The best food we ever had . We went there for our anniversary and the food and drinks were mind blowing .

So goood! Impeccable service. Ever course was amazing and even better than we expected. Will be back!

Rooster & Owl has great food and even better service! It is perhaps the most affordable Michelin star restaurant in DC. Which is shocking because the quality, creativity, and taste of the food was far superior to many of the overpriced and mediocre Michelin star restaurants in the area. My husband and I will surely be going back! read more

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Each course course kept getting better and better. The cocktails were also solid. But be warned: it isn't cheap.

I cannot stop raving about this place. The food, service, ambiance and overall experience was perfect. Before we even knew we needed something there was a staff member there. The food was truly an experience. Everything we tired was delicious. Yuca tots, scallops, dessert. Nothing disappointed. I wish I lived in DC so I could go here regularly. Must try! read more

Went last night for a friend's first post-vaccine indoor dinner. We got every single dish and they were all phenomenal, and the service was excellent. Will definitely go back! read more

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Combine Michelin star level dishes with warm friendly staff and you cannot go wrong. The food is art. We had reservations to sit at the bar and it was perfect. Staff was patient, friendly, and focused 100% on making sure we had a great time. They made us fee like we were locals. read more

Lots of potatoes in many dishes, not that delicious, service not great, keep rushing us to pay ( we just got new cocktails and dessert, already shoving the bill in our face), won't come back again, just the hypes read more

This was one of the best meals I've ever had! It's hard to choose a favorite because everything was great, but the carrots have so much flavor and really surprised me. Who knew a carrot dish could be so exciting! The service was also excellent. I've been on a bit of a foodie tour of DC, and I felt most welcome at Rooster and Owl. I also was celebrating my birthday, and they brought out a complimentary cake pop! Highly recommend Rooster and Owl if you are in DC! read more

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I just looked back and was shocked to see that I never reviewed Rooster & Owl! This was one of my favorite meals of the year, with fantastic food and service. We came as soon as DC went into Phase 2 and sat inside - the restaurant is really cute and comfortable with a laid-back vibe. Our server was very welcoming and happy to chat with us about the menu. I know the menu has changed since the summer, but we opted for: watermelon with green curry, tuna poke, pig ears in buffa-no-wing sauce, paella, and grilled ribeye with chimichurri and hollandaise sauces. All were delicious, especially the pig ears and ribeye (I wanted that brown butter hollandaise on everythinggg). It was really a great dining experience, and I'm hoping to go back for my birthday later this year! 100% recommend dinner at Rooster & Owl! read more

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I've been wanting to try Rooster and Owl since Tom Sietsema wrote about them in his Fall dining guide. They have delicious food, a small trendy space and they have one of the more affordable tasting menus in town at $65pp. And come with a party of 4 you'll get to try everything on the menu. I was there for a corporate dinner, so we had a larger party, they actually had a great area for a large table that was sectioned off by a bookshelf structure, giving you a private feel but still providing the energy of being in the dining room. From the moment we arrived, the service was attentive and friendly. Our waiter was clearly knowledgeable and passionate about the menu. And with dishes like BBQ carrots on there, how could you not be. This was probably my favorite dish of the night, smokey and caramelized carrots served with a cooling and refreshing ice cream (yes, ice cream as an appetizer!). Other stand out dishes were the d'anjou pear which was surprisingly complex, the Spanish octopus, and pappardelle with perfectly al dente pasta. Really everything was great though, there is nothing I don't recommend. We had a few allergies/dietary restrictions at our table and they were great about bringing modified dishes to accommodate everyone. Dessert did not disappoint either. The brie custard was so unique and decadent and tasted exactly how it sounds - super rich and a delicious strong brie flavor. The posset was also a crowd favorite amongst our group and the chocolate mousse satisfies any chocolate lover. Their drink menu was short and to the point but included a unique variety, each drink was great. If you're looking for a nice night out without breaking the bank then I definitely recommend Rooster and Owl! read more

