701
701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
202-393-0701
Neighborhood: Penn Quarter/Chinatown, Downtown
Cuisines: Modern, American
Opening Hours:
Open Monday through Thursday 11 to 3:30 and 5 to 10:30, Friday through Saturday 11 to 3:30 and 5 to 11, and Sunday 5 to 9 PM.
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Nearby Metro Stops: Gallery Place-Chinatown, Archives-Navy Memorial
Price Range: Expensive
Noise Level: Chatty
Reservations: Not Needed
Website: http://www.701restaurant.com
Best Dishes:
Clam chowder with gnocchi and prosciutto; steak tartare topped with a chilled hollandaise “yolk”; spinach salad with bacon and goat cheese; seared halibut; a Spain-inspired branzino with Serrano ham and olives; custardy banana ice cream.
Price Details:
Starters $9 to $17, entreés $20 to $34.
Special Features: Wheelchair Accessible, Valet Parking Available
Before owner Ashok Bajaj replaced this jazz-playing power dining room’s chef, Ed Witt, with the Oval Room’s Tony Conte in November, the cooking had slipped into the hit-or-miss category. House-made pastas showcased Witt’s considerable abilities, but sides and starters suffered. Conte has cleaned up these accompaniments while tweaking entrées and appetizers—swapping out bay scallops for chubby Kumamoto oysters in a spectacular crudo with passionfruit brown butter and trading a Scottish salmon’s red-wine reduction and coffee crumbles for a simple sake-miso glaze.
Don’t miss: Fingerling chips with buttermilk dip; Caesar salad; beef tenderloin with beef-chili jus; rapini with oven-dried tomatoes and olives.
Open: Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday and Sunday for dinner. expensive.
