Trattu 1823 Jefferson Pl. L $2.25-$3.75, D $4.25-$10.95. AE, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations required. Sit in the country-French-tinted inside cafe or at the "outdoor" mall tables, first casing the pastry case for dessert and take-homes. L daily, D daily ex Sat, Sun. Parking next door. Then And Now: What's Replaced Six Classic 1980s DC Haunts But the execution of the dishes ranges from excellent -- moist crayfish in impeccable white butter sauce, oysters fried on skewers and bedded on spinach, thick veal medallions with fleshy, woodsy mushrooms -- to fishy, oversalted salmon terrine that should have been relegated to the cats. Everybody who knows of the Palm knows it as a no-nonsense steak and lobster restaurant with giant portions, priced accordingly, of very good simple meat and potatoes. Caffe Italiano 3516 Conecticut Ave. NW. L, D daily. Full bar service. Tung Bor $11154 Georgia Ave., Wheaton. L $1.50-$3.50, D $5.50-$6.95. It has quietly and gradually become a fine restaurant, its cuisine stably settled among those French restaurants just below La Pavillon, Le Lion d'Or and Jean-Louis, keeping company with Jean-Pierre, Le Bagatelle, Dominique's and Rive Gauche on its good days. The Abyssinian 2020 Florida Ave. NW. No-smoking section. 770-7888. Viet Nam Bistro 1836 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. L, D daily. L, D daily. Full bar service. Salads are superb -- spinach with a profusion of crisp bacon and crumbled blue cheese, caesar with fresh parmesan and truly fresh croutons. Joe and Mo's does a few things very well. House of Chinese Gourmet 1485 Rockville Pike., Rockville. Charlies Georgetown 3223 K St. NW. 333-9180. Free parking in Alfred St. lot for dinner. L daily ex Sat, Sun, D daily. L $4.85-$7.75, D $7.95-$12.95. L, D daily. L, D $3.50-$10.95. Mc, V. Reservations suggested. L daily ex Sat, D daily. But that is the proof for anyone who doubts that Washington is a good restaurant city. The Prime Rib looks like the last of the supper clubs, even at lunch, when the silk-shaded table lamps are lit, the Lucite-topped grand piano playing despite the bustling workaday world outside. Food, as you have probably guessed, is not central, but is one of those minor details that is handled well and thus plays an important role in this success story. Parking lot across the street. The brownies, the chocolate chip cookies (from the Capitol Hill branch's carryout market), the macadamia nut roll, the chicken and green bean and seafood salads would win on any first ballot. Please help if you can! You can start with lobster bisque or clams casino; other soups can taste canned-bland, even if they are larded with plenty of fresh clams or crab, and my last oysters were flabby and small. And the attention in the kitchen is no less than in the dining room. L daily ex Sat, D daily.AE, MC, V. Reservations suggested. The sauce is more sharp than sweet and plenty hot. No reseravations. Parking lots. Full bar service. Parking in building garage. DoubleDave's Pizzaworks. Full bar service. L $3.95-$6.75, D $3.95-$12.50. GENESIS OF SOUTH BAY - 19 Reviews - Torrance, California - Yelp Children's prices. 546-4488. Full bar service. 652-6816. L $4.50-$9.75, D $4.25-$17.50. AE, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations suggested. SE. Closed Mon. No-smoking section. Axum 2307 18th St. NW. Street parking or adjacent garage. All this has been to the accompaniment of service so inept that customers have been known to serve one another. L $4.25-$7.25, D $7.25-$9.50. 293-1272. The chili is dull and bland, with little more than a splinter of meat among the beans. The restaurant has become more elegant than the food, and prices reflect ambience rather than culinary character. Street parking. 949-4140. Bamiyan's main peculiarity is that full course dinners cost more than they do a la carte. L $3.25-$4.95, D $5.95-$9.50. Golden Wagon 6408 Kenilworth Ave. Riverdale. BEFORE YOU POST A HOTEL REQUEST, PLEASE READ THIS CAREFULLY! La Mancha 5515 Cherokee Ave., Alexandria. Ben's Chili Bowl, which opened in 1958, looks like a relic on the yuppified stretch of U Street once known as Black Broadway. This is inventive French cooking, food of considerable excitement. Seafoods are the mainstay of the menu -- fiery barbecued shrimp with heads and shells intact (too fiery and less savory on my last visit), crabmeat with hollandaise and artichoke bottoms in puff pastry (excellent, except for acrid artichokes), catfish fried in crabmeal, oysters pan-broiled with lemon and butter, oysters Bienville. E, Hyattsville. 