Proof Restaurant

The end of an era!! Proof will be missed greatly in DC.

It was the night before their last night. Unfortunately they have closed

We will miss Proof profoundly!

I'll miss Proof; I had been going to it since it opened. Goodbye, Proof.

Have always enjoyed the ambiance at Proof, and of course their excellent selection of wines and gourmet food. Sadly, they apparently are being driven out by some disagreement with the landowner, and will be closing after February 2, 2019. Hope they reopen in another location.

Everything was awesome

So sad this place is closing down! The octopus confit was amazing. After we got that appetizer I was wondering if we should've just ordered 4 of those, shared a bottle of wine, and called it a day. Waitstaff was very friendly. Cauliflower side with tahini was also great.

Was served a glass of Pinot Noir at 26 dollars instead of Bordeaux at 15. Our server pushed us to choose the steak which was good and the chicken which was somewhat tasteless. I think service was just OK and I m not sure why this restaurant deserves so much praise. I was very disappointed. J

very sad to see this great place closing at the end of this week.

We have been celebrating all of life’s special moments at Proof since it opened a decade ago. In fact, my wife and I shared our first dinner at Proof. Learning of the impending closure prompted us to make a recent visit. Nothing could have prepared us for how amazing each staff member was.

Servers from prior visits made their way over just to say hello. The server from the night surprised my wife with her favorite Proof cocktail from our first visit 10 years ago. The cocktail was discontinued over 7 years ago! We didn’t even ask for it - they just knew.

As if the incredibly decadent wine, mouthwatering dinner, and unparalleled service were not enough, at the end of the night the sommelier surprised us again with an autographed copy of a menu and the kitchen notes on us. Between my wife’s tears of joy and sadness, we struggled to say goodbye to this authentic version of perfection. Proof that good things never end.

We were devastated to hear this restaurant is closing for good after 11 years. The staff did their best to celebrate the food and wine. Hope they will figure out a way to launch Proof 2.

It’s just criminal that DC is losing this place.

We’ve dined at Proof on several occasions over the years because it was one of our favorite restaurants and wanted to dine here one last time before they close. All four of us were disappointed that only a restaurant week menu was available, and the amount of time it took for our entrees to be served was unacceptable (about an hour since appetizers were served). Two of the entrees were good while the other two (chicken) were just okay. If we had known that only the restaurant week menu was available, we would’ve waited until the regular menu was available to dine here then.

Great food, wine flights, cheese & service. But... ran out of my Restaurant Week menu choice (steak) and did not tell me until after wine was ordered, and then only when telling waitor my selections, rather than mention the outage when handing me the menu. Sorry... poor way to handle the situation. AND given the fact that Proof has extended Restaurant Week for anther week AND has the same steak on the menu, they should have had sufficient supply on hand.

Prosciutto wrapped dates were so good. The branzino was amazing.

The food and service was ridiculously slow. Given the set menu for restaurant week it was rather surprising.

We were disappointed that there was no mention online that we would not be able to access the full menu because it was restaurant week, and the full menu is why the restaurant was chosen. The chicken dish’s sauce was uneven, with clumps of spice in some bites and not others. The branzino was fine, but nothing special.

Kind and attentive.

Good food and service, but a little expensive for what you get. Good by the glass wine list.

Great food and brilliant service accommodating additional 7 (!) people to the party.

I had been to Proof some years ago and decided to try it again for a business dinner. As hoped, everything turned out beautifully - the ambiance was nice (active, but not overly noisy), service was impeccable and the food excellent. Would highly recommend this restaurant!

We've been enjoying Proof for years, and the kitchen is still very good. Our server this week was terrific, but the wine situation was disorganized, not our usual experience. The bottle we ordered first proved out of stock after a lengthy wait while, I guess, they were searching for it. We placed a second order, but then our food came before that was found either. So we cancelled the bottle and just got glasses of the house wine to speed things up. Still took a while. Hopefully, just an off night, but a spot that touts its wine list needs to keep it current for credibility. And not to deliver the food before the red wine.

We were trying to go to a Caps game. One waiter was available for the entire restaurant it seemed. He explained the soup special could not be ordered because it was not done yet. We arrived at 5:45. We finally left around 7:25 and missed a good portion of the first period. Considering we had two nice bottles of wine and the bill was north of $700, it was the first time in many at Proof that the experience was a huge disappointment.

Food was overly salty. Wine was great.

always excellent service and food. We also appreciate the nice by the glass wine selection.

Once again, a quiet setting to visit with a friend over very good food. I was happy to see new salads appear on the menu, and loved mine.

This was my first time at proof. I took my girlfriend there for an upscale, but not white table cloth dining experience. The flavors were well developed, and the techniques were well executed. Chef Matt has his team executing well!

