The Oval Room

My fiancé and I came here for Valentine’s Day 2016. We had their set menu of 3 courses + wine pairing for $ 125 a person. They first came out with a surprise tasting of tuna tare tare, beet salad and salmon. Then we had a lobster bisque as ravioli. Next, I had a medium rare beef tenderloin and he had seared tuna. Dessert platter was nice because the chef decided to give us 4 different types. Food 4 star
Service however is what brought it down. He server didn’t do much pretext and wasn’t very friendly. I was annoyed with how often people poured out water and interrupted our conversation. The service should float around and not be disruptive. I didn’t like their sweet dessert wine and they switched it for another red. I told our waiter I didn’t like sweet wine. So I expected that at the very least.
Overall, good food, ok service and if it wasn’t by the White House, they wouldn’t be able to justify for their prices. I’ve been to better pretentious wanna be restaurants with better service. I’m a service snob.

i walked into the Oval Room randomly looking for directions for a different restaurant. The maitre’d was very kind and told me exactly where to find this other restaurant. I went to this restaurant and it was closed for a private event! So i returned to the Oval Room because i didn’t know where to go. How lucky I was that night!!!
To start, the space is modern, beautiful, and displays contemporary art. It feels like a speciel restaurant as soon as you enter. I was dining solo and took a seat at the bar. Its not fun traveling solo for business and dining alone at the bar. I wasn’t expecting much.
Max, the bartender from the UK, greeted me kindly and welcomed me. I told him i wanted a deep red and asked him to 2 pick options for me to try. Max brought me 3 options — 2 deep reds and 1 unique wine he thought i might like to try. That was very kind and generous. I tasted each and of course i loved the unique one he chose for me. We were off to a good start. I placed my order being very hungry and asked that it all come out at once. While i waited, Max was very kind and told me about the wine I chose, the history of the restaurant and chef, and some interesting art galleries nearby that i might want to check out! He was very knowledgeable and attentive and I really appreciated it!
The bread arrived — and it was delicious! I don’t even eat bread usually but it was warm and smelled great. After one night, i proceeded to eat the entire basket. I asked Max why it was so good. The chef supports a small local DC bakery that delivers fresh bread every morning. This small bakery has an expertise in bread and the Chef wants to support local business and let the bread experts make the bread. How wonderful! I very much was pleased.
My kale salad, burrata, and wagyu beef carpaccio all arrived at once, like i wanted. The Kale salad was delicious and hearty, the burrata was creamy over shaved vegetables… but the show stealer was the beef carpaccio. I have to emphasize, this dish was absolute perfection. FOR THIS DISH ALONE I WOULD RETURN ANY NIGHT. Truly spectacular in presentation, taste, texture, flavor, and elegance. The quality ingredients were the stars but the placement and details of this dish made it more like a piece of art for me. It was the perfect combination of everything you would want on a plate and I dare to say this dish is probably the single best dish i have ever tasted in my entire life (and i have dined at 3 Michelin star restaurants). It speaks to the talent and commitment and restraint of the Chef. I was honored to enjoy it.
In summary — the service was incredible and Max was a pleasure. The food was outstanding too. The price of the food for the quality and service was very affordable. I am grateful that the other restaurant was closed and i will most definitely return.

I’ve been to a handful of upscale places in town but the food at the Oval Room is hands down the best. I tried the cream soup and followed by the linguine. Short version: wow. If you want to impress clients or a friend or a loved one, then this is the place.

Review based on Restaurant Week lunch:
Came to dine at this establishment with my mom on a whim to try out their restaurant week lunch. The restaurant environment seems ideal for a business type lunch and very clean. The staff was very courteous and kind upon entrance. Our waiter was extremely helpful with recommendations which were all on point.
Appetizer: Chicken liver mousse, red wine apple butter, black walnuts, brioche tuille — I absolutely dislike liver and it’s consistency but I decided to give this a try since the waiter said it was his favorite on the list. I was extremely surprised in a good way. I could not taste the liver at all since it was a thicker mousse consistency and it was very flavorful. The rest of the dish matched well and I enjoyed it very much.
Entrée: Duck breast medium rare, barley stir fry, brussel sprout kimchi, pomegranate molasses– so flavorful and eat bite was delectable! Enjoyed this dish very much!
Dessert: Cereal panna cotta, coffee, granola, caramel used bananas — my favorite part of the meal! Love the coffee flavoring of the panna cotta. The tiny bit of coffee ice cream and the crunchiness of the granola made it a great dessert.
On a side note my mom ordered the parsnip veloute, medium rare crispy skin salmon and the panna cotta. The soup had a more milky consistency, but thought the flavors were good. She did not like it at all. I thought the salmon fish was alright. Nothing amazing or new to me. Unfortunately her panna cotta came out frozen, but our waiter was so kind when he went to replace it he brought out a flourless chocolate cake for her to eat while she was waiting for her panna cotta.
Overall great service and I enjoyed at least what I had eaten. What this place is like normally I hope to one day try.

