Rare Steakhouse - Washington DC

From the moment we walked in, I was in awe. It was my boyfriend’s birthday and boy did we have a great time. From our server Dave, to the food runner with the glasses, to the manager Justin! We had a phenomenal time. The steaks were ... OMG,I can’t even describe it. This was by far the best steaks, the best restaurant we have ever been to. My boyfriend loves to put salt on everything and he didn’t even need salt for the steaks! That says a lot right there. We live In New Jersey and we will definitely be back to a Washington... JUST FOR THE RESTAURANT ALONE! Thanks to the staff, the food but more importantly the STAFF. I am telling everyone about this place! Thank you guys so much. We will see you soon!


A day later and we’re still dreaming about the food.

Amazing flavorful dry-aged bone-in tomahawk steak! Appetizers were also impressive.

the service was outstanding at every moment but not overbearing. the ambience upstairs is perfect for celebrating an event or a business function. the food was over the top delicious!

Sold my company

We came here for my birthday. The server David was very friendly and made the evening very enjoyable. The garlic bread was very tasty. The rib cap steak was. Sry tender but it had too much salt. Overall, I still enjoyed it. I would come again but I would just ask that th y go easy on the salt.

Warm and enthusiastic (but not intrusive) service by our server. The crab cake was as unusual and interesting as our server had said it would be. The bone-in rib eye was astoundingly tender, with a perfect crust. I had mine topped with blue cheese (more expensive than I had anticipated it would be--$14), which was itself run under the broiler and was an amazing selection that complemented the beef nicely.

Amazing steaks and service was top notch. 👍🏽👍🏽

We enjoyed everything about Rare. The build out is very well done. The entire staff was outstanding. Our waiter was very knowledgeable and was happy to talk with us about the dry-aging process and the way the steaks are cooked. We look forward to returning to Rare soon.

The staff was amazing and went out of their way to give us a fun night out.

Great food and service- also great value for restaurant week, one of the few places that didn’t skimp in portions or offer lame meals instead of items actually on their menu. Definitely going back soon!!

We ate here (upstairs) for the first time during Restaurant Week, so our experience may not have been typical, but we were underwhelmed by the food and service. Our appetizers -- kale salad and ham & curds -- were delicious, but it was a bit downhill from there. The server kept setting dishes in front of the wrong person. The bread rolls seemed designed more for Instagram -- they looked nice, but were dense and messy to eat. Our main courses arrived while we were still eating our appetizers, and after some extremely awkward back and forth with the server, the manager stepped in and offered to send the food back to the kitchen until we were ready. My steak was was fine, but neither the presentation (garnished with a single clove of garlic) nor the steak itself were particularly impressive. A side of asparagus was so undercooked and fibrous it was difficult to eat. Desserts (angel food cake and chocolate pot de creme) were OK, but once again seemed more focused on appearance than taste. If we had been trying to catch a show or movie after dinner, we might have appreciated the fast pacing of the meal, but it felt like we were being rushed. They even took our dessert order at the beginning of the meal rather than after we had finished our main courses.

The manager surprised us with free refills on our wine as an apology for the service issues, and while we certainly appreciated the gesture, we hadn't planned to drink that much on a weeknight. The dining room itself was very nice and although fairly full, was quiet enough to carry on a conversation. The Restaurant Week menu was a good value, but I'm not sure we'd go back and pay full price with so many other options in the area.

I have traveled the world and every major city in the US, and this was BY FAR the best steak house I’ve ever been in. The bread is like nothing you’ve ever had. Rolled like a cinnamon roll, but all savory, garlic, garlic and herbs, topped by finely shredded parm. Appetizers were delish, the sides, especially corn pudding were amazing, but the steaks and scollops best I’ve ever had. My daughter had Scollops and they had the perfect seer and were soft and delicate. The risotto sublime. Husband had a 13 oz dry aged bone in strip steak that he loved. I had the center cut ribeye and it was cooked and seasoned to perfection. Hard seer on outside, perfect mid-rare center. The best part was the seasoning. I’ve never had a steak that I didn’t need to add salt and pepper too! The used a heavy course salt and it was perfect! Highly recommend when in DC

My wife and went to Rare Steakhouse for my birthday dinner and we were delighted with each of the delicious selections we ordered based on the recommendations from the experienced waiter, David M. Thank you, David! Everything was mouth-watering and each bite to be savored. While we don't venture down to DC (from Rockville) too very often, this was truly worth the trip!

Wife and I ordered two steaks different cuts, both medium rare. Mine was the 20oz dry aged ribeye and hers was the 10oz ribeye cap. Both had great flavor however the chef doesn’t know what temp medium rare is.

Mine was cooked to medium well and my wife’s was rare. It’s very unfortunate the food wasn’t prepared properly because I bet my steak would have been superb at medium rare instead of so dry.

Nice restaurant- small tables

Great service by server Adil.

Took exactly 11 minutes after sitting at the bar until a drink was in front of me. It was 7:15 pm with only two other bar patrons. Food took unreasonably long to be delivered. Steak and salmon both over cooked. Salmon was appetizer sized. We were never asked how our meal was by the server...it wasn’t until a manager walked by and asked. There’s no bread service...unusual for a steak house. The olives in the martini are the size of skittles. There are so many better places to eat in dc. This was a mistake to come here.

Service was incredible from the moment we walked in for our reservation to walking out the door. Our server was incredibly knowledgeable about the entire menu to include drinks. We had a fantastic night and are still talking about the amazing flavor of our entire meal.

The food and service were incredible. Most steakhouses do classics well but Rare does them with a memorable spin and careful thought. We had the 8oz filet and bone-in ribeye Pittsburgh style. It actually came perfectly Pittsburgh. It’s the kind of food you talk about afterward. Would definitely return soon!

