tortilla soup and an octopus salad. I will say that I am a fan of any establishment that chooses to separate its dry/​crunchy toppings/​garnish from the soup. When the tortilla soup arrived, the bowl contained the Albondigas, crispy fried tortilla strips and pico de gollo. The runner poured the body of the soup over the garnish. This is something that must be completely stirred up in order to get the full effect of this creation. The fresh lime ties everything together. Nice texture in the diced pico and great crunch in the tortilla strips. The albondigas were seared a bit too much for my taste but tasty just the same.
The Octopus salad arrived shortly afterwards. Braised and charred to near perfection and served atop what appeared to be a Romesco sauce, tiny bread crumbs, and a diced «Gazpacho» vinaigrette, queso fresco and a mild black olive aioli. Ther was minor issue with the octopus but they were very apologetic and had a new salad out within minutes.
This place is a great spot for happy or a late lunch!

I most recently went to Ceiba during restaurant week. Overall, this is a good food option, but there are so many Brazilian steakhouse is around, I’m not sure this one really stands out.
First of all, this place has been around for what seems like forever in the restaurant world, so they must be doing something right, no? When we arrived, they tried to seat us in some small room that was very cramped and closed in. We immediately asked to be moved to the open air room with all the windows right on the street corner. A huge difference.
The menu is pretty expensive, with entrées in the $ 25-​$ 29 range. For appetizers, we started with the sampler of the ceviche, which was very good. The beef empanadas were traditional, and had olives so I couldn’t eat it. I will say that the feijoada that I had was nowhere near as good as I had in Brazil. I think for a «Brazilian steakhouse,» they’re aiming to be as though you are in that country, but this dish was subpar relative to what I got when I was in Brazil. The tres leches cake was very delicious for dessert, I will say.
Overall, I’m kind of indifferent on Ceiba. It’s not quite worth the money, but since it’s downtown, it’s probably sustained by tourists or people on expense accounts. Some food items are good, and others weren’t. Nothing would purposely keep me away from here, but it’s not like I’m trying to rush back.

Finally tried Ceiba last week and left happy and full. I wasn’t very hungry to start so I shared everyone’s appetizers and ordered a small Caesar salad (which was nothing to write home about but was fine). The lava queso is to die for. It’s super greasy and you kind of feel guilty eating it, but it’s 100% worth it. We also got the ceviche sampler. I usually am a big fan of spicy but I actually preferred the least spicy ceviche. (They were all very tasty, though!) I was not very impressed with the guacamole. It was a little too sweet and a little too runny for my preference, but everyone else at the table seemed to enjoy it.
My boyfriend ordered the chicken tamale, which I had the pleasure of taking several bites of. This was some of the best chicken I’ve had in a very long time. I would come back to Ceiba just to get my own plate of that chicken (and maybe a side of the Lava Queso)! The only downside is that this place is pretty pricey– $ 25 for a chicken tamale seems a little excessive. Also, the service wasn’t tremendous but we were all having a good time and enjoying our food, so it didn’t matter too much. Despite the good food, I’m giving this a 3-​star for slow service and high price point.

My husband and I went here for lunch. I got the rum fashioned as my pre lunch drink and I have to say it was very good, well balanced and perfect for any warm day. It was made with Mt. Gay rum, maraschino liqueur, dolin sweet vermouth and orange bitters. I would definitely have this one again!
We started out with the octopus salad. It was good, the octopus cooked well and placed over a gazpacho vinaigrette. The only problem with this dish was the few pieces of octopus that were slightly overcooked (mostly at the tip), though all in all the dish still very good.
For my entrée, I got the grilled skirt steak churrasco (sometimes you just want beef!). It was perfectly cooked medium rare, very flavorful with a fantastic chimichuri and wonder crisp fried onions.
Having never been to Ceiba, it was a great surprise and definitely someplace I would go again.

I came here because I was super hungry on a weekday. It happened to be happy hour at the bar but I wanted an entrée so I asked for the regular menu and ordered the seafood stew and also guacamole as an appetizer.
Here’s why I’m giving this place only 2 stars:
1. Seafood stew — the broth was brought out steaming hot but it was very salty. In fact everything was salty… even the seafood. And worse, all the seafood except the fish and rice was extremely overcooked. What a bummer! I was looking forward to eating this based on other Unilocal reviews and was extremely disappointed.
2. Guacamole — this was not that fresh, some of the avocados it was made with turned brown and it was also too salty. Wtf!
3. Caipirinha — wish I could tell you what this tasted like but the bartender guy forgot to make it.
I told the bartender about how disappointing the food was and he was nice enough to tell the manager. I thought maybe they’d at least comp the appetizer or something since the food was so horrible… Instead the manager comes out and gives me some chocolates which actually annoyed me even more.
I wish I could have regurgitated the food and gotten some good food elsewhere.

