Art and Soul

*3.5 stars*
FOOD: Good (²⁄₃ in my party loved their food) The fried chicken meal was good, flavorful without worrying about your blood pressure. Pricey drinks, even a glass of wine, but I love a well constructed strong drink (fresh and well paired ingredients. not just flavored syrups with vodka)
ATMOSPHERE: Chic
EXPERIENCE: Standard DC experience. no parking, $ 14 valet (price after validation). cool wait staff (pleasant and do their jobs well), and a $ 100 bill for MYSELF (dinner and valet) while dining on restaurant week (dinner)
I’m a fan, but not of the DC landscape and experience. I’ve had better at better prices. That’s what that $$$ is about and I guess I’m not about that life, ha!
p. s. I still think i want to try brunch here.

LOL
Poor Art.
This place is a silly, poorly managed hotel restaurant.
My glass of champagne was served warm — warm.
Serving warm champagne is a clear indicator of carelessness and mediocrity.
My server recommended adding bacon to my sandwich, I accepted — well, my bacon was more like jerky. You try eating a sandwich with slabs of jerky on it.
That is all — I hate reliving bad memories, you have been warned.
Anyway — the place isn’t the cheapest, so it’s a no go. #anogo

The service was great! Other than that I have nothing fantastic to say about the food. Everything we ordered was just not impressive. My friend and I made it our mission to try restaurants that offered Chicken and Waffle. While I respect the creativity of Asian fusion with the Chicken and Waffle, the flavors just did not come together. The burger was soggy. The mac and cheese was ordinary. It was not worth the time to travel to D.C. and the price tag was hefty for less than average food.

Everything that I ate and drank here was amazing. There is a lot of attention to detail. The bloody Mary’s are great. The pickles they garnish with are outstanding! All around excellent experience!

While reviewing possible dinner options on a popular map search, I came across this restaurant. The reviews of their mashed potatoes and my craving potatoes like mom used to make drew me to this establishment. The mashed potatoes delivered. Just the right blend of ingredients to produce potatoes that feed the soul. Since my first experience, I have ordered meals to go, which focused those mashed potatoes.
I also ordered kids chicken tenders, which are not on the menu. The breading was delicious. I just wish they used white meat for the tenders. I know dark meat is jucier, but not every patron likes or eats dark meat. The kids chicken tenders meal to go is about $ 10. They will even throw in some bread if you request it. For an extra treat, order the deviled eggs.

The atmosphere was BEAUTIFUL, the location is great, parking was easy for me, and the outdoor firepit won me over. The food was just… ok. Sad to say that the brunch did not wow me, the chicken in the omelet was flavorless and the lemon pancake didnt have as much umph as I’d like. However, this may just be a matter of preference. I will definitely come back to see if lunch or dinner is better.

Solid spot for lunch. I visited by myself during a weekday and enjoyed the sleek, classy atmosphere and efficient service. I wasn’t exactly sure what to order at first, but ultimately opted for the fried chicken biscuit (which came with bacon, Maple glaze, and pickles) and substituted in roasted brussels sprouts instead of fries ($ 3 upcharge). My meal was delicious and a decent portion, though I think it was a bit overpriced, considering it was lunch time and not a super upscale restaurant.
Bottom line — Tasty food, good service, and the only downside is that it’s a bit overpriced for the value. I would return for lunch in the future.

This is one of my favorite spots in DC. Fortunately it was connected to my hotel, the liaison, on my last trip to town.
They specialize in Southern comfort food with a twist.
They have an excellent happy hour with specials on wine, beer on tap, cocktails, and delicious food like bacon brussels sprouts, and piggy fries.
Lee is a great bartender and made me a drink with Mezcal that was smokey, sweet and delicious.
If you are going for dinner, for starters, I highly recommend the scallops. I love the mahi mahi and asked them to put them on a bed of the brussels sprouts with bacon. It was delicious. The petite cakes are a wise way to sample their various baked delicacies.
For brunch, their chicken and waffles are very popular. I had an omelette and coffee and found every bite scrumptious.
I definitely have this on my list of places to go every time I’m in DC.