As other reviewers have commented, there’s little doubt that the Oval Room is old school D.C.: it’s near the White House, gets visited by Presidents, and serves a reasonably conventional New American menu. (It’s not THAT old school.) The food, particularly at lunch is good: the «Cuban,» although big and a bit greasy, is awfully tasty. Fish – typically about 3 – 4 on the menu – is fresh and well prepared. The sides are also pretty good (try the brussels sprouts.) Service is attentive without being obtrusive. A good choice for business lunches.

came here with my bf for NYE dinner
it came with a four course meal which you get to pick things from each tier, this all cost eighty bucks per person! crazy, which is what we must have been to come here
the food
oysters and caviar– terrible, i have had better oysters at legal sea food. also they put rocks and seaweed, as part of the ‘presentation’, on my plate
sashimi with tuna-​ok
bass-​small portion, this was good
ny strip-​terrible, meat was chewy and of low quality
risotto-​good
lobster– very small portion
passion fruit soufflé– yeah right, this was more like ice cream, also they put flower petals on it, which boggled my mind
peanut butter mousse-​ok
ambiance
the restaurant was cold, please turn on the heat!
bathroom were clean, small
tables are too close together
service
our waiter was a bit intrusive, there were times i was talking to my bf while looking at my phone, and then looked up and was taken aback to see the waiter hovering over his shoulder. creepy!
price
outrageous! that meal was mucho terrible. not fitting for me, forget feeding that to el presidente !
overall: with bad food, creepy service, high prices, and a grand name, this is one i wouldnt nominate for a second term.

The oval room is definitely one of those old school establishments in DC that prides itself on its service, duration and proximity to the White House. We were a party of 5 and had reservations for a random Wednesday evening.
We ordered the grilled octopus, chicken liver and burrata for appetizers and I loved the grilled octopus. Super flavorful. Chicken liver is also a must order but you can skip the burrata– nothing to rave about.
For entrees we went with the risotto, pork chop (yummmmy! I normally am not a big fan of pork but it was done just right), fluke, cod and steak. We also had two bottles of wine recommended by the sommelier. Service was impeccable.
Total for each person ended up being around $ 100 with tax and tip. I don’t mind paying for good food– but I just wasn’t overly wowed by any of the dishes or the ambiance. If you’re looking for an old school traditional establishment that is close to the White House and has history then this might be the place to go but overall I don’t think I will be coming back. Too many new restaurants to try and this one just didn’t make an impression.

Came in for the White Truffle tasting menu after seeing the Eater article… Menu not offered or available to be served that evening, even though it was on their website.
Asked the server, he said, «Sorry you missed it, we aren’t offering that menu anymore.»
But then a second server later on came by and said, «No, yes we are still offering that menu.»
Then the GM stopped by at the end of the meal and said, «Sorry we aren’t offering the menu you are referring to on our site, but we are offering another menu with truffles.»
They did offer a burgundy truffle menu, that was completely different than what’s on their site which were different dishes and accompanied by white truffles…
We made the trip into DC, so we figured we would at least try out a couple things over a bottle of wine.
Had the chicken liver, grilled octopus and burrata salad.
Chicken liver had lots of flavor and what was plated complimented it very nicely. Note — ask for bread to enjoy with the liver.
Grilled Octopus was our favorite of the night. It was very delicate and the texture was very soft, almost like the texture of a seafood sausage. It was served with a sauce that had some Indian spices in it, quite tasty.
The burrata salad was just eh, the portion of burrata was pretty small compared to other places that serve a burrata salad. I would say about an ounce or two? (it would fit into a shot glass).
All and all, quite disappointed that they didn’t offer the menu that they had on their site, also didn’t have any information on their site stating that they weren’t offering that tasting menu… It was our main drive to dine there, the food wasn’t shabby, but it wasn’t amazing either.

