The Grill Room

Wonderful hotel and The Grill Room is exceptionally good! My favorite place in Georgetown and I definitely recommend. The chef here is amazing and his food phenomenal. Great customer service too.

Live in Arlington and brought my parents here for brunch. Brought the most bullshit chorizo and hash w/​tomato sauce, not listed as an ingredient on the menu, for some reason which was sent back. They brought dry french toast that was sub par and a steak that was the worst cu o beef I’ve seen that came w/​nothing else. What brunch steak doesn’t come w/​some sort of side? There wasn’t even an egg. 16 $ mimosas w/​tons of pulp, 18 $ cocktails. Lame lame spot that is, for some reason, rated very highly. Don’t spend a ton of money here like we did for nothing in return.

My love for the Capella Hotel and Rye Bar brought me to the Grill Room for brunch on a brisk and cloudy winter’s day. Can I just say that Capella can do no wrong? From artisanal cocktails to locally sourced cuisine, their entire program is A plus.
The dining room is gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. Floor to ceiling windows, French doors, al fresco C&O Canal tables. Everything looks like it belongs in a home décor magazine. I love the semi-​private dining room too. Enclosed on 3 sides by frosty glass and white bookshelves filled with trinkets like vases, decanters, glasses, and books, the room has a long table meant for 10 with plush armchairs, beautiful place settings, delightful flower arrangements, and glass sliding doors on the 4^th side.
We were able to get an al fresco table, perfect for people watching. I love that you get just enough of a view of the buzz on the streets but not a full on view of the canal water. Just sitting in the dining room makes you feel classy and ritzy.
To start, we shared half dozen Kumamoto oysters in a soy-​yuzu mignonette. For my entrée, I ordered the shakshouka, which is eggs poached in a basil-​scented tomato sauce with avocado and crème fraîche. Absolutely fantastic! I love the lightness of the poached eggs combined with the basil, tomatoes, and fresh avocados. Mixed in with a little crème fraîche, the dish was perfectly balanced and refreshing. For dessert, I had an affogato which is a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and La Colombe espresso.
Service was also, as expected, wonderful. Our server was very friendly and accommodating with just the right amount of presence. Despite us being the only ones in the dining room for the majority of our meal, she never rushed us to hurry out.

ROBBED! True the food and ambience are wonderful as indicated in the other reviews. However, we went for New Year’s eve and were not told there was a different menu when we called and made the reservation. When we arrived we had a menu that had a different glass of champagne with seven courses and no price. We do not even drink champagne. At the end of the meal we were presented with a check for $ 1200!!! This is absolutely uncalled for in a city such as Washington DC. We have dined at the best restaurants around the world, including this one, but there is no reason for such deceit. They should be ashamed of themselves, truly. Had we been given the option of knowing what we were getting into, we could have made the decision to come back at another date and time. As people who do not drink champagne, this was a complete waste of our money: although we suspect they benefited greatly. Unfortunately, this will be our last visit to a restaurant that we truly loved.

The ambiance and The Grill Room is fantastic, the drinks were really good, but everything was way over priced.
I went for brunch with a group of friends and no one was wowed by the food. The service was good.
I went into it knowing that it was expensive and I don’t mind going to expensive restaurants, I just don’t the The Grill Room provided the value. I probably won’t be going back.

Great spot for a nice lunch in Georgetown. I had the lobster salad and it was really good. My favorite was the olive bread they give you, I think I finished two baskets myself. Great service and good food!

if I could, I would give a 7 out of 10 rating. Food was quite good but didn’t blow us away. No burger, which one of our party was looking for. Really liked that you could order the fixed-​price meal courses a la carte; the harvest carpaccio and venison dish were wonderful. Wine list impressive but expect to pay as there were few offerings in a moderate ($ 30 – 40) price range. But since they had Sea Smoke Pinot noir, that is the direction we went. Perhaps the most disconcerting thing came at the end of the meal. We were finishing dessert a bit after 10 and suddenly we were surrounded by waitstaff clearing all the tables and resetting for breakfast. Since that meant removing the table cloths, a great deal of cloth waving occurred; all of a sudden we felt rushed and not wanted.
Will we go back? Maybe but not high on the priority list given so many choices in DC