244-2037.L, D $2.95-$8.50. No credit cards. Full bar service. And broiled scallops were as tasteless as they were grossly large. Mussels ravigote are similarly outstanding among appetizers. Full bar service. Photographer Michael Horsley documented the era with a fascinating series of 537 photos. Extreme Pizza. The food is pretty good, with tall pyramids of salad, smooth custard quiches in puff pastry, simple meat and fish dishes and pastries that are highlights. L $2.45-$4.50, D $3.50-$8.95. The big disappointment at Harvey's is likely to be dishes with lobster in them, so stick to crab. Fish is often a hightlight, and while the memu offers few surprises, familiar dishes are done uncommonly well. Old Angler's Inn 10801 MacArthur Blvd., Potomac. 525-42439 L $6-$10.50,, D $12.50-$25. Parking lot in front. But most of the food matches Washington's expense-account French restaurants, and the fruit tarts are justifiably renowned. The menu is small, with California contemporary touches on its Italian base. AE, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations suggested. Parking lot. Like a small museum of Japanese arts, Samurai Sushiko covers its menus in luscious silks and its bench cushions in stunning geometric fabrics. September 21, 1980. 657-8080. AE, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations suggested, required for four or more during weekends. 466-5840. Parking in front. L, D daily. L $2.45-$3.25, D $3.50-$8.95. Children's prices. Falls Landing 774 Walker Rd., Great Falls, Va. 759-4650. Beer and wine only; liquor license pending. Open daily. Full bar service. The cha gio are fine peppery meat-and-crab stuffed rice paper rolls, and the grilled beef with lemon grass is perfumed, juicy skewered bits. AE, MC, V. Reservations suggested. 872-8677. 683-4112. L daily ex Sat, Sun, D daily, Closed Sun. Children's prices. Long a favorite of mine for its refreshing, serene dining room and fresh, inventive food, the Big Cheese has expanded to a lush upstairs dining room full of exotic colorful fabrics and glorious watercolor prints and raised its prices while slipping in quality. Closed Sun. MC, V. No reservations. L $3.95-$7.50, D $11.50-$14.95. Tiny lamps reflect in the polished bare wood floor. Fitzgerald's DC Street parking. Open daily. Children's prices. Full bar service. Ae,cb, D, MC, V. Rervations required. L $4.75-$8.25, D $9.25-$15.50. Pueblo Joe's 4200 Wisconsin Ave., NW. The fixed-price menus are expensive, nearly as high for lunch as for dinner, and the food can be glorious or slightly awry. But the cooking has matured, and the service may follow suit. What is a nice little Italian restaurant like this doing overcooking its fritto misto and turning its cheese sauce into mock Velveeta? No-smoking section. Street parking. One introduction to this white-washed, beamed and timbered inn is a good look at the impressive kitchen cadre through a front window. Children's prices. In the 1970s the restaurant industry and the custom of eating in restaurants grew rapidly. But its prices have lagged behind inflation, so now it must be considered moderate. Most of the eateries will possess deep roots in DC's growing restaurant scene. Reservations accepted. Historic Restaurants of Washington, D.C. - Facebook No-smoking section. r The Roma 3419 Connecticut Ave., NW. Not only was the food -- from muddy-looking fish soup to greasy and tasteless short ribs -- unappealing, but it was rather expensive. Parking lot next door. At least there is always a creditable cold smoked chicken garnished with fresh fruits if nothing else tempts you. Ae, cb, mc, v. Reservations suggested. Hogate's 9th St. and Maine Ave. SW. 484-6300. 589-0999. But it is a restaurant where they smile a lot while they blunder. Street parking. Try it for dim sum; the list is long and a few of the options -- crisp crab boxes, steamed shrimp and pork dumplings, several kinds of chow foon -- are excellent. Nothing -- no corner, no hors d'oeuvre -- is left less than inventions is a trendy collection of cold pastas and herbed seafood salads, grills and sautees with unexpected touches -- sauteed snails on the chicken, lamb chops served with aioli, bearnaise flavored with leeks. Ae, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations accepted. Thai Room 527 13th St. NW. It has also been a forerunner in prices, the first to charge $10 for what tasted like packaged linguine with clams, $18.50 for a bottle of Blue Nun. Parking lot. The food is pretty good, particularly soups and pastries, the latter served