When indecisive, go for the chefs table which includes all of the apps but also an extra tasting per course. Aside from the food which was near perfect, the ambiance is very unique outside dining in a semi enclosed courtyard, railyard bar, and dining in a lodge-like room with fireplace. Some of my favorite dishes were the veggies, surprising because I'm more of a meat eater. Cocktails were excellent but do ask the bartender since not all liquor is documented. Wine list is extensive
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Erica Mays
Best food I’ve had in DC since I moved here two years ago. Will be ecstatic to go back again. We did the fixed price menu and spent $240 after tax and tip, including one mocktail. Can’t spend this much often but if you’re going to, this is a fast place to do it at. Huge recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Kevin Clark
So good. Considering what you get, not so pricey either. If you get the full three course, you're getting a little bit of all the first course and special "gifts" from the kitchen. Service is very friendly and candid, and the honesty was appreciated. The mocktails aren't that great, but that's not so surprising honestly.
Daniel Grey
This restaurant is very overpriced. The 3-course meal is a rip off and comes with very small portions. You're much better off ordering entrees. The food was decent, but nothing special. They try to be a little Italian, a little Greek, a little Mediterranean, and end up being a lot of nothing. Our bill was nearly $150 per person and we left still hungry. Portion sizes are tiny. I will not be returning. Also, our table was not ready until 40 minutes after our reservation time. Service wasn't great. Pick a different restaurant!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Aditi Marathe
One of the delicious Greek plus Italian cuisines. They served the family platter with 3 course meal. There variety of dishes in each course and all of them were very delicious. The chef even took care of our preferences and allergies to modify the dishes as per request. It was a good experience. I would definitely recommend this one.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Three Course
Maggie Kash
I have loved iron gate for the courtyard setting and beautiful ambience, and it's local favorite, but I had a terrible experience recently. We were seated indoors unfortunately, due to an outdoor event, but that wasn't noted by the restaurant in our reservation in advance. Disappointing, but not a huge deal. However, the service was very slow and inattentive - we didn't receive our drinks until after the first course. The first course was very good, as has been my previous experience at the restaurant, but the second course was very disappointing - tough steak and burnt fish. We ordered an additional bottle of wine, which was good, but too warm. It took the server much too long to get a cooler for the bottle, and we mostly had to drink the wine warm. The meal was $600 for four, and I'm still steamed about how little we got for that very high price tag. Won't return to iron gate again for dinner - maybe just drinks at the bar.
Shane Kahn
This place is exceptional. I am a regular visitor for special occasions and every time the food impresses and I am left happy and satisfied. The service is awesome and the atmosphere outdoor is beautiful even in the cold weather.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Laurie Zabala
Such a romantic restaurant! Perfect for date night. My boyfriend & I had dinner here the Monday after valentine's day as a belated valentine's dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that the restaurant still had its valentine's decor in the bar entrance. So lovely!We made reservations for seats in the outdoor patio under the grapevines due to the reviews from other guests. Each table has a fire pit. And that was the major selling point for me to pick this restaurant. Great ambience for dinner. The restaurants provide blankets upon request. The seat warmers weren't working, but I still requested to sit on one rather than sit directly on the cold steel of the patio chairs. The fire did a good job of keeping me warm as it was a chilly February night.Since it was a Monday evening, there weren't many guests which was great. Nice & quiet for a romantic dinner. The service was excellent. Our waiter recommended a Greek wine which both my boyfriend & I really enjoyed.The cuisine is Greek Mediterranean. The dishes were unique, creative, & had great presentation. Everything was delicious from start to finish. It's family style so all dishes from appetizers to entrees to dessert are shared. We enjoyed the experience & left full but not overly stuffed, which is always a plus. The citrus salad & housemade focaccio bread were particular delectable.Highly recommend!! We'll be back for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Three Course, Salad, Steak
Anna Ford
The absolute best atmosphere. Gorgeous patio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Fern Ingber
Romantic atmosphere on outdoor patio with heat lamps, excellent service, creative delicious food selections.Perfect date night!