Here tonight for a birthday dinner, first rate in every way. You are greeted warmly and professionally by all staff. The cocktails were outstanding and we will be back to enjoy the Rye Bar, Each dish was cooked perfectly and reminded us what it is is to enjoy quality ingredients cooked well. You will be reminded of why butter is so damned good. Portions are spot on, the table is set beautifully with a linen cloth, you can hear your dinner companions, and no one says «what would you guys like?» Expensive and worth it. Don’t go for the tempting champagne tray if you want to keep the bill under super high. A great choice for a special dinner, you will not be disappointed.

From start to finish, the food and service were superb. Free bread basket had corn bread and biscuits that melted in my mouth. The gnocchi appetizer is a must try. And I can why they’re famous for the roast chicken — it was the most succulent and flavorful chicken I’ve ever had. I think I died and went to heaven. Dessert is obligatory. Presentation was beautiful and taste did not disappoint. Definitely a special occasion spot that will be sure to delight your senses.

Pathetic — I could cook myself a better steak and I don’t cook. Going to wise millers to cleanse my mouth with a $ 5 sandwich. I briefly considered tossing my steak in the canal.
In fact, I would be willing to do a blind taste test iron chef style filed under my steak v. The Grill Room.

Cyndy’s Bottom Line: Enjoyed the ambiance and the burger!
Went to The Grill Room especially for the burger. I remember the delicious burger at Palena and wanted one! It is delightful that Frank Ruta is recreating his dishes here.
I love the ambiance and the interior décor. The french doors open to the outside seating area which has a scenic view of the canal and the beautiful trees the line the canal.
This is what we ate/​drank:
Bloody Mary — a very good tasting Bloody nicely composed with a good amount of spiciness, yummy olives and a lime wedge.
Rye Limeade — a smooth and tasty drink. Be careful it goes down so good!
The Grill Room Burger — Angus beef, house made bun and mayonnaise, and truffle cheese served with French fries and cauliflower and pickled beets.
Yummy perfection. The bun is house made nicely grilled and holds up well to the Angus beef. The mayo and the truffle cheese are so flavorful and adds to the overall taste of the burger.
The Grill Room Bacon Burger — Angus beef, house made bun and mayonnaise, bacon onion confit, and cheddar cheese. The bacon onion confit was delicious.
The Georgetowner — a divine decadent masterpiece! A dark chocolate torte with cocoa nib marshmallow, milk chocolate bavarian, caramelia namelaka, caramelized rice crispies, and buttered popcorn ice cream. If you love chocolate this is for you! You will enjoy all the different decadent flavors.

My husband and I were longtime Palena fans, so we were delighted when Frank Ruta came to the Grill Room. We have now been twice, and the restaurant has gone from quite good to outstanding. Early service kinks have been completely ironed out, and the food – always delicious – is now even more inventive. Plus the Grill Room has one of the best sommeliers in town, and a wine list with options you just don’t see elsewhere.
We went for my husband’s birthday celebration, and the restaurant really went out of its way to make the occasion special. Our waiter and sommelier were friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable without being overbearing. The waiter brought Ruta’s famous fried lemons (a genius and addictive invention) as a complimentary mini-​starter, as well as complimentary champagne. The food was superb – I had the corn agnolotti and roasted chicken, husband had the soft-​shell crab and steak. Those items might sound ordinary, but the agnolotti was delicate yet assertively flavored, and the chicken had a perfect hint of cardamom and cumin that made it off-​the-​charts delicious. Best of all, the prices – for this caliber of meal – were less than at comparable places in town (e.g., Blue Duck, BLT, and the like.). Highly recommended as a must-​visit!

