Back in the Saddle Again

The Jockey Club is back.

The return of the restaurant, a Washington destination for four decades until it closed in 2001, coincided with the conclusion of the multimillion-dollar renovation of the Fairfax at Embassy Row (2100 Massachusetts Ave. NW; 202-293-2100) last month.

Klaus Peters, the hotel's general manager, acknowledges the significance of the dining room, referring to it as "a grand dame." He understands that the bar for the place is high. "We're not competing with other restaurants," he says. "We're competing with memories."

For sure. The customers who graced the Jockey Club's red leather banquettes over the restaurant's long life included some of the biggest names in the worlds of sports, film, society and, of course, politics: Joe DiMaggio, Marlon Brando, Jackie Kennedy, Pamela Harriman, John Mitchell, Kitty Kelley, Bob Strauss and Nancy Reagan, a regular who preferred Table 2 in the left corner. Fittingly, Martin Garbisu, the maitre d' at the Jockey Club from 1978 to 1993, was rehired for the same position this past summer.

Garbisu wasn't present the night I dropped by the hotel dining room, but a small army of men in suits was. Their numbers didn't add up to stellar service, however. Our seats were scattered with crumbs when we sat down, dishes were served to the wrong guests and a question about one of the wines I was considering was met with a smile and "It's very popular, sir."

The menu weaves the past with the present, and there are modest pleasures to be found in both camps. The kitchen's potato gnocchi are light, tender and flavored with mushrooms; its buttery Dover sole reminds us why the sauteed fish will never go out of style. But there are disappointments, too. Steak tartare is timidly seasoned, the Caesar salad lacks punch and duck a l'orange is flabby, its sauce faint. The chocolate souffle is not worth the extra time it takes to wait for the dessert.

It's difficult to fault the top chef, though. He turns out to be different from the original hire, who parted ways with the hotel shortly before its ribbon-cutting ceremony Nov. 18. Richard McCreadie, 50, who previously cooked at the Georgetown Club, was hired for the position after the menu was written and only the week before the Jockey Club officially opened.

"It's a great challenge," the Scottish native says. "But it draws on my strengths," primarily his French training. Already, McCreadie is tweaking the menu, which soon will include steak Diane and Caesars tossed tableside. Hopefully, with more seasoning.

Dinner entrees, $23 to $34.