Rare Steakhouse - Washington DC

Wonderful night out!

Such a great meal, and an amazing French 75 from Andre!

We had our 6th annual boys night here and once again, the food and service were amazing!

Rare is an open, elegant, two level establishment that impresses as soon as you walk in. The wine list was extensive. The initial selection was not available but the staff suggested a similar wine. The rolls were delicious. We recently dined at another upscale steakhouse and Rare's filet was more tender and better sized for one sitting. The crowd was worthy of people watching. We will definitely return.

Best steak We have put in our mouth
ever. The sides were all excellent.
Service excellent. Wine excellent.
Do you think we loved it ?

The food was amazing and our server David was amazing! Everything on the menu was outstanding!

If you are seeking simple indulgence, this is the place. Fantastic steaks, classic sides, and excellent service. It is definitely worth the treat (and my Grandma would approve of the creaminess of the mashed potatoes). Ask for David - he’ll spoil you!

Our server/bartender was outstanding and very attentive. The drinks we’re made with our taste profiles in mind. Very well tailored to our preferences. Andre made me a citrus rum drink that I could not stop drinking. He was absolutely amazing! The food was fantastic. The filet mignon was perfectly cooked and melted in my mouth. We will definitely be back again soon.

Nice dinner

Had a great dinner meeting with executives from my company. Free parking across the street.

best steak I've ever had! I will definitely be coming back.

Great food and service! I decided to go with a group of friends and couldn’t have asked for more. From walking through the doors, Eduardo and Martín are a dynamic duo! Attentive, friendly and welcoming team. To our waiters serving and joking with us, making it as ‘normal’ as can be. By far the best restaurant!

It was so great that Rare has re-opened. We went there to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday and the staff made us feel like VIPs. All of the staff wore masks and gloves and the restaurant felt very safe. Definitely recommend!

Very nice. Very few people inside and all socially distanced.

Rare is by far the best steakhouse in DC. Never disappoints

Great steaks but some of the worst wine service I’ve ever encountered anywhere. Were out of a Bordeaux I wanted, asked for a Super Tuscan instead; they suggested an alternate Super Tuscan; finally brought us a Chianti from the same vineyard as the substitute Super Tuscan. Like, you can’t make this stuff up.

Pay corkage or maybe just stick to martinis 😆

My second visit in two weeks with a group. Just as great as the first time, excellent food, service and wine suggestions. We did have a private room this time that did lend itself to easier conversation for our group as it can get a bit noisy in main dining area. Will definitely be back.

While our service was great, the steak in particular wasn't that great and the steak is why you go to a steakhouse. I have visited Rare before and had the rib cap which was very delicious. The mushrooms, grilled octopus, cheesecake and tableside bananas foster were delicious. The drinks were fine. The horseradish potato dauphine were bland, the fried Brussels sprouts were oily, and the tomahawk was fatty and poorly seasoned. We have had tomahawk steaks at other establishments in DC that were better. For the price point we were expecting a better all around meal.

Pricy but great. Would have been a little better if the Bernie Bro at the next table hadn't been quite so loud.

Took a chance on this restaurant and it far exceeded my expectations. The ambiance was relaxing. The staff was attentive warm and was very informative. The presentation of the food was great which was matched only by its flavor. Definitely a must tey

Great service and ambience, but overpriced for average cuts of meat. For a renowned steakhouse, I would actually consider the cuts below average.

Great food and atmosphere. The waiter was very knowledgeable about the steaks and other dishes. I’ll definitely be going back.

Group of 7 for business dinner. Amazing experience from beginning to end. Started in the bar with drinks and oysters, both were outstanding and service was outstanding. Continued upstairs for dinner, steak and tuna tartare prepared table side was wonderful. Wine advise was perfect and reasonably priced. Shared an 80 ounce bone on ribeye that was one of the best steaks ever. Finished with two deserts, cinnamon roll and Myers lemon cheesecake that were perfect! In the top 5 meals/dining experiences ever. Service was impeccable. Will be back the next time I am in DC.

Just OK, for the price there are better steak houses in DC....

Amazing service, exceptional food, outstanding atmosphere! My husband loves his steak so I booked here for his birthday dinner. They personalized the menu at the top to say “Happy Birthday” and the service was out of this world. You know you have good service when your water glass is never half full! We can’t wait to go back and bring friends and family. Highly recommend!!

Excellent food and service, but wildly overpriced.

Great place, great food & fantastic service! Will surely be back soon!

Great experience, recommendations by the waiter were perfect. Will definitely be dining again.

Unfortunately our visit to Rare wasn’t great. They were out of several things, including truffles, which are featured on their tartare and gnocchi dishes. They also have shrimp and crab “cocktail” however don’t offer a cocktail sauce or remoulade for these dishes; instead a ginger ketchup or chili picante sauce are the options available. Generally I’m all for chefs being creative and offering ways for diners to expand their palates, reinventing classics like shrimp and crab cocktail is borderline unacceptable, cocktail sauce should be offered along with their creation. They were also out of a few wines that we wanted to order. The sommelier / GM was absolutely wonderful and did his level beat to keep us happy. They’re new and I’m sure they’ll sort out the inventory pars. All in all a good experience, just wish they would’ve had everything we wanted.

We had a wonderful experience overall!
Dino our server, Rich our sommelier and the chef (cooks) were excellent all through the night and the chef provided a superb meal.

