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Washington Circle Hotel,
1 Washington Circle NW
(202) 293-5390
Hours of Operation and Prices
Breakfast: M-F 7-10, Sat-Sun 8-10; Entrees: $6-$9.25
Lunch: Daily 11:30-2:30; Entrees: $7.50-$13
Dinner: Sun-M 5:30-10, T-Th 5:30-11:30, F-Sat 5:30-midnight; Entrees: $8-$21
Brunch: Sun 11-2:30, $8.50 buffet
Other Information
• Credit Cards: All major
• Reservations: Recommended
• Dress: Casual
• Parking: Free garage
• Nearest Metro: Foggy Bottom
• Entertainment: Pianist T-Sat nights
• Handicapped accessible
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West End Cafe, with its glass walls curving overhead like a greenhouse, lets you feel the sun, see the sky and eat your smoked salmon in cool comfort. Given Washington summers, it's even better than an outdoor cafe. This creative American restaurant has two dining rooms with a hallway between. The Garden Room has lush greenery and floral upholstery, art deco fashion prints and taped classical music amid sunshine or starlight. The Piano Room, a bar and lounge, is a darker nook, decorated more with sound - a pianist in the evenings - than with light. I've been eating Caesar salad on this site since back when the West End theater showed plays rather than films. And the Caesar is still good, though the West End Cafe has modernized it with baked parmesan crisps.
Over the years, many of Washington's best young chefs have come through this kitchen on their way up the ladder. This is the place where much of the city's New American cooking got its start. Smoked salmon, fried oysters, grilled fish, seasonal soups - they take on new character with each chef. And there's always an array of informal dishes, even at dinner: burgers, pizzas, antipasto samplers, omelets and sandwiches. Vegetarians have plenty to choose from. So dinner can be elaborate or simple, leisurely or quick.
At midday, though there is an à la carte menu, the highlight is a Mediterranean antipasto buffet: an array of salads - asparagus, baby artichokes, couscous with dried fruit. A quiche - a little bland and soggy, though still better than most - adds heft, as do salamis. With serve-yourself soup to start and slices of melon for dessert, the buffet is a three-course meal for hardly more than the price of a sandwich.
© Copyright 1998 The Washington Post Company
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