Bar:
The popcorn — free flowing, old fashioned popped in a kettle, to die for. Delicious!
Drinks — great quality boos, happy hour specials. I love the fruity champagne concoctions & I don’t even like champagne!
Happy Hour Food — specials from 5:00 to 7:00 for ½ off. (FYI: The pickles aren’t pickles, they’re pickled veggies.) I think their fried green tomatoes and deviled eggs are my favs. Lots of meat options, so if you’re a veggie lover, it’s a bit harder.
Seating can be tight. Service is friendly and efficient. Ambiance is good, not too loud/​quiet or too bright/​dark, but «just right» in my opinion.
Restaurant:
The prices are on the higher end for what they serve. The food is heavy on meat selections (especially pork). There are fewer choices for the veggie lover. I personally love their mashed potatoes and green beans. Everything seems to be homemade, and it all tastes very fresh. The chicken tenders are some of the best I’ve ever had (children’s menu).
Restaurant:

I went here with a friend for lunch during restaurant week. The waiter recommended that if this was my first time here, that I try their double breaded fried chicken. He told me this is what people from out of town visit for. I was not disappointed at all. To my surprise, the three course meal was plentiful. From the salad, to the fried chicken, down to the last spoon of the warm rhubarb cobbler with ice cream. In my experience, restaurant week meal portions are typically a sampler of the establishment’s most popular items, and result in me stopping at a fast food place on the way home to fill to feel full. This was definitely not the case with Art & Soul.
The chicken included one sizeable drumstick and one breast atop a bed of whipped mashed potatoes covered in gravy with a size of greens. I enjoyed every bite of the meal. Double breaded added a nice crunch, followed by tender juicy chicken cooked perfectly and not at all dry. Then the dessert came. I wish the portion were larger only because I have a huge sweet tooth. The combination of the warm, sweet and tart cobbler with a spoon of ice cream was a satisfying end to my meal. Great food, great service, and great ambience (even for a lunch crowd).

The food was extremely lackluster and lacked flavor. We ordered the Restaurant Week menu and were extremely disappointed. The pork lacked any seasoning, the corn soup was bland, and the desserts were absolutely flavorless. Never going back and I would not recommend that anyone considering themselves a fan of delicious flavors go either.

I decided to go to Art and Soul after seeing it listed as vegetarian-​friendly on Unilocal.They did have a special restaurant week menu which was a selection of their most popular dishes. My fiancée is a vegetarian and unfortunately the Unilocal feedback didn’t lead us in the right direction. The restaurant is pescatarian friendly, but definitely not vegetarian-​friendly (I am referring to the full menu). I ordered the corn soup with hushpuppies for an appetizer. The soup was tasteless, but the hushpuppies were delicious. They were crispy and full of flavor. For an entrée, I ordered the fried chicken after it was recommended by the server. The chicken was 50% raw batter which made the chicken mushy and barely palatable. I had to remove all the skin and batter in order to eat the chicken. My friend ordered the pork which she said had absolutely no flavor. For desert, I had the brownie. It was the worst brownie I have ever had (seriously). It was cold, hard, and bitter. The ice cream had a horrible flavor profile and it was supposed to be a simple mint chocolate chip.
The saving grace was that the bartender made an amazing Caipirinha. Sadly the cocktails couldn’t save the experience. None at my table enjoyed their meal. The waitress was nice overall, and did over to bring out an alternative dessert. The sweet potato donuts were yummy. No one at my table enjoyed their meal overall. The waitress still charged me for the dessert despite none of us eating or enjoying our original choices.
Paying $ 120 for two sides, one restaurant week special ($ 35), and 2 cocktails seemed excessive to say the least. I won’t be back due to the food, but also because the prices are ridiculous considering the experience I had. I use restaurant week to find great new places to eat. If you can’t impress me during restaurant week, I won’t be back at any other time of the year.

