Looking for a good BYOB restaurant in DC (city or very close suburb)?
December 16, 2015 12:43 PM Subscribe
We're visiting DC over Christmas and going out to dinner with friends. None of us live there. The friends are not adventurous eaters, so we have to stick to Italian/New American type places. We'd like to find a place with great food that would also be considered "nice," but is not too expensive (say a limit of $50/head total - drinks, appetizers, entrees), which where we live generally means BYOB if we want to drink, which we do. We don't want to go out into the burbs.
Places other friends have said are good but that are more pricey than we want, which is why I thought the BYOB thing might help: Red Hen, Founding Farmers.
Places other friends have said are good but that are more pricey than we want, which is why I thought the BYOB thing might help: Red Hen, Founding Farmers.
I would suggest calling ahead during a holiday week to make sure that any place that offers free corkage is still doing it that week. Alcohol sales are where restaurants make a substantial portion of their money so you're asking owners to cut their own throat in a week where they might not need to. Free BYOB isn't really a big thing in DC - usually it's something that a few places offer on off nights.
One list and another.
How much alcohol are you looking to have? There's tons of places where a single drink each and an entree plus a couple appetizers plus tip can be had for $50/each. You're not likely to find a lot of places that want you bringing three or four bottles of wine and then only ordering $40 of food per person.
posted by Candleman at 1:07 PM on December 16, 2015
One list and another.
How much alcohol are you looking to have? There's tons of places where a single drink each and an entree plus a couple appetizers plus tip can be had for $50/each. You're not likely to find a lot of places that want you bringing three or four bottles of wine and then only ordering $40 of food per person.
posted by Candleman at 1:07 PM on December 16, 2015
I'd call to be sure but I believe 14K restaurant at the Hamilton does BYOB Monday through Thursday. They're "Contemporary American" and definitely in DC proper so that might fit your needs?
That said, DC is not a big BYOB city (although it's got a HUGE happy hour culture); it's not something that would even occur to me when going out to eat around here. I would be much more likely to get dinner and a cocktail somewhere nice and then go for more drinks somewhere cheap afterwards.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:10 PM on December 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
That said, DC is not a big BYOB city (although it's got a HUGE happy hour culture); it's not something that would even occur to me when going out to eat around here. I would be much more likely to get dinner and a cocktail somewhere nice and then go for more drinks somewhere cheap afterwards.
posted by Mrs. Pterodactyl at 1:10 PM on December 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
Red Hen is good (it's my neighborhood pasta joint), but they charge a corkage fee of $20 per bottle.
I think Medium Rare would work well for your price range. The set menu is $21 a head, and they have wines as low as $30 a bottle.
posted by evoque at 1:12 PM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think Medium Rare would work well for your price range. The set menu is $21 a head, and they have wines as low as $30 a bottle.
posted by evoque at 1:12 PM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]
Nthing that BYOB is not a common thing in DC. Especially for someplace that would be a destination restaurant. The one place that's on my foodie-ish list to try which is BYOB is Thai Xing but maybe it's too adventurous for your friends and it's a fixed menu so they can't just choose the easiest option.
$50 tax-included works out to about $10 drink / $12 app / $23 entree ($45 + 10% tax), which seems very doable without needing to add the BYOB restriction.
posted by _Silky_ at 1:15 PM on December 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
$50 tax-included works out to about $10 drink / $12 app / $23 entree ($45 + 10% tax), which seems very doable without needing to add the BYOB restriction.
posted by _Silky_ at 1:15 PM on December 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
I've never had a bad meal at Carmine's, and you can get out of there for $50 a person, even though it's not BYOB.
posted by MrMoonPie at 1:27 PM on December 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by MrMoonPie at 1:27 PM on December 16, 2015 [2 favorites]
Oh, and a 2nd for Medium Rare. Not my favorite place in the world, but never disappointing.
posted by MrMoonPie at 1:28 PM on December 16, 2015
posted by MrMoonPie at 1:28 PM on December 16, 2015
Graffiato is nice, italian/new american, and relatively affordable on the scale of "nicer" DC restaurants. Get lots of plates to share.
posted by Karaage at 1:46 PM on December 16, 2015
posted by Karaage at 1:46 PM on December 16, 2015
Thai X-ing is great but be sure to go to the 9th St location if you want to BYOB. I know you said your friends are not adventurous but if they like Thai food or are willing to give it a shot, I doubt that they will be disappointed. And I too enjoy Medium Rare.
If your friends are wine drinkers, maybe look around to find places that have reduced price wine nights. On that list, Chef Geoff, Floriana, Red Rocks, and Tonic are probably good bets for you and yours. Also, I like Busboys and Poets. There are several locations and I think you can easily get out of there spending less than $50/head even if you get a few drinks.
posted by kat518 at 2:38 PM on December 16, 2015
If your friends are wine drinkers, maybe look around to find places that have reduced price wine nights. On that list, Chef Geoff, Floriana, Red Rocks, and Tonic are probably good bets for you and yours. Also, I like Busboys and Poets. There are several locations and I think you can easily get out of there spending less than $50/head even if you get a few drinks.
posted by kat518 at 2:38 PM on December 16, 2015
Response by poster: OK, looks like my BYOB suggestion was more misleading than helpful, sorry. And right there in the title, too! Feel free to ignore that part.
posted by palliser at 3:07 PM on December 16, 2015
posted by palliser at 3:07 PM on December 16, 2015
I want to second the Carmine's suggestion above. The servings are massive and meant for sharing. Four of us dined well on one order of lasagna and one order of salad (plus garlic bread). The price would fit your requirements and you could get drinks.
You should also think about Clyde's. We had a great group meal at their Gallery Place location.
posted by gudrun at 3:37 PM on December 16, 2015
You should also think about Clyde's. We had a great group meal at their Gallery Place location.
posted by gudrun at 3:37 PM on December 16, 2015
Clyde's a good place. If you go, check your dates against the schedules for both Wizards and Caps games. If either team is at home, you'll need a reservation because the place gets mobbed a couple hours before games, right up until tip-off/puck drop.
posted by Thistledown at 10:16 AM on December 17, 2015
posted by Thistledown at 10:16 AM on December 17, 2015
« Older US Banking question - which one? Personal and... | Small Condo Buildings - Do you pay an HOA Manager... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Bunny Boneyology at 1:01 PM on December 16, 2015 [2 favorites]