Was honestly pretty disappointed in my experience here. After reading all the reviews, i was really surprised by the mediocre experience. Pros: 1) Nice ambiance -this is a beautiful restaurant 2) The restaurant handled my sesame allergy very well and i had no issues 3) It was easy to make changes to the reservation once we found out we had to add people. Cons: 1) Our waiter seemed to have forgotten about us and the meal took way longer than it needed to. Multiple times we were just sitting around with empty plates trying to get their attention. I can understand a two hour, easy going, nice meal - but 3.5 hrs was overkill. 2) We came to celebrate a birthday. I called ahead and confirmed with the wait staff that they do a specific dessert for birthdays. I even confirmed when we came and they knew it was our friends birthday. However, no special dessert came out and no acknowledgement of a birthday. 3) The food was good - but i think because of the wait i mentioned before, some of the warm food came out lukewarm or cold. Maybe it was an off night for the restaurant but i was very surprised and it was quite a damper on my friends birthday.
ThomasO
Repeat customer, and out in the courtyard - even in February, no less! Menu continues to floor me. At one point I was sad after I realized how many crappy restaurants I frequent that couldn't hold a candle to Iron Gate.
SamN
This was our third time dining at Iron Gate and it lived up to the high standard set on our previous visits. The food was delicious and as always, we appreciated sampling the variety of the family table menu, which included some surprise dishes like arancini. Our server, Robert, was very attentive and made excellent food and drink recommendations; he even fixed us an off-menu cocktail. Dining at Iron Gate is truly a distinctive experience and we strongly recommend it for any special occasion.
Heather
Iron Gate never disappoints. There's not a misfire on the menu. The agnolotti were exquisite, as were the oysters, foccacia, and citrus salad. Dessert portions are insanely generous. The ambiance is unmatched.
Sean Malloy
This is a good spot but usually I expect to be blown away by a couple of the dishes but now it is the next day and I can't recall anything in particular that stuck with me. The atmosphere is nice. I did have trouble as the staff mumbled everything so I didn't know what was happening or what any given dish was. The restaurant was not crowded at all so noise was not a factor. Worst part though was the fact I expected to leave the restaurant full as has been my experience in similar restaurants but found myself looking for something else on the way home. Overall I enjoyed my visit and had a pleasant conversation with the bartender but would not recommend this over other similarly priced options in DC.
When indecisive, go for the chefs table which includes all of the apps but also an extra tasting per course. Aside from the food which was near perfect, the ambiance is very unique outside dining in a semi enclosed courtyard, railyard bar, and dining in a lodge-like room with fireplace. Some of my favorite dishes were the veggies, surprising because I'm more of a meat eater. Cocktails were excellent but do ask the bartender since not all liquor is documented. Wine list is extensive
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Best food I’ve had in DC since I moved here two years ago. Will be ecstatic to go back again. We did the fixed price menu and spent $240 after tax and tip, including one mocktail. Can’t spend this much often but if you’re going to, this is a fast place to do it at. Huge recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
So good. Considering what you get, not so pricey either. If you get the full three course, you're getting a little bit of all the first course and special "gifts" from the kitchen. Service is very friendly and candid, and the honesty was appreciated. The mocktails aren't that great, but that's not so surprising honestly.
This restaurant is very overpriced. The 3-course meal is a rip off and comes with very small portions. You're much better off ordering entrees. The food was decent, but nothing special. They try to be a little Italian, a little Greek, a little Mediterranean, and end up being a lot of nothing. Our bill was nearly $150 per person and we left still hungry. Portion sizes are tiny. I will not be returning. Also, our table was not ready until 40 minutes after our reservation time. Service wasn't great. Pick a different restaurant!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
One of the delicious Greek plus Italian cuisines. They served the family platter with 3 course meal. There variety of dishes in each course and all of them were very delicious. The chef even took care of our preferences and allergies to modify the dishes as per request. It was a good experience. I would definitely recommend this one.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Three Course
I have loved iron gate for the courtyard setting and beautiful ambience, and it's local favorite, but I had a terrible experience recently. We were seated indoors unfortunately, due to an outdoor event, but that wasn't noted by the restaurant in our reservation in advance. Disappointing, but not a huge deal. However, the service was very slow and inattentive - we didn't receive our drinks until after the first course. The first course was very good, as has been my previous experience at the restaurant, but the second course was very disappointing - tough steak and burnt fish. We ordered an additional bottle of wine, which was good, but too warm. It took the server much too long to get a cooler for the bottle, and we mostly had to drink the wine warm. The meal was $600 for four, and I'm still steamed about how little we got for that very high price tag. Won't return to iron gate again for dinner - maybe just drinks at the bar.
