RobynFrance

Greetings,

We are spending 3 nights at the Sofitel--Friday thru Sunday this week--to enjoy the art museums and hopefully the cherry blossoms. Can u suggest restaurants in the area for dinner which are moderate--$30 range including a glass of wine--which might be appealing?

Also, can you recommend which museums have good spots for lunch (or dinner)?

Thanks so much for your help.

Take care,
Robyn France

vjpblovesitaly

This restaurant finder might come in handy:
http://www.washingtonian.com/RestaurantFinder.html

You can choose neighborhood, cuisine, price range, etc.

wyatt92

Georgia Brown's and Old Ebbitt Grill are right nearby. You'll like the Sofitel, very nice hotel with great service.

RobynFrance

Many thanks for the info--I made a reso at the Ebbit Grill--have not yet with the Georgia Brown as we are from North Carolina and might prefer another cuisine other than Southern. Any other suggestions are welcome.

Take care,
Robyn France

DoctorCarrie

Hi Robyn,

Ceiba's a nice choice in that area, especially for lunch (http://www.ceibarestaurant.com/), as is Chef Geoff's (http://www.chefgeoff.com). A bit of a farther stroll (10th and Pennsylvanis NW) will bring you to TenPehn, also a nice choice.

As for museums with good meal options, hands down the best option is the Mitsiam Cafe in the American Indian Museum (although the museum itself is so-so), which has selections from all sorts of native cuisines in a gorgeous building, but it will be PACKED, I suspect, during the cherry blossom festival. The Spy Museum has a fantastic restaurant associated with it, named Zola. And actually in the area of the Spy Museum and National Portrait Gallery/American Art Museum (the neighborhood known as Penn's Quarter/Gallery Place/Chinatown) there are tons of wonderful places to eat - Zaytinya, Jaleo, Oyamel, Zengo, IndeBleu - just to name a few. Enjoy your trip - the cherry blossoms here are already beginning to look beautiful!!

RobynFrance

Wow Doctor Carrie--thank u so much for the info. We want to get to the portrait museum and American art museum in the same building--so that will make it a perfect fit with the restos in the Penn's Quarters area. We have resos at the Zaytinya for Sunday night--so we can look for some options on Friday after Gallery Place right around there. We were wondering about the safety of walking there from our hotel, the Sofitel--I will post as a separate question, but if u have any advice about walking or not, we would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you again,
Robyn France

dgarland

I'm not sure you can eat in that area for $30 including wine, but you may want to check these restaurants out. Most of them have websites with menus.
Georgia Brown's for dinner, but they also have a wonderful Sunday Jazz brunch if you will be there on Sunday. Old Ebbitt Grill, Bobby Van's (maybe more expensive), and McCormick & Schmick's Seafood are all within walking distance and in your price range. Our favorite for lunch is Cafe Du Parc if it's warm enough for them to be open on the sidewalk. It's at 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue and the tables outdoors have a wonderful view down the Avenue with the Capitol at the other end. We sometimes just stop for a drink or appetizers to enjoy the view. While you're there, be sure to go in the Willard Intercontinental Hotel to look around.

There is a very nice restaurant in the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art (on the Mall). I believe it's called the Garden Cafe. It has an atrium type atmosphere, lots of fun. There is also a nice spot at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden with a pretty outdoor area that overlooks a fountain and the sculputure garden. I don't know about their food though. We enjoyed lunch at American Indian Museum which has a fun food court where you can try different types of food.

You're staying in a wonderful area and can walk and/or take the subway anywhere you want to go. The restaurants I've mentioned are all within walking distance of your hotel. The Mall is, if you're big walkers. If not, you'll want to take the Metro.

dgarland

You should be fine walking anywhere in the area you are staying. Lots of security and police in the area, just watch where you go like you would anywhere. If you get tired of walking you can hop on the subway, there are attendants at every station who are there to answer questions and tell you which train you need to get on. It's very easy to get around.

kayd

I fear $30 will be difficult if you mean to include wine (hard to find for less than $7), tax (nearly 10%) and tip (15-20%) in that amount, unless you go for tapas or mezze.

Second the reccom for National Gallery (but it is not part of the Smithsonian) and American Indian for museum food. Also not inexpensive.

If you find yourself near NGA or Archives at lunchtime, walk up 7th street for lots of restaurant choices in a wider range of prices.

RobynFrance

Great--thanks so much--I suspect we will move the $30 pp before tax and tip to a higher number--but we were trying to keep some meals in the lower range. We do have resos at Ebbits Grill and Zaytinya--so will check around for a possibility for Friday--I did try to get resos for a few spots, but nothing was available until 9:30--too late to start for us. Yes--we are big walkers and typically do walk to the mall and all around the area--take the Metro to the Dupont Circle area. We are figuring to drive to the National Cathedral on Sunday morning--am I right in assuming it won't be bad on Sunday early in the day?

Anyway--we are really looking forward to this visit. Thanks to all.

DoctorCarrie

Early Sunday is the best time to drive around DC, IMO - we're a late sleeping town, generally, on that one day. That's usually when I get all my errands done!

That being said, cherry blossom time increases traffic anywhere remotely sightseeing worthy, although the National Cathedral is well off of the main blossom circuit.

I've eaten at the Garden Cafe at the NGA - it is a very pretty setting but the food's not anything to write home about.

And, as the other posters have said, definitely walkable, extremely safe, and a lovely walk on a nice day.

Mmmm, you're making me hungry for Zaytinya, it's been a while since I've been there. Hope you have a great trip! Cheers, Carrie

crepes_a_go_go

Is the restaurant the Mitsiam Cafe in the American Indian Museum worth going to even if we were not planning on seeing that particular museum?

Lots of good sounding recommendations in this thread. This link was particularly helpful.

crepes_a_go_go

Sorry, hit enter too quick. I was referring to this link as particularly helpful for restaurants/info.

http://www.washingtonian.com/RestaurantFinder.html

EricH

Yes. Frankly, the cafe is the only reason to go to the American Indian Museum

DoctorCarrie

That is so true... although, to be fair, the building itself is also attractive. It's really unfortunate the museum doesn't live up to its cafeteria!