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Amazing service, ambience and food. Our favorites from the phase 2 menu were salmon ceviche, foie gras, ribeye steak, and chocolate tart with rosemary ice cream. Mixed media pairing was a great deal at $35/person (a dry cider, wine, and aperitif). At the end of the meal came out these fun robot shaped passion fruit flavored gummies, but the texture was weird. All in all, an awesome date night! read more

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3.5 stars (C-), but for a number of reasons I am rounding down. I went here for dinner with a friend on Friday night. $65 for a 4-course prix-fixe is not a bad deal, especially compared to similar options in the city. However, the food isn't good enough to justify the price. The small plates are meant to be shared, which in theory sounds great, but presentation and size make that rather difficult if not impossible. I expected the flavors to be bolder given the ingredients, but I thought that most dishes fell flat. Salt is clearly the Chef's seasoning of choice. First course: I got the rockfish and my friend got the carrots. The rockfish was the best item of the night, but even so, it was a little... bland? It was a tartare with an aioli, covered in a layer of thinly sliced cucumbers and presented in a little pool of gazpacho. Not particularly flavorful, but I love raw fish and it was good enough. The carrots were also good, but not great. I found the cornbread ice cream to be very underwhelming - I'm sure it would have been fine on its own, but the flavor is completely lost next to the rich, spicy barbecue carrots. Second course: shitake larb and the tartine. The shitake larb was also fine - I thought there were too many strong flavors, the strongest being salt, to really appreciate anything individually. My biggest gripe is that cilantro is not listed in the description. (I guess I probably should have expected that, because it's larb, but it was by no means presented as "traditional", so cut me some slack.) Such a divisive ingredient like cilantro, which a number of people are genetically predisposed to hating, should be listed. I would not have ordered this had I known of cilantro's inclusion. The tartine was similarly disappointing - when it arrived, we spent a few minutes figuring out the best way to approach it. It's a thick slice of bread, swimming in a salty sauce, with shrimp and cherry tomatoes. How is one supposed to split this (as the menu emphasizes), much less eat this large, soggy piece of bread with its accoutrements falling off the sides? Third course: NY strip and the chicken (NOT a poussin, just a regular chicken.) I don't know if we just waited a little too long to start eating, but both of these dishes were lukewarm. The steak was cooked medium-rare and covered in a creamed spinach sauce and potato chips, accompanied by a horseradish mousse. Fine. I ordered the chicken at the recommendation of our server, who described it as being more technically impressive than the striped bass entrée. The chicken was a ballotine of sorts, with the white meat and skin wrapped around ground dark meat. While the chicken was cooked fine, and the outer layer of skin crispy, there was a thick subcutaneous layer that really threw the texture off and the dish wasn't seasoned well. The sauce was meh. I thought the oyster mushrooms were the best part, though they were too salty. Dessert: Usually this is my favorite course of a meal, but this dinner was progressively disappointing, and this course was the cherry cough syrup atop a half-melted sundae. Desserts sounded good and you can add any other dish to your meal for $10 so we got three: the posset, the pavlova, and the chocolate tart. The posset was a very, very thin (less than a centimeter) layer of tart custard with dollops of cream, berries and mango sorbet. Tasted fine, but there was so little. The pavlova's best feature was the milk tea ice cream, and the white chocolate was a nice touch, but you could crack a tooth on the merengue if you're not careful. Neither of us enjoyed or finished the chocolate tart, which had flavors of earl grey, orange, and ginger. To the chef: pick two out of the four ingredients. Any combination of two of the four would have been balanced, but all four ingredients were way too overwhelming. In general, my experience was cloaked in a thick layer of pretention. It's the minor things that really get to me - like how "stone fruit" translates to a few thin slices of yellow peach. Ultimately, this meal was disappointing and not worth a visit. I would happily spend more money for better food. read more

