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    Matera

    3.7 (161 reviews)
    Closed 7:00 am - 10:30 AM, 4:00 pm - 10:00 PM

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    Calamari
    Margarita L.

    It's a small hotel restaurant, best visited for its convenience. The food is hit and miss. Breakfast was not memorable, but I loved the pasta with Italian sausage dish and the tiramisu was great. Full review at https://www.marga.org/foodblog/2025/02/dining-in-dc-matera/

    a woman sitting at a bar
    James R.

    Matera is a decent restaurant before going to the Kennedy Center because it is so close and something different from the usual suspects. The menu is not expensive but there is pasta along with some chicken and steak. I had the seafood pappardelle and the server gave me an option of three sauces. I chose the white sauce. The noodles were tender and the shrimp were fresh. Service was quick and there were no issues with making the show. Staff were friendly. It was not very crowded on my visit, but the ambiance is that of a smaller cafe and the noise level was minimal.

    Moscato
    Cheryl T.

    Chose this quaint, small, attractive space to meet a friend for dinner before a Kennedy Center performance. The KC is about 3 blocks away, so the location is convenient. The background music was on-point. However, once the place filled the combo of music and diners talking made the small restaurant extra loud. My dining companion and I had to raise our voices to hear each other speak. What is it with waiters not introducing themselves? I don't want to have to ask their name. Didn't feel like asking so I don't know who served us. Pleasant male appearing person w tats. Ordered a moscato and greek salad and added chicken. The standard greek salad was overpriced at $20. Adding chicken made it $28. Few salads are worth $28 unless it has sushi grade tuna or fresh salmon on it, maybe . The chicken was super dry and tough to the point of being difficult to cut and chew. In hindsight I should not have eaten it. And, because I didn't have the energy to do anything to address the problem, I gnawed the dry meat and gulped it down --which is atypical for me. The salad and a glass of wine came to $46 plus tip which took it over $54 dollars! I don't mind paying for a good meal and this cost too much for what it was. I would return for a drink when I'm the area. Wouldn't likely return to eat.

    a rose in a glass bowl on a table
    A E.

    This is a small hidden gem in this neighborhood. There are not many dining options within walking distance from Kennedy Center, and most are overpriced or low quality. The food here is amazing and the drinks are delicious. Since it is a small restaurant with a few staff members, services can feel slow at times, but they try their best to overcome this by hospitality. Definitely recommended.

    Cru-Driver
    Willie R.

    I came here with colleagues one night before seeing The Color Purple (which was awesome, btw) at the Kennedy Centre. Here is the rundown: -The appetizers were probably the highlight. The fried green tomatoes were nicely done, although the accompanying sauce was a little bland. The mac & cheese was good for non-southern mac and cheese, and I kept coming back to it. I would have liked for it to have had a crispy top, but you can't have everything. They have a nice selection of drinks, my favorite of which was the Cru-Driver. It's a relatively simple drink with rum, orange juice, and lemon juice, but it tasted more like a Jamaican rum punch...which is always a good thing! My duck a'lorange was OK. The duck was not done quite right for my taste and was a bit fattier than hoped for. The sweet potatoes and the wine reduction were good, however. Service was spotty like Spot the Dog. It was rather hit or miss to get anyone's attention, especially toward the end of the meal, when I specifically asked for the check 20 minutes early so that we could head to the theater, and it seemed that we were forgotten about. On the whole, Dish + Drinks is fine, but I will probably find another pre-theater restaurant next time around.

    Pasta
    Julia D.

    First of all, hats off to the waiter (an older, European gentleman). He was very knowledgeable about the menu, patient, and HILARIOUS. Another man, the manager, I presumed, was also great. They were a wonderful pair. The restaurant is within a hotel. It's pretty small, but the space was used well, and the decor was beautiful. I came with a party of 3 (which later became 4). We had calamari, duck eggrolls, grilled salmon, and the shrimp pasta. Every bite of all of the dishes were amazing, the portion sizes were large, and they were able to accommodate all of the substitutions we requested. They didn't have red sangria, but the manager was able to conjure up a wonderful substitute. All in all, it was a great visit. I'll definitely be back.

    Chicken springrolls
    Kevin L.

