Park Cafe

[gurrag]

Just wondering if anyone has been to a small restaurant called Park Cafe on Capitol Hill?

Saw the review couple a weeks ago in the Blade!! sounded very promising!!

Is it worth a try or not...Looking for an intimate place with a great winelist....and the lamb sounded good!!

get back to me guys!!!!

Edited April 20, 2004 by gurrag (log)

[Tweaked]

The Park Cafe has been there for years. It has a nice comfortable neighborhood feel inside. I went there for brunch last summer and it was way over priced and the service was horribly slow. We were the only table and it took 45 minutes to get our food, with no offer of bread or snacks to pass the time. Brunch for 5 ran over $100, we did have a couple mimosas but really it was a rip off (no prices on the menu) The food was actually pretty decent but not for the price. (I had a mexican type omlette, eggs with tortillas, beans, cheese, and cilantro, need some seasoning, esp. salt) It could be a quality little neighborhood restaurant, but I get the sense that it's sorta expensive.

[BigWyoming]

Dry chicken - nice atmospehere.

I was there a few months ago on a Friday night and had a good time. They often have live music in the form of a little jazz quartet or a guy who plays a guitar spanish style. On warm nights they open the front doors to let the breeze in and you get the feeling you just found a nice little neighborhood favorite.

And then the food comes.

I've only been once so this criticism really has no credibility but I found that the food, while good, wasn't quite up to what I expected for the price. It's not Maestro expensive by any means, but for the same kind of money I'd probably head to Cafe Atlantico or someplace like that.

But if you live in the area like I do, and being able to walk down the street to a really cozy little family owned restaurant carries some value to you, then the Park Cafe is a can't miss.

Just don't order the chicken breast.

[Al_Dente]

Has anyone else been here? Now that I've moved to an apt a few blocks away, I'm curious to try it out.

[Al_Dente]

I feel hungover this morning. Yes, I had a bit to drink, but this is mostly a hangover due to remorse-- remorse over my lack of judgement.

I should have known better when I walk up to the restaurant with my GF and only one table is occupied at 8 on a Saturday night. I should have known better when the waiter asked if we had a reservation despite the space being virtually empty. I should have known better when the waiter immediately started pushing the bottled waters (I like DC lead in my water, thank you very much).

It's such a shame. It has such potential to be the neighborhood joint a few blocks down from where I live. As it stands, maybe I'll go back in a year to see if it's changed at all. The first thing I'll do then is look at the prices on the menu and decide whether or not to stay.

I can't believe how much $$$ we spent last night-- at THAT place. And for what? The risotto was fine, quite good in fact. But it wasn't as though there were exotic ingredients and we had only a few tablespoons worth of it for $12. I didn't think that was too bad, but the entrees just seemed to have even less value. My GF's filet mignon consisted of a few 1/4 thick slices of beef atop a small pile of vegetables with a narrow line of mashed potatoes and a handful of strips of sweet potato chips. It looked nice, most of it tasted nice, but it was meager at $25. Especially when we saw someone at another table get the same dish with what appeared to be 50% more meat. For kicks I had ostrich. I was happy with the flavor and amount of meat but it was accompanied by what amounted to 1/3 of a baby artichoke, the better part of a small yellow beet, and the odd piece of this or that sitting somewhere on my plate. And their chocolate mousse would have been better had they left the stale old whipped cream off the top.

I can think of many places in town that would have knocked our socks off for the same amount of dough-- Nectar, Palena, Cafe Atlantico, etc. Hell, we coulda probably sat at the bar and had a fine introduction to Citronelle.

Oh well, live and learn.

Edited August 8, 2004 by Al_Dente (log)

[DonRocks]

Yes but think of how much money you saved us.

The Blade's review is here.

[chuchelo]

I can't imagine how the Park Cafe rates "worth a 20 min drive" in any review, anywhere. The atmosphere is super, the rest is not worth a 2 minute walk. I tried hard to like it, wanted to like it very much, and after never having a satisfactory meal there after several tries, I gave up. I can't imagine how they stay open. They must own the building free and clear.

[PatDC]

I have not eaten at Park Cafe since they changed the menu away from the Latin American theme. I've eaten there maybe a dozen or so times in the past dozen years, and the food quality has always been erratic, in my experience. I've also found it to be a bit expensive for the meal you get.

I've had a few meals there where the food was really quite good, as well as some pretty disappointing meals. (I think the last meal I had there was the one where the seafood dish I ordered tasted so bad that the waitress took the charge off our bill.) It's the inconsistency that keeps me from eating there more, even though the location is convenient. When I have a good meal there, it gets me to thinking things have improved, and then the next time...

When I saw the new menu posted outside a while back, I was thinking of trying it again. Now I don't know if I will or not.

(I haven't posted here in a really long time. The old name, under which I had only posted a few times, got de-activated since I wasn't posting, so I re-registered.)