Stella, May I know how was the best crab cake in DC?

9:30 AM Unknown 0 Comments

As you know from my day trip post on Monday, we had lunch at the historic Old Ebbitt Grill. I fully recommend booking a reservation beforehand. The wait when we got there for ours? 2½ hours for a table for two! It was 2PM.  It's a fairly big restaurant too! Alternatively, they also serve their full menu at the bar.
Brunch Menu
Since it was Saturday, they were serving brunch. Old Ebbitt Grill is said to be the Washington's oldest bar and restaurant. (It has been relocated, so the current location isn't the original one.) The interior of the place brings you back in time. There are mahogany walls and a mahogany bar. The ceilings were covered in murals. The booths were green leather and etched glass separated the tables. It was dim inside, so pictures turned out terrible. but I did take pictures of my food! Also, as it is so close to the White House, celebrities and Secret Service/White House personnel supposedly frequent here. Sadly, we didn't see any or rather I don't think I saw any.
They say they have the best crab cakes, but it was only offered as an Eggs Benedict option on the brunch menu. (They swap out the traditional Canadian Bacon and English muffin with a crab cake.) But I asked our waiter and she said they were able to make me the Crab Cake Entree (single) for me and that's what you see above. They also have it as a double (two cakes) or à la carte. The crab cake sits atop some quinoa, watercress, and snap peas and all drizzled with some lemon aioli. It was a pretty tasty crab cake and the cake was full of crab too! It was flaky and not at all dry. I think it would have been good alone without the rest of the entree items, but they did add the freshness and brightness to the dish. Overall, I would recommend it, but I don't think it would be worth a two hour wait. Get it at the bar to go, and enjoy it at the National Mall.
It's also known for their oysters. Go during happy hour and get them half off! We indulged and got two of each kind they offered that day. They weren't shucked very well as we got shell pieces inside the shell and some of them were not "slide ready," but they were fresh. There were also lots of choices for toppings.
Generally, the seafood here came highly recommended. But I would come back for the atmosphere/environment. It was such a nice place to eat and I didn't mention it yet, but the service was superb.
links: Old Ebbitt Grill reservations