Our first experience here was really great - we did a 7 or so course tasting menu with wine pairings. Waaaay to much dessert. Some of the wines were good. Really nice portion sizes. Second time we had a large party on the garden patio and the food was good but service was missing. We still had a nice time. We considered having a large reception here but the communication has been poor so we're moving on to somewhere else. I'd probably still go here for a romantic dinner with my other half - but not to throw a party.
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Stopped in for brunch at the bar. It was a rainy sunday. Got a whiskey sour and I think an egg & salad. One of the best whiskey sours I've ever had. Good coffee. Great service. Polite and attentive. Very cool back patio area and a whole other section in the back that was bustling.
A very sexy spot, the outdoor lounge would be good for a date. I'm glad that the Iron Gate is back in business -- the space is definitely unique for DC. We loved the grilled/roasted meat of the day -- porchetta -- and it came with some delicious sides as well.
Very historic building and feel. Service was decent but not amazing. Waitstaff was extremely helpful. The food was food but not great. Pretty decent wine list comprised of mainly Italian and Greek wines. All in all I enjoy a more modern ambiance but if the cuisine wows me that could sway my review and Iron Gate did not do that for me.
Great food and atmosphere. Enjoyed the dates, chilli dip, lamb meatballs, sweet pea bruschetta, and gnocchi. All excellent quality food, very fresh. Everything was awesome, but I was disappointed by the seats at the patio because hanging my jacket on the seat was very awkward.
Okay let s start with the good. Ambiance is immaculate. The outdoor seating is gorgeous and comforting. The gnocchi and beet salad was very good.
The bad. Holy c*ap the service was awful. Our waiter was very inattentive. We ordered drinks, 20 minutes later he comes back to the table to let us know that the drink are sold out. Our apps take ages to come out. Swordfish was too salty. We had to ask two different staff members for our check because our waiter was no where to be found.
Iron Gate exceeded all our expectations. Our server was both knowledgeable about the wine list and made recommendations based on our stated preferences. The cocktail list contained playful drinks, including a flight of similar cocktails designed to display subtle taste differences between liquors from Bolivia and Italy. We ordered a variety of items across the menu to share and each were served with perfect timing. All the staff were friendly, attentive, and even joked around with diners. To top it all off, we were pleasantly surprised by a complimentary dessert to celebrate our anniversary. Huge thanks to Iron Gate and their staff for making it a memorable meal!
very elegant plates, the food is very nice looking . The taste is alright . The location is very beautiful tho . I see this place as a very romantic dinner .
Absolutely one of the best dining experiences I've ever had. The tasting menu was fantastic, not a bad course. We sat outside and loved the atmosphere in the courtyard. Staff was friendly and professional. Highly recommended!
Brought my fiancee here to celebrate, the place is beautiful, absolutely packed with charm. Our server Jenny was amazing and guided us through menu expertly. We did the chef's choice family table and it was a flow of excellence. I definitely recommend coming to check out this gem. From entry to exit we had a phenomenal experience.
Would have left a much better review had we been seated within half an hour of a reservation, but that didn t happen. Had an 8:15 dinner reservation on a Wednesday night and was seated around 8:55. Everything else was fine-the food was beautiful, the wait staff knowledgeable, the space cozy-but the 40 minutes of waiting around really ruined the experience.
What a delicious brunch! The food was excellent and service was great. On top of that, it was a beautiful spring day in DC and we sat out on the patio to enjoy the weather. The combination of fresh local flavors plus the weather and patio made it feel like we were brunching in California or something.
Nice little cocktail spot with a cute little outdoor patio area with small fire pits for chilly nights. Haven't done much food there, good first date spot though
Went here to celebrate my birthday. Good food and nice outdoor atmosphere - but the service completely ruined the experience. Not friendly or accommodating at all, they didn t ask us if we dined there before, they didn t run through the menu or make any recommendations. In fact they didn t even have a menu, we had to pull it up on our smartphone. They refused to make me an old fashioned, despite the fact that they have a full bar they would inly make one of their 5 or 6 specialty cocktails. They should also provide disposable paper menus for those that don t have (or want to use) their phone. They also didn t clean off dirty appetizer plates from the table before bringing the next course. They awkwardly wouldn t get within 6 of the table without everyone putting their masks on, even if we were in the middle of eating or drinking or talking, which really makes it hard to have a fun dinner. Really just a bad experience, and COVID is no excuse for any of this, I ve eaten at 25+ DC restaurants for sit-down dinners since COVID started, and none of them are doing the strange and uninviting measures that Iron Gate has implemented.
We ate in the patio garden, which is a lovely setting. We ordered five of the Carriage Way and Patio tapas. The yogurt dip and bread salad were excellent. The lamb keftedes were very tasty. The squid ink bucattini with smoked salmon was quite good. The blue crab bruschetta was good but nothing special. The quantity of food was quite good and the wine recommendation worked well. We will definitely return.