Cool Latin American restaurant with pleasant décor and nice ambiance.
The side dishes I tried were excellent.
Peruvian fried rice — very good
Spinach with coconut milk an interesting combination
Rum Glazed Maduras — Sweet plantains — Soooo good.
Unfortunately I didn’t care for my main course.
Pork loin with an onion relish.
I ordered just before closing time, I suspect I was just unlucky.
The pork was dry and the relish had a strong sweaty arm pit aroma.
Sweaty is never an aroma I have found appealing in food.
It is usually from a fermented ingredient, either intended or unintended.
For example fermented tofu burmese hot and sour soup smells exactly like sweaty dairy cow.
I am not a huge fan of burmese sweaty hot and sour soup either.

Good modern Peruvian cuisine that is always artfully presented, even the cocktails (try the mojito with real sugar cane!). I’ve been to Ceiba for several dinners and lunches, and my firm often hosts recruiting and internal events here. The service is always attentive and all the dishes I’ve tried have been noticeably fresh and flavorful. Reliably delicious and great ambiance.
Food 4
Service 4
Décor 3

Cate made reservations here on Sat prior to our visit to the Warner Theater to see the ‘Piano Guys’.
It’s quite a popular place so I highly recommend a reservation.
The service here is exceptional.
The wine menu is expansive.
I had the totrilla soup and and a vegetable salad.
They were adequate, nothing too exceptional.
Cate had the black bean soup.
My one complaint is the restaurant is very loud. It was quite difficult to have a conversation.
Very nice proximity to Warner Theater & Metro Center.

We stopped by here for drinks and sat at the bar. The atmosphere is great, it has a quiet but very social feel (if that makes sense). It would be a great place to bring a group of people wanting to grab drinks and tapas and spend a couple hours, or just to sit down and have a nice dinner.
The bar staff (Chris) was great. Friendly, attentive, but not hovering. As far as drinks we just had beers, so nothing special to report there. I did order the meat/​cheese/​olive plate (Charcuterie). It was great. A mild cheese, a blue cheese, some smokey/​salty cured meat, and then nuts and olives. The variety of olives was awesome, and they were all nice and salty, but not too briney or oily. Just a perfect thing to put on the table and pick at. If you have 4 or more, I’d probably get two orders if that’s all you’re ordering.
I’d definitely consider this for dinner next time I’m in the city, and would absolutely bring a group back her to drink a few hours away.
Like all trips to DC, be wary of where you park. The DC traffic police are horrible human beings. They basically dig into your local laws (not being restricted to simply DC laws) and will get ANYTHING they can to bring in revenue for DC.
So while you may pass by a parking lot because it will cost $ 14-​$ 20, I’d suggest get pulling in. It will keep the meter maids from scrutinizing your vehicle, which may save you a lot of money. Oh well, RANT OFF :-)

This has to be one of the best restaurants in DC. It’s certainly one of my favorites. The food here is spectacular! I love Latin American cuisine and this place does not disappoint.
The ingredients and flavors are just so fresh they explode in your mouth. I can’t think of many restaurants that have a similar menu so it’s a nice change of pace from the usual fare you find around town. I’m not sure there’s anything on the menu that you could go wrong ordering. Everything I’ve had-​from the cocktails to the salads to the entrees-​was absolutely delicious. The red snapper Veracruz is a particular fave of mine. The combo of the delicate flaky white fish, the stewed vegetables and the intensely flavored broth will blow your mind.
The décor and vibe here are also amazing. I love it. It feels sexy and sleek yet also really comfortable. The service is really nice and not snooty at all. Everyone is polite and makes you feel welcome. This would make a fantastic date restaurant. It’s also a great spot to have dinner before a show at the Warner Theatre.

