The Oceanaire Seafood Room

Location: Washington D.C.

This place is all about atmosphere AND delicious seafood. We had been site seeing all day in DC when a friend recommended this restaurant to us. We were famished and almost back to our hotel; so, we decided to give it a try. Upon entering, the manager was on the phone and made us wait for a minute; then, he tried to be a little pretentious, asking if we had reservations and telling our oldest to remove his hat. We just brushed past his behavior, removed the hat and allowed the hostess to seat us. The waitress was more than accommodating, and we quickly realized that what we thought to be true was: expensive restaurant, pretentious manager, great staff and incredibly good food.

We ordered the 16 oz NY strip, blackened halibut, a Caesar salad, truffle whipped potatoes, hashbrowns a’la Oceanaire, and a kid’s cheeseburger with fries. Oh. My. Goodness! Everything was absolutely amazing!! This meal would be ranked in the top ten of our all time favorites. Because the sides and the steak were in such large proportions, we actually split this meal between three people (2 adults and a teen son), and even our youngest son enjoyed some steak, too. Now, I do realize it was shareable, because we had two starches as well, which are very filling; however, it was a large size meal.

As if the meal wasn’t enough, we decided to get dessert, too. The cheesecake was out of this world with a raspberry sauce and berries on top. The “warm cookies and milk” are a definite winner, and the key lime pie was good but maybe not one of my favorites. However, my husband and I both might very well be considered kind of a “key lime pie snob.” The crust was yummy, but there wasn’t enough of it. The whip cream on top was amazing, and it was definitely homemade, but the pie itself was just a little too light and fluffy for my liking.

One of the things I love about their menu is the “simply prepared” items, of which the halibut was one. These items are listed alone with no sides, and you get to decide the side, as well as, the way you’d like it prepared. They do have chef specialties and other items from which to choose. Oh, they also bring out a little tray of fresh veggies to begin (carrots, cucumbers, pickle and radishes) and fresh baked bread and butter. A great way to start off a wonderful meal!

I didn’t realize until going to the website they have so many locations. We will definitely be looking them up when we are in different states, too!