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Horrendous service. We went here to celebrate a birthday, which also happened to be a few days before our wedding. When we arrived, the host noted that we were there for multiple special occasions (true), and that they had "multiple surprises" for us. We sat outside, as we had specifically requested for COVID safety. Things were going great until about 2 hours into the dinner. The first 3 courses came out and were excellent. We then ordered drinks to go along with the 4th course (dessert). We waited at least 30 mins and dessert never came. The server then came to our table and asked if we ever got the 3rd course. When we said yes, and that we were just waiting for 4th course (dessert), he proceeded to talk very poorly in front of us about other people on his staff, basically saying that other people had messed up and that it wasn't his fault or the first time it had happened. We let it slide and said it wasn't a problem. A few minutes later, another person, who appeared to be a manager, came to our table and asked us if we would he willing to leave the table and eat our dessert at the bar inside because "there is a 2 hour time limit and the people waiting for our table were upset." Again, we made clear that we had been patiently waiting for dessert for a long time, and that we had specifically requested outdoor seating because we were not comfortable sitting inside, and we would have happily been out of there in 2 hours if they had held up their end of the bargain in delivering the full dinner in the time limit they established. To make things worse, they also had delivered the wrong drinks with dessert. AND they also said around this same time that "you must have gotten the Cava we sent you," and when we said that we had never received it, they said that they would send it with dessert, but they never did. It is a shame that they ruined what was supposed to be a special occasion by making us feel like it was our fault that they couldn't run their own operation. Instead, they blamed us and tried to push us out of the table that we had booked before we were served the meal we had prepaid for. Overall, an incredibly disappointing experience. Would strongly recommend looking elsewhere. read more

I was able to make a reservation for 2, 1 day prior thankfully. But I advise if you can, to make a reservation in advance. My husband and I had their $85.00 per person dine in experience, which was delicious. You are given several plates of your choosing, usually to start with, with desert also included. Any additional course is an extra $10.00. Being that the food was so delicious and my husband and I were excited to try as many plates as we could, we took advantage of the extra 10.00 per dish course price. I enjoyed their peach salad and king trumpet noodles. The highlight of the dishes we had was defiantly their scallops, Casio e pepe and their lamb ribs. Delicious! The plates are small but very filling. As for their deserts, my favorite was their pistachio dacquoise and their tropical tres leches. They were to die for! Best pistachio desert I've had. Everything we had that was on the menu was delicious. Everything was so good, we kept ordering extra plates because we wanted to ensure we tried everything on their menu. As for their service, our server was very attentive and everyone else ensured our table was clean and ready for the next round of dish plates. Overall, food is delicious. You will definitely not be disappointed dining here. If you have the room for it, highly recommend adding more dishes, its only $10.00 extra and well worth it. I will definitely be returning back for their pistachio dacquoise and their tropical tres leches which were delicious. read more

Excellent all-around meal. From the cavatelli to the cod to the brilliant fresh-baked bread, this is one hell of a restaurant. The chefs at this spot have an excellent knack for beautiful plating, subtle tastes, and bringing out amazing flavors. Like many restaurants in DC, it's got a lot of hype and rave reviews. I believe it stands up to and even exceeds all of them. read more

Food: Underwhelming. Not even one dish stands out such that I recall what I had without looking at the menu. Had the BBQ Carrots, meh. Duck Dirty Rice, meh, Dessert, meh High End Wine Pairing, 4 stars, one of the dessert wines tasted like cough syrup, but the bubbly was good. A good sommelier knows how to convey the information about the wine but keep it brief, this one was lonnng-winded. Space: Cozy, One bathroom was wall-papered in owls, one in roosters, thought that a nice touch Other Considerations: Was charged a $40 reservation non-cancellation fee. Apparently, and without my recollection, I reserved a table both Friday and Saturday nights. I patronized the establishment the Friday evening. When inquiring as to why I was charged $40, I was told I cancelled my reservation for the Saturday night booking on Saturday morning, and not within the authorized cancellation window. I explained that I recalled neither booking nor cancelling any such reservations, and that I visited the night before, but they chose to keep my $40. No big deal. It's only $40. But its a testament to the sort've management and service to expect here. Which leads me to my next point. Service: Waiter was short, dismissive, and mostly acted as if he were doing us a favor by waiting on us, until the very end when he switched out our cough syrup dessert wine for something else, which was nice. Not sure why all the hype. Spend your money elsewhere. read more

