The Dabney

I finally got to try The Dabney after hearing great things! For starters, I love the location of this restaurant. It’s hidden in a quaint alley off of 9^th street.
The first thing I noticed upon entering the restaurant was the noise level! It’s very loud and I found myself having to yell at my date during our dinner in order to hear one another.
We loved the cocktail menu and thoroughly enjoyed our drinks. The food was also very delicious! Our favorites were the scallops and the sirloin. The rhubarb chimichurri sauce was phenomenal and a perfect compliment to the sirloin.
The only thing keeping me from awarding this place 5 stars is the cost. We thought the small plate prices were a bit high, especially considering the small portions. The larger plates seem reasonably priced for the amount of food you get. While we had a great experience, I wasn’t extremely blown away (I had very high expectations)! I will certainly return!

Been here twice. Food was excellent both times. Cool open kitchen makes for an interesting visual experience while dining. Cool cider selection, and the cocktails are on point.
Previous reviewers are correct that the food is expensive. There’s definitely a lot of hype surrounding this restaurant, given the long wait times, but the staff and chef seem unpretentious and committed to a great dining experience. Worth a try, just book your reservation 3 – 4 weeks out.

Delicious food in a cute and hip space! Super expensive considering how small the portions are. I would rather pay More up front than be surprised by how little the portion is. Everything is locally sourced.
AAron Burr cider!!! HOW COOL IS THAT. $ 35 though. Ho shiz. Nope.

The food was absolutely wonderful at The Dabney from preparation to presentation, very pleasing. Last night I especially enjoyed the SoftShell Crab with some Anson Mills Grits and then to end a wonderful meal I had the Bourbon Brown Sugar Ice Cream Sundae «delish» really.
I would like to personally thank «Chef Jeremiah Langhorne» and his awesome staff for again a wonderful time at The Dabney. The restaurant was so comfortable, the food at the dabney is absolutely spectacular. My waitress was just so wonderful. I’m looking forward to dinning there real soon in the future.
The food is fresh, properly prepared and a great value for the price. I highly recommend it.
All the good reviews that I have read about this restaurant are true. The friendliness of the staff and of the chefs are genuine. I have never seen such great customer service as I experienced at The Dabney.

Open kitchen design with locally sourced food. The wait staff and hosts are professionals.
It’s located in Blagden Alley which is actually up and coming with several businesses — a coffee shop, gym etc. I would be careful at night, b/​c you have to walk down a low lit alley in not the best neighborhood.
Menu was incredible. Food was unique, tasty, and a conversation starter.
The only issue we had were with drinks. The craft cocktails were not to our liking. Actually we returned all 3. We bought a $ 100 bottle of wine that was too young to open. It would have been great to get better direction there.
Overall, a cozy, romantic spot, great for a wonderful dining experience.
bottom line — Book reservations in advance, soak up this locally sourced gem

Cozy, Unpretentious and Divine.
This gem of a spot is tucked away in Blagden Alley in a lovely updated space with a rustic and intimate ambiance. The dining space is open to the kitchen and a roaring fire that added to the cozy and hearty appeal. Our service complimented the entire experience and the waiter was friendly, attentive and knowledgeable.
Wow, the food is delicious. We had a liver/​foie gras dish to start that was just hands down to die for. The butter and bread couldn’t be any better. I ordered the quail which, though small, was cooked and plated perfectly.
I definitely recommend this spot for an unpretentious, cozy and delicious meal. Great date spot! Coming back again soon!

Tl;dr one of the top three dining experiences we have had as a couple.
So the Colonel spent two months and three attempts at getting a reservation before finally snagging one at 5:30, which is ok with us, because we like having some evening leftover after dinner! Pro tip, we got there a little early and there were a few audacious sods who asked about cancellations and got seated before us even though we were the first people there a) at all and b) with aforementioned hard-​won reservation. Plus one for hustle!
The dining room looks well thought out and like a long established locale. We were lead to a cozy two top on a banquette. I went by a little too fast to see the much vaunted hearth in any detail, and even my trip to the (very pretty) restroom did not afford me more than a glimpse. I did see the pastry chef hard at work, though, and the desserts looked amazing, which is all I can report because we were too full for dessert at the end of our meal!
Max was our waiter, and he was wonderful. Getting there early meant we really had him to ourselves for the first part of the meal, and were able to really have a conversation about the menu items. We solicited his advice for the amount to order and thus we had: scallops crudo, smoked catfish dip, hearth roasted vegetables, sea bass and fave beans, pork belly and beans and vegetables, and for an entrée the half chicken.
The smoked catfish was amazingly good, I was expecting more of a pâté or terrine, but it tasted like a dip made by someone who knows how to tailgate (and I mean that as an expression of honor). It came with hand made corn chips that were like the Cheetos of fancy dining in that they left delicious orange dust on our fingers.
The scallops were fresh off the boat, and were a revelation. I find scallops sometimes a little rich and chewy, but these were slippery and clear and al dente. I don’t remember all the sauce details, but I believe there was a rhubarb foam? Meyer lemon and fennel may have also made the first of several thematic appearances as well.
With these we had cocktails, I had the nearer to the sun, which tasted like a great refreshing lemonade. The colonel tried both of the ‘browner’ drinks, I know he later had From Richmond to Edinburgh but I forget the first one’s name.
Small plates were next, and the sea bass is going doing in history as having the most tender fave beans I have ever had the pleasure of putting in my mouth. The sea bass was also strikingly good, but sometimes it is the small things.
The pork belly was a fun deconstruction of pork and beans, and the Colonel could not get over the punch added by the pickled mustard seeds.
The hearth roasted vegetables were a mélange of flavors. I was intrigued by the idea of roasting radishes, but my favorite were the asparagus with a little sesame oil and seeds.
I ordered a glass of Côte du Rhone to have with my entrée. The half chicken was good, but not as wildly amazing as the earlier dishes. Ditto the potatoes and salad, which seemed a little normal in comparison. I ordered the chicken because to me, if you can elevate chicken from average to extraordinary, it is almost the purest expression of cooking as art. It shows a mastery of basics that is essential. We hit a couple of pieces of skin that were too salty, and I think if I were in charge I might lean a little more heavily on either smoking or a barbecue sauce.
We were getting full and boxed up the remainder for the Sprossling. We will 100% return, and next time go even more bananas on small plates. The Colonel is interested in the steak (for the same reasons as the chicken) and I want to try the chicken wings. Also, desserts, the buttermilk pie is calling my name, though if it is really better than mine I will ask if they do Thanksgiving orders ;)

