The food: The specialty at this classic grill—a sister restaurant of the more upscale Bobby Van’s Steakhouse on 15th Street (other locations are in New York City and Bridgehampton, New York)—is dry-aged beef. Sirloins, porterhouses, and rib eyes each come with a crusty char. Appetizers run from traditional (clams casino, oysters Rockefeller) to eclectic (chili-glazed calamari, Thai shrimp tacos). The rest of the menu is similarly varied. Seafood choices include sesame-crusted tuna with miso vinaigrette, beer-battered Chatham cod with house-made chips, and blackened tilapia with sweet-corn-and-tomato relish.
The scene: Popular with lobbyists and politicos, Bobby Van’s Grill is often booked for power lunches, parties, and special events. The postwork bar scene is loud and crowded, and the place has a more casual feel than the nearby Bobby Van’s Steakhouse. Upstairs, a 40-foot bar offers a separate menu (filet on toast, mini-burgers). Downstairs is another bar, a wine cellar, and multiple banquet rooms.
What’s nearby: The convention center is three blocks away, the National Museum of Women in the Arts one block. Also nearby are the Warner, National, and Ford’s theaters and, in Chinatown, the Reynolds Center (National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum), Lucky Strike bowling alley, and the Verizon Center.
Insider tips: Valet parking begins at 5 and costs $6.
