I'm glad to see this thread resurface; we had a great time on our trip, and I'm sure we'll be going back.

I like Bistro du Coin. It's noisy (sometimes you can hear it on the street!) but lots of places are noisy. Wouldn't go there for an intimate chat. Agree with Mourayo as a good choice too.

Mourayo is very good.

This thread will come in handy for our trip to DC this summer.

If you are at BdC on a nice day, they open up the windows in the front - which are floor to ceiling - and the noise levels are better then. Don't forget to visit Teaism (a few blocks away) for their salty oat cookies and tea as well as their Asian influenced food.

Favorite Casual D.C. Restaurants?
Posted by: volcanogirl on Feb 25, 15 at 1:50pm

Somehow I came across this old thread.

I was in DC two weeks ago and offer a strong DITTO to the Brassierie Beck recommendations. With my daughter we ate at the bar and I went back two days later alone. The bar menu is available until 7PM. Most people were eating outside. 11th and K, across the street from the HI DC hostel where I stayed. BTW, Beck serves ErdingerNA, non-alcoholic beer, a good German malt beverage.

In between we ate at Acadiana, also at the bar. We had appetizers and beverages. 901 New York Ave. I had lunch there last year on the patio. Beautiful food and a beautiful ambience.

Tried Mourayou with a friend (who happens to be of Greek heritage) and while the service was great, both our dishes were heavily over salted. May have been a one off thing but not high on the list for a return visit.

We recently ate at 2 new (for us) places and both were very good -- Espita Mezcaleria http://espitadc.com and El Sol http://www.elsol-dc.com. Also have heard Tail up Goat in Adams MOrgan is great http://www.tailupgoat.com

Don't recall if it's mentioned on this thread, but Founding Farmers often comes up on threads about DC restaurants. It recently got a terrible review in the WPost, no stars wich I don't believe I have ever seen. I've had brunch at the Potomac one and it's been fine. Have never cared for the DC one which is what was reviewed.
http://www.fox5dc.com/good-day/156450647-story

Too bad about Mourayou. Hope they are not going down hill as there are far too few Greek restaurants around.

I hope the salt problem at Mourayo was atypical. I generally avoid salt, and so am quite sensitive to it. I have never noticed it there, despite having eaten there frequently. I'm sorry that was your experience!