Iron Gate

With a reservation we had to wait 30 minutes to be seated and then were told that we had a time limit on the table as the restaurant would close. Service was exceptionally poor, we had to track someone down multiple times. When we were able to get someone's attention, we got different information regarding portion sizes of the dishes, etc.

Excellent on every lwvel

Beautiful patio w/ great ambiance. Food is always excellent.

Great place, love it, will be back for sure. The 22% covid surcharge is pretty steep and helped make for a pretty expensive dinner out, though.

The entire staff was lovely, food was delicious, and a beautiful setting! 10/10

Amazing food and great drinks. Awesome service with an amazing ambience.

From the moment we were greeted by the hostess to the moment that we were done dining we received outstanding service from everyone, with special kudos to our waitress, who was spot on with her recommendations!
Of course, there is no other place in Washington that has the ambiance of The Iron Gate Inn. It's outdoor dining on the patio provides just the atmosphere that is both charming and allows for dinner conversation without effort.
The Chef's Dinner, which we ordered was a cornucopia of deliciousness that was much enjoyed. Leftovers were gladly taken home. A wonderful experience and highly recommended.!

Great food from a limited choice of appetizers and main courses. Everything had wonderful flavor with not a simple 'one flavor' quality. You could taste the seasonings and flavors in each course in a way that really enhanced the eating experience. The value was solid but the mandatory 22% service charge seems high. I realize it's for covid-related costs, but still... Lastly, softer music would be appreciated; some of the songs were loud and interrupted our conversation.

My husband and I go to Iron Gate every year for our anniversary. The staff is so accommodating, and you cannot beat the atmosphere in their gorgeous courtyard. I’m a vegetarian, but my husband eats meat, and we’re always able to find several dishes to split and some to enjoy on our own. It’s the perfect date spot, and their front room is wonderful if you only have time for a quick cocktail! Love Iron Gate!!

Easter brunch was amazing. Each table had their own firepit. Each course was 3-6 dishes so there was plenty of food. Everything was so delicious. Courses were well paced. Great experience and every bite scrumptious.

Phenomenal food. Great ambience and environment. Would eat there again and again (if my wallet allows it)

We had a wonderful outdoor dining experience to celebrate my husband’s birthday. Delicious food, wonderful service, and a patio with warm, romantic vibes.

Delicious dinner, and a very cool vibe!

The Iron Gate dining experience is amazing! The service is outstanding and the food was so delicious. Everything from the wine to salads and gnocchi and risotto was superb! Thanks for making our evening so enjoyable!

The food was exceptional. Some of the best food in DC. Will definitely be going back!

1) There were funny things going with the bill that made this an expensive dinner for what we ate. Near the end of the meal, we were informed there would be a special Covid charge added to the bill -- which was fine. But then when the bill came, we found that there was 1) a Covid charge; 2) a service charge; and 3) we were informed we should also tip the server in the usual way. Result: for three $10-12 and two drinks, the bill was over $100.
2) The Mediterranean menu has gotten so precious that I miss the old Irongate. The old big bowl of hummus with pita is now reduced to a tiny bowl given as a gift. The lamb has been similarly refined.

An overall disappointing experience. Recognizing there are limitations with respect to service because of Covid restrictions, I still found the experience underwhelming--especially in light of the 22% "service fee" that is applied separate from the tip. We did the chef's tasting menu and it was a hit or miss affair. Some dishes, like the house made focaccia, the sesame crusted fried feta and the flatbread, were good, but some of the more complex first course and main dish meals ranged from mediocre to terrible. The first course catfish dish was goopy and had an overpowering vinegar taste that still failed to conceal the taste of fish that was slightly past its prime. The homemade pasta that our waiter raved about was lack luster. It had no flavor and was served luke warm. Some slices of the beef tenderloin were perfectly done while others were so undercooked that we pushed them aside. The atmosphere in the courtyard is very cool, but not enough to warrant the price tag, "22% service fee" and so-so cuisine."

The women at the front desk were very nice and helpful. Service, however, was brusque, and haphazard, which made the mandatory 22% service fee (announced only when they brought the check) even more unpalatable. One of the servers kept creeping up on us, then rudely asking to put our masks back on even if we were in the middle of chewing. We had ordered the family style menu for our entire table, and some of us had ordered the wine pairing. The set of main courses came after a very, very, very long wait. The wines only came after repeated requests, starting after appetizers were finished. All the wines were difficult to drink, not particularly good, and certainly not worth the price. It was cold, and with heat from only one side of the table, the guests at the other end were uncomfortable. The metal seats were all very cold, and a cushion would have been welcome. Now on to the food... Appetizers and the lemon focaccia were all delicious, satisfying, and creative. The main courses were meh; one of the dishes inedible because of too much salt. In contrast, the tomatoes served with the kebabs were completely unseasoned; kebabs were dry and not particularly flavorful either. The desserts were OK (the caramelized pineapple bits were a treat), but many of the courses suffered from a frequent fault of chefs who want to show off - nothing was easy to eat, everything had too many contrasting flavors going on, either too tart or too odd (pink peppercorn panna cotta?). The flat bread was salted only on the outside - which means that if you didn't get a grain of salt, it was tasteless, and inedible if you did; it was also covered with pimiento flakes, which made it uncomfortable to eat. We are all adventurous eaters without allergies or avoidances, but it was just a miss.