We had an amazing anniversary dinner at Rooster & Owl. The dishes were delicious and totally shareable, and service was excellent. We didn't feel rushed and were very taken care of. My favorite dish was the tuna chirashi plate and I don't normally love tuna and hamachi but it was so fresh and well done. The ambiance was relaxed and casual. We can't wait to be back. read more

10/10 experience. Food was unreal! Waitress we had absolutely was amazing! Manager that came around at the end was super nice too!

Simply superb! Food, service, bar. Friendly and knowledgeable staff that clearly enjoys working together and creating memorable experiences for customers. read more

Just a fantastic time and exactly what I expected from my first Michelin star experience. Delicious courses highlighting seafood and other premium ingredients (my partner raves about the foie gras banh mi), and fantastic dessert to finish it off (plus, celebrating my birthday - so they offered a sesame ice cream roll that was the perfect celebration). Enjoyed the service - we had someone explaining each course to us and it came off really informative without being pretentious. read more

Rooster & Owl decor was really cute and quirky. Service was nice. They were really nice and on top of things which I enjoyed. Didn't feel like I had to wait around forever and stuff. Very kind and patient staff. I saw a few folks hassling them and the patience they had was amazing. BBQ Carrots were really good and can't say I've ever had anything like it. Also tried quail for the first time. Wasn't drop dead amazing but was still pretty nice. I won't say the cliche thing here that everyone says when trying any kind of new meat but uh...yeah it was kinda that. Pineapple bread was new for me too. Really enjoyed that as well. And of course the little chocolate robots were super cute. I enjoyed those a lot. Will definitely be back. read more

What a wonderful experience the team at Rooster & Owl have put together. Not only is the food delicious but everyone from the hostess, to the server, to the folks that refill your water are warm, knowledgeable and delightful. The food is delicious and the experience is fabulous. The team is mindful and flexible around dietary concerns; the chef and kitchen team's creations are out of this world; the hostess is welcoming and attentive to special requests. This team manages to pull off a rare thing in DC...offering first class food, a first class experience ...and none of the pretense and rigidity that sometimes come with that sort of experience. I wish I could give them 10 stars! read more

Phenomenal food, friendly staff, just an awesome overall experience. Hidden gem!

Went for a date night with my hubby. The fixed price 4 course meal is great with "date night" drinks- 2 cocktails and a bottle of wine. The cocktails are amazing. I had the tan gin rine and my husband went for autumn in Manhattan. Both were excellent. The food was amazing as well. I was torn between the scallop chawanmushi or the gnocchi as my favorite. My husband liked his duck until he tried my gnocchi. Fabulous service through out the night. Ralph our server was super. But really it seems like a team place and everyone was super nice. Highly recommend this place. read more

The food was good, but for the price point, I would not say that any of the dishes knocked my socks off. My favorite was the poke. I also enjoyed the nonalcoholic cocktail. The restaurant vibe is fairly casual. Indoors on a very hot evening, the air conditioning was not a match for the crowd and small space. Fortunately, there was a fan blowing toward us on the patio, so it was more comfortable. The service was friendly but with several glitches (mistake by the host about whether my party had arrived, mistakes in information provided about drinks, forgotten ice for my room-temperature glass of water). That would be no issue for me at a more affordable restaurant, but it was not the polished perfection I would expect for a $$$$ restaurant. read more