Food was amazing. Started with the beef carpaccio, which was seasoned to perfection. Nice touch with the crisp shaved garlic and nuts. I had the gnocchi which was very tasty. The ragu had chunks of meet that melted in your mouth. My husband had the rack of lamb with the pea puree. I think that was the best of the two entrees. The crust on the lamb was scrumptious and the pea puree had a very nice flavor to it that paired well with the lamb. We ended our meal with the Proof is in the pudding. That was delicious. The salted hazelnut croccante was just enough salt to the sweet desert. Only negative is the corkage fee. $40 seems a little too much for corkage fee. A lot of restaurants in the area are $25.

Great wines, high end. Cheese board was amazing

Great to see that Proof is still holding its own in downtown DC. The atmosphere on NYE was quiet and hospitable with really fun retro soul music playing in the background. The five-course tasting menu with an amuse bouche of fennel soup and a rack of lamb entree was good enough for the price point. Wine offerings continue to impress and complement the menu well. Was a little surprised to see that there was no valet parking, but fortunately there were actually several empty spaces on Eighth Street, and there is a garage right up the block. Thanks to all for an enjoyable, low-key evening out.

We had the wine pairing with the first seating for NYE and everything was amazing! The wine pairings were spot on. The amuse buche of fennel sambuca soup was the perfect intro to the meal - light, fresh, and a bit rich all at the same time. The cheese and charcuterie board was served with perfectly toasted baguette (thank you for forgoing nutty/fruity bread!) with a nice selection of cheese and meat. The second course of duck fois gras ravioli was to die for - the broth was SO amazing, we wanted a cup of it with bread and are still talking about it the next day. And for the main, we had the lamb chops and deconstructed caponata. Both were delicious and the parsley purée with the lamb was incredible. Service was great too! The whole evening was perfect and we’d do it again in a heartbeat. Getting good food and good service on NYE (like Valentines Day) is difficult to come by and at Proof, they have it nailed.

Been to Proof multiple times. Usually great food and service and ambiance. Went with my kids on a teen with parent night out...the service was slow, the food was mediocre, the giant screen from Capital One Arena was blasting light into an otherwise dimly light dining area (close the blinds maybe?).

Unfortunately and unexpectedly, had a terrible meal at lunch on Friday. Everything on the table was bad. Grilled cauliflower was overdressed in tahini. Tuna in seared tuna salad was inedible and farrow salad was coated in a dressing that was too acidic. Really disappointing as this is typically a lovely lunch spot.

We really enjoyed our dinner for our daughter's birthday. Everything was delicious, and service was excellent.

Nice wine, slow service, nice atmosphere. Cozy, romantic, nice for couples.

Incredible and unforgettable experience to celebrate our anniversary. From the hostess to the sommelier to the waitress, it seemed as though the entire restaurant stopped in their tracks to make our night amazing. I’m so grateful to the magic that Proof is and for all the hands that make it possible.

Delicious food for the most part, but the pate wasn’t quite as tasty as in previous visits and it was served without the promised pickled red onions and with only a measly two small cornichons. For $15 not great value. The lamb was quite delicious but the ratio of fat to meat was quite disappointing. For $37, the amount of bone and fat left on the plate made this a very poor value indeed. The prosciutto wrapped dates were amazing, as was the Cauliflower.

I would go back again, no doubt. Very accommodating, knowing that we were going to a show after dinner.

I’m a long time customer. But when the owner starts to scan you run for the hills. First of all there’s the cheese plate. They give you a sliver of cheese not enough to fill an eye tooth and they charge you $4. Rip off city. But here’s the worst and read this twice. Their wine list for the wines they are promoting includes two prices for each wine. Ask any customer on the planet and they’ll say the first price is for a glass and the second price is for a bottle. So I saw 10$ and 40$ and thought wow proof is actually being reasonable for a bottle of wine. Not too mention the lighting in a notch above completely dark so you can imagine how hard it was to read the menu. Anyway the wine was actually crap and I told them so and the waiter tried to give me some bs about the wine and the terroir. Complete bs but I figured For $40 suck it up and eat some food and it’ll be ok. So roll forward to getting the bill. Turns out that $40 price was for something else I don’t know. But they charged me $160 for that crap bottle. Don’t go to this restaurant. I asked to email the owner about this and I got nothing but silence.

The lights are so dim that it was actually quite difficult to read the menu. Waitstaff should have made it clear that the wine was 38 dollars per glass. It would have been easy to choose a more reasonably priced wine if he had done so. They have a large selection of wines but some are very very expensive. 13 bucks for a two ounce pour. It’s a nice place but read the menu carefully!

Service was excellent. wine list impressive. However they were out of scallops and two desserts, Not happy about that!