from an imposing array on a rolling cart. Ordering the simplest of dishes will prove that. The path to take is an appetizer of mussels with tomato sauce and plenty of garlic of fried squid; the empanaditas are merely ordinary. DC Bars and Restaurants That Have Closed - Thrillist Aluisi 9867 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls, Va. 759-4921. L, D daily. (202) 387-8411. On weekends you point to what want from rolling carts; on weekdays you choose from a m enu of three dozen dim sum. And most of the oven cooking or simmering -- stuffed vegetables, baked kibbe, wet couscous -- is overcooked and no better than average. L $3.95-$6.95, D $6.25-$9.95. L $3.25-$6.95, D $3.50-$13. but don't despair. 548-0076. L $2.25-$3.95, D $3.25-$7.95. 370-0060. AE, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations suggested. L daily ex Sat, D daily. Central to Ethiopian dining are giant, pale, thin pancakes, sour from their fermented batter, which serve as tablecloth and utensil -- you eat with your hands by scooping meats and vegetables with pieces of pancake. L $4.75-$7.50, D $8-$12. Fish of this quality does not come cheap, but the expense will be bearable if you concentrate on local seafoods and order them simply broiled or fried.Besides good food, the nautical whimsies are good-natured and the waitresses are the wonderful tough-and-cheerful sort that, if they were not so young, would rival Boston's Durgin Park waitress wonders. Full bar service. L daily ex Sat, D daily. O'Donnell's 8301 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda. Hickory-smoked slabs of meat, cafeteria lines and Formica are as American as the Stars and Stripes, so if you are looking for something to categorize as an American restaurant, try O'Brien's. 223-3794. L $3.50-$8.25, D $6.25-$13.95. And incidentally, at least at the original Georgetown location, it is incidental that people eat. The Intrigue is not really all that intriguing, but it is a decent restaurant close to the Kennedy Center, a category in short supply. 836-4422. It is one of those exciting cities where you could visit a different restaurant every day for six months and still not get to all the good ones. 354-1677. Washington still has about 5,000 restaurants. AE, CB, D, V. Reservations suggested. Sauces are thin and translucent, the meat sauces golden. 525-5317. Le Rendez-Vous 3155 Wilson Blvd., Arlington. Their very names -- fish dipped in boiling water with spices, smoked lobster, pelican's nest -- are evocative. sGiven that the salad bar is one of J. R's assets, keep in mind that the Tysons Corner branch has no salad bar, but serves "selections" from its salad bar instead. Closed Sun. L daily ex Sat, Sun, D daily. a mug of beer, a cup of too-sweet but fairly good chili fill out a meal that is nofrills and priced accordingly. The ingredients at 219 are excellent -- big lumps of crabmeat, fresh fish -- but the kitchen is just competent rather than talented, so that overseasoning or overthickening are common. To top your iceberg lettuce there are pointy black olives and feta cheese, onions and beets and the usual Bacos. See scans of the front and back of this card. Fox's Pizza Den. 1789 1226 36th St. NW. AE, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations suggested. That is, until the 1980s, when the building achieved a different sort of notoriety as the epicenter of the District's alternative music scene. This is a French restaurant that establishes Washington in the big leagues. . 893-3390. AE, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations suggested. Parking lot. Mamma Desta's restaurant is an experience. 836-8404. Closed Sun. L daily ex Sat, D daily. Parking in rear. Closed Mon. Arlington. Washington D.C. Shamrock Stroll (March 18) History Tour Pub Crawl of Washington, D.C. Visit the Embassy of Ireland; Explore St. Patrick's Catholic Church in D.C. Eat out at an Irish pub The Dubliner; Duffy's Irish Pub; Kelly's Irish Times; Kirwan's on the Wharf; 17. French restaurants in the middle range -- those with good food that make no attempt at grand cuisine and are modest in price -- are a shifting scene, one year satisfying and another year indiffent. AE, MC, V. Reservations accepted. L daily ex Sat, Sun, D daily. Carmack's 8401 Connecticut Ave., Chevy Chase. 824-0909. AE, MC, V. Reservations accepted. Beer and wine only. AE, D, MC, V. Parking lot. L daily ex Sat, D daily. 