I will preface by saying that a lot of places don’t open or are super crowded on a holiday, so we were very grateful that Art and Soul had plenty of tables on the Fourth of July. No reservations needed. We came into the city for brunch and my boyfriend wanted to try Art and Soul because the chef, Art Smith, won a James Beard Award (although not for Art and Soul… for a book) and is considered an expert on Southern cuisine.
That day, I was very much in the mood for pancakes so I ordered the lemon pancakes ($ 12). My boyfriend ordered the BLT Benedict ($ 15) with a side of mac and cheese, and our friend ordered the three egg omelet ($ 14). The pancakes were huge! Three stacked pancakes, maple syrup, and a side of seasonal fruits. Fresh fruits included watermelon, honeydew, pineapple, blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries. I fulfilled my craving and got my dosage of five fruits a day. The pancakes were good but I think it’s pretty hard for a restaurant of this caliber to mess up pancakes.
My boyfriend enjoyed his BLT Benedict, which came as two poached eggs on some bacon, alongside some watercress and potatoes. It looked really good and unlike some other places that serve up eggs Benedict, the side of watercress was a refreshing and balanced one.
Service was so-​so. One of the other servers seemed really energetic and nice, while our server was mostly quiet but efficient. I was a little worried after reading some of the reviews where people got sick, but luckily none of us fell ill afterwards. That would have really ruined the holiday for sure! I’d come back if I’m in the area and need something quick and simple, but I wouldn’t actively seek out a meal here.

The most amazing fried chicken and waffles. The waffle had a spicy syrup that set this dish apart from all the other typical chicken and waffles at other places. Get this!!!
I also had the banana waffle… Ask for the whip cream on the side! I found this more of a dessert than just a sweet brunch dish. It was good, but def go with someone who will order the fried chicken and share the meal!
Overall thought this place was yummy, although prices were a bit higher than other brunch places (but considering it is a hotel restaurant, it made sense).

Good spot for breakfast. I wished they opened up at 6am instead of 6:30 for us early risers. But good service and the tea was hot.
Biscuits are the way to go.

I stayed across the street at the Hyatt and wanted something close so the concierge recommended Art & Soul, mentioning the Chef who used to be Oprah Winfrey’s chef.
One word, fantastic. I ordered a specialty cocktail, great list to choose from if your a craft cocktail lover like myself. The bartender was attentive, not too talkative which was great because I was handling work issues on my ipad.
I highly recommend the pimento cheese burger, add fried egg and bacon. I’m no burger expert but this was hands down the best burger I have ever had. Cooked to perfection and delicious till the last bite!
I highly recommend this restaurant if you’re in the area!

My friend was starving after finishing the Rock-​n-​Roll Half Marathon this past Saturday. (NOTE: I did not run. Ahahahaha not about that life.) He was also heading back to New York at 1:30 so we wanted to grab brunch near Union Station so that he could make a quick getaway if we spent more time eating than we anticipated.
Art and Soul is about 3 blocks away from Union Station, so it was nice to not have to schlep ourselves too far post-​food coma. The restaurant is connected to the Liaison Hotel (you go through the hotel lobby to reach the bathrooms).
We both ordered the chicken and waffle because, well, I was cuh-​raving chicken and waffles! Nothing was going to stop me.
The meal started out with complimentary chocolate chip scones. I wish we had taken a bit more time to eat these, but as we were famished (watching people run makes me very tired…) we basically inhaled them. Not too dry, just the right amount of chocolate. It was a good start.
Our chicken and waffle plates came out pretty quickly and BOY OH BOY were they tasty. It’s listed as coming with a «hot maple glaze». I didn’t realize that meant the maple glaze was hot as in spicy! It wasn’t that spicy, in my opinion, and the glaze reminded me more of Thai sweet chili sauce in its flavor, if you’re familiar with that. I liked it, but I was not quite expecting that, so just be aware this is not your traditional maple syrup flavor we’re working with here.
The waffle was perfectly soft with just that barely crisp crust yesssssssss.
And the chicken, oh the chicken. The breading was thick and beautifully seasoned and stayed attached if you wanted but broke off if you wanted it to. AND THAT JUICY CHICKEN THIGH MEAT oh man. It was perfect. Just perfect.
We also had a plate of fruit to try to balance everything out, but to be honest, the fruits included weren’t great complement to the chicken and waffle. Solid fruit platter of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, pineapple, honeydew, and cantaloupe, but it didn’t quite go right with the chicken and waffle.
The only reason it’s not 5 stars is I do think the price is a bit much for what we’re getting (I was a bit surprised by the size of my portion) and the restaurant wasn’t very crowded at all on Saturday at 11:30 but sometimes we had a hard time getting a server’s attention when we wanted it. When we weren’t asking for attention, the servers were pretty good about checking up on us, however.

