701 Restaurant
| Address: | 701 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20004, USA |
| Phone: | +1 202-393-0701 |
| Site: | 701restaurant.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 11:30AM–3PM 5–11PM 5–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
MA
Matthew Esteves
My girlfriend and I made reservations for Valentines Day where 701 advertised a pre-fixed menu. We called the restaurant to confirm whether we could order from the full menu or it was only pre-fix, to which it was only pre-fix which was no problem- at no point did they say that everyone was required to eat. The restaurant had a cancellation fee if you did not show up for your reservation. On that night, we went to the restaurant and my girlfriend and I ordered martinis and with a light appetite intended to order one pre-fix to share to go with the plenty of expensive cocktails we would order. When we told the waiter we would be getting one pre-fix, he got a female manager who came to us and said it was required for everyone to order the pre-fix. I told her we were not informed of this when I called previously and that we both didnt have appetites to eat a four-course meal. She apologized, made no mention of any cancellation charges if we left, and we departed. My girlfriend was charged the next day $50 for cancelling the reservation. I called the manager Michael King who was very apologetic at the time and said he would get back to me shortly. Fast forward 8 days and no call, I call today and he first says he has another manager Kevin looking into it, but then proceeded to say he would not refund us because us departing was the same as cancelling. I told him, we never intended to leave and were forced to since the manager said we both had to eat. I then informed him that with the cocktails we would have been ordering that our bill even with one pre-fix meal would have well exceeded two pre-fix meals without cocktails. He got very abrasive and combative over the phone, saying we were the only customers to want one pre-fix meal and that we had left after ordering martinis and that we could have gone to the bar. Well maybe the manager when we were there at the time could a) have told us we be charged a cancellation fee and b) could have informed us that we could have sat at the bar. Instead we were only told sorry, charged $50, and then had an extremely unprofessional manager (Michael King) tell us all this information after the effect. Now I cant speak for the food obviously and Im sure its great but beware of the horrendous management who are unprofessional, two-faced (falsely apologetic the first call, combative the second), and do not believe in customer service. I wasnt even asking for an apology, just a mutual miscommunication both sides had and someone in their right mind might have invited us back to dine to offset the "cancellation fee" in a situation where we did not cancel, but instead I will NEVER be attempting to dine here and will make sure to spread the word to all my friends and colleagues.
AL
Alice Wang
I came here for DC Restaurant Week 2014 with a small group, so obviously I was limited to Chef Lamberts prix-fixe menu. Its a nice restaurant, although a bit dim inside - not ideal for lunches on sunny days but good for evening dates. For my first course, I went with the shrimp ceviche in a tomatillo-cilantro broth, alongside watermelon and pickled anaheim chiles. Light, not too filling. For my entree, I ordered the Norwegian salmon with quinoa and charred cucumber salsa in a tomato-tamarind sauce. Salmon was cooked to my liking (medium). For dessert, I had the bread pudding with vanilla anglaise. All in all, I thought the food was good although not unique or exceptional enough for 4 stars. I think non-Restaurant Week may be a little better, as there are more interesting items. The service, however, was top notch. Our server was very friendly. He went through all the items on the menu and recommended his top dishes. Our food came out promptly. One of the girls wanted a second beer, but unfortunately they ran out so our server gave her a similar beer free of charge, to make up for the inconvenience. Whenever one of us left to go use the restroom, someone would come by and fold napkins. After our entree, our server gave us all champagne on the house. It felt like everyone was bending over backwards trying to accommodate us. Also prior to dinner, I made several requests via phone and they warmly accepted all these requests. Its right next to the Archives metro station and just two blocks from the Mall.
CH
Christopher Walker
Initially, the mixed reviews had me worried about coming to this place but Im glad that I took the risk. I was looking for a great restaurant with love music and this place fit that description perfectly. Made my reservations and had a request to be seated close to the piano. I arrived a little early and was still seated and seated close to the piano. It was like having a private performance for the evening. The food was fantastic! Started with the scallops as an appetizer and then the lamb for my date while I had the rockfish. All tasty and well-prepared. Dessert was the vanilla wanna gotta and I loved it also. Lastly, the waiter was able to mix up a recipe for a drink I adored. It wasnt on the menu but ask and see of they have a "Sweet April". The staff and environment were all above expectations. The attention was perfect and all questions were answered. This place definitely gets my vote!
A
A Private User
My wife and I went with a couple of our friends this past weekend before going to a play at the Shakespeare Theater. We had a reservation and were seated at 6:00. We ordered our appetizers and our entres by 6:15. After telling our waiter that we had to be out of there by around 7:25, it took AN HOUR JUST TO GET OUR APPETIZERS!! We got our appetizers at 7:15, then our entres at 7:30. We had to scarf everything down in about three minutes and ask for our desserts to go. The worst part about it was before the entres came out, I spoke to a manager about it and he didnt even apologize. The food was decent, but I will NEVER go back there again. Dont waste your money. Ive been to Oya in that area, which is AMAZING. Go there instead.
JO
Joseph Garland
Overall I was very disappointed with the price point for what was received. First, the lemonade was $4 had almost all ice and we were never offered a refill once. Whereas the person at our table with iced tea got like 5 or 6 refills. Kind of irked by that. Food was meh. Just nothing that got me excited. The rabbit sausage pasta was alright but all I could taste was the mustard and occasional pickled peach. None of the other flavors came through for me. The gnocchi wasnt hot enough either. Did not enjoy it due to that. The elderflower parfait for dessert tasted like a basic parfait. Overall the food isnt bad. But at the price point it just is not worth it and the lack of refills for service force me to give it 2 stars.
TO
Tour Guide Takes
Saw another review here bashing the place, and rated it lower than McDonalds, so had to chime in. Ive eaten at 701 a few times and must say, I love it. They have the most well designed menu Ive ever seen, as I wanted everything on it. The service is what youd expect from a high end, luxury restaurant, but their prices frankly arent. For the level of service they provide, Im usually paying over $100 a dish. 701 averages around $30-40. They also have a pre theater special that is 3 course meal for around $40 I believe. Great place. Great menu. Great food. Give it a go.
