City Club of Washington

Prompt and courteous servers. Food was really good. They were serving surf and turf and it all very flavorful and cooked to perfection.

My husband and I held our wedding ceremony and reception at the City Club of Washington, which allowed us to have the «DC Wedding» of our dreams without the über-​exorbitant cost of places such as the St. Regis, etc. Cassandra and Marisa and the rest of the staff were responsive, transparent, honest, and helpful. I can honestly say that over the 12 months we spent corresponding and planning the wedding, leading up to the day of the actual event, that we were never once concerned or worried that something would go awry.
The City Club honored a previous contract with their sister club in Tyson’s, which made our planning much easier after our hiccup with the Tyson’s Corner club. From the unlimited emails, phone calls, in-​person meetings, to the regal tasting/​sampling dinner and the fairy-​tale like event itself, it was worth the price of admission, which is of course steep (it’s a wedding — in DC — at a private club).
However, the grand marble staircase, glass atrium, fountain, built-​in uplighting and flow of the event space had all of my vendors, especially our videographer and photographer, gushing over how well-​lit the space was and how beautifully it photographed, and the photos and video prove that. Brides — you absolutely must descend the staircase for your grand entrance. That remains one of my favorite moments of the day.
As for the reception space, which was inside the club itself, you’ll not have to worry about the restrooms or coat space, as those are top-​notch. We had a total of 100 guests, which I felt was about the limit that this space could handle, even though we were told they could accommodate up to 160 for a seated, plated dinner (which is what we had). We enjoyed the entire space to ourselves, very intimate, and nice that we were the only event they had. Bar staff and banquet staff were well-​trained and very attentive, every detail was to our specification, and the cocktail hour went great.
Another very fortunate aspect of our wedding at The City Club was that the food was truly great, and not a bland afterthought. From the passed hors d’oeuvres (plentiful and very tasty — get the mini crab cakes!) to the entrees (stuffed chicken breast, rockfish, veggie lasagna) to the dessert before the cake, guests commented to us how pleased they were with the food (and the upgraded open bar :))
There is also a semi-​private parking garage below the Club that they will open for you for $ 250 for your Saturday wedding, but there will still be a $ 9 charge to guests who park in there, FYI. Also good to note is that the Club is walking distance from the Metro Center station.

I am a member of a related Club in San Jose, CA… And to be honest, my club and the City Club in SF really out do this one.
We walked in about 8pm on a week night. Yes, I know this area of dc is dead on week nights, but all they had was a bar menu. And there was a mix up because we had reservations,… But clearly no one told us we had to sit at the bar.
Food was decent and everything, but service was a little too casual for me. Drinks took a while to get to us and I wasn’t over impressed with the niceness of the staff.

I had a great dining experience last night at the City Club. The food and atmosphere was great. Our server Luis truly added value to the dining experience! The sweet potato cake was unique, light and tasted great!
I was disappointed that the club was in a lower level of a office building and there was no phone reception. I am use to most Clubs having a great view of the city. How can you do business with limited Internet/​phone reception? However, I would eat here in the future. Additionally, my guests truly enjoyed their dining experience.

If this is some fancy, private club, then why is it in the basement of an office building? No windows and no real light. It seemed like I was going into one of those VIP lounges at the airport where you can have unlimited peanuts and sodas. The place has no real personality and is not particularly memorable. Even the «upper class» dining room was boring. I kept wondering what the big deal was about this place. I have been to the Cosmo Club and the University Club of Washington DC and I left wishing I could be a member. I left this place never wanting to come back. I walked around and checked out the «Jazz Night» event going on in the back events room. It was a small room with a few lonely people at big round tables, no doubt saving it for their friends who were coming at any moment. If you like U St, you would have liked this place. Imagine you want to go somewhere where you could wear that suit you never use, this would be the place.
I made a reservation for a Thursday night at 8:00 PM. There were only two other people in the dining room. I had a suit on, but my guest showed up wearing jeans. I had no control over what the other person was wearing. We were seated by the waiter in the opposite side of the room from the other couple. I noticed that the Peruvian waiter gave my friend a look up and down.
We sat down and were deciding which wine to get when the manager, Ian showed up at our table. He said he wanted to welcome us to the club he said with a smile and then the unfortunate word was used. He said he apologized because we shouldn’t ever have been seated in the dinning room. He said they have a strict dress code and he had to ask us to leave the dining room. He said he would seat us in a few tables outside of the club near the entrance to the club. He never even offered to seat us in the almost empty bar that we could see a few feet away. Were we so horribly dressed that we couldn’t sit in the bar?
My guest suggested we just leave, but I insisted that we were there for the food and we had no plans of joining this club. I confess we got into this super «exclusive» club because I bought a Travelzoo groupon for $ 60.00. I actually thought I was buying a groupon for the University Club of Washington DC. So we had a few moments of feeling awkward about being kicked out of the dining room because we weren’t up to standard to be in the same room as the other two people on the opposite side of the room. If the purpose of the Travelzoo groupon was to introduce the club to people to attract new members, it failed with us. How hard would it have been for the manager to say to us that we had violated the dress code of the club but since we weren’t members he would allow us to sit in the dark and enjoy our dinner. I told him we would never ever ever become members of this club now and he responded «maybe the food will still wow you!» He then said he would comp the Malbec wine we ordered.
We still ended up paying $ 50 dollars in taxes and tip. The tip came on the bill automatically. In fact, the waiter came up to us and told us at the start of the meal that we would have to pay tax on the full cost of the meal and tip prior to the deduction of the Travelzoo groupon. It sort of seemed like he was desperate for the tip. Not our fault, the place was basically empty. Whatever, we just wanted the evening to be over with at this point.
I am giving the place two stars because I thought the food was good, but I would never have paid that price without the Travelzoo groupon for what we received. I mean it is not like I could ever go back to the dining room because I am not a member of this «swanky» club! Awkward, uncomfortable, humiliating, are you kidding me are a few words that come to mind about this place.

