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5125 MacArthur Blvd. NW
(202) 244-3106
Hours of Operation and Prices
Lunch: M-F11-5; Entrees: $4-$10
Dinner: M-Th 5-11, F 5-midnight, Sat-Sun 4-midnight; Entrees: $9-$17
Pre-Theater: Sun-Th 5-7:30 pm, $11
Other Information
• Credit Cards: All major
• Reservations: Recommended
• Dress: Casual
• Parking: Street
• Entertainment: Pianist F 9:30 pm-1am
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West of Wisconsin Avenue, Washington is surprisingly short of restaurants; along MacArthur Boulevard, dining out has generally been limited to a standard pizza or pasta at Listrani's or an ethereal nine-course dinner at the Japanese Makoto. Now there's Star of Europe, a cross between a tea room and a Portuguese restaurant, with enough Italian dishes to give Listrani's pause.
Star of Europe is a pleasant restaurant, with pink tablecloths and a second-floor balcony for dining in good weather. Family-run and eager be accommodating, it's a decent place for a quiet lunch or dinner if you're in the neighborhood.
The lunch menu is routine, mostly sandwiches and salads, with chicken salad the specialty. But if you want something Portuguese, it can be ordered at lunch anyway. At dinner, the menu is weighty with Portuguese seafood stews, kebabs, sauteed meats with a Portuguese touch and even a kale-potato-chorizo version of fettuccine bolognese. Chorizo plays a substantial role in Star of Europe's ethnic dishes. Seasoning does not, however, and even the caldo verde - kale, potato and chorizo soup - is likely to beg for salt and more.
The dish with the most gusto is the traditional combination of pork and clams, though here it is untraditionally sautéed (and not de-greased) rather than stewed. Thus, the few little clams in their shell taste like a garnish rather than an integral flavor; even so, the pork is juicy and the potatoes are irresistibly crusty. Somehow that huge portion just disappears, despite its imperfections.
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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