I went here on a double-date because we lucked out on a prime time reservation and I had heard good things. However, I don t think it lived up to the hype. We probably spent $600 between a 2 bottles of wine and the suggested portion of shared plates for the table, and not only was it not incredibly impressive/different, but we all ended up hungry and having a second meal. Portions flavor could definitely be improved given the price. What it lacks in substance, it definitely makes up for in ambiance. It was a beautiful evening (highly recommend going when you can sit outside) and the staff is very attentive and knowledgeable.
Excellent service, wonderful small plates, and a perfect spot for a romantic date or fun night out with friends. The outdoor patio is beautiful and impossible not to enjoy. The cocktails are well-crafted too! Tasting menu is available, but we did a la carte and ordered 5 dishes and one drink each. it ended up being cheaper for the two of us to do that instead of a tasting menu, but I imagine you can't go wrong with anything you order here.
The foos was was good - NOT great but the STAFF were rude as hell. We were traveling and in from Tx - the HOST was so unengaged and had us wait for over 30 minutes and YES we had reservation. It was hot as we had to sit outside for our table - our server Sean was nice and again the food was good-spent $400 for dinner and the young lady was RUDE AF when we ask her to take our pic - seriously if your are traveling and NOT from DC I would say NO WAY on Iron Gate - I will forego bad food for exceptional service and the service SUCKED at iron Gate - they acted as if they don t need guests. Will never go back - for $400 I can get much bettter service elsewhere
My boyfriend and I went to Iron Gate for the first time to celebrate my birthday. I had heard so many great things about the ambiance and food, so it was on my DC food bucket list. This place deserves a five star rating because Jenny was an absolutely wonderful server, but the hostess ruined that chance. Having worked in a five star fine dining restaurant for several years, I expect to always receive a warm greeting and interaction with a host/hostess. When we arrived there were two other couples ahead of us waiting to be seated, so we patiently waited to the side as not to crowd the very small space. While the hostess seated the second couple, Jenny had come to the front and checked us in and assured we would be seated when the hostess got back. Two other couples arrived after us, and when the hostess returned she seemed to ignore our existence (felt as though it was due the fact we were the youngest couple present). The couple she began to try to help acknowledged we had arrived first, so the hostess then turned to my boyfriend and snappishly asked how she could help us. Taken aback by the attitude my boyfriend did not answer immediately, and then she turned back to the other couple. He then spoke up, and she seemed to struggle to find our reservation. Luckily, Jenny came back up to the host stand at that point and showed that she had already checked us in. Jenny asked her if she could show us to whatever table, and the hostess gave her attitude saying "no, they can either sit on the patio or right here" gesturing to the tables next to the host stand. I immediately said we would sit outside, and Jenny let us have our pick of a table. It was very obvious that I was quite annoyed at that point, and Jenny did everything she could to try to remedy what happened. Overall, the food was amazing, compliments to the kitchen, and our server was superb. I was very excited to try this restaurant. I just wish we had a better first impression, and maybe I would have enjoyed the first half of our dining experience more.
We went during DC's resturant week. The food was good. The atmosphere nice. More on the expensive side for the quality of food we got. Desserts on the resturant menu were just okay. I would go back and check out the full menu.
Great food, but the lunch prices were a little high. The menu is mostly small plates, and they recommend 2-3 per person, which adds up. Three small plates, plus a drink and dessert was about $53, plus tip.
The outdoor area has fire pits & blankets in the fall/winter. Pacing at lunch was also off. They served the burger (which didn't have enough of the excellent house-made kettle chips) within 2min of the appetizer. Try the donuts!
Highly recommended for small plates and intimate setting. This Mediterranean and southern Italian cuisine spot has some fantastic dishes. The plates are quite small, so you may leave hungry but don't let that turn you away. The menu is seasonal, but we had foccacia (so good!), burrata, tagliatelle with spiced lamb, lamb kebabs with yogurt, charred octopus, and baked eggplant and feta - all fantastic! Cocktails are so-so.
Great food, but expensive. The wine pairing with the dinner was very good, and the food was amazing. The staff were great, and gave us an extra dessert on our anniversary. The back room was cozy with a real fire.
Really cool, old school spot in mid city near dupont. Food is classy but tasty and not over done. Cozy spot for a nice day on the patio, or nice calm interior with a giant fireplace on a not so nice day.
I was shocked to have a snappy reaction from a waitress when I pointed out that she opened me the wrong bottle of wine. Very nice staff Highly recommended.
Get an early reservation and sit in front of the fireplace, it's a great setting. Highly recommend everything we had: the foccacia, the mushrooms, the warm vegetable salad, the octopus, the gnocchi, and the carrot cake reimagined is one of the best I have had!
