Quiet Bar and Restaurant Saturday Night in DC with My Daughter Who's Visiting

[LauraB]

My daughter is making a rare trip to DC from Brooklyn this weekend.  I haven't seen her in awhile and want to catch up with her in a relatively quiet and not crazy bar before we join MrB and her sister for dinner.  Ideally, the bar would be in the restaurant where we'll be having dinner, but not necessary.  Needs to be in DC and cost is not a consideration, within reason!  Also, needs to be someplace where we can get reservations for this Saturday night.  I'd appreciate any thoughts you have!

[Bart]

Kinship.  You can eat at the bar, which is quiet or even better, you can snag one of the 3 booths in the bar area (which are "reserved" for walk ins).

[After rereading your question, I'm realizing that you wanted a bar, then, a restaurant for when your husband arrived, so maybe Kinship won't work......but it could!]

[ktmoomau]

Woodward Table has a huge bar area, not sure how loud it gets, but I don't imagine it being really loud, maybe I am wrong.  Certainly Kinship is better if you can get a reservation there.  The bar at Fishnet wasn't crazy and I could hear people very well there.  Also Corduroy would be a thought.  

[LauraB]

10 minutes ago, ktmoomau said:

Woodward Table has a huge bar area, not sure how loud it gets, but I don't imagine it being really loud, maybe I am wrong.  Certainly Kinship is better if you can get a reservation there.  The bar at Fishnet wasn't crazy and I could hear people very well there.  Also Corduroy would be a thought.  

KT, I'm banging my head against the wall.  Corduroy! Of course!  Meets all of my criteria and we've been there many times -- eating at the bar used to be a habit when we lived walking distance from it.  Thanks!

[LauraB]

I have also been thinking about the Rye Bar and the Grill Room, which we have not yet visited.  As former fans of Palena, it's on our list.  Any thoughts about this combo?

[DaveO]

I'd suggest that there are many restaurants opening for dinner on Saturday, wherein if you want to meet your daughter around 5, 5:30, 6ish, or shortly after they open the restaurant bars might be sort of quiet for an hour or 2 or longer.  Then you'll have ample time to "hang out" until  a dinner reservation around 7 pm or so.  Many restaurant bars will be "that" quiet for at least 2 hours or so.  Most places, though, there are simply no guarantees or  controls on that.  Referencing places mentioned above I've hung at early hours at the bar at Corduroy, Fishnet, I know Dino's bar is usually quiet for the first hour or 2 on such an evening, I've done just that at Blacksalt...actually taking down a table for about 1.5 to 2 hours before the reservation.  I'd call on reservations rather than making them on OT and ask those questions.  Places that are bar/restaurants with an emphasis on bar might not have that availability but restaurants with smaller bars might be quite available all over the city.  It is August.

[Ericandblueboy]

21 minutes ago, LauraB said:

I have also been thinking about the Rye Bar and the Grill Room, which we have not yet visited.  As former fans of Palena, it's on our list.  Any thoughts about this combo?

If you can get reservations, then it's a good combo.  The Rye Bar is pretty expensive though.

[Keithstg]

Quill, then Plume? Both are quiet, if expensive.

[DonRocks]

9 hours ago, Bart said:

Kinship.  You can eat at the bar, which is quiet or even better, you can snag one of the 3 booths in the bar area (which are "reserved" for walk ins).

[After rereading your question, I'm realizing that you wanted a bar, then, a restaurant for when your husband arrived, so maybe Kinship won't work......but it could!]

Kinship doesn't take reservations, so there's a risk here - if you go at an off-hour, it will work.

9 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

Woodward Table has a huge bar area, not sure how loud it gets, but I don't imagine it being really loud, maybe I am wrong.  Certainly Kinship is better if you can get a reservation there.  The bar at Fishnet wasn't crazy and I could hear people very well there.  Also Corduroy would be a thought.  

Woodward Table is very noisy at the bar.

8 hours ago, LauraB said:

I have also been thinking about the Rye Bar and the Grill Room, which we have not yet visited.  As former fans of Palena, it's on our list.  Any thoughts about this combo?

Rye Bar is small, isolated, and louder than you might think; Grill Room is down the hall, very quiet, and a completely different experience - if you're happy with Frank Ruta's cheeseburger, Grill Room alone can handle your food needs, but this wouldn't be my first choice by any means - not for this situation.

5 hours ago, Keithstg said:

Quill, then Plume? Both are quiet, if expensive.

Quill is very quiet, expensive, and super-elegant. 

I think you found your answer with Corduroy, quite honestly. For your specific situation, any number of places will do; it's up to you to make it happen - the bar at Corduroy is absolutely one of those places that will work.

Call and ask for Pete, the GM, tell him you're a friend of mine and that I told you to call and ask for his advice about whether or not he thinks you'd be able to get a seat for two at a certain hour. You'll know by his response whether or not you can do this - he's a genuinely nice, customer-oriented gentleman, and if you call around 3-4 PM, he'll be at work, and should be able to take a two-minute phone call with aplomb. You could do the same thing with Celia at Kinship, but there's a certain "closed quietness" about Corduroy that my gut tells me will work better in this situation.

[LauraB]

Corduroy it is!  I don't know why I didn't think of this myself, since I frequently make this recommendation to others.  And we've been there numerous times.  It's perfect for this scenario.  I think maybe I was hoping to turn up something new and different, since we don't get into DC much these days. 

If anyone has other suggestions, please keep them coming -- it turns out that this exact scenario will also be in play with another DC visitor the following Saturday!