I thought this would be an awesome place to have a 5-Star dining experience... hold that thought. I do have to state the service we received by multiple service employees and the quality of our steaks were excellent. However, what killed the ambience was the lawyer and his two guests whose blatant, disparaging, uncalled for, and ignorant statements about our Commander-in-Chief made us feel as if we were at a DNC convention hosted by CNN, ruined our entire experience at the Rare. Overall, considering there were only two of us and our bill came to $235 (no dessert and we only had water) and the rude and loud comments which we had to endure throughout our dinner ruined the entire meal and evening for us. Will we return...No...would you?

The food and service were excellent. I will definitely eat here again and bring friends with me.

We for DC grill week. They were only serving that special in the bar/lounge area so we did not eat in the dining room. Did look nice. Food was very good.

Outstanding experience! Svetlan and Ralph are amazing!

We came here for BBQ week, which we said when we checked in for our reservation, said again when we were being seated, and again when our server came. Yet, when the server came to take out order, he seemed appalled we were upstairs rather than down, so then it was quite the show to move us. Once we got moved, we were forgotten about for a good 20 min. The waiter we had downstairs was much friendlier. However, he then told us that they were out of the BBQ sauce (it was BBQ week), and brussel sprouts were only served upstairs. Mmkay. So we ordered apps and drinks...then our food seemed to be forgotten for another half hour. Food was good once we got it tho. Overall, the food was cooked well, but it turned into a 2-hour meal for no reason (they weren't busy). I love Rare, so we'll be going back at some point, but not anytime soon.

Great location to grab lunch with friends who also work in the area. Delicious burgers! A bit more expensive than my average lunch, but worth the extra money.

Alright, let’s get the crucial information out of the way... BEST STEAK EVER!! On vacation we always go to an fine dining restaurant and go all out. We were seated and had a perfect pace for the whole meal. Our waiter, David, patiently answered all our questions on the different cuts and types of aging on steaks offered. We took the “when in Rome” approach and ordered the 36oz dry age Tomahawk AND the 50oz dry aged Double Boned Union Chop. While the Tomahawk was tasty the Union Chop was phenomenal. Worth every penny. Also, best bread ever! I won’t spoil it, but you’re gonna love it!!

Our server, Brett, was incredible at what he did. He explained the wine menu to us. He also helped us understand how to go through the menu. It was my boyfriend’s birthday the day prior, when I made the reservation I put that in the notes. They gave us a free little dessert to eat for his birthday.
We started with the Crab Cake and the Bone Marrow. Both of which were delicious.
As our entrees, my boyfriend got the rib cap and I got the 18oz Delmonico. Both of them were AMAZING and cooked perfectly to our idea of medium rare.
As dessert, they gave my boyfriend the “pot de Creme” which was decided between us to be the best dessert out of the two. It was sweet and very rich. We got the key lime pie as well and it was delicious. It wasn’t very sweet which was great.

Probably the best restaurant personnel I have ever met. Very customer oriented, very friendly people persons. Will absolutely return.

We had a great time & the food was delicious.

As always the food at Rare is wonderful. And Paul, our waiter, is a true delight. The steaks were perfect. I love that they added the cheese curds from the Rare Tavern to the Steakhouse menu with the lovely tasty twist of adding prosciutto. A perfect Fathers Day for my husband.

We were disappointed with Rare. We ate upstairs where the tablecloths are white and the service reported to be excellent. We expected a nice, quiet atmosphere. However, there was a party of about 30-35 men for a dinner that started with a stand-up cocktail hour, followed by toasts, etc. Needless to say it was VERY loud and noisy and I'm sure it bothered all the other diners as it did my friend and me. The maitre 'd apologized as we were leaving, but I thought they should have done something more. A comp dessert or something would have been a nice gesture. As it is, I can't comfortably recommend Rare to my friends. Plus, the two side dishes we got were too salty (mushrooms and kale). But to be fair, I need to add that the steaks were very good and cooked perfectly and our waiter was good, although I thought a little condescending. The best part was Zac, the bartender on the first floor - very warm, friendly and fast! Make sure you keep him...

The steak is amazing. Nice ambience and personalized services. Super quiet.

Lovely atmosphere and exceptional service.

Our server Paul and the Saturday Night bartender (young lady) provided excellent service in the nicest dining room in DC. Food amazing, right priced for a night out or special occasion, but expensive. My steak was as good as any steakhouse, but everything else was elevated: cocktails and apps.

We sat next to a very loud and rowdy table. They were very drunk and obnoxious. The food was good but not great.

Went to Rare Steak for my husband's b-day. It had a very nice, quiet atmosphere...& they put us (party of 4) in a booth for easy conversation. Our server, Paul, was charming & quite a conversationalist. He gave us lots of info. about the different types of steaks & helped us with the wine list. The Prisoner CA red blend was fabulous! Our steaks were all done to perfection...medium rare for all. The vegetable dishes we got were also very tasty; I got the fried brussel sprouts, & the others got the carrot dish. Oh, & the parmesan dinner rolls, were out of this world. Didn't get dessert as we had cake waiting at home, but Paul brought out some little cream puffs, which I guess is a regular thing. Wonderful restaurant, best steak place in D.C. And Paul was great!

Our waiter, Bret, was beyond nice and well mannered. We had no complaints with the service. Our first and second courses were great; however, our main course was okay. We enjoyed the ambiance of the venue conclusively.

The restaurant is beautiful, the service was impeccable, the desserts were AMAZING, the salads were fine, the main course was terrible-the lobster was very chewy and super salty & the steak was super salty, the sides were also not appetizing as they were way too salty.

50th Birthday celebration for my husband. Complementary glasses of champagne were great start to the evening. Thanks! Food was awesome! We will return soon!

As others have said before, food is fantastic, but the service is uneven