654-2575. Careful attention shows in the quality of salad greens and small details, though overall the food tends to be good rather than memorable. And any Formica luncheonette where you wait in line to pay $11.50 for flounder stuffed with crabmeat is bound to be good. L $3.95-$5.50, D $5.25-$9.95. China Garden 1901 N. Moore St., Rosslyn. Nothing changes at Szechuan & Hunan -- fortuantely. Full bar service. Closed Mon. AE, MC, V. Reservations suggested. Parking in front. No credit cards. L $4.25-$10.95, D $9.75-$15.95. Full bar service. L, D daily. Golden Table 528 23rd St. NW. Lamb has been badly trimmed and smothered in thick unsavory sauce. Closed Sun. AE, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations required. Children's prices. Full bar service. The Old Ebbitt Grill 1427 F St. NW. Trader Vic's Capital Hilton, 16th and K Sts. L, D $3-$8.50. Beyond that, simple sauteed fish are expertly cooked, perhaps a trout with crisp skin and moist flesh. Parking in front. Fish filets are moist and, thankfully, unadorned. Parking lot. And the least interesting is at the end -- the ubiquitous carrot cake. 360-7880. AE, V. Reservations accepted for four or more only. Portions are gigantic, except for extravagant ingredients like veal -- but what would you expect for $5 veal? The pride of Sholl's is in its freshness -- seasonal produce, fish, excellent lean hamburger meat, home-baked breads and pastries. There now is more than one answer to, "Where is a good seafood restaurant?" Parking lot next door. AE, CB, D, MC, V. $7Reservations suggested on weekends. Reservations accepted for five or more only. Children's prices. 966-8285. Parking in rear. Kebabs are tender and juicy, only mildly seasoned, so that the charcoal flavor predominates. 986-0707. L $4.25-$7.95, D$6.95-$10.95. L daily ex Sat, Sun, D daily. Open daily. Street parking. 296-3065. I will try to get to them next year. AE, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations suggested. AE, V. Reservations suggested. Closed Mon. Full bar service. AE, CB, D, MC, V. Reservations required. I know this is a needle in a haystack situation, but here goes.. And, while the pastas are not likely to be homemade, they are cooked al dente and sauced with wonderful pungent tomato sauce. L MC, V. Reservations suggested. L,D $3.50-$7.95. L $3.75-$7.95, D $5.95-$13.95. 337-8080. L, D $1.95-$12.50. Full bar service. MC, V. Reservations suggested. The few wines also are extremely good values. Full bar service. Closed Sun. D.C. Space. 933-3687. AE, MC, V. Reservations suggested.Parking in commercial lots. 428-0588. 258-9670. Bistro Francais 3124 M St. NW. PRE-1980 SEA GRILL RESTAURANT Bethesda Maryland & Washington DC G8405 The restaurant presents, at moderate prices, a choice of more than two dozen main dishes stretching across stir-fried Chinese-style dishes to curry to chicken and fish. No-smoking section. 965-1185. L $1.75-$5.25, D $3.75-$9.95. L daily ex Sat, D daily. Highest-rated restaurants in Washington, D.C., according to - Stacker A little less foreign than it once was, Bamiyan now has American watresses, but they seem familiar with the Afghan food. Parking lot. Occoquan Inn 301 Mill St., Occoquan, 703/491-1888. Chez Maggy 26 N. Market St. (Rte. Full bar service. Full bar service. L $1.75-$6, D $5.95-$24.95. MC, V. No reservations. L $8.25-$11.25, D $8.80-$16.50. Noteworthy also is the wine list, extensive though pricey, and the wine specials on the daily menu. Full bar service. Start with crabmeat or smoked salmon or something similarly restrained. AE, MC, V. Reservations suggested, required on Fri, Sat. L $2.25-$5.95, D $6.50-$12.95. Stacker compiled a list of the highest rated fine dining restaurants in Washington, D.C. from Tripadvisor. But more delicate dishes have been made clumsily; fettucine with caviar is cotton-candy pink from a strange tasteless stuff that is meant as red caviar, and veal has been pasty on the surface and cooked dry, immersed in a lumpy sauce. And, obviously, it becomes addictive. Best Vegetarian Restaurants in New York City. Full bar service. It's always spring at 209 1/2, the mauve of the walls repeated in the flowers and the multicolored Chinese service plates. Parking lot. L $2.95-$5.75, D $5.45-12.50. 