The Dabney. Such an amazing space. Hidden in an alley is a beautiful, really well done restaurant. The interior has a cozy bar, and seats that are open to the kitchen. The service is pretty good, attentive, and generally know what they’re doing. It’s all very great and warm and inviting and you think you’re in for an amazing experience, but then the food starts hitting the table.
pork rillette — pretty much the only reasonably sized dish, and that’s being generous. However, the size is the only thing going for it really. I was expecting some flavorful, rich, rillette, and instead I received a dish, very similar in texture to a bad canned tuna salad. Hardly any pork flavor, it was very faint at the end of a bite. Very underwhelming.
lamb lettuce wraps — this had to be the most laughable sized portion I’ve ever encountered. The majority of the wrap was the mixed lettuce. Possibly like three pieces of lamb the combined size of a quarter (honestly there could’ve been less I’m not sure), with a huge piece of lettuce. If you somehow got around the lettuce, you could taste something there but I wouldn’t have been able to identify it as lamb if you didn’t tell me what it was. Don’t let me picture fool you, the plate is small and so are the wraps.
pumpernickel toast — with ricotta and honey. I liked this. Was it a $ 10 piece of toast? probably not. Did the flavors blow me away? no. But it was ok.
pork belly — I don’t think this dish was done well at all. Thin slices of pork belly. Not crispy, not rich, just sort of there. We ordered two of these to begin with and no it wasn’t bad it just wasn’t memorable.
cornbread — it’s a slightly different take on cornbread. Can’t recall exactly what it was that differentiated this cornbread but it was good. Possibly my favorite dish of the night (maybe due to the size?) — but that isn’t saying much. Also — it’s cornbread, for $ 10.
oysters — Thinking back, this was actually my favorite dish of the night. And this is fitting, as they were priced regularly (6 for 16), and not made in the kitchen.
I honestly can’t remember the desserts, they didn’t blow me away either. I think one was lemony, and another was possibly the sorghum custard but I’m not sure. They were gone before I knew it and didn’t leave a huge impression.
I wanted to like the Dabney. I thought I would. But ultimately, the food doesn’t hold up. I understand small plates and am fine with them, if they are done well. I expect that if you serve tiny plates, that the flavors would stand on their own and make you forget about the sizes. However, they do not do that here. If it wasn’t such a cool space this review would have less stars.

TINY food!
Don’t come here hungry. Eat at home and come here to taste this food. Great ambiance and cool location. You’ll be hungry unless you order two entrees.

There are some restaurants that are on another level, and this is one of them. The variety of techniques on each plate, the combination of flavors, and the taste that the chef pulls from ordinary ingredients is astounding. That encompasses everything from the bread to the desserts. This is on my top 3 list of favorite restaurants in DC. Just incredible.

Best meal I’ve had in DC in a long time!
We have eaten at most of the «top» hot spots in our area and this one did not disappoint. A group of four of us shared the salad, hearth vegetables, radishes, corn bread, quail, pork like bacon, rockfish, side of oats (sort of like a risotto) and two desserts. Everything was spectacular. The atmosphere was lovely and inviting, food flavor profiles really well rounded and delicious, and service was great. Definitely a must dine.

