Dining at National Harbor

[monavano]

For anyone who would rather eat the butt out of a skunk than eat at the Gaylord, there's National Harbor RW Oct. 3-16.

Pepe Le Pew

[DonRocks]

For anyone who would rather eat the butt out of a skunk than eat at the Gaylord, there's National Harbor RW Oct. 3-16.

Pepe Le Pew

Are they paying people $35.11 to come have dinner there?

[DPop]

There is no way they could have done worse in terms of food at National Harbor. Think about it, if it was all Taco Bell, McDonald's, Wendy's, etc, at least people could eat affordably. Everything in that area is expensive and well below average. It's a shame.

[DonRocks]

There is no way they could have done worse in terms of food at National Harbor. Think about it, if it was all Taco Bell, McDonald's, Wendy's, etc, at least people could eat affordably. Everything in that area is expensive and well below average. It's a shame.

Furthermore, very few of the restaurant names are familiar national chains, so the vast majority of people don't know well enough to avoid them. And once you're there, you're there.

[goldenticket]

The water main replacement in Prince George's County and associated water shutdown is affecting National Harbor. All of the restaurants there will be closed throughout the shut-off.

[DonRocks]

The water main replacement in Prince George's County and associated water shutdown is affecting National Harbor. All of the restaurants there will be closed throughout the shut-off.

I wouldn't want to be the restroom attendant in the Upper Marlboro Barnes & Noble.

[bookluvingbabe]

So I'm taking bl-1st grader to ICE next week.

Am I right that the best we can do is Nandos or Elevation Burger for lunch?

[DanielK]

Eat elsewhere, then go.

[Joe H]

So I'm taking bl-1st grader to ICE next week.

Am I right that the best we can do is Nandos or Elevation Burger for lunch?

Nando's.

[SSK]

Where would you eat if you HAD to have a large group dine at National Harbor?  We are taking a large multigenerational group in 4+ vehicles to see ICE so really need to eat there"¦.

[DanielK]

If you absolutely MUST (I still recommend you eat wherever you are driving from and then go to the Harbor), and you don't want fast food, make a reservation at Harrington's. They treat groups nicely and at least you won't feel as bad spending money on shitty food because you won't be spending a TON of money on shitty food.

[SSK]

Thanks--I appreciate it.  We have folks coming from VA, MD, and NY going to see ICE and then having dinner together before the NY folks continue onward to Williamsburg, so we really are stuck, unless there is something relatively decent nearish to National Harbor....  

[thistle]

I'm still trying to figure out why so many of my kids' friends celebrate their birthdays w/ dinners at National Harbor-I don't think the food could be that great, maybe it's just the idea of going somewhere else for dinner that's appealing. For reference, we live in southern Fairfax county, & I can understand going to Old Town for a treat, but National Harbor? The other perennial favorite is any Japanese hibachi/steakhouse, especially if the kids just get dropped off, or the adults are unobtrusive...IMO, kids just love steak & seafood, w/ some tricks & yum-yum sauce.

I wish I could win the Megamillions & build a teppanyaki grill in my backyard, before the next birthday party (camp stove & griddle is not going to cut it).

[goldenticket]

Thanks--I appreciate it.  We have folks coming from VA, MD, and NY going to see ICE and then having dinner together before the NY folks continue onward to Williamsburg, so we really are stuck, unless there is something relatively decent nearish to National Harbor....  

What about somewhere in Old Town? Southside 815 would take less than 10 minutes to drive to from National Harbor and has a menu that should have something for everyone at a reasonable price.  Free parking available in the underground garage behind the restaurant and easy access to the Beltway.

[bookluvingbabe]

Public House wasn't bad and had quite good service.

National Pastime Grill in Gaylord was bad and had terrible service.

[SSK]

Thanks everyone.  I'll investigate Public House and Harrington's and definitely not National Pastime Grill.  I too would much prefer Old Town, but the older folks coming from Burtonsville are resistant to the idea of crossing the bridge around rush hour to go further away from their home.  Maybe I should pack a picnic and we can sit in the Gaylord lobby area.  

[DonRocks]

The current list of the 39 eateries at National Harbor. I take it as a great source of pride that we only have threads for a few of the "independent" restaurants, the rest being national chains.

