Iron Gate

We were celebrating a birthday and wanted a quiet restaurant where we could catch up without the noise that is prevalent most everywhere in restaurants now. We hadn't been to Iron Gate in decades and were eager to try it. We were so pleased with our choice. Sitting by the fire on a cold night (or we could have chosen to sit outside with heaters) in a corner booth eating course after course of fabulous little plates was a great experience and it was pleasantly quiet while still busy. We enjoyed our wines (Italian ones new to us both) and loved the focaccia, spanakopita, pumpkin salad, swordfish, seafood stew (shrimp and crab giovetsi), grilled octopus, and doughnuts for dessert. The servings were generous, the service was attentive without being overbearing, and the food was delicious. My favorites were the pumpkin salad, giovetsi, and swordfish, but all of them were excellent. I plan on returning before long and highly recommend it. I'm sure sitting outside is lovely.

All four of us loved the restaurant - esp how quiet it was for conversations and the great taste. Only downside was the portions, while not expensive, were also small. We would definitely return though!

Well worth making a reservation. Our food was excellent as was the wine. We had great service from all the staff. Worth many repeat visits.

The experience was great. The food was delicious, vey flavorful. The portions were on point. The service was excellent and the ambiance of the restaurant is great for a cozy brunch. My only complaint is that the Baked Hen Eggs were too salty for my taste (but delicious nonetheless). I also think that the brunch menu is limited, I would have liked to see a bigger selection of brunch dishes.

Brought an out-of-town friend here for brunch. The orange blossom yeast donuts are always a brunch go-to, as is the sesame crusted feta. The mushroom Arancini were to die for. I wanted 40 of them. My baked eggs were delicious, as was my friend’s lamb burger.

Overall, our group of 4 enjoyed brunch at Iron Gate. Amazing menu that can happily accommodate vegetarians and omnivores in a beautiful space. Fair prices, solid cocktails, delicious food. It was an off day for service, though. Lots of little things added up to a disappointing experience - a starter we ordered never arrived, we had to request water refills, not the warmest service, etc. Not in line with other my other experiences dining at Iron Gate, so hopefully it was a fluke.

Great food and ambience however our waiter for the evening was short, offered no greeting, seemed annoyed with any question was and borderline rude. We were initially very excited to try out iron gate for the first time to celebrate our wedding anniversary. Safe to say we will not be back solely because of her.

A gorgeous spot in DC, hidden gem with old charm and a GORGEOUS dining room. Food is phenomenal. Great for a date.

Great service, great ambiance, great food. This time around it was a bit too cold to sit outside, which was unfortunate. I wish they didn't have cold metal chairs for outside tables. I like the changing menu as we always find some good and new options. This season's menu seems a bit mushroom crazy, so if that's your thing, you are in luck!

Sat on the patio despite the chilly evening. Fire pits & blankets make it easy to enjoy. Good meal, roast chicken was delicious, as was the grilled octopus small plate. Good bottled wine selection.

This restaurant needs to step it up. When you walk in there is a dark narrow bar. The dining area upstairs has a horrible smell to it. The outside seating in the back was great. The food was ok, not memorable. Really the only memorable item was the $50 manicotti and not because of the taste. $50 for 4 manicotti? Really?

Great creative menu. Service wonderful as always. Just wis it was easier to get a reservation!

The food and ambiance are spectacular. We sat on the patio where the temperature was just perfect. The family dinner was the perfect choice for two.

Great place for both a casual dinner special or a special occasion.

Wonderful lunch with an old world ambiance! The service was terrific and the food was delicious.

Truly spectacular. My husband and I enjoyed exceptional service, outstanding food, and the fantastic wine list on our anniversary. I can't wait to go back!

Overall the experience was good. However, upon arrival (on time) the place seemed empty except for a few people at the bar. We waited a couple minutes to be greeted - but no one was there. So we walked towards the back only to be told we needed to go back to the host station and wait - again. We were then seated at a small table in the middle of the restaurant. We asked if we could have a more private spot- which they were happy to do. Service was ok, but not as attentive as we'd expected and hoped for. There seemed to be only 1 server - who appeared to be overworked and not particularly attentive or helpful. Though the server was nice enough. We poured our own wine and had 1 check-in throughout the meal. Also - this was a special night (our engagement celebration). Though noted on the reservation - no one mentioned it and we skipped desert. Watever. The food was ok. However, we got the mushrooms instead of the spanakopita. But we were too hungry to make a fuss. The lobster was also small and overcooked. I don't think I'll go back. Had better service and food at my brunch at Busboys and Poets earlier that day.

Amazing service and atmosphere! We had a small birthday brunch there and I couldn't have been happier with how it went.

Thank you!

The best sour dough bread!!! Their cauliflower soup was amazing! Great dishes. Funny waiter!

Unfortunately, it was uncomfortably hot in the back indoor dining area. That was actually a serious problem.

Incredible experience start to finish

Neighborhood gem! We enjoyed a delicious meal on the beautiful outdoor patio.