Last meal of 2013 and, fittingly, last review of my 100 reviews for 2013 (yes, I know I’m a bit late, sorry)!
We came here for NYE meal given all the other reviews and I’m definitely not sorry we did. Although it was not the best meal we had in DC, it was certainly still delicious. The menu was set, which would have been nice to know beforehand since there was gluten we had to pick around and a bit too much food (I was pretty sick, so bf also had to eat double basically). When we found out, we asked if we could do ala carte and were told to «…eat at the bar if you want ala carte.» Um, what is the problem with giving us that option less than 10 feet away at our table instead of the bar? Anyhow, we decided to eat from the set menu.
The set menu was great. There price including an amuse bouche, app, main, and dessert. There were several choices between the app and main, which were nice. It was mostly focused on seafood, which is what the restaurant normally serves. The crab cakes were fresh and the shrimps nicely cooked. I have a feeling I would be raving more about this place had we been able to go during a happy hour. In any case, there were plenty of tables and it was within walking distance of our hotel, which were two large bonuses.
Cons: 1) The glasses of sparking wine were quite small. Seriously, like champagne glass small. Perhaps I’ve been in NOLA too long, but the cost there did not equal the amount at all. 2) The service was kinda junk. Our waiter was snarky and a bit annoying/​rude. I would have been salty as well having to work on NYE… However, you’re still there to work. If you don’t want to be there, then you should have either requested the day off or called in sick. 3) No one actually works in the coat room. We spent a few minutes patiently waiting, until I had to ask the hostess. Perhaps I’m not sure how coat rooms work, but I didn’t think that guests were supposed to go in and get their own jackets (which was what was happening).

551 reviews… wow…one of my favorite places to eat & drink. Took some clients here on ¹²⁄₁₁ to drink & eat. They typically get chicken wings and mozzarella sticks from other suppliers so I wanted to treat them the way they deserved.
Ceiba always delivers. From the hotdogs (pictured) that were deemed «the best ever» to the duck quesadillas to the delicious tuna tacos (just pop the entire piece in your mouth) signature seafood nachos topped with a jalepeno slice per wedge to the great service by Babak at the bar — everything was perfect.
We drank Pacifico draft, cold Corona Light and made believe that we were all getting raises for the holiday season.
Bought Passion Food Hospitality gift cards for everyone too. I could have stayed and eaten more but there are still more holiday events to attend and I refuse to buy larger pants.
They had three big holiday parties going on while we were there: great story. One of my guests went to the wrong room for the party, had a Corona, started eating food, introduced himself to some of the people when he realized that he didn’t …know…anyone…and that was when he learned he was a party crasher — accidentally of course. Cracked me up!

Acabamos de cenar mi esposo y yo en el Restaurant Ceiba.
El ambiente es muy agradable. Ordené para comenzar Yucatan Shrimp Ceviche cocktail y como suelo comer poco de noche el
Tuna Tartar Taquitos
Mi esposo ordenó el Grilled gaucho Cut Beef Ribeye Churrasco con
Crispy fried onions y salsa chimichurri. Esta es una salsa que no lleva picante, pero esta lo es. Mi esposo se sintió decepcionado porque él no come picante. La carne estaba tierna y jugosa, de muy buena calidad.
El restaurant es una fusión de sabores e ingredientes de varios países de América Latina: México, Perú, Brasil y Argentina. Conozco bastante la gastronomía de estos países. En Perú los ceviches no suelen ser picantes, en Ceiba lo son. En realidad prácticamente todos los platos del menú son picantes, quizá se deba a un gusto particular de los habitantes de Washington o de los Chefs de Ceiba. En todo caso la creación de los platos son buenas, sólo que pienso que es bueno ofrecer la opción distinta para los que no comen picante.

