Jordan's 8, 8th Street SE on Barracks Row - Closed

[Tweaked]

I'm still debating whether or not I liked Jordan's 8, newly opened on Barack's Row on the Hill. Honestly I'm not sure what they are trying to be as a restaurant...if that is even important to them.

Decor

First, this ain't no Hill dive bar. The downstairs is sleek and modern. A long bar runs the length of the room with big plasma screen TVs showing sports. Tables run along the other wall. Everything is very bright with a modern upscale lounge kind of vibe (sort of reminded me of Dragonfly). But I'm not sure what the downstairs is, restaurant, upscale sports bar, lounge. My friend and I both decided it would be a cool spot if you toned down the lighting and had a DJ spinning some ambient drum and bass. In the bathrooms they were pumping out cheesy club music.

Now the second floor, the second floor has potential. Sushi bar, dim lighting, the front of the room by the bay windows set up with couchs and arm chairs for cocktail consumption.

Food

Sushi is sorely lacking on the Hill...so a sushi place is most welcome. Honestly we didn't explore the sushi menu that deeply, just ordering a shrimp california roll and a tuna roll. Our impression was that the sushi is overpriced and mediocre. Most of the nigiri was at least $7 for two pieces, the rolls where also around $7. I won't judge the quality of the fish, but be prepapred to spend some cash.

Being a steak place we also deemed it necessary to order a steak. We went with the 20oz bone-in rib eye ($23), which was nicely cooked to medium rare, tender, juicey, flavorful from the grill. The steak comes as in...they have a selection of 8 side dishes, all $5. We tried the grilled asparagus, which would have been good if it had stayed on the grill for another minute or two, being crunch rather than al dente. The candied yams appeared like they had spent some time on the grill and soaked in orange juice...I wasn't too impressed with them.

Beer selection was pedestrian...selection of domestics like Sam Adams, imports like Newcastles, and usual selection of your Asian beers, Kirin, Singha, Sapporo etc.

Dessert selection was non-existent, we were offered a slice of chocolate cake or apple pie...but maybe they don't have a dessert program up and running yet. We went to Baskin and Robbins for ice cream instead.

[Pat]

I'm still debating whether or not I liked Jordan's 8, newly opened on Barack's Row on the Hill. Honestly I'm not sure what they are trying to be as a restaurant...if that is even important to them.

Sushi is sorely lacking on the Hill...so a sushi place is most welcome. Honestly we didn't explore the sushi menu that deeply, just ordering a shrimp california roll and a tuna roll. Our impression was that the sushi is overpriced and mediocre. Most of the nigiri was at least $7 for two pieces, the rolls where also around $7. I won't judge the quality of the fish, but be prepapred to spend some cash.

When I went there back in July, I got sushi upstairs and thought it was fine but seemed overpriced. (My post is somewhere in one of the Hill threads, I guess.) I got two fairly standard maki rolls and one of the special combinations, which was about twice the price of the standard rolls. That was not worth the money in retrospect. It was tuna-avocado-cucumber with a salmon and scallop mousse aioli on top--very attractive but not (in the range of) $15 worth of attractive.

I actually think the combination of steak and sushi is a great idea. Other than beef, most steakhouses are best known for their seafood, so it's an interesting take on that to me. While the interior upstairs (I didn't get much of a look at downstairs) is very sleek and modern, it's really not my kind of place. I can see the thinking behind it (I think I can, anyway), but the appeal for me is somewhat limited. I've been meaning to get back there and try steak but haven't been motivated enough to do that yet.

[wdcbrucefan]

DCist reviews Jordan's 8, giving the sushi a big thumbs up, and the steakhouse side a poor review.

[Tweaked]

DCist reviews Jordan's 8, giving the sushi a big thumbs up, and the steakhouse side a poor review.

well not the first time DCist is wrong

As I stated, we didn't dive very deep into the sushi, maybe the sashmi etc are better then the rolls, but the rolls were nothing special.

[wolverine]

Was there recently. I thought the sushi was standard. Not bad, but not many options. You can only do california rolls and crunchy (insert seafood option here) rolls so many ways.

The steak was better than I expected though. The filet competes with any of the big steakhouses, as far as I'm concerned, and was $29 for the petite filet. Try the sundried tomato risotto, you won't be disappointed.

Overall -- worth a try, particularly if you live in the Capitol Hill area. Not sure how long they'll be around. Unfortunately, there were not many people in the restaurant area. Maybe it's the weather, location, or time of year.

[fuzzy510]

Not sure that anybody cares, but for the sake of completeness: Shuttered a couple of months ago - rent check bounced.

And considering they were doing much more of their business from an out of control nightclub scene that often involved fights requiring police intervention, we're all better off.