*big sigh* I did not hear the end of it from my husband after I dragged him to this new hip spot on 14th street. Based off the reviews and menus, it reminded us of our great dining experiences at similar style places in DC (p&p, rose's, etc.) however, that was far from the truth. We came in and looked over the menu(s) and our server told us we could not choose different menus, everyone at the table (we were 4) had to get the same menu so I understand why some reviewers felt pressured to do so - but we thought, what can go wrong? the more food, the better! So this is where we had an issue - the prix fixe menu was 4 courses for $65 but not everyone got their own plate - each dish was shared by two people and these were not hearty dishes... definitely closer to tapas style which infuriated all of us but especially the men at the table that left the restaurant starving.. not hungry, but HANGRY. It should be illegal leaving a restaurant hungry after paying $65-$85 (with tip/tax/drinks). I heard the cute story of the owners and how they named the restaurant but I don't see anyone coming here in the long term if policy remains the same. It definitely has great potential but the current situation leaves a lot to be desired. Ps: I agree about the quail being malnourished.. there was close to nothing on the bones so can't say I know what quail tastes like! The two stars are for the warm decor and the delicious cocktails! read more

My girlfriend and I loved this place. Great food with flavors that we don't have a lot. Ingredients were fresh and the atmosphere was very chill and not uptight. Service was excellent. You'd think you would get very small portions in a Michelin restaurant, but surprisingly we were full at the end of dinner. The New York strip was the best I've had. Pricey but worth the meal once in a while. read more

LOVE LOVE LOVED!!! Rooster and Owl, Best service we've had in a while and soo much fun!! They are just head and shoulders above sooo many "fine dining" establishments, the food was awesome, the energy was fun with swagger and the people, Ralph and Carrie are the reason I will find any excuse to go back there. You all made our evening better than we could have imagined. Thanks so much read more

Rooster & Owl - All the yumminess!!! - New American Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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BLUF: Great reviews lead to formidable expectations. This was a fun dinner with highlights and lowlights and I'm not sure that it rose to the expectations of what I'd read in reviews. Rooster and Owl is the newest prix fixe kid on the DC fine dining block. The $65 prix fixe with optional $35 drink pairing is a four course tasting menu that aspires to be inventive and unique in a town full of invention and ingenuity but still remain casual as opposed to upscale and pretentious. The dining and glassware and also the styling of the waitstaff reminded me of Founding Farmers and other farm to table styled eateries. Upon seating were greeted with the Pineapple rolls which do not taste like pineapple but are sweet and served with a nicely flavored, creamy compote butter that tasted exceptionally fresh. It reminded me of an upscale King's Hawaiian Roll. Afterward, my friend and I began with the Endive with Ricotta (to be eaten like chips and dip) and Kohlrabi with Cotija cheese. This was an impressive first course and had us excited for what was to come. The cocktail pairing was a maple infused daiquiri and also very fun. For the second course we chose Gnocci paired with Shitake and "Pot Roast" of Ox Tail. The ox tail was chopped similar to the rib eye you would get in a cheesesteak with no fat and no bone. It was flaky and served with a mash, onion straws and mango. A fun and flavorful dish tasting rather "jerkish" but overall unexpected when you order oxtail. The gnocchi were a surprisingly soft consistency. Very creamy as well. It was nearly like a browned, soft cheese. Both paired with a red wine for a nice experience if not memorable. For the third course we selected the Lobster étouffée and Quail with cheddar grits. Here we falter a bit. The consistency of the étouffée was perfect but the roux lacked depth in flavor. It was very flat which they attempted to make up for with a cilantro garnish, while enjoyable, the star was intended to be the lobster and it was not enhanced but rather overpowered by the hearty portion of the greens. Similarly the grits were flat but the fried quail, glazed in a sweet sauce made up for the lack of seasoning expected in the grits. The fourth course reminded me of the recent Top Chef finale finalist who opted for an entree over dessert because-- I'd have preferred that. We chose the eclair and the donut. I did not have the eclair (paired with brown butter) but my dining partner was underwhelmed as was I with my donut. It attempted to be old fashioned but it was more like bread (as you can see in the picture). The banana compote was the star of the underwhelming fourth course. Coupled with the coffee ice cream it could have stood alone except for the completely flavorless whip. The true star was the minty cocktail pairing. It reminded me of sambuca with a fresh ending. Overall a pleasant night, if not completely memorable. I would return but I would not make it a point, I would rather be invited. The food quality (if not all the flavor) was great, the experience was not bad but not exceptional. Average is still noble and worth credit-- I do not feel I wasted my money. As for the service: There was a long wait time between courses. Enough time to wonder what was going on, clearly we were done with our first course and the waitress came by often. I'm not sure what happened but the gap was too large. Also I wished they'd have given us a new plate for the first and second course, as they'd done for the third and fourth because I was battling crumbs from the rolls infiltrating my food. Minor issues and very easy to refine as time goes on. read more

