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Sequoia, Washington Harbor - A Plastic-Cupped Tourist Trap Bar for College Kids Looking For A Cheap Drunk - Washington Harbor

DanCole42
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qwertyy leviathan

qwertyy

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From yesterday's chat:

Washington, D.C.: Tom

What happened to the harbor, especially Sequoia?? They used to be so busy. Has the food and management gotten worse??

Tom Sietsema: I get more reader complaints about Sequoia -- about the awful service, about the mediocre food -- than just about any other restaurant. "Busy" doesn't mean "successful." As far as I'm concerned, Sequoia has only its waterfront location to recommend it.

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jm chen hammerhead

jm chen

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I went to a wedding reception/dinner there and it is a lovely setting for that. Just be careful at the upstairs bar -- when I was there, someone dropped a glass from the second floor *into* the band. Luckily no one was injured, but it was scary.

Dessert was also good.

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goldenticket leviathan

goldenticket

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It's been years since I've eaten there, but I've always thought the space, surroundings, and view are spectacular. I love that airy, open, nautical, teak-y feel.

And when I did eat there, it always served the purpose for which it was intended as far as I was concerned: a good place to a) get a large group together for dinner or brunch, usually for a birthday, reunion or other 'occasion', or :lol: meet up with the girls for happy hour (back in the day), or c) take out-of-town guests to experience a nice place in DC (note, I did not say nice food). However, the food was always serviceable (again, it's been years) and I never went there looking for a gastronomic epiphany (I just walk down the road if that's what I need :) ).

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goodeats leviathan

goodeats

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And when I did eat there, it always served the purpose for which it was intended as far as I was concerned: B) meet up with the girls for happy hour (back in the day), (note, I did not say nice food). However, the food was always serviceable (again, it's been years) and I never went there looking for a gastronomic epiphany (I just walk down the road if that's what I need :) ).
Ok, quite bad editing on my part to allow me to utilize the key points of goldenticket's quote (apologies in advance...:(). Went on Sunday for a girls' gathering brunch. View was quite lovely, with my 2 girlfriends and DS. The host and hostess was quite nice to DS, so I thought that was a nice start to the meal, hoping it'd get better based on reviews I had read somewhere else. I guess I didn't read the reviews here, as they were, of course, dead on.

I ordered the Egg White Omelette with asparagus and herbs, with myself splitting a plate of lemon-blueberry pancakes as well. The omelette came super-olive-oily, with the asparagus not cooked too well. Pancakes were really cakey, so the best parts were actually the little fruit dish that came with the plates. Service was so-so, with the server forgetting a few things we had asked for and not really checking back with us after serving the dishes. We all agreed that we paid for a nice view and enjoyed the company. So, after almost 2 years, nothing really improved, I guess?! ;)

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Walrus hammerhead

Walrus

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I will always have a soft spot for Sequoia because it's where Tripewriter and I went for one of our first dates ;) The view was great, I was too entranced by him to pay too close attention to the food, and it was just a lovely spot to dine with a new sweetie :)

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New Foodie hammerhead

New Foodie

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I wasn't even sure this was worth writing, but figured I might as well pile on. My +1 and I were summoned to Sequoia tonight for a friend's birthday (group of 9) and I can't really say enough bad things about it. The view is obviously nice and the food actually was decent (if extremely over-priced). The service, however, was beyond atrocious.

First of all we were seated for a good 20+ minutes before the waitress took our order. When she came back with drinks she spilled a tray of them on a friend and I. She apologized a lot at the time and said she would comp the drinks and clean everything up. Instead, the floor stayed wet with ice/drink on it for the rest of the meal. We had to ask 3 times for new napkins to replace the ones we used to mop up the mess ourselves. And of course all of the drinks ended up on the tab.

While waiting for food we had to ask 3 times for more bread for the table and water glasses were never refilled. After the one drink we ordered with our meals we were never asked if we wanted a second (despite being there for 2.5 hours when we could've easily had 3-4 drinks a piece). Once food was delivered we did not see the waitress again (or anyone else from the restaurant) until we flagged someone down to bring the check. From asking for the check to actually paying was another 20 minutes.

To her credit, the waitress did not include the 20% gratuity that was supposed to be on our bill for a large party. Needless to say she did not get a good tip.

As to the food...nothing was bad, but nothing was outstanding. My dish ("Garlic Shrimp, linguine with oven blistered tomatoes") was perhaps 5 shrimp and a small bowl of pasta with 2 grape tomatoes in olive oil for $25. Seriously?

I can't think of any friend that I like enough to attend a birthday dinner there again. AVOID AT ALL COSTS

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DaveO leviathan

DaveO

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Probably starting in the latter 1990’s and into the earlier 2000’s I kept hearing that bartenders at the busiest stations at Sequoia during the warm weather would take home around $1000/night some weekdays and on weekends.  Great bartender money.  Some bartenders worked Florida in the colder weather and Sequoia in the warm weather.  Some grads of the bartending school were among those bartenders.

I’m sure they thank you for your patronage and I suspect management appreciated that you gulped down those drinks in plastic cups. 😵

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dracisk donrocks@aol.com

dracisk

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On 4/1/2008 at 9:44 AM, Walrus said:

I will always have a soft spot for Sequoia because it's where Tripewriter and I went for one of our first dates ;)

Same with me and my now husband. Poor guy, clueless about restaurants, thought he was choosing an exciting and swanky place. I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. Actually, I still haven't told him. Every once in awhile he says we should go back there. Thus far I've managed to steer him in other directions.

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NolaCaine hammerhead

NolaCaine

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Ok, I"ll admit something. I went to Sequoia right AFTER my first date with my now husband...I was attending a happy hour for a bunch of science policy people. They asked about it and they told me that I was all giddy and un-me-like. That's when I new there'd be a second date (Tabard Inn) and third...

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pras hammerhead

pras

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I remember the first time I went here was in high school for a prom dinner.  At the time in the early 90's I was amazed at the modern design.  It really seemed ahead of its time.  It was a beautiful humongous space.  The food still then wasn't spectacular, even with my naive high school pallet.  During college and after, it was a great spot to hang out with friends in the summer on the Georgetown waterfront.  I have tons of good memories of those carefree summer evenings, when we were all single, didn't have kids, and very little to worry about.  Sometimes the company you keep and the memories are worth more than anything else.  So for me, it is a special place, albeit one that I haven't been to in ages.

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Marty L. hammerhead

Marty L.

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I will always have a soft spot for Sequoia because it's where Tripewriter and I went for one of our first dates ;) The view was great, I was too entranced by him to pay too close attention to the food, and it was just a lovely spot to dine with a new sweetie :)

2 hours ago, dracisk said:

Same with me and my now husband. Poor guy, clueless about restaurants, thought he was choosing an exciting and swanky place. I didn't have the heart to tell him the truth. Actually, I still haven't told him. Every once in awhile he says we should go back there. Thus far I've managed to steer him in other directions.

I didn't make the mistake of going there on any dates, but I did get married there in 1992, when it was fairly new, and at *that* time, anyway, the in-house catering operation (completely distinct from the daily restaurant kitchen) was actually pretty good--we had served a terrific meal.  And, as you might imagine, the setting was awfully nice, even if we did have to pause during the ceremony (on the deck) when the DCA incoming flights roared overhead.  I'm modestly surprised it's still going strong, over a quarter-century later.  Just goes to show:  Gazillions of yuppies (and then millennials) with disposable income and little discernment will go a long way.

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