    It was ladies' night out on Friday, and I got to tag along with the girls to Dish, located just inside the entrance to The Water Inn. The hotel itself isn't challenging to find, but you need to be paying attention when going south on 25th Street, because the awning is a little obscured by overhanging tree branches. As other reviewers have already noted, this place is pretty intimate, but I really liked the space. It's very simple and modern, with lots of dark woods and glass and a little bar in the back. I'd guess that it seats around forty people, so definitely make reservations. Unfortunately, we had just missed their pre-theater fixed price meal at $35 for three courses and runs from 1700-1900 each night. Alas, I the earliest reservations they had for me on a Friday evening were for seating at 1900. I didn't realize the Inn's proximity to the Kennedy Center! I just kind of figured that maybe the university had some kind of arts or theater building in the area and that local residents liked to attend - someone was nice enough to point out that there's an actual professional performance center around the corner. Still, we were not deterred. Between the five of us, we ordered three appetizers: the chicken spring rolls with delicious spicy honey peanut(?) sauce; the crispy calamari with really great marinara and some kind of dip we thought might be an aioli; and the star of the show, the goat cheese tart. Wow - they really saved the best for last. Spiced walnuts and dried cranberries on a mesclun mix, all topped with a piece of pita and a glob of warm goat cheese sprinkled with chili powder. The combination of flavors, textures, and temperatures made for a foodgasmic experience. I think this may have been the highlight of the entire meal for me. The entrees came out shortly thereafter. I really liked how tender my lamb chops were. It was a really generous serving, because I shared one chop to each of my four other dining companions, and easily had another four or so for myself. The crisp light salad that came with my chops had a clean, fresh dressing on it that complimented the heaviness of the meat well. Other highlights were the roasted(?) sweet potatoes with the chicken dish that were ever-so-slightly charred to lend a little smokiness to them, the wild rice that came with the tilapia, and the crab cakes - 86% jumbo lump crab meat! Those things were flavorful and meaty and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I think if I came back, I'd probably order that. We went with the recommended dessert of seasonal cobbler with vanilla ice cream. It happened to be a mixed berry cobbler - we were told fresh raspberries, but it appeared that there were possibly other berries in it, as well as pear. Regardless, it was executed flawlessly. Overall, the food at Dish was superb. The service was a little questionable - although our server was very friendly and attentive, at some points she was a little too in-your-face. At one point, she stopped by our table to present us with a salad that was going to another table - I had no idea what to make of it. On the way out, we did encounter an astonishingly large roach that scampered out of the hotel. Maybe it wanted to come home with us! Potential food safety violations aside, I'd definitely come back to Dish, especially for that pre-theater meal!

    Kenneth W.

    We regularly dine at Dish + Drinks prior to a performance at the Kennedy Center. We usually order the duck confit spring rolls and the Ahi tuna tartare appetizers. Photos of our favorite main dishes are attached. Pan seared branzino, topped with lump blue crab meat with rice, spinach, tomatoes; Rack of lamb with arugula salad and sweet potatoes with chorizo. Excellent service. Consistently reliable kitchen.

    On the bottom is the pork chop.  Top is the tagliatelle with sausage.  Both were awesome!
    Nicole W.

    This review is long overdue. I had an amazing experience here last month. The restaurant is tiny and tucked inside the boutique foggy bottom hotel "river inn". You have to walk into the hotel lobby to get to the restaurant. The lobby is very welcoming and there is a cozy fireplace. We had 6pm reservations and were seated promptly. The restaurant is tiny... Only about a dozen or so tables... So I recommend reservations! Our servers were wonderful... We especially loved Keith who helped us make excellent wine selections to go with our meals. My friend and I started with the mixed green salad and the duck spring rolls. The duck didn't taste particularly fresh (possibly frozen) but the salad was crisp and tasty. Loved the candied walnuts and cranberries! For entrees my friend and I shared the roasted pork chop and the tagliatelle with Italian sausage. Both were delicious!!! The pork chop was tender, melt In your mouth, the pasta was fresh, the sauce was very flavorful. Unfortunately we had no room for dessert. I want to note that my friend was super disappointed that the price of the pre-theater menu went up... It's $40... But Yelp falsely says its $35. Overall awesome cozy spot for dinner! I recommend it!

    Rachel C.

    Ended up here because of its proximity to my Airbnb for dinner with my sister. They have a three course "theater goers" meal which was a great deal ($40 for appy, entree and dessert). I had calamari, salmon and we split the apple beignets and flourless chocolate cake. The food was delicious and beautiful but the service was even sweeter. Carlos took care of us from the moment we walked in. Our glasses were never empty, he let us sample a wine, and he was generous with his time and recommendations (which we solicited). He kept thanking us for being there- and he seemed sincere about it. All in all a lovely meal - highly recommend!

    Lamb Chops

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    9 years ago

    Wouldn't serve at 10:36 On Saturday night, said they were closed. We had walked a while to get there. Just went home.

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    10 years ago

    The food here is very good. Tonight the waitress was quite cold and boarder line nasty. Too bad. We won't be back.

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    Page 4 of 5

    Matera Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Matera

    Do they have gluten and dairy free options?

    Is this a good place to bring my grandchildren ages 22, 19 and 14?

    The food is delicious and the staff are very friendly. It is not as busy as some other places so the entertainment factor might be a little low, especially for the 14 year old, although I saw some young people (10-12yo) there while I was there.

