Cute spot in my neighborhood. Great service. Good brunch although my shrimp and grits was served cold. Definitely check food temperature prior to serving customers. Just some food for thought.Thank you
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Lesley Shneier
Buzzy place, quite busy for Sunday brunch. The cronut was fresh and delicious. The gravlax mezze plate was unusual which is why I ordered it. The food was good. But the music blasting spoiled the experience for me - and I was solo so wasn't trying to chat, which would have been impossible to hear anything!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
Matias Milia
Great place, great service, great pastries!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Britta Peters
Hosted a baby shower here! Gorgeous space! Team was easy to work with and food and drinks were great! Highly recommend for special events.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dana Harrison
The food was terrible. I was there with 5 girlfriends for brunch and only 2 of the 6 actually ate some of the food. Four of the six of us ordered the shrimp and grits. The grits were cold and topped with a weird cream sauce and raw celery! The biscuits we had were cold, dry, and crumbly! The gravalox mezze should be called gravalox “messy”! It came with a weird pickle relish that had no business in the plate! The server was nice enough but I’m always taken aback when servers don’t address the fact that most of the food remains in the plate when they clear the table. I guess he knew it was bad and perhaps didn’t mention it for fear of it affecting his tip. Being the refined diners and ladies that we are, we tipped him well! It’s not his fault the food was horrendous! We will not return or recommend.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Brandon McGraw
Great restaurant. Planned a team dinner here and from the beginning to the end the process was easy. The food was tob notch, service was great Overall great experience and will definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Rockfish Filet, Roseda Beef Striploin, Key Lime Pie
Vy H.
Came here recently Friday night for my birthday dinner with friends—overall it was great! Service was good too.Food was delicious! Highly recommend the Maine Lobster Ravioli, Clams with Saffron Spaghetti, Dry Aged Roseda Beef Striploin, and Mushroom Risotto. For shareables, the Wood Fired Oysters and Crispy Brussel Sprouts were good, but wasn’t a huge fan of the Ricotta Dumplings. For desserts, we tried all three desserts but I only enjoyed the Key Lime Pie. Cocktails were pretty good! We ordered different rounds of shots and they came out pretty tasty.Parking is a bit tough here—there’s street parking if you can find a spot, or there’s a small parking lot in the back but not too safe if you’re by yourself.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Roseda Beef Striploin, Key Lime Pie
Yury Metelski
I have been twice and didn't really like anything there. And we tried almost everything from their menu. It's not outright bad (although everyone's cocktails were actually bad - some didn't finish them), but certainly unremarkable. Missing seasoning, over- or undercooked. The best thing was probably charred carrots but even those were a little over and I had the same dish at other places made much better. I heard this place used to be better but if they don't turn this around, I doubt it will stay open much longer. There are just much better options in DC.
Josh Mindlin
Expected more from Opal. The old fashioned I ordered tasted like dish soap. I'm usually uncomfortable sending things back, but it was so bad I had no choice. Food was over salted and steaks were over cooked. Bathrooms ran out of toilet paper. Small details are important at a fine dining restaurant. A few positives, the Brussels sprouts were really good, as was the wood fired bread.
We celebrated our Mom’s 80th birthday at Opal (the upstairs private dining room) and had a really special, celebratory and delicious evening - the Opal team really delivered on all the details (decor, cuisines and hospitality) - an absolute special night for our Mom and 22 guests! Thanks you - we’re looking forward to our next visit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Rockfish, Key Lime Pie
Shakira Richardson
Opal did an amazing job at accommodating our business lunch. They had a fantastic set menu and made sure to make the menu's personalized for us. The staff was super accommodating and was some of the best service I had in the DC area. The food was fantastic too and I can't wait to return for dinner one day.
First of all, I want to say that my waiter was great. He was very attentive and kind. Before my party got to the restaurant, it was relatively empty. I heard a person coughing and coughing and coughing in the back. When she finally came out, I realized it was a waitress. She proceeded to go into the kitchen, and the kitchen is open concept, so you can see right in. She continued to cough in the kitchen and then carried a plate of food out. Throughout our dining experience, I saw this waitress cough into her hands and then serve food to her customers. At one point, I watched her blow her nose into a cocktail napkin by the bar and then immediately pick up lemons put them in a drink, and then serve those drinks to customers. The manager finally came around to our table and I mentioned to her that she has an incredibly sick employee who is coughing into her hands and serving guests food and drinks. She said she would talk to her. Bottom line is this woman should have been sent home. But instead this waitress continued to work, and continue to cough into her hands. She then continued to look back at my table and stare at us with a mean look in her eyes. Not only did I feel extremely uncomfortable by this waitress’ behavior, the manager had a duty to send this very sick restaurant employee home, and did not. Although my experience with my waiter was good, and the food was decent, I won’t be back.