Ambience was cool. A nice place but didn't feel stuffy. The bread served at the beginning is so great and unique from other steakhouses in the area. We also felt the appetizers were unique, and were pleasantly surprised with the portion sizes of ours. We got the tiger shrimp cocktail and the ham and cheese curds. For dinner my husband and I split the porterhouse for 2, with the 2lb lobster add-on, with a side of fried brussels. We are huge brussels fans but didn't care for these. They needed some seasoning/flavor, we didn't really like the sauce with them. But the big thing here was the steak. We did not feel it was as high quality of other steakhouses in the area. Dessert menu was amazing and we split the rocky road pot de creme which was great. I felt the cocktail menu could be improved, it was very standard fare. Overall my husband and I both agreed we would visit again but try entrees besides the steak.

Overall experience was disappointing for a restaurant that has so much promise. It simply is not competitive with the other high end steak houses in DC. First the Caesar salad greens were wilted, and when we brought it to the attention to our server, she simply took it off the bill without asking if we wanted a replacement (probably part of a larger mix) or even seemed concerned we were unhappy. Second, the porterhouse for two was undercooked, but again, no one checked to see if we like the temperature. Needless to say, we left most of it at the restaurant. Again, we were hoping this would provide some solid competition to Del Frisco's, but it didn't deliver last night. Will I go again? Maybe, especially if someone else is buying. This might have been an off night for them.

The dining room even at 6:30 was very loud. We were dining with a friend who is 90 and it was disconcerting to see him look at the table behind us on several occasions to ask the diners to lower their voices. Otherwise, the food was excellent, the room is very confortable and the service was outstanding.

Very disappointed... high end steakhouse should be an experience but it was impressive how mediocre the whole experience was. Bread was just ok... we had the BLT salad and the lettuce was wilted, the Caesar was fine. My wife and I (and son - he’s 4) shared the $145 dry aged prime porterhouse - I’ve had these other places and it’s usually fantastic (as it should be...). First off we ordered it medium but when it was brought to the table (rather hastily...) nobody asked if it was done to our temperature - it’s a $145 steak!! and nobody even cared if it was done correctly (it was medium well...) further it didn’t taste Prime to boot. The sides were fine but unmemorable. We decided to skip dessert but the did give us small cupcakes as an after dinner thank you - they weren’t good either. On top of everything else, nobody checked on us to see if we liked everything - just another customer from entry to exit. Felt like they were going through the motions the whole time.

I was very excited to dine at Rare for Valentine’s Day. However, this quickly went downhill upon arrival. Our reservation was set at 9:30p and we were not seated until 9:55p and it was after I asked the host staff again when we would be seated. We then noticed that unlike most of the people seated in the dining room, the staff never offered to check our coats. We also noticed that we were seated in a particular part of thr restaurant where everyone near by was the same ethnicity, which surprising in a very diverse city and restaurant. The food was good, however the temperature of the food was lower than expected which felt like it was waiting. Our waiter was great and very well informed which did make the experience better. My boyfriend spent a substantial amount of money in this establishment and we feel that we could have gotten a better value and service experience at a national chain. With both of being from the Midwest, we had very high expectations especially with the other locations being in Wisconsin. The elements of a great restaurant are within Rare, however the experience last night did not feel up to par.

Everything was great at Rare. From the service to the food and drinks. I am definitely going to go back again. One of the best restaurants I have been to in a long time.

Great experience. Food was off the charts. Everything was perfect besides our waitress trying to tell me how to order my steak.

The service was exceptional as was the food. Ordered the tomahawk steak medium, it came very rare, but I should have guessed it would from the name. Ambiance was great, and again, great staff.

The service was top-notch. Absolutely no complaints there and they are to be commended for the apparent extensive training of all of the wait staff and reception. Very high-class and yet not snobby at all. Ambiance-high class. Yet the steaks were all much less than mediocre, for the price, we expected to be wow-ed. Not high-class in flavor. While it was a fun experience and there were many steak selections, the flavor just fell super short. The bone marrow was not flavorful at all, which I didn't think possible, having grown up on it in my mother's kitchen. Marrow needs no help for flavor and yet this bone marrow was bland and as hard and cold as butter fresh out of the refrigerator, tasted like Crisco/lard and we didn't even finish it although it cost $20. No one at our table would take a second bite. Not worthy to be put on the menu, pretty much an insult to bone marrow. The mashed potatoes were runny and bland. The brussels were tasty but very greasy or maybe just had a weird sauce on them so we didn't finish them. The Ceasar salad was a little too fishy and wilted, not cold or crisp. The bernaise had way too much tarragon or something else in it and so much so that it was green like a pesto but was actually ok but not good enough to make up for the lack of flavor in the steaks. I wish the steaks were at least as good as the bernaise. Bernaise is supposed to make a great steak even better. The wine selections were very good and what we selected was delicious. What they lack in flavor, they made up for in the service area, but not worth a trip back. We spent about $700, tip included for a party of four. Would not have minded the price if the food matched up to the level of service that we received. We decided to skip desert because we were so underwhelmed with our meal so they gave us complementary cupcakes but, they too, were bland. Maybe need a new chef? I don't mean to be insulting, but it was a weirdly "mixed bag" dining experience.

Rare has a great setting with a old school mobster feel to it. The food was exceptional and the cocktails we had were well crafted. I'll definitely will be coming back!