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab - Grilled Seafood Platter

    Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab

    4.3(2.2k reviews)
    1.1 miDowntown
    $$$

    I've been a longtime patron of Joe's for years. I've brought clients here for dinners, gathered…read morewith friends, and have always known Joe's for great food and service. Unfortunately, my wife's first experience was the exception. On our last visit together, the service simply didn't deliver and we ended up leaving. After the manager reached out and encouraged us to give Joe's another chance, I convinced my wife to come back. I'm really glad we did. This time we brought our toddler and ordered the oysters, stone crab, king crab, and bone-in ribeye. Everything was excellent. More importantly, the service was back to the Joe's I've known for years. Our server Kimberly was wonderful, attentive, warm, and took great care of us. Ryan the manager also stopped by personally to apologize and make sure we were having a good experience. What made this visit especially satisfying was seeing my wife finally experience the level of hospitality I had been telling her about all these years. She walked away impressed, and so did I. Great seafood, a proper ribeye, and excellent hospitality. Thank you to Kimberly and the management team for turning things around. Looking forward to many more visits. Keep it up, guys!

    7/7/26 DoorDash order…read more MOLD on the fries and cornbread muffin??? Just because people order delivery doesn't mean it's okay to serve moldy food! I thought if I ordered fried shrimp that the quality would be better than a non seafood restaurant... Boy was I wrong! The shrimp were not deveined!!! It's like they didn't even clean them before applying the batter! I've been here on a date so I know how the lighting is dim... perfect setting to hide the wilted brown lettuce and moldy food... I just so happened to look under the cornbread muffin; SO GLAD I DID! I spent close to $40 for inedible food. Won't order from here again! The highlight was the salad dressing; that was tasty!

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    Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab - Area near hostess stand

    Area near hostess stand

    Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab - 4 Cheese Mac and Cheese

    4 Cheese Mac and Cheese

    Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab - Back dining room

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    Fish Shop - Sourdough bread

    Fish Shop

    4.0(74 reviews)
    2.5 mi
    $$$

    The restaurant is nice and airy, with minimal but charming decorations. I couldn't tell how noisy…read moreit gets because there weren't many customers when we were there for brunch last week, which is too bad as the food is really good and not unreasonably priced. We had the very large breakfast burrito and the garden vegetable shakshuka. Both were excellent; delivered hot and were well seasoned. The coffee is strong but not acidic. The servers were very helpful and attentive, and responsive to requests for additional items. I would definitely return again for a meal before a play at Arena stage or otherwise.

    I had such a great happy hour at Fish Shop in 2025 that I'd been dying to return for a proper…read moredinner. This past weekend, I finally returned for dinner with a couple of friends after a show at Arena Stage. The restaurant is still stunning. We sat outside to enjoy the Wharf/water views and the summer weather. The food was still great, too. We shared lots of dishes: a half dozen oysters; tempura fried squash blossoms filled with Maryland crab and cream cheese; an heirloom tomato salad with feta and fried shallots; Massaman curry with fragrant herbs, housemade roti, and the fish of the day; a beautiful halibut dish; and a candied Virginia peanut tiramisu. Everything was tasty, but the entrees really blew my mind - beautiful and delicious. We also each had a glass or two of wine, and they have a great wine list. The service was very friendly, but at some point during our early dinner (our reservation was for 5pm), they got busy and our server disappeared a bit as he got busier. Still, it was a lovely dinner overall - exactly the kind of place you want to be on a warm summer day! If you love seafood and summer vibes, Fish Shop should definitely be on your list.

    Photos
    Fish Shop - The Bar and entrance of Fish Shop

    The Bar and entrance of Fish Shop

    Fish Shop - Twice baked potatoes - the little pot was so cute!

    Twice baked potatoes - the little pot was so cute!

    Fish Shop - The private dining room, with a giant canoe hanging above.

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    The private dining room, with a giant canoe hanging above.

    Hank’s Oyster Bar, Dupont Circle

    Hank’s Oyster Bar, Dupont Circle

    3.9(1.6k reviews)
    1.1 miDupont Circle
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    It has been years since I have eaten at Hank's. Too long really. But we wanted some seafood and…read moretheir Dupont location was close so - off we went. We were seated immediately and the dining room is adequate. Sufficiently decorated to make it okay. It is furnished for maximum occupancy which is fine. Think casual place, almost bar with food, not fancy at all. I do not mean for this to be a negative comment. Hank's presents itself as more of a beachside joint, not a high end seafood restaurant. Each of these sorts of restaurants has a place in the spectrum. Our waiter - Keith or Kevin - I'm so sorry but I cannot remember his name - was GREAT! Funny, good at his job, great personality and helpful. He started out with a corny, but cute, joke and he kept getting better all night. The manager too was quite good, professional and friendly. What a great staff! The food is good. I could talk about the lobster bisque (a bit on the strong side) or the flounder (a bit on the salty side). But, honestly, the food was good and I enjoyed it a lot. I did not complain about any of it nor do I think a complaint was necessary. So, as I said before, it had been years since I had last eaten at Hank's. But it won't be that long anymore. I recommend Hank's for a casual seafood meal.