1. Belvedere Lobby Bar - Gaylord National

2. Ben & Jerry's

3. Biggpoppa Kettle Korn

4. Bobby McKey's Dueling Piano Bar

5. Bond 45

6. Cadillac Ranch

7. Chipotle Mexican Grill

8. Crab Cake Cafe

9. Elevation Burger

10. Fiorella Italian Kitchen

11. Goodies Frozen Custard & Treats

12. Grace's Mandarin

13. Granite City Food & Brewery

14. Harbor Café

15. Harrington's Pub & Kitchen

16. McCormick & Schmick's

17. McDonald's

18. McLoone's Pier House

19. Nando's Peri-Peri

20. National Pastime Bar & Grill

21. Old Hickory Steakhouse

22. Pienza Market

23. Pinkberry

24. Pose Rooftop Lounge

25. Potbelly Sandwich Shop

26. Potomac Gourmet Market

27. Pretty Girl Cupcakery

28. Public House

29. Redstone American Grill

30. Rosa Mexicano

31. Sauciety

32. Spagnvola Chocolatier

33. Starbucks

34. Subway

35. Succotash

36. Thai Pavilion

37. The Cocoa Bean (Formerly Java Coast) - Gaylord National

38. The Tasting Room

39. The Walrus Oyster And Ale House

[Kev29]

Wow, 9 places that are of the pub/bar/ale house variety. Which leads me to think that National Harbor's bread and butter is getting convention goers shitcanned.

[DonRocks]

Wow, 9 places that are of the pub/bar/ale house variety. Which leads me to think that National Harbor's bread and butter is getting convention goers shitcanned.

Shitcanned or shitfaced? The second sometimes leads to the first.

I wonder if National Harbor has the highest restaurant density in the DC area - this is fertile territory for a place like Jaleo.

[JSnake]

I remember enjoying Fiorella on an impossibly chilly night in National Harbor. I was desperately looking for somewhere to warm up and walked in and enjoyed the most comforting blast of warm air I had ever felt. That's my biggest memory of it, it was many years ago. I also remember hungrily scarfing down the fried mozzarella balls.

[DanielK]

The best food at the harbor is probably Nando's. I've eaten at a majority of the restaurants there, and if it weren't for the captive audience, most of them would fold. Awful and overpriced, almost every one of them.

[DonRocks]

The best food at the harbor is probably Nando's. I've eaten at a majority of the restaurants there, and if it weren't for the captive audience, most of them would fold. Awful and overpriced, almost every one of them.

According to Tom Sietsema, it's Succotash, but the problem is that Edward Lee (nominally the culinary director - sort of like Susur Lee was at Zentan) is based in Louisville. This summer, I went to 610 Magnolia, his top-end restaurant there, and while it certainly qualified as "fine dining," and was even a 2015 James Beard finalist for "Best Chef - Southeast," I don't see any possible connection between that and this - maybe he dispatched a sous chef for a few months to help open Succotash, but I can't imagine this place is going to be very good for long.

[Kibbee Nayee]

The best food at the harbor is probably Nando's. I've eaten at a majority of the restaurants there, and if it weren't for the captive audience, most of them would fold. Awful and overpriced, almost every one of them.

I don't dislike Nando's, but it sure is faint praise for the National Harbor to call out Nando's as the best of this mess of restaurants.

According to Tom Sietsema, it's Succotash, but the problem is that Edward Lee (nominally the culinary director - sort of like Susur Lee was at Zentan) is based in Louisville. This summer, I went to 610 Magnolia, his top-end restaurant there, and while it certainly qualified as "fine dining," and was even a 2015 James Beard finalist for "Best Chef - Southeast," I don't see any possible connection between that and this - maybe he dispatched a sous chef for a few months to help open Succotash, but I can't imagine this place is going to be very good for long.

There was already a tribute thread to the great Don Rockwell back in December, but allow me to praise him again with the amount of effort this man put in on the post that listed 39 mediocre places to eat and drink at the National Harbor, and then cross-referencing them with the Dining Guide entries. Bravo. Sir!

I ate at Succotash, and I'm not sure I would go there again on purpose. The best dish there was the Collards and Kimchi, and the rest of the menu presented nothing that jumped out and said "order me!" Nothing special here at all, and a lot of heavily fried food. I'll bet Sietsiema was teetering on the brink of 1.5 stars, but then looked at the nice view of the waterfront and bumped it to 2 stars.

[DanielK]

I did say majority - I have not eaten at Succotash.