We were so excited about this socially distanced safe dinner with amazing fireplace! Unfortunately, it was a huge disappointment. The service was some of the worst we have experienced. We were told when we sat down about the protocols and that we only had two hours at the table.
It took 25 minutes for a server to take our drink order. What a waste of time. Then, we went to order our food and asked for gluten-free pasta as indicated on the menu. It took another 30 minutes to be told there was no GF pasta. The dinner was a total bust and we had to take half of our party somewhere else afterwards in order to feed them. The ambience was top notch. The service was terrible.

The meal was delicious and the server and chef did a fantastic time making our anniversary special. Perfect night!

Patio was warm, food was delicious, service was fantastic. 22% gratuity was automatically added to check at the end- not a problem but was not mentioned upfront.

The food and service were excellent. The staff took precautions to keep everyone safe even with being outside on patio. The tables were well-spaced and masks were requested when the staff arrived at the table. The staff were excellent, knowlegeable about the wine and food and very friendly. I would absolutely recommend going here.

Great food! We did not realize there was a 22% Covid charge on top of the bill. Oh well, now we know.

Delicious food. Beautiful garden with our own private fire. Romantic. Delicious food and great service!

They now add a mandatory 22% gratuity (which is not disclosed up front) and outdoor COVID protocols are disruptive to the dining experience and defy logic.

Great outdoor dining! Small fire pits at each table on the back patio.

Excellent spring night outside. Food was excellent.

We had a great meal to celebrate our 45th Wedding Anniversary. Everything was excellent and creative - we loved it. The only drawback was the 90 minute limit so tables could be cleaned and new patrons weren't left standing around in the entry. With all the extras brought for us to celebrate/acknowledge our anniversary (prosecco, hot chocolate), in addition to our dessert and my wine pairing, made for a cluttered table and a mash-up of tastes and flavors. Not the best end to a wonderful dinner. Since the restaurant knew a month in advance that we were celebrating our anniversary, perhaps they could have planned for us to have an extra 30 minutes (??) so that the extras could have been spread out a bit.

Great service, ambiance and

Our waiter seemed annoyed we were there. Was so awkward and off putting it made our otherwise fantastic food not worth it.

50th birthday in the courtyard was truly special at a time when we need to celebrate good news. Thanks to Crystal and the entire staff

My wife and I had a love evening out. The COVID precautions were outstanding, both for our own comfort as well as the safety of the staff. Really well done. And that did not have any negative impact on our meal at all.

The food was great, we ordered 3 different small plates and then 2 large plates to share, plus both dessert options. They do also offer a 3 course 'Chef's table' but since we are vegetarian that was not available. We were still able to take advantage of the wine pairing option with our meal, which was a nice to not have to think about what wine would go best with our meal.

The service was excellent, both from our main waiter as well as the various runners and other team members. We also had a great interaction with the hostess upon arrival and departure.

All in all well worth venturing out to take advantage of a break in the weather, and have an enjoyable and relaxing night out!

Food, service and atmosphere were excellent. Was very happy with the precautions and process around COVID and felt very comfortable. Disappointed that only premade cocktails were available, but understand. Also understand the need to add a service charge for procedures during this climate, however, having that service charge be a percentage of the bill is not acceptable to me as a diner. Feel the fair way would be flat fee service charge per table or even per person. My answer below about recommendation is with the cavate that I would tell them about the cocktails and the service charge so they can make an informed decision.

Iron Gate has a lovely outdoor set up! Each table has its own fire pit or heater, they were very well spaced out, and we felt very safe there. The menu is always interesting and we had an excellent experience overall. Not inexpensive, but I definitely recommend it!

Such a wonderful outdoor dining experience! Firepits and mushroom heaters at every table, and the food and service is delightful. Highly recommend.

Kudos to the entire Iron Gate staff on creating one of the most memorable dining experiences I can recall.

My experience was embarrassing and uncomfortable. My husband and I enjoy traveling and dinning all restaurants and exploring the menu and embracing the experience. Unfortunately for us we were 2nd class and not treated fairly. The reservation was books weeks in advance and I reached out a few days in advance to learn about the chef’s table. The communication with the restaurant was difficult and a poor website to navigate - it was hard to truly plan this special occasion. I tried to call again the day before my reservation- no response. I luckily receive a call to confirm my reservation and I inquire about the chef table and the information was available and I was expecting a call back. However I didn’t receive a call back so once we checked-in with hostess, I inquired again. Immediately learning it was the individual I spoke with and said she’ll provide the information shortly. We were told a table wasn’t ready and we had no problem waiting. While waiting 20 minutes past our reservation we didn’t receive any information. Once our table was available- we were sat on a table that was squeezed onto the terrace that didn’t provide enough heat for a comfortable experience. The table was on a 45 degree angle and slightly impossible to eat a meal. Finally after learning that the chef menu is a variety of the standard menu it was ridiculous. It went from being flexible about not having our table ready to an overall sour experience. Anna happened to be proactive and professional and I appreciate her transparency- but it’s not my responsibility as a guest. The experience is tarnished thus far and the concept and style of this restaurant should have executed this experience seamless. Instead we felt thrown into a last resort table - sat late on reservations... super frustrating when having a babysitter and short flexibility. Time should be respected and I know with Covid everything is adjusting but don’t squeeze tables without considering all circumstances. We never ate.

Our first time there was amazing. The food was incredible and although it was a bit cold outside due to the winter storm, the fire pits did a good job keeping us warm.

Wonderful Valentine’s Day dinner

Just amazing. Everything from food to how the ambiance are were spectacular. Took me back to Italy in some way.