I made the reservations in November. I changed the reservations by 30 minutes last week. It would have been nice to eat in the dining room but alas, they seem to have given away our table. Debbie, was delightful and set us up with Champagne while we waited and waited and waited… finally, after 30 minutes the manager came and put us in the bar! Which, we had offered 30 minutes earlier but alas they didn’t take us up on it but when they offered again they failed. What was annoying was that they hadn’t made up a table for us, it would have been nice to have linens! And then there was the menu issue… they had an «Inauguration Dinner» menu, which would have been nice to know about in advance. That said, they did allow us to order from both the bar menu and the Inauguration Menu but we had been salivating for the dinner menu!
The food was decent, not over the top. Our bartender, Terrel, took very good care of us but it wasn’t enough to make up for the disappointment at the beginning.
Sadly, when the manager said, «Hope to see you soon» we all rolled our eyes! It was just a sad affair and I don’t think we will ever be back. Sorry!

We came here for a formal business lunch, and I was excited to dine at this elite club with it being one of the private clubs in DC and all. Décor-​wise, the entire club was enveloped by dark oak, and it gave a soft and dim ambiance. I personally found it to be dull, but then again, I’m fully aware that I’m clearly not the target market for this place.
I then had high expectations for the service and food, but ended up finding that neither were impressive. In fact, I actually straight out didn’t like our server at all. He was condescending, and borderline rude. One lady in our party pointed out that she had ordered extra fries and our waiter snapped back and said «Yes I know, I got it! See? Right here.» and then went back to his cart and plopped her fries on the table. It wasn’t an unreasonable thing to ask… he had already put everyone’s food on the table, so it did seem like he forgot. And even if he didn’t forget, it wasn’t necessary to be snappy about it.
Then a couple of people in our party decided to add on an extra soup discreetly on the side, and this guy literally walks to the head of the table and interrupts the entire table’s conversation, bellowing out, «EVERYONE! WE HAVE PEOPLE WANTING TO ADD TO THEIR ORDER! WHO ELSE WANTS TO ADD TO THEIR ORDER! SAY IT NOW IF YOU WANT TO ADD!». Well it turned out the two people who discreetly told him, were the only ones who wanted to add. That interruption for the announcement was again, so not necessary! And throughout the entire meal, he would do little things like that here and there. This guy also spilled some of my wine on the table while pouring it and then asked me to move a plate aside for him, but I’m not going to be petty. But, Seriously. Did this guy just transition from working at a TGIFriday’s?
So really, in conclusion: the ambiance was good, the waiter was snooty, and the food was just average. It wasn’t a terrible experience, but it sure didn’t make the Cheryl’s Top 10 Favorite Dining Experiences list.

Ambiance: A
Rich oak-​paneled, old-​money smell in the air. Think Victorian-​era, private dining space with the most hushed, sedate dinner hum I had experienced to date. Makes obvious sense, since this is a private membership club with the usual concierge, inside network, and miscell. perks for primarily litigation, corp, government stock. Quite frankly, a nice reprieve from the LED, Miami-​esque, modern noise of the nightclubs/​lounges where I play/​work. So, I am utterly mortified that they are investing a sizable investment into renovating the entire club. but more than that, uprooting the entire concept. Going the Miami-​eseque, Hotel-​lobby-​ish route come after New Years.
Service: A+
Our waiter, Sammy, was almost excessively attentive. Very personable. As I am trying to chow down my chocolate cake, he comes out with an additional plate stocked with a lighter chocolate cake and Christmas-​themed cookies. Made him an automatic winner in my book. Food is my friend, and anyone who feeds me is doubly my friend. Not to mention, coming out with alcoholic concoctions to mix in with my coffee.
***Dinner reservations only: The staff preps after-​dinner mint boxes with your reservation name labeled onto boxes. Cute.
Food: A
Starts: Ahi tuna sashimi — your standard cut slabs. Not too fresh. Butternut squash soup — very rich and tasty.
Main: Trio of crabcake, steak, shrimp — excellent.
Dessert: Chocolate cake ala mode — Flipping rattled my tastebuds around. The ice cream — texture was very soft, buttery. as if «whipped.» The cake — rich chocolate, powdered sugar with a very subtle pumpkin-​flavoured aftertaste.
Would I come back? Yes, to dine and lounge out in their great chairs and great rooms (in all honesty, really only saw the dining space but I am pretty sure my bsing is on the old money.)

