P J Clarke’s

Why didn’t I read Unilocal before coming here? Overpriced average food. Think Times Square prices. Seriously $ 14 for an «a la carte» burger. Which was utterly average. $ 8 for a side of Brussel sprouts. $ 6 for a very small side of fries. WTF? Never again. Never.

Saw the place while out walking this afternoon. Looked good enough to come back for an early dinner. Nice old dark wood feel, brief menu but was surprised with a restaurant week 3 course special. I went pretty traditional with wedge salad, crisp lettuce and a tart buttermilk blue cheese dressing, the ribeye was cooked per order and the whiskey bread pudding was a great finish. Overall a good choice.

Went for brunch with a group of friends — a mistake from the get-​go, as brunch is clearly not the specialty of place whose awning boasts of seafood and burgers. That being said, the brunch menu looked decent enough and we’d been wandering around for half an hour, so we went in.
Our waitress was incredibly kind and helpful, and she was probably the highlight. Our food took an hour and a half to come to the table (the majority of us ordered some variation of eggs). The food was sub-​par; in particular, most of us noted, the eggs tasted weirdly sweet, and seemed to suffer from the addition of far too much cream or milk in the scrambling process.
Beyond the long wait and quality (I’ll note that the exception was one friend’s apple pancakes, which looked, smelled, and tasted delicious), the price was out there. Both my roommate and I, under the impression of having ordered small «side salads,» were surprised to find we’d each been charged $ 10 for them when we paid our bill. Ten bucks for a handful of lettuce!
TL;DR — overpriced, long wait, don’t go for brunch

Overall: Very overpriced for average American food. Fine service. Nothing special. Unless you’re starving and everything else is closed or too far, you can do better.
The biggest pro for this place was that it was open on the Sunday of Snowzilla. The décor is casual and the service was friendly and prompt enough, but the food and drinks are shamefully overpriced (you’re clearly paying for proximity to 1600 Pennsylvania). A small BBQ burger on what appeared to be a generic grocery store bun was $ 13.55. If you wanted any kind of side (and I’m not talking an upgrade – literally a side of chips or fries cost extra), it would set you back another $ 6 – 8. We ordered a hot toddy and an Irish coffee, which were strong and good but definitely not anything special, and that was another $ 12 each.

This review is for downstairs ‘Sidecar’.
If you are new to DC like me ‘Sidecar’ is awesome. Great food, awesome atmosphere, and cool music (motown).
Service is awesome too (ask for Nam).
Bourbon, seafood, presidential pics.

Tried this place out instead of ordering room service. Probably paid the same. Had the NY strip. It was a bit tough for the price, don’t believe they used a prime cut. Overall meal was fine, and atmosphere wasn’t elitist like other steakhouses seem to be around here.
If you’re staying at a hotel in area this is a fine alternative to staying in.

Absolutely dissatisfaction for this restaurant. I walk in with a friend ask the host to be seated at the bar, host didn’t even attempt to walk us over to the bar but just told us to go right ahead to the bar, walk up to the bar didn’t have one seat open so we walked back to the host told him we would like to have a table he sat us at a table we waited 15mins for service never receive the service we wanted. So instead we walked right out. Very bad experience never going back again.

Food was okay. I got the bbq burger and it was the least bit impressive. For 12 dollars I could have gotten a better burger at Carl’s Jr however, I do not know where one is located near my hotel. I probably would not recommend this place, nor would I come back.

After having a semi-​lunch there, I unfortunately learned what the «P and «J» stand for in PJ Clark’s — «Paltry» and «Junky.» I ordered the «Wild Mushroom Cheddar Burger for $ 14.90. I knew there was trouble ahead when the waiter asked «Would you like fries with that/​» I said yes, and assumed this was a meal-​in-​itself mondo burger. What showed up was a McDonalds
Happy meal, without the toy. And the fries? They came in a glass. Are you kidding me? Memo to Mr. P (Paltry) J. (Junky) Clark … take me off your sucker list … never wasting my money there again. So do o yourself a favor and stay away from this overpriced tourist trap. As Yoda would say: «P.J. … must stay away.»

The food generally tasted good but was extremely overpriced. We had a couple burgers later in the evening and they each cost ~$ 15 without fries. They were served on small grocery store buns and looked like what I would make at a family barbecue. The frozen then fried sweet potato fries were not worth the $ 6 extra. If you don’t mind throwing away money, eat here; otherwise find a local dive bar and pay less for the same.

Don’t be mislead by the décor– this place is far from decent. For the price of the meals you would expect a lot more. I ordered s burger which was $ 15. All you got was a burger, if you wanted a side it was more money. When the burger came out it took up a quarter of the plate. The burger itself was pretty good, but it was served on a bun from Wal-​Mart; disappointing doesn’t begin to describe it.
The service wasn’t much better. The bartender looked at my empty mug twice before asking if I wanted another beer.
Don’t waste your time and money. A trip to McDonald’s and the liquor store would have saved you money and you would have receive better quality food and service.

We came around 10PM that evening, having dozen of oysters on a happy hour (around a buck/​each). Ordered a burger with a wonderful sirloin sauce plus some cocktails and wine.
The place is famous for their fresh ingredients that they always get locally. So everything tasted delicious.
Oh, and the server Valery was incredibly nice. I will be there back again next time I’m in DC, no question about it. Thanks

Ordered the burger with fries and it was delicious. Not sure what type of sauce they use but it tastes like a tangy ketchup/​bbq sauce. It pairs perfect with the burger. I would definitely go back. A bit pricey but was celebrating a special occasion and it worked out great. Had a glass of Prosecco with my meal. The bread was warm and tasted like a pretzel. The salt was a nice touch.