    I finally checked out Hank's Oyster Bar for their Monday $1 oyster special, and it lived up to the…read morehype. I sat at the bar to access happy hour (bar-only, but oysters are available everywhere). Ordered a dozen oysters, bacon-topped deviled eggs, Old Bay fries, a salmon slider, and a tequila pineapple drink. Everything was solid-- the oysters were fresh, the deviled eggs were flavorful, and the Old Bay fries were perfectly seasoned. The standout for me was the salmon slider-- the sauce was so good I wish I ordered more. Great vibe for a casual happy hour. I'd definitely come back, especially for the $1 oysters.

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    Hank’s Oyster Bar, Dupont Circle - Seafood Fettucine

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    Hank’s Oyster Bar, Dupont Circle - From left to right: Strawberry-peach margarita (margarita of the day), Bellini, Purple Reign cocktail

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    Cordelia Fishbar - Coal Roasted Oysters

    Cordelia Fishbar

    4.4(168 reviews)
    3.0 mi

    Cordelia called it and we answered with another visit but this time with friends up from Richmond…read more A great way to end a birthday weekend...and it did not disappoint. Our waitress read the room immediately. With a very hungry pregnant lady at the table she prioritized the Parker house rolls without being asked. This kind of attention to detail sets the tone. We later learned she was a fellow Cancer with a birthday coming up. Cancer energy is real!!! The food and drinks did not disappoint. Asparagus, calamari, shrimp cocktail, coal roasted oysters, chicken chermoula, and lump crab gratin. Worth every penny. One tip worth sharing, ask for a bit of sea salt for the chicken. The first taste lacked it and that small addition made all the difference. We were five deep which honestly matched the energy of most tables around us. The space was bright and airy and the round tables made for great socializing, easy sharing, and yes some excellent boomerang pics. Checkout was seamless. Splitting the check evenly with tap to pay right at the table got us out quickly and on to the next stop. Puddin is a crowd favorite so we left room to run over there even though the dessert menu at Cordelia looked amazing. From a post embassy hang to friends up from Richmond, Cordelia meets every occasion at the table. We said a table worth coming back to again and again. Visit two confirmed it.

    Cordelia Fishbar was Soo good. Went there to celebrate my cousin's birthday. She's been eyeing the…read moreplace for awhile. The service was great and the server we had (can't remember her name at the moment) was top notch. The way she described the dishes made you want to eat EVERYTHING! The table had a number of dishes with the birthday girl opting for oysters and linguine Frutti di mare, I had the crab cake with seasonal veggies and the other guest the rosemary half chicken. No one left disappointed! The food was fresh and amazing. Definitely coming back to try more menu items.

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    Cordelia Fishbar - HERILOOM CARROTS

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    Quarterdeck - Oysters

    Quarterdeck

    3.8(1.1k reviews)
    1.5 mi
    $$$

    Came here for th 2nd time when visiting the DC area to enjoy some steamed crabs. We boil them where…read moreI'm from but I enjoy the steamed ones when I am on the East Coast. It's not us vs them, we are in crab heaven together, just at different ends of the golden table. Okay, so we got the wings, fries, steamed shrimp, and a dozen medium crabs. The cost wasn't bad for what we got and came out to about $70 pp. (There were three of us.) Those fries were delicious. Idk what they did to them but there's something about a hot, crispy fry that makes life alright. We ended up with three baskets. ;) The waitress was handling too many tables though so, she wasn't as attentive as I would have liked. Plus, they also didn't have Sweenlt N low for the unsweetened tea. What is up with that?? The stash in my purse got low on this trip!! I'll be back though.

    We stopped for dinner at Quarterdeck and were pleasantly surprised. The service was…read moreoutstanding--Cat was incredibly knowledgeable and so patient with us while we decided what to order since it was our first visit. The hush puppies were the biggest surprise--they were absolutely delicious. The macaroni and cheese was fantastic, the corn on the cob was amazing, and the fries were very good. I didn't try the crab cake myself, but everyone else at our table said it was excellent. I also ordered the steak. While it was a little overcooked for my liking, it was still enjoyable. Overall, I would highly recommend Quarterdeck to anyone visiting the Washington, DC area. The friendly service and great food definitely made it a place I'd come back to.

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    Quarterdeck - Patio was nice. There was a storm that evening!

    Patio was nice. There was a storm that evening!

    Quarterdeck - Large fresh steamed blue crab

    Large fresh steamed blue crab

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    Matera - breakfast_brunch - Updated September 2026

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