I used to be a member here, at one time the Pyramid club in Philadelphia, and at Tower Club in Tyson’s Corner.
Quick Summary:
I wouldn’t recommend it, has the atmosphere of a Capital Grille, that you pay a membership fee for.
Pros:
Club atmosphere, with random events.
Easy to become a member (just call the director, you technically need a «referral» but they will find you one, don’t worry)
Service was always very good, and employees were for the most part friendly.
Cons:
Members, while you wish to believe they are all big time CEOs, most are not, they are mid-​level management/​sales people, things like that. I had salesmen at the club attempt to sell me everything from joining a Baptist church to getting Life Insurance. A lot of the better clubs frown upon solicitation inside the club, and ClubCorp should do the same.
Expensive even for a private club. If you get nabbed for the whole package it is between $ 200-​$ 400 a month, and if you ask me it is a little too much compared to a non-​profit equivalent (don’t forget this a for-​profit club with a 30%-40% mark-​up).
No Smoking is due to DC law, so I can’t blame them, although their Tysons Corner, VA location also has no smoking, where it is more than possible to legalize it.
Food is overpriced and just ok. It is probably related to it being a big corporation, so they likely source their food using the same techniques as an Applebees (Corporate Frozen Distribution type stuff).
While it is a positive that it is easy to become a member, it is also a negative. It leads to high member turnover, and members not really knowing members.

Short review:
This place is a hit and a miss. I prefer having a stronger opinion of like or dislike but this place screams middle of the road or nondescript strip mall-​ish.
The Hits:
Great location, friendly staff, elegant formal ambiance, and great bathrooms complete with sinks in each private stall.
The Misses:
Mediocre food. The chairs could use some work, the entire dinner I wished I had phone book to sit on. I kept sinking into the chair. And the biggest «miss» as I see it: cutting the music off at 10:30 sharp. I was here for a wedding and The Club basically pulled the cord for the music and rushed us to the door. Not cool, yo. Not cool!
Fortunately for the Club the wedding was lovely so they get the 3^rd star, but I’ve got my eye on you City Club of Wash. Watch out.

My first experience with The City Club was a Network and Nibble event. I didn’t know the Club was there until then. Now I’m a member! If you’ve ever wanted to join a country club but live in the City, this is the place.
The atmosphere is welcoming. They provide events, happy hours, and regular tastings, including a Chef’s Table. One of my favorite things about membership is the daily buffet breakfast for only $ 5 at the Columbia Square location.
If you like to Golf or travel a lot, The Club is perfect. I have their Signature Dining option since I meet with clients in different cities and this provides me with two free meals per month at all the different affiliate clubs. YES, ALL the clubs!
If you have not been, check it out!

Guess I’m the odd one out on this review. I thought City Club was lovely! A friend held her 35^th birthday party here, and although I was mega late, I still thought everything went quite well. Beautiful room (dim, with dark carpet, very sophisticated), great service, the works. The only thing I could have asked was for them to have left the party goods alone a while longer. I mean, I mighta wanted a glass of wine after the party officially ended. Other than that, lovely! I’d consider having my wedding reception here if it wasn’t in such an odd location (reception in the bottom floor of an office building doesn’t scream «wedding of dreams» to me). Quite nice, though!

Private club or not, it’s just not a comfortable ambiance. The staff is attentive, and the food is ok, but the place itself just wasn’t a winner. May be the reason I was turned off was do to the self-​absorbed that call this place home.
In conclusion: Stuffy, and lame.

Refined dining experience. Attentive wait staff, soft music, well prepared food in an established traditional setting. Nothing caustic to disturb the quite dining pleasure of the guests. Exactly what you’d expect from a respectable private club. Well done.

As a New Yorker I am a believer that the old style of fine dinning is a must in life. When I travel to other cities I always check-​in with the clubs I am a member. The City Club at Columbus Square is a fine replica of a New York Victorian club but it lacks a few of the minor items that truly makes the place feel like home.
The staff is very attentive (Special high marks for Samuel) and the food was prepared to my high standards but the club is located in the lower levels of a grand building though the grand marble staircase takes away the feeling of walking into a tomb.
My major issue was that for a private club they do not have a cigar room. How can a private club, home of the back room deal, not have a cigar room?