Benjamin Hammer
Dinner at Opal was a pleasant surprise! First, the cocktails were all fantastic, highly recommend. We then chose to share a bunch of small plates. I don’t recommend the oysters, sadly. They desperately needed something fresh or acidic to finish them. The saffron pasta and clams, however, is a must, as are the carrots. The dumplings were “ok” if a bit one note sweet. The key lime pie for dessert was decent, though I prefer mine to be slightly more “zingy.” Again, overall a nice experience but some opportunity to be amazing too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Rachel Max
We had a great time at Opal. We opted for the restaurant week “simple supper” which was a great deal - four shared, family style appetizer options, my favorite of which was the lobster ravioli. My friend got the scallops for her entree, which she said were yummy but the dish only came with two scallops. I got the steak as my entree, which was undersalted, but everything was well prepared otherwise. Our only concern was the service. Frequently plates would be taken from our table before we had finished a course, and once my friend had to spoon the last bite of our appetizer off the plate before it was swooped away. She tried to put the serving spoon on the plate before the busser left, but it was too late, plate was gone. Our server was overfilling our wine glasses (we had ordered a bottle of wine) as if he wanted us to get through the bottle as quickly as possible. Our check was dropped without us even asking for it, and our server was definitely hovering to see if we had dropped our cards for payment and subsequently, hovering to see if we had signed the check. It was a little stressful to feel like the service was trying to turn the table as quickly as possible, when we were just trying to have a relaxed meal. If there are time limits on tables, the restaurant should let that be known when you make a reservation. Kind of a turnoff to feel rushed by a nice restaurant. Regardless, the food was good and the overall experience was good enough that I will be returning.
Cute spot in my neighborhood. Great service. Good brunch although my shrimp and grits was served cold. Definitely check food temperature prior to serving customers. Just some food for thought.Thank you
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
Buzzy place, quite busy for Sunday brunch. The cronut was fresh and delicious. The gravlax mezze plate was unusual which is why I ordered it. The food was good. But the music blasting spoiled the experience for me - and I was solo so wasn't trying to chat, which would have been impossible to hear anything!
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 3
Great place, great service, great pastries!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hosted a baby shower here! Gorgeous space! Team was easy to work with and food and drinks were great! Highly recommend for special events.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was terrible. I was there with 5 girlfriends for brunch and only 2 of the 6 actually ate some of the food. Four of the six of us ordered the shrimp and grits. The grits were cold and topped with a weird cream sauce and raw celery! The biscuits we had were cold, dry, and crumbly! The gravalox mezze should be called gravalox “messy”! It came with a weird pickle relish that had no business in the plate! The server was nice enough but I’m always taken aback when servers don’t address the fact that most of the food remains in the plate when they clear the table. I guess he knew it was bad and perhaps didn’t mention it for fear of it affecting his tip. Being the refined diners and ladies that we are, we tipped him well! It’s not his fault the food was horrendous! We will not return or recommend.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Great restaurant. Planned a team dinner here and from the beginning to the end the process was easy. The food was tob notch, service was great Overall great experience and will definitely be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Rockfish Filet, Roseda Beef Striploin, Key Lime Pie
Came here recently Friday night for my birthday dinner with friends—overall it was great! Service was good too.Food was delicious! Highly recommend the Maine Lobster Ravioli, Clams with Saffron Spaghetti, Dry Aged Roseda Beef Striploin, and Mushroom Risotto. For shareables, the Wood Fired Oysters and Crispy Brussel Sprouts were good, but wasn’t a huge fan of the Ricotta Dumplings. For desserts, we tried all three desserts but I only enjoyed the Key Lime Pie. Cocktails were pretty good! We ordered different rounds of shots and they came out pretty tasty.Parking is a bit tough here—there’s street parking if you can find a spot, or there’s a small parking lot in the back but not too safe if you’re by yourself.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Roseda Beef Striploin, Key Lime Pie
I have been twice and didn't really like anything there. And we tried almost everything from their menu. It's not outright bad (although everyone's cocktails were actually bad - some didn't finish them), but certainly unremarkable. Missing seasoning, over- or undercooked. The best thing was probably charred carrots but even those were a little over and I had the same dish at other places made much better. I heard this place used to be better but if they don't turn this around, I doubt it will stay open much longer. There are just much better options in DC.