244-1740. L daily ex Sat, Sun, D daily. Open daily. "Their clam chowder is amazing and the OEG Burger is great for lunch.". No mousse in town is as light as Le Pavillon's chicken liver mousse with lobster, truffles and red and green peppers. L $4.25-$8.95, D $8.95-$16.95. Street parking. AE, MC, V. Reservations accepted. Anyone who lived in middle America and grew up in the '80s likely knows the odd name G.D. Ritzy's. First founded in Ohio in 1980, the 1950s-style restaurant grew quickly, with about 100 locations at its peak. L daily ex Sun, D daily. No credit cards. The Two Continents 1420 F St. NW. Street parking. December 31, 1989. Captain White's 8123 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring. D daily. L,D daily. L, D daily. The kitchen certainly has its lapses -- navarin of tough lobster for two as an apetizer -- but usually Le Lion d'Or presents a range from robust to delicate, classical to nouvelle that display impressive talent. Despite economic woes (recession and inflation), the energy crisis, urban decline, crime, and escalating restaurant prices, restaurant-going continued to rise. AE, CB, D, MC, V. No reservations. Full bar service. Open daily. The few steaks have stiff competition in the thick calf's liver steak, the rack of lamb and the grilled fish or squab. Mama's 1901 N. Ft. Myer Dr., Arlington. Even the expresso is as good as you are likely to make at home. Some of its dishes are excessively rich and heavy, buy many are pure treasure: remarkable stuffed clams; supreme chocolate espresso cheesecake; unique thin noodles with tomato-tinged clam and mussel sauce; extraordinary fish hot with fresh herbs or cold with a homemade garlic mayonnaise. 337-3030 L $2.50-$7, D $4.50-$10.95. 544-6352. Ramparts 1700 Fern St., Alexandria. 333-2602. Ledo 2420 University Blvd. SE. Da Vinci 2514L St., NW. Hugo's Hyatt Regency Hotel, 400 New Jersey Ave. NW. Foggy Bottom Cafe The River Inn, 924 25th St. NW. L $3-$8.25, D $6.25-$11.50. L $3.45-$6.95, D $8.45-$13.95. Parking lot. Ocean ix 1323 Fenwick Lane, Silver Spring. These 1980s Restaurants Didn't Stand the Test of Time - Eat This Not That A tribute to its success, Trattu has developed from a cute little downstairs Italian restaurant to a two-branch operation and has given rise to spinoffs that copy its menu. Orient Express 10560 Main St., Fairfax. But Geranio's pastas are not the lightest, their fillings not the most pungent. Look for big changes this year in Le Pavillon, at least in the design of the room. L, D daily. It is always, however, a pretty little Italian restaurant, white with touches of pink, and lovely, flossy little arrangements of flowers on the table. Since the selection changes seasonally, it is tricky to try to recommend dishes, but one day's mussels in mustard sauce combined expected flavors in a hauntingly good dish. Here is a prescription for enjoying the oldest restaurant in Washington, but follow the directions carefully. The space is profligate, the service elaborate and capable. L $2.25-$4.95, D $5.95-$12.95. All this in blue velvet and leather banquettes, under chandeliers and tapestries, with brash and clever waiters who also do their job well. Oldest Restaurants in the Washington, DC Area - Washington DC 451-7356. 333-3376. L $3.50-$5.95, D $6.95-$12.95. 20 Hot Restaurants to Try Now in Washington, DC Full bar service. L $8.50-$13, D $13-$17. Sometimes this sprightly Capitol Hill pub serves sensational food, as when it bakes its own herbed pita bread and spices its chili with as liberal dose of seasoning as of chunks of crusty roast beef. Stacker compiled a list of the highest rated restaurants in Washington, D.C. from Tripadvisor. Even his early dishes have improved, notably the thin, rare slices of duck breast with a dark, tart lime sauce. MC, V. No reservations. Full bar service. Children's prices. And on weekend nights you can dance it off as Vietnam Bistro turns into a disco. 966-8200. Reservations accepted for 10 or more only. G. D. Graffiti 1321 Rockville Pike, Rockville, 424-4091. 321. Napoleon's 2649 Connecticut ave. NW. L, D daily. No alcoholic beverages. L $2.95-$3.25, D $3.50-$6.45. Full bar service. Related Reads News & Views 1 minute L, D $1.50-$12.50. Valet parking on weekends, street parking during week. No-smoking section. Le Jardin 1113 23rd St. NW. No credit cards. Power Lunch in Washington DC: Occidental, The Monocle & More - Thrillist Open daily. Street parking. "Full bar service" indicates that the establishment is licensed to sell spirits as well as beer and wine . Waiters are so charming and sprightly that you half except them to break out into a song from The Student Prince . Children's prices No-smoking section. The room has been redone in bright glazed tiles on a white tile background, floors and walls, and the effect is at least startling. Closed SUN. Closed Mon. Menus. House of Hunan is an uncommon Fhinese restaurant, uncommonly good, uncommonly elegant, with an array of dishes and special touches found nowhere else in Washington.