901 Restaurant & Bar

I know I preface way too many reviews. I always feel the need to try to play down a negative review by leading in with some sort of justification as to why I don’t like something.

And I’m going to do it again.

So let me preface this one by saying that I did not have high expectations for the food at 901 Restaurant & Bar, as I’m sure most other people wouldn’t, either.

Owned and managed by the same team as Capitol City Brewing Company, it’s a good place to hang out and drink. Not eat. All I was looking for was a new spot to take my date so that we could have some drinks and good conversation.

For that reason, 901 succeeded. But the food was horrendous.

So let’s start with the food first, and then we can end this thing on a positive note. When my date and I sat down at the bar, it took almost 45 minutes (or until we ordered food) before they took away the used napkins, silverware and drinks from the people who were previously sitting at the bar. That’s a bit amateur. And a bit gross.

When it came time to order, we chose to go with some light fare. Or what was referred to on the menu as tapas (aka small plates). What came out, however, was enough food to feed a small country. I’m not against large portions. But it was laughable how much food came out. Even better were the descriptions of what we ordered:

• Lump crab on top of Bruschetta with roasted red pepper sauce
• A trio of meats with olive oil and tomato sauce
• Spinach fritters
• Beer Churrasco (or something like that. I can’t exactly remember the description)

Here’s what came out:

• Four pieces of bread with gigantic scoops of crab dip topped off with another scoop of tomato sauce
• Four meatballs in a pool of olive oil with a scoop of tomato sauce
• Two scoops of dried-out spinach with another two scoops of dried-out, deep-fried spinach (note: the fried spinach at Rasika is amazing)
• Four chicken and meat skewers cooked uber-done

Oh yeah, and some sort of creamy, mayo-type sauce drizzled over everything. The secret sauce, if you will. Needless to say, we didn’t order an entrée, and mark my words – I never will.

The spot itself was ok, though. It has a decent-sized bar, a few couches and some small tables in the lounge area. It was very trendy – almost too pretentious-looking for the quality of food that came out. But, overall, not a bad change of pace to get a drink in the Chinatown/Mount Vernon Square area. I would probably go there again for a drink.

And the positive note?

Other than the fact that I had a very sweet, lovely young lady to accompany me on my date – there wasn’t one.