January 2007: 100 Very Best Restaurants

Share | Print

Reviewed by Todd Kliman , Ann Limpert , Cynthia Hacinli

Write your own review

A sleek but warm hotel dining room and lounge near GW University.

Circle Bistro

1 Washington Circle, NW
Washington, DC
Phone: 202-293-5390

Cuisines:
American, Modern, Breakfast

Opening Hours:
Mon,Tue,Wed,Thu,Fri,Sat,Sun:
Afternoon: 11:30 AM - 02:30 PM Mon,Tue,Wed,Thu,Sun:
Evening: 05:00 PM - 10:00 PM Mon,Tue,Wed,Thu,Fri:
Morning: 07:00 AM - 10:00 AM Fri,Sat:
Evening: 05:00 PM - 11:00 PM Sat,Sun:
Morning: 08:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

Nearby Metro Stops:
Foggy Bottom-GWU
Farragut West

Price Range:
Moderate

Dress:
Upscale Casual

Noise Level:
Intimate

Reservations:
Recommended

Special Features:
Party Space, Weekend Brunch, Kid Friendly

Parking:
Valet

Website:
Click here to open in new window.

Price Details:
Lunch appetizers, $7 to $10; entrees, $12 to $17.
Dinner appetizers, $7 to $18; entrees, $19 to $27.
Brunch entrees, $9 to $16.
Three-course pre-theater menu (served until 7 PM), $35.

Reader's Rating:

No Reader Reviews

Write a Review

No. 31: Circle Bistro

Photograph by Kathryn Norwood.

You know that favorite record you come back to after a long day? That’s how this low-key bistro feels—content to be in the background but as soothing as a Diana Krall ballad.

The spare but comfortable orange dining room—and the reasonable prices—suit nearly every occasion: a first date, dinner with parents, a quick pretheater meal, a round of happy-hour martinis, a business lunch. The cooking is remarkably consistent. Chef Brendan Cox, an Eastern Shore native, clearly loves Chesapeake ingredients, but he constantly plays with new flavors—deploying lemongrass in an excellent appetizer of seared scallops and setting off a slice of seared foie gras with 50-year-old balsamic vinegar. And he hasn’t forgotten his days working at Equinox. Perfect potatoes dauphinois set off a lovely, lemony slab of brook trout meunière, his duck confit surpasses that of many French kitchens, and a mushroom salad dressed with a bacon vinaigrette and capped with a poached egg makes earthiness feel elegant.

Desserts, save for a simple apple croustade, aren’t the kitchen’s strong suit, but chances are you’ll want to come back anyway.

2 Amys

Tabard Inn

Read All User Reviews >>