Hmmm why review a place that has over 500 reviews, well duh because I’m dope and my opinion is one of many that matters. Hmph.
So on this random Monday (the beginnings of Restaurant Week by the by) I decided that HEY! I love food and I have never been here so, why not?
Enter thee Art and Soul a place that I have been wanting to try for a month of Sunday’s but never got around to it. The restaurant is in Capitol Hill, connected to the Liaison Hotel. The restaurant itself is quaint, parking can be fair to middling at best, valet is offered at a discounted rate.
I went at lunch, the restaurant menu consisted of three courses; a salad, entrée and dessert. The salad (Earth n Eats) was basically mixed greens, with radishes, pecans, and a grapefruit vinaigrette. I was slightly underwhelmed with this… I was expecting more. The saltiness of the pecans and the sour/​bitter from the grapefruit really wasn’t my favorite.
For an entrée I went with the shrimp and grits, my cuzzo got the fried chicken. Both plates were beautiful, my grits were nice and creamy, and the shrimp were seasoned nicely. My cuzzo’s plate had the fried chicken which was delish (can’t say it’s better than grandma’s though) mashed potatoes and greens. Everything was pretty good, except for the greens, can’t say I was really a fan.
For me, the star of the meal were the brussel sprouts roasted with bacon. They were just divine perfection to me. For dessert I had the sweet potato bread pudding, can’t go wrong with that. I think for restaurant week, it was pretty dope. But, I can’t say it’s better than grandma’s kitchen. I don’t know if I’d go back all willy nilly.

**RESTAURANT WEEK LUNCH REVIEW, ONLY**
At $ 20.15 for a 3-​course lunch (that includes fried chicken), you KNOW I was running to this spot.
It’s located in a hotel lobby, but the place looks super modern and chic. There is a laid-​back and relaxed vibe. I think some people were brunching, so maybe blame it on the alcohol… haha.
Our server was quick, and refilled our waters although there was a pitcher set on the table for us.
THE FOOD
===================================================
APPETIZERS/​STARTERS:
Earth N Eats Baby Lettuce:
It was A LOT of greens. I liked the freshness of it, and it was enough to share.
Soup of the day:
It was cream of broccoli. Initially, I thought it was a little plain, as if it were missing something. Silly old me eventually realized that sitting in the middle of the soup was sautéed broccoli (which was PERFECTLY seasoned). I scooped a little of that, and ate it with the soup and went «AHA,» then «Mmmmmm» because at that moment, I discovered the genius of the dish. Perfect.
ENTREES:
Fried Free Range Chicken:
YUM. I love fried chicken, and I had heard so many great things about Chef Art Smith’s creation. I was honored to try it out. They gave me two generous portions of chicken atop a bed of scalion mashed potatoes (SUUUPER flavorful), and some kind of collard greens I think (seasoned SOOO well. I could eat a tub of those sides).
At the restaurant, I was almost convinced I enjoyed the sides more than the chicken. However, I did have leftovers. To my delight, heating up the fried chicken didn’t even affect the quality. I think I might have even enjoyed it even more reheated at home. The flavors were great; not overwhelmingly seasoned and the chicken is dark-​meat and very moist. The crisp skin had STAYED crisp. This was a miracle.
Farro and Barley Risotto:
A hint of cheese, or something with a zing that made this a nice dish. The risotto was al dente, and yummy.
DESSERT:
Sweet potato bread pudding: I was so thrilled to try this. It came out a little dry, but the icecream on top helped. Not very sweet, but still good.
Ice cream: The restaurant week option came in a small shot glass. I think it was vanilla, and mixed it was a bunch of interesting things like oreos. Pretty yummy.
To be honest, I was so stuffed from the first two courses, that I couldn’t fully enjoy dessert.
VERDICT
===================================================
Art and Soul was a great, laid-​back spot to take my best friend and catch up. I liked the modern lights, the open windows, and the all around vibe.
The food was up-​to-​par with all the reviews. I had looked at over 20 lunch menus for Restaurant Week 2015 lunch, and I have no regrets choosing this cute little spot! 4 stars!

Was excited to find a restaurant that actually serves breakfast and not brunch! LOL
I had the lemon pancakes with a side of bacon. Pancakes were yummy! Just enough lemon flavor to not make it too lemony if that makes sense. Cost of a cup of coffee, we could have gone to Starbucks, but it was good. Friend had the BLT Benedict and said that it was good. The potatoes were a little lukewarm.
Service was ok… at first the waiter was on it/​us, he was there. Then towards the end of the meal he disappeared for a smidge.
Would like to go back and try brunch or another meal.