The Grill Room is an upscale hotel restaurant. The food is pricey, but you can expect that from hotel dining (especially the Capella hotel group). Chef Frank Ruta is doing an amazing job with the menus.
Our server Lester made this one of the best experiences for Sunday brunch. He had a great personality and went out of his way to accommodate our group of 3. We were seated on the patio overlooking the C&O Canal.
— Grill room salad $ 13: They were nice enough to split the salad into two portions for us. The shaved beets and radish were excellent.
— Salmon & poached egg $ 22: Small portion, but perfectly cooked and tasty
— Grill Room Burger: TRUFFLE CHEESE. That’s all you need to know in life.
— Lemon Madeleines $ 10: Takes 10 min to make, but they’re worth the wait! The lemon marmalade is a great addition and the madeleines melt in your mouth.
— The Georgetowner $ 10: Must try! It’s not too rich or sweet since they use dark chocolate. The crisps added great texture.
— Rhubarb sorbet $ 10: The sorbet was good, but I couldn’t taste much of the rhubarb. I would have swapped the meringues for cocoa nibs.
I would come back on a special occasion to try their seasonal items.

I had dinner with a group of friends, which was good — otherwise the night would have been a total waste. It was horribly overpriced — I had no appetizer, no dessert, 2 glasses of wine, a mediocre meat dish and salad (also mediocre) and the bill was almost $ 100.00 for my share. The meat dish came with french fries, which I don’t eat for dietary reasons and no alternative was offered. The salad was little more than lettuce with dressing. There is no way I would go back to this place.

Forget what you may have known about Capella’s Grill Room. Much-​beloved chef, Frank Ruta, found a new home in this gorgeous modern space last February and has revitalized the entire operation. His food is, as-​ever, delicious; on my last visit, his pastas were particularly dazzling. When Frank’s gnocchi is follow by Aggie Chin’s SUBLIME pastries, you have the makings of truly memorable «food pornography.» Re: dessert, skip the Georgetowner (which is by all accounts excellent) and try the Spot of Tea – lemon posset with Earl Gray icecream and meyer lemon marmalade, YUM.
As other reviewers have commented, Grill Room needs to iron-​out some issues with the front of the house. The servers were mildly inattentive, the management was surprisingly brusque and inhospitable. Aside from this issue, the new and improved Grill Room is definitely worth a visit.

This restaurant has a lovely setting. And if I were rating both meals at our table, it might average out to a 3 star because the person dining with me enjoyed their caesar salad, but I’m only evaluating mine. I ordered the burger. It is a $ 22 burger. I eat a lot of high quality burgers and I buy high quality meat at home. I can definitely tell the difference between cisco meat and freshly ground meat. This was cisco meat. It was so bad that I could only eat half of it but by the time I wasn’t starving anymore I couldn’t force myself to eat anymore. It was that bad. This was the first burger I haven’t finished in a long time. Someone charging $ 22 for a burger should be ashamed to be using meat this low quality.

This is a review for Thanksgiving 11÷27÷14 noon seating.
Trying something new, and not having to work this year, my wife and I decided to go out for Thanksgiving. We are soooo happy we went to the Grill Room.
When we arrived at noon, they told us our window seat that I specifically asked for was already taken. Whatever, we got a booth in the corner which was fine.
The service was pleasant with just the right amount of personal attention. We were given professional guidance from our main waiter when we sat down instructing us that its family style, all you can eat, many courses, and if there’s anything we want more of just ask, and also «even though the rolls and cornbread are delicious, don’t fill up on them because there’s a lot coming your way.» Good advice!
The courses were delicious, varied, and plentiful. I think you can still go to the website to see the menu, I’ll try to post a pic too. Keep in mind, there were items served that were not listed on the menu.
It would take too long to comment about all the different things we ate (salads, soups, appetizers, sides, main dishes, breads, desserts, etc…), so ‘m going to list the proteins we ate: lobster, scallop, quail, turkey, pork, ham, duck ham, salmon. All of it flavorful, diverse, unique and cooked perfectly. This was one of the best meals I’ve ever had.
There was a small band in the corner playing jazz and holiday favorites which added a nice touch. Not too loud, just the right amount of live background music to provide the perfect soundtrack to our 3.5 hour meal.
5 stars. Hats off to a wonderful Thanksgiving meal.