Four of us had the pleasure of dining at The Oval Room last night. (Note, I never review a restaurant during restaurant week nor do I agree with reviews written during restaurant week — it’s a different experience and I feel very unfair).
Saying that, we were all blown away with the food. The Chix Liver Mousse with crispy tuille decadently fabulous and thankfully a large enough portion I was willing to share with fellow diners. The Wild Mushroom Salad was lite and expertly seasoned. Salmon Crudo sliced thinly as it should be. Both the Cod and Guinea Hen were amazing. The Cod comes with a chowder reduction they pour over at the table. The Guinea Hen had crispy skin and the chicken very tender served with truffles and wax beans. This was an amazing meal as we all agreed. We got to meet Chef John Melfi who is charming and recommended some of his favorite dishes and we agreed with all of his choices that we ordered. The sommelier Sam was extremely attentive. We started the evening with his suggestion of sparkling wine from Mexico. Good suggestion Sam.
We shared La Bete Noir and the Artisanal Cheese Plate. The Noir was a beautiful plate and will take care of your chocolate craving. The Cheese Plate comes with amazing honey and a wonderful balance of hard and soft cheeses.
The four of us meet for dinner every month or so and all agreed this was our favorite in the past year and all agree we won’t wait so long to return.
Bön Appetit

I can honestly say I did not enjoy a single course of mine or my boyfriends meal. I’m not sure if the quality of the food is any different during restaurant week. I can’t believe I spent over $ 100 on that meal. So disappointed. I’m not sure if it’s a new trend but both appetizers were sweet dishes. I will say the yellowtail tuna was good quality, no fishy odor. The foie gras mousse had a very distinct after taste. It taste better on the bread. My cod entrée was extremely healthy, lacked salt and pepper. I want to say everything was steamed. I was not a fan of the watery sauce she poured on top. I also don’t understand why restaurant put things on the place that you can’t eat. There was a lot of flowers and stuff I had to eat around. The beef bavette was pretty good, cooker decent, the potatoes were very salty. The warm chocolate cake with chocolate ice cream was not warm. It was cold, very rich like a wet brownie. I only ate the icing and the chocolate crispy ball toppings. The blueberry cobbler was not bad but I was not a fan of the Thai basil ice cream. They don’t compliment each other.
Overall, just not a good meal. Definitely wouldn’t go back or recommend it. Ive dined at a lot of 4 star restaurant and I guess I know why this is a 3.5 star.

I visited the Oval Room for lunch during DC’s summer restaurant week. I visited alone for a quick lunch and was disappointed when I was told I would have to sit at the bar because there were no tables available. For the entirety of my meal (which I spent at the bar), I noticed that there were many tables open. I guess I just didn’t look the part and wasn’t one of their regular clientele, which they undoubtedly treat with more respect. I don’t mind sitting at a bar, if it’s by choice. And I was in a hurry, so I would have preferred more privacy and being able to eat my meal in peace without having so many people pass by me and having waiters try and chat with me as I ate.
That said, the food was quite good! I ordered the customary 3-​course meal for restaurant week and chose the following options:
–Appetizer: Burratta di Puglia, Artichokes, Cucumber, Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette. This dish was very fresh and tasty, though a little too sour (irritated my throat a bit).
–Entrée: Salmon, Sweet Corn «Mauque Chou,» Tasso Ham, Piquillo Peppers, Lemon Butter. This dish was fantastic! I really enjoyed how fresh the salmon was and the other components of the dish melded very well with it!
–Dessert: Blueberry Cobbler with Thai Basil Ice Cream. This was probably my least favorite course. The blueberry wasn’t very distinguishable and the Thai basil ice cream was an odd combination with cobbler. It was still very fresh and unique, though, and I enjoyed this dessert.
Honestly, the food was wonderful and it’s a shame I didn’t actually get to experience the restaurant atmosphere (I’d been wanting to visit for an anniversary or birthday dinner in the future). I doubt I would visit again because good service is a high priority for me and there are so many other restaurants to choose from where they value customer service, regardless of how wealthy you look. I’ve dined at several other classy restaurants (both during Restaurant week and otherwise) where I’ve been treated much better.

This is a restaurant week review. The Oval Room only serves a restaurant week menu during this week. And they are one of the few DC restaurants that do this week right.
The menu features a half dozen appetizer and entrée options — all of which were stellar (at least those we tried!). The desserts were just as good.
This, paired with the phenomenal service we would expect outside of restaurant week ensures that we will be back to The Oval Room in the near future.

