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Occidental Grill & Seafood
Monday – Friday: 11:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Saturday: 11:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Sunday: 11:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
BRUNCH
Saturday & Sunday: 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
HAPPY HOUR
Monday – Friday: 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. (Exclusively at the Bar)
Wednesdays: All Day
Call 202-737-4147 for further information or visit http://occidentaldc.com/occidental/index.cfm/meetings-events/.
Bus stop located on 14th Street near the National Press Building.
Private Dining
From business functions and graduations, to rehearsals, receptions & personal get togethers Occidental Grill and Seafood is an elegant DC dining icon. Our private dining rooms exemplify the city's classic ambiance while the chef's menus evoke your taste buds with a modern twist on American favorites
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Our waiter Moe was friendly, inquisitive, energetic, and knowledgeable about the food.
We had a table for 4 ! We had never been here but saw it was kinda famous and highly rated. Loved the atmosphere and great pics on the wall! I ask our waiter who seemed very smart and well spoken and knowledgeable. I ask him about the strip steak if it was prime? He didn’t know but said they were good? He would check with the chef? Never did return with answer? We ask if the stuffed sea bass was boneless? He didnt know but would check with the chef? Never did return with answer? He was clearly not a good representative? Very strange? I hope it was just a bad nite for him ? but I would not return to try this place again? I ordered strip steak anyway and not prime in my opinion? Too many good places to choose from? Maybe lunch is better? Hope so! Nice place!
Really big screw up on our order. They brought out our entrees without ever bringing the appetizer (oysters) or the salad. They made it right and got back on track. Very nice place to eat outdoors on such a beautiful day. We brought a group here before and had a good memory but it was a different time of year and inside dining.
The service was terribly slow and the waiter wasn’t attentive whatsoever. The food was good- but overpriced and COLD when it finally came out. We had high hopes for this historic restaurant but it failed us!
When there was no liquor ordered, we were treated as less than the sophisticated clientele normally frequenting the restaurant. The ribeye was tough, the soft shell crab was cold and tough. Overall the visit was less than pleasant especially for the price.
Most enjoyable. Great food and service. Atmosphere superb. Looking forward to another visit.
Nice historical restaurant. Food was nothing to rave about, but certainly quite good. Enjoyed all the pictures of celebrities.
We had a great time here. Drinks at the bar then a romantic date night for my husband and me. The host, Chris, was incredibly accommodating and made us feel so special. We enjoyed a bottle of Nebbiolo and the burrata salad, and the duck was cooked perfectly. I had the squash ravioli as my main course and it was absolutely wonderful. We can’t wait to come back!
Food was fair for the price. Service lacked a 4 star experience.
We celebrated a friend’s 75th birthday at the Occidental and it was as close to perfect as a meal and restaurant experience could be. The service was outstanding and the food was delicious. Being from the northwest, I tried the Atlantic Halibut and had to admit is was fabulous. Everything about our evening was excellent.
Nice dining experience with quality food and service.
Good experience. Wished there were more options for food but it was for brunch.
Very nice - enjoyed the atmosphere. The food was good - a little pricy. We enjoyed it though and would come again.
I was visiting from out of town and had the restaurant recommended. I was somewhat underwhelmed. The food was very good, but not fabulous. We both ordered fish - the swordfish was moist but under seasoned; the halibut was dry but well seasoned. I needed to have a non-shellfish sauce because of an allergy, and that seemed to throw the kitchen off. The caesar salad was terrific. The ambiance was interesting, except that I had to sit with a portrait of Donald Trump glowering down at me (not fun). And, our waiter was very brusque and hurried. I felt like I was at a business lunch in Boston. Based on my experience I would say there are many other spots to capture the DC experience, with more creative food and friendlier waitstaff.
Worst dinner experience- I was shocked as I remembered loving this place. They took off the first course as the foie Gras was spoiled. And the waiter clearly wanted to go home. Big mistake coming back and we won’t again.
