The new menu at the restaurant is fantastic. The ambiance is great, not very noisy and has great music. Definitely a worthwhile trip to Capitol Hill!    [20 Feb 2004 12:49:42]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 

     ­Anonymous   

Romantic
The new menu and chef makes Park Cafe one of the finest dining experiences in Washington. The food and presentation rivals the best Washington has to offer at a fraction of the price. Also, easy parking.    [06 Mar 2004 15:14:19]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Chef's special

     ­Denis Z.   

Nice to treat yourself once in a while
Unfortunately they can't seem to hold on to waitstaff for too long, but the service is always good, given the turnaround. The owner is very welcoming, the art work is a great topic of conversation, and if only there were more cafes and people around the park you could truly make belive you were in Europe. The one thing that is not left to the imagination is the food, seems to be reliable and worth exploring this hidden gem of the District!    [25 Mar 2005 15:07:15]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: all

     ­Twomenbench   

Good food but overpriced
The cafe has a nice ambience and the service is good, but the menu is overpriced for what you get. We ordered the green salad for $10 and got merely a small pile of mixed greens with palm and artichoke hearts. A mussels appetizer was $14 for a healthy portion of mussels but nothing special with the broth. Unfortunately, that was a reoccurring theme throughout the dinner. There was nothing special to make it worth the inflated price. The entrees, while tasty, was not entirely well prepared. I asked for medium for duck breast and it came medium rare (some parts just downright rare) while my husband's tuna steak (the special) were thin cuts of tuna. It seemd that a tuna steak had been butterflied to cut costs. I felt that for the price, everything should have been perfect but ultimately, the ambience did not make it worth the price.    [26 Aug 2005 10:45:54]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 

     ­unk   

Taste - Spectacular!
Baked crab cake appetizer with no fillers - savored the aroma of crab and herbs, no sauce needed - very juicy. Finally a REAL crabcake in DC. The hangar steak special is a MUST try - tender enough to cut with a fork - I could have sworn the cut of meat was a filet, not a hangar steak. As I sat there savoring every bite, I could not help but wonder "who is this chef and where did she come from?". I am from New Orleans and finally found a fabulous restaurant to bring guests.    [27 Jan 2006 11:54:24]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Tiger Shrimp, Hangar Steak.

     ­Melody Ricks   

Horrible
Don't go. It is a beautiful little spot on the Park, but maybe if enough people don't go, it will have to change hands.

Only house wine by the glass. Waiter told us there wasn't any Pinot Noir, then we heard owner say he had a brand new one and gave next table tastings.

We had to ask about our salads after they were not delivered twenty minutes after ordering. (Our waiter was no where in sight, so we had to flag down one of the other servers and this is a tiny place!!) Salads were very average. Not enough pears on pear/gorgonzola salad.

After another long wait our Paella for two was served in a smallish cast iron skillet. It was not good. We each ate several very dry mussels, some very dry chicken, very dry sausage, very dry rice, you get the message. It was very dry. The shrimp were okay but not good enough to cover for the rest of the dish. The dish is $46. It should be spectacular for that price. One of the mussels was still shut. This should never happen. We told the waiter clearing the dishes (still not our waiter)that it wasn't very good. He said we should have quit eating it. Nice. We paid our bill and got as quickly as possible. Nothing like a bad expensive meal to ruin a Saturday nights.    [24 Apr 2006 15:11:51]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Do not order the paella.

     ­pleasedon'twasteyourmoney   

The Very Best
I live in Old Town Alexandria, Virginia and I drive past 100's of dinning establishments to just get to the Park Cafe in SE Washington DC. If you have never eaten at the Park Cafe you are going to have a real treat. The owner Alcione is a delight and will make your evening a meaningful one to remember.    [01 Feb 2007 13:54:37]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: Just pick one they are all great

     ­Rick Faulkner, Resident of Alexandria, Virginia   rickfaulkner at msn dot com

Excellent crab soup & meats, neighborhood atmosphere
The food is delicious; we both had vegetable crab soup with a veal stock as an appetizer. Having grown up around the Chesapeake Bay, I've had a lot of crab based dishes. This was clearly one of the best crab soups I've ever had. The veal and beef dishes that we had as entrees were also delicious, although they could have been a little larger for the price. The atmosphere is very intimate. In another circumstance, having a gregarious waiter might seem intrusive, but in this situation it fit with the friendly, laid-back neighborhood atmosphere. The view looking into Lincoln Park is cozy and peaceful - a great city experience. I'd definitely recommend a visit.    [07 Feb 2007 19:43:49]

Food:    Service:    Ambiance:    Overall: 
Recommended Dishes: crab soup

     ­Anonymous