At the end of my first review of Ceiba, I wrote «Maybe next time someone will treat me!» in regards to another meal here. Well, slap me hard and call me Sally, that day has arrived! My friend came into some unexpected money and decided to blow some of it on me. How delightful!
Being a carnivore with a purse full of dough, steak was on the sugar momma’s agenda. BLT Steak? Full! Fogo de Chao? Full! Ceiba? Open! Bingo!!!
Ms. Money Bags ordered the Grilled Gaucho Cut Beef Ribeye Churrasco along with Sautéed Spinach. I think she underestimated how big the steak was going to be since she clearly looked overwhelmed. All in all, she deemed it «ok». I have to agree as the ribeye and the spinach did not seem as succulent and vibrant as it was when I previously ordered it.
What about me? Well, we were told about a Tasting Menu called the «Passport», which features 5 courses with each dish representing a Latin country as well as the Caribbean. I normally don’t indulge in these type of specials since they’re rarely worth it. On this day though, Ms. Money Bags seemed to wanna see if she could get her money’s worth out of me. Bad move sista!
First course was a Peruvian inspired version of sushi called «Casushi». It was essentially causa (basically yellow mashed potatoes) and tuna rolled sushi style using seaweed wrap. The wasabi was actually green causa (mashed potatoes). Not a fan. Causa is prepared typically using lime juice and other ingredients so flavoring is not really an issue. It’s just that there was absolutely no texture component other than the softness, creaminess of the causa. The tuna was sliced a little too thinly, which really took away its texture and also minimized its overall presence in the dish. The «Casushi» was like eating custard, which is not a good thing when you’re thinking sushi. It definitely needed some rice or another crunchy element. It also needed a spicy element to take the place of the wasabi instead of using green causa.
Second course was a Mexican inspired Smoked Salmon Guacamole with Caramelized Onion. The guacamole itself was really good as it had nice texture and good flavoring from the avocado, lime juice and salt, all of which came through. Problem is the smoked salmon was a bad match. Salmon is a strong fish because it’s oily and can taste fishy if you don’t treat it properly. Pairing it with guacamole created fishy guac that was also smoky. No bueno!
Third course was a Brazilian inspired Anticucho, which is essentially a street food typically featuring grilled skewered meat. Ceiba’s spin was instead to grill and skewer shrimp and scallop and serving that with spicy fried rice. Finally, a score! Although the dish was on the small side, the shrimp and scallop were perfectly prepared as they were crunchy yet tender and had a nice char on them. The fried rice mixed with the accompanying hot sauce offered a nice kick, which paired well with the seafood.
Fourth course was an Ecuadorian inspired Stuffed Dorado served Oscar style with Asparagus and a Hollandaise sauce. It also comes with White Rice, Veggie Fricassee and a Tomato Cumin Broth. This colorful and vibrant dish was the star. More specifically, the Dorado was the star as it was flaky, tender, moist and meaty. All the other components came together wonderfully and were tied together with the broth, which provided just the right amount of heat.
The fifth and final course was the Caribbean inspired Coconut Sorbet, which was served in an edible frozen Pineapple Bowl along with a Caribbean Compote. Although this beautifully plated dish was tiny, it was quite refreshing. The sorbet walked the fine line of being light but creamy and the coconut flavor was noticeable. The pineapple bowl was a clever touch although the pineapple itself was too frozen to try to eat. The compote added additional acidity and texture.
The service was exceptional throughout the meal. 99% of the time I don’t say or let on to restaurant staff that I’m a restaurant reviewer. In this case, I said something because the tasting menu was all verbal as opposed to being on a written menu, which, as you can imagine, is difficult to remember for the purposes of doing a review. Our server (I think his name was Manuel?) was nice to enough to not only describe each course as it came out, he also gave me a copy of his pre-​shift notes for me to accurately do my review. Now, there’s a first!
Overall, the tasting menu wasn’t necessarily worth its $ 55 price tag however but the general experience was worthwhile. I’m a little concerned that this visit was not as good as the first one but I’ll eventually come back since to me Ceiba is still one of the better restaurants in the area.

It’s hard to find a fancy restaurant in DC with really good food. They all seem to get great ratings in DC… but I feel like most of the time it’s because of the experience and atmosphere, not the actual food. Ceiba is not one of them. They are fancy and have fantastic food!
Started off with the classic ceviche and the spicy ceviche. The classic was waaay better, but not the best I’ve had. Could be more bitter, and have more lemon. The spicy one had zero taste– pretty disappointed in that. The servings were very small too. Also ordered the empenadas for an appetizer. They were delicious!
For our main course, we split the pork shank and the ribeye. They were both amazing. I thought the ribeye was slightly better in terms of meat taste, but the pork shank came with a tasteful rice/​vegetable mix underneath. I highly recommend both.
We also tried the tres leches. It was good, but not my favorite.
The waiter was nice and very helpful in our entrée selection. The restaurant is pretty high end in terms of layout. Not sure what is going on with their a/​c system though. When it’s on, it gets really cold, but it turns off quite often and gets really hot, quickly.

Wow. We came here to celebrate one of my friends bday’s and they were extremely friendly and accommodating to our large group. Our server was amazing. There wasn’t a single dish that I did not like.
Their seafood was cooked to perfection and the unique latin flavor was refreshing. I would definitely suggest not skipping dessert because their desserts really help finish off the meal.

amazing, amazing, amazing and im done