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Fantastic food and good value for money. Service was exceptional throughout. Music and general atmosphere was a bit loud, but not so much to detract from the overall experience. read more

Just left Rooster and Owl 30 minutes ago and I'm still thinking about how amazing this place is. The service is impeccable (especially Dave!) and every dish was outstanding. We had the carrots, hamachi tataki, squid salad, Parisian gnocchi, halibut, branzino and for dessert the panna cotta and old fashioned chess pie. Everything was exceptional. This is a must visit for all you foodies out there! read more

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Impeccable service, exquisite food, and an atmosphere that makes you want to come back again. Nothing can be said for not trying this amazing establishment - especially if you're looking to celebrate or enjoy a special occasion. Their menu is dictated by what they can source from local farmer markets, and sharing is strongly encouraged on their dishes. The menu changes frequently and based on the season but you will get the ability to select courses from what they have available. Everything we tried was absolutely incredible and beautifully presented. read more

Nice meal, good service, relaxed vibe. But nothing really stood out as great. The courses were formulaic, similar to Michelin star restaurants of the late 2010s but not quite as good (crudo, papardelle etc). The courses were all pretty much similar in size so it felt more tapas style. The "mains" didn't feel like mains. As a panna cotta lover, the panna cotta dessert was disappointing - the panna cotta component was sparse and over-dressed with candied popcorn. We were told at the start of the meal that it would be our best dining experience in DC....it turns out Daru, Oyster Oyster, and Rose's Luxury were better. Maybe a bib gourmand would have been more appropriate. read more

I normally don't leave a review even if it's worst food or services. However, I'm disappointed that they ignore my special requests for my special day. Food was good 4.5 Service was good until I see that they got birthday cake/card for the other table but our server just handed me the check without any birthday treats. I did put a note and they were aware it's for celebrate birthday but why other table gets birthday treat when we are not? I didn't ask to our server just because I don't want to ruin our feelings but I'm very disappointing to see pictures for birthday treats matched up with what I saw on other table. That clearly tells they're not out of birthday special for the day. read more

Wow! Loved our experience at Rooster & Owl. First let me start by saying, yes, the dishes are small. Do people really not expect that when getting a somewhat pre-fixed four course meal? We were comfortably full by the end of the meal. The first course: heirloom tomato was awesome! Along with the watermelon salad... which was also incredible. Such a genius blend of flavors. Now the second course. There were only two of us but we got to try three because of a happy accident. We had the lobster gnocchi which was actually our least favorite item but the gnocchi was cooked to perfection of course. The shiitake wraps were a must try. And the squash blossoms were my personal favorite menu item we ordered. So many different amazing textures. Just a very well executed dish. Main course: The poached halibut literally melted in my mouth. Just buttery smooth! Then the risotto with asparagus and mushrooms was amazing as well. Perfect amount of cheesy saltiness. Our desserts were the perfect ending for an already incredible food experience. Panna cotta was great but the granita with white peaches was my favorite! One of my many delights about food is textures and I feel like dessert is always a really fun place to flex that muscle. Rooster & Owl did a great job with their desserts. Very fun and interesting! Now, my ONLY complaint is that the cocktails just really weren't exciting or innovative in my opinion. You don't have to be a cocktail bar to have cool drinks on the menu. Like literally offer three badass cocktails and call it a day. Our server(s) were super nice and the host was very warm and welcoming. All around, thank you R&O for an awesome experience! We WILL be back. read more

