Estuary

A dozen of us came for dinner, and WOW. This place rocks. Service was excellent, food was outstanding, and it was fun sneaking peeks at the open kitchen. They brought a variety of appetizers for us to share. Each dish was delicious, presentation was beautiful, and overall represented inspired cooking. The rice cracker with blossoms that is broken up and dipped in a sauce (that's my glass of wine in the pic, sauce is in bottom of the bowl.) My main dish was the cod which was fantastic. Not overcooked, perfectly tender and flaked well. I've never been to one of the Volt brothers restaurants, but when in town next, I'll have to explore the others, because the food was electrifying!

Estuary is a restaurant that has been heavily promoted and is inspired by a brother team. It is inside the new Conrad hotel which has provided a grand space and the bar alone is larger than some restaurants. I tried the much acclaimed crab salad on a broche bun. Albeit salty, it worked well with the bun. It is not a crab cake which is quite popular in DC. I separately ordered and received a mountain of fries. They were crispy, warm and seasoned with Old Bay. I tried the American Trilogy cocktail 🍸 which is bourbon based, large cube, with Apple flavoring. It was somewhat flat as the infusion did not really do anything.The food prices are what you would expect in a downtown hotel. However, the wines were more expense account, New York prices.I will return as a left with a good view, but not totally enthused.

Estuary really is quite good. We went here for breakfast. The risotto with steel cut oats and mushrooms was superb. Excellent recommendation by our server. The avocado toast was a large portion on sliced baguette. The presentation was excellent and pure taste (not overly salted or seasoned) which I really appreciated. The food spoke for itself. The do have a kids menu offering (not published), $12 each, chocolate chip pancakes, French toast, or free range eggs, bacon/sausage, and potatoes. They also have Etch A Sketch pads for the kids to play with, which were an excellent option for kids (of all ages). Everything was well presented and the portion sizes for more than enough. The service was excellent. Worth stopping in, regardless of whether you are staying here. Note that service at Estuary restaurant and the bar are not the same (the bar area is far less attentive and hard to get an order in during the day).