Obelisk - Washington, D.C.

What a treat! I didn’t realize that this was a prix fixe menu restaurant, but even with the more limited options it was still hard to choose. The restaurant is in a townhouse just off of Dupont – at best it seats about 30 people. The service is excellent and the atmosphere is lovely. I opted to start with one of their cocktails – a prosecco and raspberry drink. Just right for a summer’s evening! The bread basket has some very long breadsticks and delicious breads. Perfect for eating with the antipasto misto that comes for the table. Burrata mozzaerella, fried sardines, ricotta stuffed zucchini flowers, porchetta, caponata, heirloom tomatoes with crostini and grilled baby eggplant. Each one a delightful taste treat! (The selection was modified since my hubby doesn’t eat cheese. Primi was a gnocchi in pesto – a classic dish done very well. Not too heavy. I also took a taste of the bigoli (a fatter pasta with the pancetta and breadcrumbs and could have had a meal of that as well. Secondi was the quail with chanterelle mushrooms. It was delicate and full of flavor. The sea bass with Heirloom tomatoes was another tasty option. Next up, the cheese course. What was most interesting about the selection of 3 cheeses was the eggplant walnut jam that accompanied them. At times both sweet and eggplanty it was a new taste. To end the meal, espresso and a yogurt panna cotta with fresh blackberries and a piece of shortbread. Was glad to have also tasted the chocolate raspberry cake -will hope for that one next time! A few treats with the bill – chocolate covered almond, raspberry gelee and a cookie made with grappa. The menu is $75 person plus drinks. Not an inexpensive meal but certainly well worth it. They were very accommodating with my husband’s food requests. The service throughout was 5 star. I understand why it is so hard to get a reservation at this lovely neighborhood restaurant.

We had an amazing feast for a birthday dinner. Intimate, romantic wonderful food and service. I'm so glad this gem made it through the pandemic!

Great Italian food is supposed to be simple, straight forward. Obelisk puts the ingredients first and executes at perfectionist level in a cozy, comfortable, quaint atmosphere.

Obelisk offers a memorable meal with attentive service. I’m not aware of a more intimate and personal dining experience in DC. Each course was straightforward in concept, and distinguished in preparation. The wine pairing was selected thoughtfully to accentuate each of the five courses, and it featured some uncommon and delicious Italian wines.

I had a great experience here and shared the only window seat with someone. It was nice to be able to look down on P Street Northwest. The Negroni I ordered was the best I ever had. We shared a bottle of Pinot Bianco, my favorite white wine. The meal was incredible and quite filling. I was surprised. You might expect a place like this to have smaller portions. The Mixta course was a kind of scallop ceviche with dill and cilantro. Crostini with lardo and cherry tomatoes. Delicate Italian cauliflower in an anchovie olive oil sauce. The Secundi was watercress ravioli in a walnut butter sauce. I had quail wrapped in pasta, in brodo with spinach. The meat course was Dorade for me. My first experience with that fish. It was a little bit of a fishy fish if you know what I mean. My dining partner had wagyu sirloin tip. Then there was a cheese course with sour cherries, followed by dessert, a kind of rhubarb strawberry tart. Quite delicious, with homemade vanilla ice cream. I booked the place using a deposit of over $50. At the time I didn't realize that each dinner was going to cost $113. With the wine pairing, it would have been $186/person. With one bottle of wine, the cocktail, tax and gratuity, the bill was close to $400. That's a lot of simoleons for a person like me. The ambience was nice and quiet. Food quality was excellent. I would recommend this restaurant if you want to have a high level gourmet foodie type dining experience, and can afford it. I'd love to go back sometime.