I went last night for the prix fixe New Years Eve with my boyfriend and found the experience to be mixed. By the time we were seated, they were out of a lot of the menu items. The service was awful. I know we are a younger couple but we were treated much differently than other couples who were seated near us who happened to be older. Our server was condescending and rude. Based on the service alone, I would never go back. It didn’t help that food was generally lackluster and overly complicated.
After the dinner my boyfriend wrote an email to the restaurant about our disappointment. We got a call back from the manager offering a giftcard to make up for our dissapointing dinner. I told him it was was not neccessary but he insisted so I emailed him our address. It’s now been over a month and I haven’t heard anything since.

The food was good (nothing special). I came here for a company dinner. Staff is friendly and polite.
For my entrée I got the Poached Lobster (Saffron Ginger Broth, Sugar Snap Pea, Bamboo Shoots) — around $ 34.
I was pretty disappointed because it was relatively flavorless and nothing great. I like really flavorful dishes so this probably isn’t the place for me. I just think for the price, I expected more.

The food is what’s compelling me to write a review — it was good and interesting!
We got the octopus for the appetizer and my date, the salmon, while I got the duck for our entrees. The octopus, tiny though it was, absolutely melted in my mouth and had the consistency of smooth cheese.
I had ordered the duck mainly because the ingredients listed ‘kimchee,’ which is fermented Korean cabbage; I wanted to see if an American restaurant would succeed in correctly serving kimchee and how it would taste with the duck. They turned out to pair wonderfully! Though the duck was a bit tough at times, the kimchee added a refreshing touch.
My date’s salmon looked good too though the color wasn’t as vibrant and appetizing looking (because it was probably farmed fish?).
The service was a bit slow even though the restaurant wasn’t crazy busy. After we finished our entrees, it took quite a while for anyone to bring us the dessert menu. Still, everyone was cordial so the slowness wasn’t a big deal.

Came for restaurant week lunch — what a great deal! Everything was delicious! Service was pretty slow, but if you’re not in a rush it’s fine.
We had:
— citrus roasted beets with kefir and blackberry vinaigrette
— chilled corn soup with queso fresco and jalapenos
— crispy salmon over summer squash and cherry tomatoes (we both got this and devoured it)
— chocolate brownie with espresso mousse
— trio of sorbet (i have a dairy/​gluten allergy, and they were happy to acommodate me)
we also had the jasmine lemongrass iced tea. WOW that was different and amazing!

I came here for restaurant week with a few friends and we all had a wonderful dining experience. The Oval Room is a pretty upscale restaurant with prices to match. The atmosphere is elegant and not too overdone which I liked. The service is impeccable, from start to finish. Our table of five was designated at least 2 waiters that were extremely attentive in every way possible.
For my first course, I had the chilled corn soup. It was presented beautifully in a deep plate with carefully placed corn relish, Mexican cheese, and some sort of jalapeño glaze. The waiter proceeded to pour the carafe of corn soup over it which I thought was a nice touch. The soup was delicious with hints of spice and smokiness from the charred relish and jalapeño. It wasn’t too creamy either which I liked. I could have eaten bowl and bowls of it! I also sampled my friend’s citrus roasted beets which were very refreshing and presented beautifully. My other friends ordered the burrata which was presented elegantly with a shaved salad.
For our second course, I ordered the crispy salmon. It was beautifully cooked on a bed of corn purée. The corn purée had a really nice perfumed quality because of some fancy oil that the chef used. It was garnished with roasted tomatoes and squash which were cooked and seasoned extremely well. The acidity of the tomatoes went really well with the perfectly baked salmon. I also sampled my friend’s grilled flat iron steak dish. It came with a pretty purple potato purée and a poblano-​mint salsa verde that was delicious. Our portion sizes for the entrée were fair and left us pleasantly full with room for dessert.
For our third course, almost all of us opted for the chocolate brownie. This seemingly simple dessert was far from your standard brownie. The brownie was dense and full of rich cocoa flavor. It was accompanied by a scoop of caramel ice cream. The ice cream was buttery and rich with the right amount of sweetness. It went very well with the third component of the dish, the espresso mousse. The dessert was delicious and not overly sweet which I really enjoyed. I always like the juxtaposition of warm cake and cold ice cream and this was a very elegant take on it. We all agreed that the portion size of each course was perfect because we left pleasantly full.
Overall, The Oval Room was truly a great experience. This establishment exudes elegance and class in their menu, service, and décor. A great pick for DC Restaurant Week! A normal three course meal here would probably run about $ 75-​$ 100 so RW value is high.