My last review was useless, and frankly about as funny as Friends (sorry if you like Friends), so let's try this again, but being helpful. All the food is good, some ranging into creative and delicious, yet served in a non-stuffy environment. Food: 4.5 Service: 5 Ambiance: 4 From best to worst (or least best, as it may be): ++ carrots. Great smoky BBQ flavor matched well with a refreshing ice cream. ++ both pastas. One was a just-right mushroom sauce, and the other was a perfectly-textured cavatelli that pared a soft spice with refreshing peas. ++ the bread served at the beginning. A wonderfully fluffy and moist roll, with a great sweet crunchy top. Reminded us of a good parker house roll, but not as greasy. ++ the panna cotta style dessert (not brie custard) was divine. Delightful, but not too heavy. + burrata - delicious and well done + mussels - a coconut sauce was not too heavy, and the mussels were cooked perfectly, with a pleasing grilled bread. + the other fish (forgot the name) was a very satisfying take on a meat-ier aquatic animal. - The crudo was nice, and the green goddess type dressing was as well, but it was a touch on the salty side. - quail. The crispy sweet skin was nice, but the grits were quite straightforward, with the main flavoring seeming to be a hoagie spread. It was fine, but compared to everything else, not as interesting. - donut. It was nice, but the room temperature donut was a rather pedestrian vehicle for the rest of the sweet part of the dish. The only asterisk is that the dishes are not quite large, but the price for adding on more items ($10) is more reasonable than the entry price of the tasting menu ($65). Service: Perfect, from beginning to end. Everyone was nice yet professional. We were treated very well at the door, even though one of us was accidentally underdressed (compared to the rest of the diners). Our server Tom was not just nice, but as informative on the menu as we asked him to be, helped guide us along, and had the exact right cheery reaction to our last minute additions for more food. Other servers, walking to their own tables, would fill our water when we got close to empty glasses. A food runner or busser quickly got us more bread. Ambiance: Vaguely modern yet warm. read more

This is a long overdue review, so apologies if I can't remember all that we ordered. BUT, even after all this time, I still remember the feeling of leaving the restaurant excited and happy to have Rooster & Owl in my life. It's been several months now, so I imagine that the menu has changed since my wife and I snagged a table. Going with the 4 course tasting menu, we were afforded the chance to try a number of dishes between the two of us. Me being the carnivore, I went with whatever the meat options were. Her being the one to mix things up, went with an all veggie option. And I think what was memorable for us is that, while all delicious, it was the veggie options that were more inventive and elevated. I know this isn't the most helpful review for someone trying to decide where to eat, but if useful, I know that I'd go back. And when a single meal is able to stick in your brain for months after the last bite, it's a sign that you may want to take a bite yourself. read more

A friend of mine and I came to celebrate two birthdays. I have been excited to try this place and we were not disappointed. For the number of pre-fixe only restaurants in D.C. which are not usually my favorite, we appreciated the cost for the quality of food. The menu was very thoughtful, but still approachable and the service was outstanding. The rolls were these delicious, soft pillows that were definitely worth the calorie splurge, as was the fish and vegetarian options, which is not always the case at a tasting menu-style restaurant. There was a diverse meal progression, but there were also options for each course to please anyone. We also really enjoyed our cocktails and the wine selection. I would come back. read more

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It's good, a bit snooty but I guess they're aiming for that vibe. It's not a very intimate setting, it's pretty small inside and tables are fairly close enough that you can hear all kinds of conversation from other tables. I would agree with the reviews that say it's a bit overhyped, happens a lot with new fancy restaurants in DC. They start out with tons of 5 star reviews and once the veneer wears off, the average goes down. Food is good, there were a few dishes that nobody at the table enjoyed but it's all subjective I guess, I would have probably rated this place higher had the service been a little friendlier. read more