Mari Vanna DCGreat Russian Restaurant!Beautiful interior, great design, very good food, friendly personal, best place in DC!!!5/12/2013 12:00:00 AMOld Russian Food and New RussiansI took my wife for an early Mother's Day dinner. The bilingual hostesses were helpful. Our waitress and waiters were charming, reliable, and varied but efficient. The drinks and food were expensive, tasty, and attractively presented. The background music was rather loud presumably European pop music, often with lyrics in English. Many of the other customers were speaking Russian, but our waitress and the waiter whom we saw most often did not. The decor is an abstraction of your grandmother's apartment in St. Petersburg. In terms of my principal objective--celebrating Mother's Day--it exceeded expectations: My wife liked it very much. It would have been fun to have a menu in Russian.5/12/2013 12:00:00 AMA not to miss experienceMari Vanna is a delight. From the homey décor and custom servers dresses to the plates, glasses and delicious food. And don't forget the in house infused vodka in many flavors. The Mari Vanna experience is not pretentious or contrived it is genuine and it's like eating with family. We enjoyed a brunch buffet for mother's day and were not rushed, were well attended and they even had a balloon artist for the kids. This restaurant can be very cozy and you can feel comfortable on a date, just make sure you ask for a small table upstairs room towards the front of the restaurant. The food is pure Russian comfort food but is prepared exceptionally well. High end champagne & caviar are available if you want to splurge for a special occassion.5/12/2013 12:00:00 AMRussian GiantFirst visit to Mari Vanna. My spouse is Russian and very particular about her culture and the food. She loved it. So did I. Had plenty of her mom's cooking and this restaurant was a treat. All of the dishes ordered were excellent. The horseradish infused Vodka was as good as the one we had in Belarus. Staff was very friendly. Requested having the Executive Chef come to our table (Roman Green), and he did, and spent several minutes talking to us. Overall, would strongly recommend this restaurant5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat food, mediocre serviceThe food was great. However, the service was so-so, especially considering the price point of the restaurant.5/10/2013 12:00:00 AMCool experience, food was lackingThis place has a cool vibe and even a guy who rocks an accordion!
Service was great with a pleasant waitress ready for our every ask.
Drink selection was interesting and with some tasty drinks and others just not my taste.
But the food was pricey and small portioned.
Overall glad I went for the experience and vibe. But not sure I'm hurrying back.5/7/2013 12:00:00 AMSunday BrunchNot the largest brunch buffet, but had a wide variety of breakfast and lunch foods, both savory and sweet. Food labelled and staff were very friendly in answering questions. Menus on table explained what different dishes were. Mimosa's are unlimited for ladies and were very good.5/5/2013 12:00:00 AMFantastic addition to theFantastic addition to the neighborhood; great Russian food; impeccable service.4/22/2013 12:00:00 AMLove it!Great staff. Great food, great infused vodkas. Definitely coming back.4/20/2013 12:00:00 AMthe food was amazing and thethe food was amazing and the hostesses were very pleasent4/17/2013 12:00:00 AMReally a fun experience.Really a fun experience. Very warm and welcoming restaurant. Our server was terrific. The food was really good given that Russian food isn't exactly haute cuisine. What they do make though is great. The pierogis and dumplings are delish. We had the stroganoff and that was very tasty. The borscht soup was very nice as well. I was stuffed. Wines were reasonable. They have neat infused vodkas to choose from too which looked fun. It is a rather bustling place and the accordian player going around playing Russian folk songs was really fun.4/16/2013 12:00:00 AMExcellent place. Very special.Excellent place. Very special. The decoration, and the live music also helps to have a very enjoyable dinner. A place not to be missed in WDC.3/28/2013 12:00:00 AMWe had their tea for two.We had their tea for two. It was fantastic and a great price! I had been complaining for a while that we needed a good tea spot, and this filled the void.3/27/2013 12:00:00 AMDC needs more spots like thisLove! So excited about this new addition to the DC dining scene, great food and ambiance. I have been twice already and will definitely go back.3/26/2013 12:00:00 AMAuthentic Russian venue inAuthentic Russian venue in the heart of DC. You know it's real when everyone there is speaking Russian.3/26/2013 12:00:00 AMRussian FoodGood traditional Russian food. For an adventurous soul i would recommend to try their herring dishes. Both, Herring under a Fur coat and Cured herring are really good.3/15/2013 12:00:00 AMThe staff set this apart fromThe staff set this apart from other restaurants, they were enthusiastic and personable. The vodka was the best I have ever tasted, but at $9, I only had a shot. The cocktails were so expensive I did not even want to try one. The meal was very good, but I don't think the prices were justified. Overall it was a fun atmosphere, but way too expensive.2/14/2013 12:00:00 AMWe were seated right awayWe were seated right away and the whole night the servers were very attentive. Our drink and food orders were taken promptly and the servers took away used plates quickly. The decor was beautiful and the ambiance was very pleasant. The food is on the pricey side, but definitely tastes authentic and is very good quality. The only thing I noted that was not very authentic is the portion size - Russian meals at home with the family are much more family style and not tapas. The bilinis for desert were a perfect finish to our meal. My favorite part of the experience was when a server noticed my purse was on the floor and asked if I wanted a stool for it - what a gem.2/11/2013 12:00:00 AM