Expected more from Opal. The old fashioned I ordered tasted like dish soap. I'm usually uncomfortable sending things back, but it was so bad I had no choice. Food was over salted and steaks were over cooked. Bathrooms ran out of toilet paper. Small details are important at a fine dining restaurant. A few positives, the Brussels sprouts were really good, as was the wood fired bread.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Spectacular!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
We celebrated our Mom’s 80th birthday at Opal (the upstairs private dining room) and had a really special, celebratory and delicious evening - the Opal team really delivered on all the details (decor, cuisines and hospitality) - an absolute special night for our Mom and 22 guests! Thanks you - we’re looking forward to our next visit!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Rockfish, Key Lime Pie
Opal did an amazing job at accommodating our business lunch. They had a fantastic set menu and made sure to make the menu's personalized for us. The staff was super accommodating and was some of the best service I had in the DC area. The food was fantastic too and I can't wait to return for dinner one day.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Key Lime Pie, Mushroom Risotto, Tiramisu
First of all, I want to say that my waiter was great. He was very attentive and kind. Before my party got to the restaurant, it was relatively empty. I heard a person coughing and coughing and coughing in the back. When she finally came out, I realized it was a waitress. She proceeded to go into the kitchen, and the kitchen is open concept, so you can see right in. She continued to cough in the kitchen and then carried a plate of food out. Throughout our dining experience, I saw this waitress cough into her hands and then serve food to her customers. At one point, I watched her blow her nose into a cocktail napkin by the bar and then immediately pick up lemons put them in a drink, and then serve those drinks to customers. The manager finally came around to our table and I mentioned to her that she has an incredibly sick employee who is coughing into her hands and serving guests food and drinks. She said she would talk to her. Bottom line is this woman should have been sent home. But instead this waitress continued to work, and continue to cough into her hands. She then continued to look back at my table and stare at us with a mean look in her eyes. Not only did I feel extremely uncomfortable by this waitress’ behavior, the manager had a duty to send this very sick restaurant employee home, and did not. Although my experience with my waiter was good, and the food was decent, I won’t be back.
Dinner at Opal was a pleasant surprise! First, the cocktails were all fantastic, highly recommend. We then chose to share a bunch of small plates. I don’t recommend the oysters, sadly. They desperately needed something fresh or acidic to finish them. The saffron pasta and clams, however, is a must, as are the carrots. The dumplings were “ok” if a bit one note sweet. The key lime pie for dessert was decent, though I prefer mine to be slightly more “zingy.” Again, overall a nice experience but some opportunity to be amazing too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
We had a great time at Opal. We opted for the restaurant week “simple supper” which was a great deal - four shared, family style appetizer options, my favorite of which was the lobster ravioli. My friend got the scallops for her entree, which she said were yummy but the dish only came with two scallops. I got the steak as my entree, which was undersalted, but everything was well prepared otherwise. Our only concern was the service. Frequently plates would be taken from our table before we had finished a course, and once my friend had to spoon the last bite of our appetizer off the plate before it was swooped away. She tried to put the serving spoon on the plate before the busser left, but it was too late, plate was gone. Our server was overfilling our wine glasses (we had ordered a bottle of wine) as if he wanted us to get through the bottle as quickly as possible. Our check was dropped without us even asking for it, and our server was definitely hovering to see if we had dropped our cards for payment and subsequently, hovering to see if we had signed the check. It was a little stressful to feel like the service was trying to turn the table as quickly as possible, when we were just trying to have a relaxed meal. If there are time limits on tables, the restaurant should let that be known when you make a reservation. Kind of a turnoff to feel rushed by a nice restaurant. Regardless, the food was good and the overall experience was good enough that I will be returning.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4