This place is exceptional. I am a regular visitor for special occasions and every time the food impresses and I am left happy and satisfied. The service is awesome and the atmosphere outdoor is beautiful even in the cold weather.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Such a romantic restaurant! Perfect for date night. My boyfriend & I had dinner here the Monday after valentine's day as a belated valentine's dinner. I was pleasantly surprised that the restaurant still had its valentine's decor in the bar entrance. So lovely!We made reservations for seats in the outdoor patio under the grapevines due to the reviews from other guests. Each table has a fire pit. And that was the major selling point for me to pick this restaurant. Great ambience for dinner. The restaurants provide blankets upon request. The seat warmers weren't working, but I still requested to sit on one rather than sit directly on the cold steel of the patio chairs. The fire did a good job of keeping me warm as it was a chilly February night.Since it was a Monday evening, there weren't many guests which was great. Nice & quiet for a romantic dinner. The service was excellent. Our waiter recommended a Greek wine which both my boyfriend & I really enjoyed.The cuisine is Greek Mediterranean. The dishes were unique, creative, & had great presentation. Everything was delicious from start to finish. It's family style so all dishes from appetizers to entrees to dessert are shared. We enjoyed the experience & left full but not overly stuffed, which is always a plus. The citrus salad & housemade focaccio bread were particular delectable.Highly recommend!! We'll be back for sure.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Three Course, Salad, Steak
The absolute best atmosphere. Gorgeous patio.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Romantic atmosphere on outdoor patio with heat lamps, excellent service, creative delicious food selections.Perfect date night!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Was honestly pretty disappointed in my experience here. After reading all the reviews, i was really surprised by the mediocre experience. Pros: 1) Nice ambiance -this is a beautiful restaurant 2) The restaurant handled my sesame allergy very well and i had no issues 3) It was easy to make changes to the reservation once we found out we had to add people. Cons: 1) Our waiter seemed to have forgotten about us and the meal took way longer than it needed to. Multiple times we were just sitting around with empty plates trying to get their attention. I can understand a two hour, easy going, nice meal - but 3.5 hrs was overkill. 2) We came to celebrate a birthday. I called ahead and confirmed with the wait staff that they do a specific dessert for birthdays. I even confirmed when we came and they knew it was our friends birthday. However, no special dessert came out and no acknowledgement of a birthday. 3) The food was good - but i think because of the wait i mentioned before, some of the warm food came out lukewarm or cold. Maybe it was an off night for the restaurant but i was very surprised and it was quite a damper on my friends birthday.
Repeat customer, and out in the courtyard - even in February, no less! Menu continues to floor me. At one point I was sad after I realized how many crappy restaurants I frequent that couldn't hold a candle to Iron Gate.
This was our third time dining at Iron Gate and it lived up to the high standard set on our previous visits. The food was delicious and as always, we appreciated sampling the variety of the family table menu, which included some surprise dishes like arancini. Our server, Robert, was very attentive and made excellent food and drink recommendations; he even fixed us an off-menu cocktail. Dining at Iron Gate is truly a distinctive experience and we strongly recommend it for any special occasion.
Iron Gate never disappoints. There's not a misfire on the menu. The agnolotti were exquisite, as were the oysters, foccacia, and citrus salad. Dessert portions are insanely generous. The ambiance is unmatched.
This is a good spot but usually I expect to be blown away by a couple of the dishes but now it is the next day and I can't recall anything in particular that stuck with me. The atmosphere is nice. I did have trouble as the staff mumbled everything so I didn't know what was happening or what any given dish was. The restaurant was not crowded at all so noise was not a factor. Worst part though was the fact I expected to leave the restaurant full as has been my experience in similar restaurants but found myself looking for something else on the way home. Overall I enjoyed my visit and had a pleasant conversation with the bartender but would not recommend this over other similarly priced options in DC.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3