But I can say that, given a choice, I would never go in the following again: (I eliminated the major chains and fast food):

4. Bobby McKey's Dueling Piano Bar (do you even have to ask)
5. Bond 45 (Morton's prices, Outback's quality)
6. Cadillac Ranch (TGIF at double the price)
12. Grace's Mandarin (Panda Express served on china)
15. Harrington's Pub & Kitchen (OK, this one I might go to again, food was ok just crazy overpriced)
16. McCormick & Schmick's (Same as the others)
21. Old Hickory Steakhouse (To be fair, was at the short-lived Bethesda branch, not here, but NO)
30. Rosa Mexicano (Covered relentlessly elsewhere)
31. Sauciety (Westin Hotel restaurant, so it's boring inoffensive American with an extra $10/entree thrown in because you're in a Westin)
36. Thai Pavilion (Also have only been to Rockville location, but the food and management are vile)

---

Sauciety (DonRocks)

[Mark Slater]

Harrington's is closed at the moment and rebuilding.

[Simul Parikh]

Taking our physics staff out for dinner next Friday and the easiest place for everyone will be National Harbor, which I generally can't stand. Is there anything good there? New and worth trying? No steakhouses. 

[goldenticket]

Edward Lee's Succotash?

[DanielK]

Summary - do you really have no choice? It's awful, pretty much across the board. It's my opinion that the best restaurant there is Nando's.

Any chance you can take the ferry across to Alexandria? Not that Old Town is necessarily a hotbed of great dining, but it's miles ahead of the Harbor.

[reedm]

2 hours ago, goldenticket said:

Edward Lee's Succotash?

Friends of mine, who I trust completely for dining recommendations, ate there a few weeks ago and enjoyed it. It's "high-end" southern comfort food, but other than a choice of lighter selections, there were no complaints. 

[sweth]

So, I'm back in the States for a few days and (for reasons) am staying in Oxon Hill.  I'll probably head to Old Town [1] or into DC proper for most meals, but is there anything in the area worth trying?  I see the mentions of Succotash above, but everything I've heard makes it sound a little underwhelming (plus I'm from Louisville originally and would rather just go to 610 Magnolia when visiting the parents if I'm looking for kimchi in my collards).  Or do I just use Nando's as my "in case of emergency break glass" spot?

[1] Slightly off-topic for this thread, but: my instinct is to just do Lickety Split lunch at Eve every day this week, but I've been gone for years, so--do they still do that, and is it still good?  Anyplace better within, say, 15 min drive of National Harbor that is worth doing instead for lunch?

[Kibbee Nayee]

2 hours ago, sweth said:

So, I'm back in the States for a few days and (for reasons) am staying in Oxon Hill.  I'll probably head to Old Town [1] or into DC proper for most meals, but is there anything in the area worth trying?  I see the mentions of Succotash above, but everything I've heard makes it sound a little underwhelming (plus I'm from Louisville originally and would rather just go to 610 Magnolia when visiting the parents if I'm looking for kimchi in my collards).  Or do I just use Nando's as my "in case of emergency break glass" spot?

[1] Slightly off-topic for this thread, but: my instinct is to just do Lickety Split lunch at Eve every day this week, but I've been gone for years, so--do they still do that, and is it still good?  Anyplace better within, say, 15 min drive of National Harbor that is worth doing instead for lunch?

If your choice is Old Town or National Harbor, pick Old Town -- although that's damning with faint praise.

Magnolia's on King is at least the equal of Succotash, and Pita House (Lebanese), A La Lucia (Italian), and the Bistro part of Society Fair will serve you better than the over-priced and mediocre fare at National Harbor.

[Pat]

4 hours ago, sweth said:

So, I'm back in the States for a few days and (for reasons) am staying in Oxon Hill.  I'll probably head to Old Town [1] or into DC proper for most meals, but is there anything in the area worth trying?  I see the mentions of Succotash above, but everything I've heard makes it sound a little underwhelming (plus I'm from Louisville originally and would rather just go to 610 Magnolia when visiting the parents if I'm looking for kimchi in my collards).  Or do I just use Nando's as my "in case of emergency break glass" spot?

[1] Slightly off-topic for this thread, but: my instinct is to just do Lickety Split lunch at Eve every day this week, but I've been gone for years, so--do they still do that, and is it still good?  Anyplace better within, say, 15 min drive of National Harbor that is worth doing instead for lunch?

What about something on Barracks Row?  Cava or Matchbox?  Bayou Bakery at 9th and Penn? Beuchert's on the 600 block of Penn, SE, is open for lunch every day but Monday.

Editing to add: Osteria Morini at Navy Yard (the businesses at 301 Water St, SE)

[cheezepowder]

The MGM Casino at National Harbor opens tonight at 11 pm with various restaurants including;

Fish by Jose Andres

Marcus by Marcus Samuelsson

Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse by Bryan and Michael Voltaggio