This is not the type of place you just pop into for lunch one day. It’s quite pricey! The food is very good, though. We shared the burrata and tomato salad to start. It was presented beautifully, but I would have liked more tomato with it. I had the rotisserie chicken of the day, which was served with mashed potatoes, roasted vegetables, and chorizo from Stachowski’s deli. Everything tasted great, but I didn’t like that the mashed potatoes were served in a little pot on the side. I wanted them on my plate to soak up all the sauce from the chicken! My dining companion got the scallops with lemon risotto and loved it. The bread they serve is fantastic, as well. The only thing I didn’t like was that the place seemed so uptight. It would be good for a business lunch, I think.

We went here because it was the only place open before an early morning photoshoot. It was overly priced and pretty fancy but what else do you expect in Georgetown? They have a beautiful patio area next to the canal so it was serene as we ate. Until the sun started peeking above the trees — bring your sunglasses! :D The food was good but we weren’t blown out of the water. I doubt we’d go here again because there are too many other fantastic food options around.

My partner and I went to The Grill Room for brunch, and overall, I felt that it was it had good food and a good vibe, but yet again, the service at the Capella Hotel was extremely dismal. My partner and I had been to the Rye Bar late last year (the review is also on Unilocal!), and also then we were disappointed with the slow and haphazard service. Unfortunately, the same exact thing happened again this time.
When we arrived, we had to wait a good 6 to 8 minutes to see any kind of server or hostess. The dining room was half-​full, so we couldn’t understand why not a single server or any management would come around for 8 minutes. …This would be the theme of our meal at The Grill Room.
We went all the way to Georgetown for brunch because we had a Gilt City deal that allowed us to try their rye cocktails and 10 sausages. The menu itself looked really interesting, and the food at this restaurant is very good. There were no boring selection like eggs and waffles that you would get at any brunch place. If you’re going to go to a random restaurant and pay $ 13 for eggs Benedict, I’d much prefer to just get a more interesting dish for $ 16, and that’s what’s typical at this restaurant. But because we had that deal, we had more than enough food with the sausages. And then, we got eggs Florentine just to have some eggs and vegetable with all that meat.
The food aside, however, in this place is abysmal. It’s kind of frustrating, because the servers are actually very nice and seemingly competent. It would be one thing to just say they were lame and just discount them, but they seemed trained, which made all the errors that much more obvious. For instance, it took about 15 to 20 minutes after we ordered to get coffee. At a brunch service, there should be so much coffee that they should have one person dedicated to topping everyone off. However, we had to bring this to their attention four different times before any coffee showed up. What’s more, every table around us was telling that they were missing their coffee, too, so this wasn’t a an isolated incident with just our table. I understand the concept of a lazy Sunday brunch, and I’m all for that, but that implies that we aren’t sitting around with empty water glasses and no coffee and no food for 20 minutes, and that’s exactly the situation we found ourselves in. Another example is that when the eggs florentine came, it looked pretty plain and my partner asked if the beurre blanc was there. The waitress said over and over that there was beurre blanc and even pointed to it. Ok… in five minutes she came with a side of beurre blanc and said it actually wasn’t on there in the first place. D’oh!
It’s really rather unfortunate, actually, because the Capella Hotel looks gorgeous in the lobby and in the entryway, and they have a great location right on the canal. But the service is so disappointing and less than mediocre that I can’t exactly recommend this restaurant to anyone. They have what looks like a very gorgeous private table, but even with that space, I don’t trust that I could have a business dinner or a private party here without being embarrassed that they let our table down. We explicitly asked if there was a server dedicated to just this table if it were rented out, and while she did say there was a dedicated server, I half don’t believe it and half don’t think that one server dedicated to the table is not enough.
I won’t be returning.