Great atmosphere with solid dishes and intriguing cocktails. Perfectly cooked octopus, unique broccoli anchovy bruschetta. Complimentary birthday cake too! Edit: Second visit we were seated 45 min after our res but the service was amazing to compensate. Favourite DC restaurant!
Went to celebrate my birthday and had a great experience. We did the tasting menu in the back of the restaurant (FYI it's a little warm there in the summer and they said it's a little chilly in the winter). As usual with tasting menus some dishes were better than others. I loved the squid dish, veal sweetbreads, the burrata, and the desserts. I would definitely go back.
This best DC has to offer... Very exceptional service and food. The chef and staff obviously care deeply about making the experience of the guests the number one priority.
Charming little spot! Came here for a small wedding and the staff was lovely. The food was yummy and most of it seemed pretty healthy! But that could have just been what our friends picked to put on the menu. Overall, loved this spot and would like to go back again for date night.
Lousy service. There were multiple tables available when we got there. But the maitre d simply said they can't seat us without offering any explanation. It appears that they are not eager to have guests. Won't go there anymore...
Walked in at 12:30pm with my mother. Host seemed like we were bothering him by walking in. Because we had no reservation he offered us a seat at the bar but provided no menus. We sat for 5-10 minutes at the bar with none of the 3 bartenders acknowledging our presence or providing menus. We walked out shortly after.
I went there last March when it was still cold. We sat on the open air part of the restaurant. It was nice and romantic but since it's March it was a tad cold. There are heaters but the heat do not reach all tables. No one told us that it's gonna be open air. So if you want to eat on the open air side of the Iron Gate I suggest don't do it during the winter. Otherwise great food and amazing servers!
Awesome ambiance in the carriage house, outside patio under the vines, or at the bar. Great place for drinks, dinner with friends, or an intimate meal. Highly recommend!
Really nice place. Great spot to sit outside by the firepits. Nice small plates and excellent bottle of Georgian red. Nice staff and good value for money.
Excellent brunch food and wine. Needed and got expert help choosing among unfamiliar Greek wines. It was a cold and rainy day, so the fire was welcome. Only issue is difficulty finding street parking (no commercial parking nearby). This us a good location to take a taxi or Uber to!
Wonderful experience from start to finish! We had the almost all the vegetarian dishes on the menu and their were several...and we were more than pleased. The favorites were the brussel sprout salad, burrata dish, the gnocchi and the squash lasagna! Service was excellent!
Wow where do I start? I'm just going to cut my critique shorts because their is not much to say here but such excellent restaurant. Great for couples date, friends date, family date you name it. It such romantic atmosphere indoor/outdoor and price you pay is all absolute worth it. Go for it! And experience it for yourself
We came here for our wedding anniversary and from the door to the bar to our table, we had a wonderful experience. Delicious food, fair price to portion ratio for small plate dining, great service and atmosphere, and a splendid surprise at the end since the server knew it was a special dinner. Definitely heading back soon and will be bringing friends.
OMGGGG... the food was beyond fantastic. A friend and I had the Family Table which consisted of 13 different small dishes, small appetizers main dish and a dessert. The food was exceptionally out of this world. I live in New Jersey at the shore and I would go all the way to DC just to have dinner again at Iron Gate.
Food - shy of amazing. Table service - attentive and patient especially when our toddler was acting up. Price - worth the money for the quality and quantity of the food (we had the Family Table set courses for two). One star deducted for the front of house hostesses who were more concerned about chatting to eachother than greeting the patrons. Lovely ambience and one of the loveliest meals on our 3 week journey to the US. If we are ever back in DC, we would definitely come back. Highly recommended for the food if you can overlook the first impression...
Food and service are consistently superb. Traditional taste and ingredients used always, the chefs do not compromise on quality, but sometimes portions are small and you are left wanting more!
Amazing, utterly amazing food! Not cheap but you get what you pay for! Recommend a full three courses and sharing plates so you can try a bit of everything.
Got the chef's tasting menu and drinks, felt it was a too expensive for what it was. Id rather get the cocktails and a dinner. It was a fun experience but not something I would do again, just better deals out there
UPDATE: had to change this... last time I was at Iron Gate, the service was AWFUL. My friend and I sat in the bar area and split a bottle of wine and an appetizer. It was evident that the wait staff was agitated that we were there for longer than 45 minutes and made several rude gestures to try to get us to hurry up and leave. It left a really bad taste in my mouth. The worst part - I had talked up this place to my friend and she was incredibly put off by the experience.
I love in DC and this is one of my favorite places! The wine and food are OUTSTANDING! The restaurant area is cozy and romantic, the patio area is great on a nice spring/summer night, and the bar area is great if you re by yourself or with one other person.
First time at this restaurant and my experience was awesome, food with delicious taste, service was unique. If you looking for something fancy look elsewhere, but if its good food this is your place.
irongaterestaurantdc.com
