Best Restaurants for People Watching in Van Ness

Everyone greeted us warmly and directed us to the table. We sat in a private space large enough for our group and were introduced to our server immediately. The menu was clear and the choices all seemed exciting. We ordered drinks and chose the Pre Fixe option. The $60 set price was a good deal and all of the food was wonderful. We enjoyed the space, the food, and the service. I definitely recommend it.

At $120 a person without a tip, this was a treat for me and my family. I'd only booked it because I had seen that the experience also came with a white house ornament and I was disappointed to see that they no longer include this as a benefit. Moreover, they seated our group right by the main entrance to the hotel, which would be fine had it not been winter and being met with a rush of frigid air every single time someone entered or left the hotel (which happened without fail at least 1-2 times every five minutes). A member of our group even wore her heavy winter coat the entire time because it was so cold where we were seated. Finally, at times the wait staff was nowhere to be found, so there were a handful of times throughout the evening when I needed new silverware or waters and had to wait an unusually long amount of time. The space is stunning but this is absolutely not worth the expense or the physical discomfort and inattentive service.

We came for a special New Year’s Day brunch and everything was amazing! We could stop oowwing and awwing at the food, drinks and ambience - the love jazz was great too! We will be back!

This was a special annual New Year’s lunch for our group. The whole experience was perfect, from making the reservations, the food, the service (esp the service). We hadn’t eaten at the Clarendon site before but enjoy the Foggy Bottom Circa. Look forward to returning.

We ordered the Prix Fixe menu. All of our selections were delicious! Our service was superb. We sat in a quieter area and it was very nice to be able to hear each other and not have to talk over noise or loud music. Overall we were very impressed and will definitely be back!