I liked our waiter a lot. And dinner was good. Delicious.
Great ambience with abundant historical photographs. Food very disappointing. Service poor. Manager was very nice in his apologies.
Great soft shell crab special, fabulous wine list
My only complaint was having a party of eight at a long rectangular table. A round table would have been so much more convivial. Or even having a set up with three diners on each side and two diners at the head and foot of the table would have sufficed. We should have been offered one of the round tables upstairs in the party room. We were there to enjoy each other’s company, and didn’t need to be downstairs among other diners.
No value for price, I was embarrassed by the food cost and portions offered.
Fabulous night. Good and service impeccable!
Pleasant atmosphere, attentive staff and excellent food made for a very nice dining experience before our evening entertainment at the Kennedy Center!
A DC classic. Well prepared food. Great for business, date, special occasions, lunch or dinner.
Crab cakes were excellent - 95 % crabmeat. Excellent service and the bread pudding for dessert was wonderful.
Poor and inattentive service matched with food that was too big and messy to be eaten properly. The waiter needs a refresher course, pace of service was too slow for lunch on Tuesday. We didn’t deserve to be ignored.
Unfortunately we selected the lamb special for two. It was very fatty, not a good cut at all and the taste was poor. Other choices might have been better. Service was great.
Exceptional service. More than ample portions but delicious with handsome presentation. The scallops were superb as was the NY steak.
From the moment we walked in the door, the experience was wonderful. We were greeted by outstanding staff, served a delicious meal and enjoyed an elegant setting. There were three of us and we had halibut, steak and duck ... each of us thought our meal was fantastic. You can't go wrong.
Quiet, tasty food, nice choice of entrees. Waite staff professional. Good for meetings and conversation.
Very nice restaurant. Service was so much lower than expected. Pricey for what it offered, But food was very good.
I went here for my 40th birthday and it was amazing! I had a great time with friends and the food was great. Be prepared to spend 100’s, but it’s worth it for the special occasion.
Friend visiting from out of state — wanted iconic DC restaurant. We did not leave disappointed
great location, beautiful food, knowledgable waiter, quick service, lovely decor, overall a wonderful dining experience right next door to our beautiful hotel
Waiter was fantastic as usual but the food this evening was sub par. I had the Halibut that tasted really good but it was on the dry side. My wife had the Lump Crab cakes that were not edible, no lump crab meat and has a funky taste to them She said they were not good, I tasted and she was correct, bad/weird taste, no lump crab meat. Our friend has another fish dish , the special, she said poor at best. I have been to this restaurant numerous times but this time it was bad. Very surprising.
I went to the Occidental over 50 years ago. It is a Washington landmark. It continues a very fine tradition.
Fantastic experience in a very quintessential DC restaurant. The history inside is amazing. Service was impeccable.
The food is so so good and the atmosphere is fantastic. The octopus was the best cooked I've had and I'm dying to try the short ribs. As always the Occidental's historical and unique pictures make it so much fun to go to. My one gripe would be that the drink prices are ridiculous compared to the food prices. The halibut is one of the more expensive dishes and it's delicious but to find halibut for cheaper in any restaurant would be impossible. So the food is fantastic value but $18 for a drink is a bit ridiculous. If the Occidental took it's drink prices down I'd be there for dinner multiple times a month. It also puts me off to bring a larger party there especially for business because if everyone has 2 cocktails for 6 that's over $200! I understand restaurants make a good profit on booze but this is excess. If the martini was big I'd understand but nope it's the typical small one.
Always great. Been there for many special occasions over the years
service and food was very poor. this was a VDAY celebration and I would never return nor recommend to anyone. very disappointing
The Valentines prefix dinner was not that great. They ran out of one of the appetizers and we were left to just choose from octopus (good), liver and bone marrow.. not that appealing. The other dishes were mediocre. I would probably go back but just to try the standard menu. They were so busy that the drinks took like 30 minutes.