Odeon Cafe

I love any venue that offers sidewalk seating. The service was very consistent and friendly and the food was incredible. The rolls were baked fresh and served straight outta the oven, I didn’t think it got any better until our entrees arrived. My mouth had gone to heaven. The pasta was steaming over the plate and I felt like I had bought a ticket to Italy! Incredible.

Met friends here for a Sunday morning brunch and was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t too busy. Everyone ordered omelettes except for me I went with Eggs Benedict. The wait staff was very friendly and helpful but they brought the food at different times over the course of almost 10 minutes, additionally they were unable to split checks which was annoying. The brunch was good but the atmosphere was meh and I probably wouldn’t go back.

After browsing and passing by a couple of other Italian eateries in the Dupont Circle area, we ended up eating at Odeon after a friendly chat with the host who was outside at the time. We checked out the menu and despite the place looking relatively empty on a Friday night (often times a negative sign) and a little bit more pricey than the $$ it shows here, we sat down to eat. Aside from our interaction with the host, things didn’t start great and never improved.
I had my hopes up looking around and noticing the commendation the place was getting from local newspapers and websites. But like their political counterpart down at the Capitol, we’ll have to make sure there was no outside funding going on to lead to that.
The service started off abysmally. After getting sat by the host, our waiter was nowhere to be seen for a very long time. Also failed to get water until after we put our order in, something that didn’t occur quickly at all. The busser or whoever was handling the water and bread must have had open heart surgery going on in the back because he appeared to have little reason to remain in the dining area and tend to the guests. Like I said this place wasn’t busy at all. Although there was a small private party upstairs, but it hardly seemed to be worthy of requiring the entire wait staff to abandon the rest of the patrons.
We finally put in some food. After catching the site of the Maine Lobster sign out front, I reached for the lobster ravioli. It must have definitely not said fresh, cause it tasted more frozen and preserved than a can of tuna. Which was a shame, cause the ravioli itself and sauce had a fighting chance.
Sadly we also got to have that awkward moment where the two tables around us were being severely neglected. One which had ordered before we even sat down it seemed, had not even had their food by the time we paid and left. Which was a whole ordeal in itself. Another table who had sat down immediately after us was experiencing the same issue. Staring us down as we awkwardly ate.
I can’t say that this is a normal occurrence for this place, as obviously at one point they had things going for them. But things were certainly not clicking that evening. And when you’re spending $ 15 – 20 a plate for most things on the menu, it’s really a quick way to ruin the experience.

Quick lunch here. I had the spinach salad and my partner had the grilled panini. Can’t really mess up salad. Everything was good

Came in here randomly on a Wednesday for lunch (my day off). I’m an African American 24 year old professional and had just left the nail salon next door. I was dressed very casually and got the «what are you doing in here?» stare as soon as I walked in which made me slightly uncomfortable. However I decided to stay and ordered the lasagna. It was ok. Nothing special. $ 14 and came out quick.
Not impressed with this place. They need better customer service.

We decided to try this restaurant as we were able to book a table online. We were a group of six hungry souls who were ready to experience the culinary delights of Italy. We took the metro to DuPont circle and then spent a few minutes trying to decide which way was north so we would head in the right direction. When we arrived we were greeted and seated immediately. We ordered Norwegian salmon, eggplant parmigiana, spaghetti and meatballs, butternut squash ravioli and penne cappe sante. All the dishes were consumed with relish. The desserts were wonderful and we all left full and ready for the next day’s adventures. During our meal at least three large groups trooped through the restaurant and upstairs to what must be a large dining room. The waiters were all busy yet always seemed to have time to refill water glasses or check to see that everything was ok.