Oyster Riot @ Old Ebbitt Grill

Another great year at the Riot! Excellent oysters and a better selection of wines than last year.

I am currently here now… An I usually wait to write my reviews because I like for them to marinate buuuutttt I see the oyster riot rated very poorly sooooo I must start my review with one hand on a plate of oysters and the other writing this review…
This riot is nothing but awesome. For $ 175 you get endless oysters and wine!!! If you are an oyster lover you can appreciate an event such as this??? Yes! It’s crowded but any amazing party is … I look forward to this event each and every year. The servers are here to provide mini sandwiches not particularly to serve guests, and because it’s mostly oysters served of course people are going to want a lil bread so you have to catch the servers when you can! Great event! Change nothing … It’s sold out each and every year for a reason !

Pro — ALL YOU CAN EAT OYSTERS AND WINE!
Con — Soo cramped that you end the night covered in spilled wine and oyster brine.
And I was told before going in that there’s only so many oysters you can eat before it all tastes the same and the only reason you don’t puke up gray sludge is that it would be a waste of beautiful oysters that you spent 2 hours fighting through the crowds to eat.
I’m mixed on if I would go back, as the $ 140 would buy the same amount of oysters during OEG’s happy hour bar specials. But the band as great and it’s great people watching.
Maybe if I was bigger drinker and I dressed in kakhis instead of a cocktail dress (there is no dress code — so people are dressed anywhere from tails to silk PJs) I would have had a better time.
But the oysters and the wine I had were all top notch.

Greatest party in DC involving awesome oysters, first rate wines and glorious dance bands and marvelous people… wouldn’t miss it except I need to know where to get tickets this year… forgot about Sept 1^st! Anybody got any ideas…
I’m on FB at Karen «KK» Williams. Help a girl out, willing to pay! xox K

This was a regular morning (not oyster feast!) GREAT LOCATION NEXT TO THE White House — Awesome breakfast — eggs benedict and smoked salmon/​bagel plate with strong coffee. Quinton was a fabulous waiter. 4 plus stars!

Awesome place to stop into for the best oysters and drinks. I usually like to sit at the big lobby bar– where everything is vibrant and hopping. Last night I went with a group of friends and sat at a table in the corner bar section. We were not disappointed. The trout was really great, so was the catfish and the pork chops. And the bonus– 4 of us ate with a shared appetizer and a dessert for about $ 120. Next time I’m in DC I’ll be back for happy hour and half price oysters!

It’s retarded to have to beg to pay $ 175 to have to be crammed like sardines and have to keep an eye out for whree the waiter with a full tray might be. Any sense of originality and community that Old Ebbitt ever had (think to their previous location 20+yrs ago) has since bee sold off to foreign tourists for photo ops and lobbyists trying to impress out-​of-​town rednecks. You can do a lot better for your money!

If you like oysters and wine plus you have a 100+ bucks to burn this is an event for you. They pass hors d’oeurves, but in such limited quantities and frequencies that the waiter olding the tray normally gets swarmed as soon as he/​she steps into the space.

Think of a party where you get a plate… you get a glass… and you dine with about 1,000 of your other «friends» on 20 varieties of oysters and over 20 types of wine. Imagine a time where somewhere in there, you also take time to take in a great band and snack on a crab claw. Envision an event where people show up in tuxes, smoking jackets, bathrobes, and other various states of wear — to include a few mermaids. Once that mental picture is in your head, you now have OEG’s Oyster Riot.
Well worth getting up early and standing in line for tickets, at $ 126.50 a pop, I’d say that I certainly ate, shucked, and drank my way through that much and more. Hard to believe? Sure. Possible? Hell yes.
I was surprised at the efficiency — check in, get your wristband, and then go off and do whatever you want to do until opening. There are several entrances and once that’s done, there is a bathroom trailer (yeah, sounds grody until you see the faux marble walls and clean smell of this port-​o-​crapper) to let you push/​pee out whatever you consumed earlier to make room for more oysters.
I easily got through 3.5 dozen — I don’t think I’ve ever eaten that many oysters in my life. I won’t even bother to count the number of glasses of wine — but I was lit brighter than a Congressional dream of free health care without a budget impact. Yeah, Julie, I snuck that one in there just for you since I can’t be at your party to fête you properly!