The service is calm, methodical and steeped in attention to your needs without ever being on you, i.e., no requests for new drinks until your drink is gone, and then when you finish, your glass is taken away and you're swiftly offered a menu. The food menu feels huge even though there are only probably 20 items on it, but all sounds so good that it's still hard to choose. The foccacia is exemplary -- anyone who thinks bread is just bread needs to have this. Anything with ragu is required. Ours was with pillowy gnocchi that made the sauce sing. Not only did we get a anniversary card, they treated us to a glass of sparkling wine from Sardinia, and a wonderful chocolate brownie.

Really this place is perfect and I find it more impressive than some of the "fancier" places in DC like Metier. Highly recommend for a nice meal, or a special occasion. They are masters of their craft.

Excellent food with a really unique menu. Exactly what I was looking for in a date night spot with my girlfriend.

The Iron Gate offers a warm cozy dining room or lovely patio dining. Feels like an oasis in the city. Food and service are very nice.

My wife and I were looking for a nice, but not fancy, restaurant to celebrate our anniversary. The dining experience out on the patio was exceptional. They have heaters, fire pits and blankets when the temperature drops, and the vine-covered “roof” provides shelter when it started to rain.

They provided complimentary champagne for our special occasion, and our server made some excellent recommendations. Would love to come back here with a group and try their family-style option!

This is a charming location on a quiet side street with excellent food & drink. It has a limited menu, & is best for adventurous diners who would be bored by routine fare. Not recommended for picky eaters! You will not be rushed, nor will your conversation be interrupted unnecessarily by your server. My friend & I appreciated the setting & ambience on the covered, enclosed terrace, next to a roaring fire.

I went for a special occasion birthday dinner. The ambiance exceeded my expectations it has low lighting and an interesting décor with a nice cozy and romantic vibe. We opted for the Family style dining option and allowed them to bring out a variety of dishes. It was a good amount of food perfect I think for the two of us not to be over stuffed by not to leave hungry at all. The food could have been spaced a bit more apart as the pasta and entre dishes were cold by the time we got to them. But the dishes were creative and quite tasty.

Service was good, although we had to call our server back to explain some of the dishes after they arrived but that was the only time, we had to ask.

The wine list is quite extensive and we went with a the commendation from our server which unfortunately had an extreme pungent taste when first opened. I wish that had been described more so that we could have made a better informed decision. But once the wine breathed for a while about 1 hour the extreme taste died down a bit. I would have selected a different bottle if I had known.

I was a bit disappointed as I did inform them in advance with the reservation that it was for a birthday but they didn't do anything special with that information.

Overall a pretty good dining experience worth the trip.

Grilled octopus was so fresh, you could have been in Greece! Bison tartare delicious and creative. Everything delicious, and the ambiance and service perfect. Thank you!

Third time there...great service...interesting and tasty food...great wine list.

Very good food and service with a unique and special wine list.

The restaurant is expensive , plate sizes are very small and service was not up to the mark. In fact we had to remind two servers for the dish for the dessert we had ordered.
Interesting place, but it would not be on my list to revisit.

We took a friend out to lunch to celebrate her birthday. Our waitress Rikki was warm, courteous and very pleasant. All her suggestions were very helpful. The food was so flavorful and amazing. We loved everything we tasted. Would highly recommend this place.

Lovely patio. Grilled octopus was a standout. Attentive, friendly service.

Iron Gate Inn blends seasonal variations with familiar Mediterranean cuisine. The grape arbor canopied courtyard makes for enjoyable outdoor dining (and this diner does not like dining outdoors). When the weather turns colder the dining room fireplace provides a cozy vibe.

This is a "small plate" restaurant––imaginative, creative, interesting.

Food was excellent. Service was fantastic. Glendy was very knowledgeable on the entire menu. Entire table would come back again. Delicious.

I was really looking forward to finally getting to Iron Gate. I had heard good things, and the pics are just enchanting - love the outdoor dining/patio w/ the white lights, love the fireplace in a cozy dining room. The food was pretty meh, though. A friend and I went for brunch. We decided to order 2 apps & an entree -- sharing all 3 so we could taste more dishes. We opted for the chopped brussels sprout salad - which came in a smallish bowl (not attractive), was pretty mediocre - with no flavors really standing out. 2nd dish was the sesame crusted feta w/ a honey sauce. I had just had this a few weeks ago at Elle & wanted to love this dish, but the feta was oddly dry & the honey sauce was too sweet. Not bad - but not very good. We chose the lemon ricotta pancakes for our entree. They were decent - but not lemony or very flavorful, for that matter. The place is SO charming. We truly wanted to love it, and we'll likely go back when we can sit outside. It was chilly on Sunday, so we opted to sit inside, but the fireplace wasn't lit -- bummer. All in all - just a meh experience. Won't rush back.

We’ve been to Iron Gate several times but this was one of the best experiences we’ve had to date. For a change, we decided to sit indoors. We usually enjoy the covered, heated patio but this night we decided to be tucked away in a cozy corner near the fireplace inside. It was the perfect spot to enjoy the fall inspired food and cocktails. There were so many interesting items on the menu so our waiter, Sean, was gracious enough to go through them for us and help us narrow down our selections! You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu but he helped us pair dishes up nicely. Look forward to going back soon!

This is our favorite restaurant in DC! Period. Great food, great ambiance, and great value!