They «just ran out of» the 12 oz fillet when ordered. The 8 oz was ok. But was definitely not a $ 42 steak! I had the rest of my brother’s sirloin. He did not like it (hence, he had no hesitation in sending it down the bar to his lil’ brother). It was extremely chewy. I wasn’t a fan either.
Shaved Brussels sprouts were good. Asparagus and mash potatoes were ok-​good.

Last weekend, we hosted a rehearsal dinner for 50 guests in Sidecar. The evening was a wonderful experience. I made 100% the right choice to have such an important and special event at this restaurant. From the beginning, I was treated with a respect and professionalism that I did not find at any of the other dozen venues I was considering in the Dupont area. I highly recommend Emily Hines, Director of Private Affairs, and her assistant Robin. They know their facility, staff, and food, they work hard, make it look easy, and they care. They never told me ‘No’. I live 3 hours away in Central Virginia so most of the planning was by phone and email. I made two visits to P.J.Clarke’s, once for lunch to taste the food which they comped (no other restaurant did that for us), and once to meet with Emily to finalize plans and have dinner where we ordered tons of options to taste. That evening, they comped the appetizers which we thought was very generous.
For cocktail hour, we chose to do a full bar, top shelf. I am a champagne drinker, don’t like Prosecco so to accommodate me, Emily did not hesitate to serve Nicholas Fueillette by the glass. This was greatly appreciated. Four different canapes were passed: Bruschetta, stuffed mushroom caps, fried chicken skewers, and short rib spring rolls. All were fresh, hot, and delicious, guests were raving. Then we did a seated dinner. Emily printed menus for each place-​setting. We offered clam chowder or mixed salad as starters – guests raved about the clam chowder and the salad was fresh and simple, exactly what I wanted.
There was a choice of 3 entrees – Filet Mignon (8 oz.), Double cut Pork Loin (a large portion), and Shrimp and Grits. From where I sat, I’d say most opted for the filet mignon and it was excellent. Medium rare, with an au poivre sauce (our choice). Each entrée came with a side and in addition there was grilled asparagus and root veggies served family style on each table. For dessert we offered NY cheesecake and walnut fudge brownies on platters for each table – 3-​bite sized, plenty to have one of each or seconds. Coffee service was included as well.
Entertainment was a slideshow my daughter put together. She worked with Emily on the electronics logistics, Emily made sure ahead of time it was up and running throughout the party. There are 3 big screen TV’s next to eachother on one wall in Sidecar, easy for everyone to see no matter where they are in the room. There was also an excellent sound system ready to go for toasts and stories, it was open mike night and lots of laughter.
Sidecar is a unique, private space of cozy, historical ambience like no other I’ve seen. A comfortable club with banquettes and tables, old-​fashioned bar, president’s portraits and bookshelves, brick walls and tray ceiling. It is elegant and cool all in one. There are also 2 restrooms and a coat rack for our use so we never had to leave the room.
I brought in a florist to decorate our tables, I was allowed to bring my own votives and have real candlelight. It was romantic and glowing all night.
All this was done within a reasonable price range. There are plenty of party options to choose from depending on what you’re looking to do, they are generous in their offerings, and we did not feel nickel & dimed one bit.
Our party ran long, it was so much fun, Emily happily extended it 30 minutes during which time we ran a tab at the bar. We still had trouble getting people out even after we shut the bar down, everyone was so comfortable in the space! Staff helped me collect and box my votives, and they patiently worked around us setting up for the next day’s service as we ushered our guests out. My goal was to host a rehearsal dinner that did not compete with the wedding rather complemented it and I was able to do that at P.J. Clarke’s. I would not change a thing!

Three stars is just about right. I went here for a birthday dinner for a friend. The food was decent – I had a crab cake cob salad and the flavors were just fine– but that said, I’m pretty sure this was the first thirty dollar salad I’ve ever had. Prices were high across the board. Service was fine, not super friendly. All in all a solid B. The most memorable thing about the place were the gigantic, Corinthian style urinals in the men’s bathroom. Biggest urinals I ever did see!
Not a bad visit but in no rush to return.

I came here for lunch yesterday for the first time and really liked it! Our server could not have been nicer and more attentive, and my water glass was never empty. I ordered the club sandwich and my dining companions had burgers. I thought the sandwich was absolutely delicious and would absolutely recommend the food to anyone. My one complaint is that the food was really expensive for the portion and ingredients, especially for lunch. My sandwich was $ 18.00 and was average in size, and did not come with any sides. My companions’ burgers also did not come with any sides. Overall, there are other places downtown and close to the White House where you can get a good meal for a much better price.

This outlet of the famous NYC burger restaurant and bar is far better operated than its NYC ancestors. The outside area on K and 16^th street is very pleasant and the service was great. We started with the delicious tater tots which were perfectly cooked (thought a little expensive for 15 tots). I had the bbq blue burger which was cooked well with some fried onion strings. Had a very nice time and will probably come by again.

Booze bar food and oysters. Classy joint where everything I’ve had has been excellent. Little pricy but it is in a ritzy part of town (across from St Regis). Tots were really good when I had them and the cocktails were delicious.

Pending our visit tonight.