My partner and I went to the Dabney for dinner on Saturday night, and I was pleasantly surprised with a lot of the dishes, and I can see why it’s so buzzworthy.
There were no reservations online for weeks in advance, so we opted to try for one of the walk-​in tables. We read online that they have three walk-​in tables, and so we put our name down at 9:10 and we were seated at 9:50. Actually, I prefer the bar tables because you can see more of the open kitchen as opposed to the tables in the dining area that have regular (low) seating.
The menu changes literally every week, so a lot of the dishes that the reviews rave about were not available anymore. That’s an fortunate, but it’s also a testament to their ingenuity. My three favorite dishes were: the foie gras parfait, and was a huge portion. They also had an appetizer of celeriac root which was very flavorful and tender. And also, the entrée I ordered was a quail stuffed with Rappahannock oysters, which was deliciously salty. Some of the other dishes we ordered were not a successful, as the pork loin was a bit overcooked for my taste, and the rockfish was not very flavorful.
For service, it was personable and our waitress was very knowledgeable, but she didn’t really explain the concept of the restaurant. She said it was small plate/​tapas style, but there were only about 10 dishes total. The entrées are full entrée portions, they’re not really for sharing. The tables are very small and the plates are huge, so I don’t really see how there are shareable portions because you can’t possibly have four plates on the table at once. Our waitress served a rockfish with foie gras, and that pairing, since this was a three course meal as opposed to tapas coming out when they’re ready, was not successful.
Overall, the buzz at Dabney was very high, and the atmosphere was very convivial. The food was tasty and interesting, and there was a lot of inventiveness and innovative use of the ingredients. I would return.

No beating around the bush: the food is spectacular. The dishes are fairly small, so I would recommend at least a side and appetizer to share. We had the biscuit, a side of cuy sum, and the seared fluke. Oh baby all were so good. Expertly prepared and artful plating to match. My one crticism is that when we went the menu was too heavy on pork options. I think there was only one or maybe two non-​pork entrees, and of course my date could not try any of those.
That didn’t stop us from enjoying ourselves though. The décor is dark, great for a date, and it really feels like an alley restaurant. The entrance is all windows letting you see in, and keeping with that theme, the kitchen is out in the open as well, with the cooks doing their thing in front of a giant fireplace for all to see.
Some interesting cocktails available, too, so I went with the Gentlemens bet. It was blackberry with bourbon — strong and delicious. Delightful. Bonus points for great service. I just wish I had room for the peanut butter pie! But thankfully the check came with complimentary shortbread cookies, which were very tasty. They are a bit pricey, but for the quality, it is definitely worth it. You will not feel an ounce of buyer’s remorse. Highly recommended!

This place is amazing. My girl friend and I ventured to this a little off the beaten path spot. Everything in this place is deliberate from the open kitchen to the plating to the open fire stove. Our server was able to answer any question we had about the menu or the drinks and give recommendations (which were delicious I might add). We ordered the short ribs, roasted veggies, corn bread, and quail.
Complimentary bread: I was a baker for a living for a short while. The ciabatta bread with the whipped honey butter here is amongst the best pieces of bread I have ever had.
Roasted veggies: dish is a bit small but, the flavor are out of this world. The mushrooms are simply heavenly and the charring on true veggies is perfect.
Corn bread: wish this had come out before the meal but it was wonderful ended up boxing it up and taking it home.
Short ribs: could be cut with a spoon just fell apart in your mouth in the best possible way. the flavoring was amazing as well. I realized I found myself hoping I would get food stuck in my teeth so I could enjoy it again later.
Quail: gf loved this dish she was disappointed it came with so much greenery until she tried it and the fork never left her hands from that point forward.
Desserts both the Devils food cake and the custard. Both plates were scraped clean and if licking your bowl wasn’t frowned upon you might have caught me rocking the manners of lady and the tramp.
Well worth the dollars

Cyndy’s Bottom Line: Well executed & creative dishes using interesting ingredients resulting in robust flavors.
House made ciabatta bread grilled to perfection served with a sorghum butter.
Side of Bloody Butcher Cornbread
Loved the texture of the cornbread and the delicious buttery and savory flavor.
Celery Root Baked in the Embers
farro, lardo, poached egg, rosemary, watercress, & sumac
A beautiful plated dish. The watercress is tender and provides an aesthetic look to the plate. The farro was cooked perfectly and absorbed the delicious richness of poached egg together with the lardo.
Lacquered Quail
Chesapeake oyster stuffing, brown butter, greens, and paw paw.
A beautifully plated dish. The quail was nicely rolled with the delicious oyster stuffing and sliced up on the plate. Easy and delicious to eat. The stuffing was seasoned well and flavorful. The quail cooked perfectly.
Whistle Pig Pork in the style of Bacon
Onions cooked in whey, winter greens, & Virginia maple syrup.
The pork was delicious but somehow came out a tad overdone.
Ice cream sandwich
Double chocolate chip cookie, peanut butter ice cream, & sumac.
A decadent double chocolate cookie! I loved the cookie the best!
Petit fours
A plate of cookies. Loved the pecan cookie!

The Dabney was AWESOME. It was the best meal I’ve had in DC this year. I have actually eaten the chef’s food at McCrady’s before in Charleston so I sorta knew what I was in for here. My friend had reservations on a Wednesday night for us. When we first got there it was busy but not bustling and by the time we left the bar space was packed. There aren’t a ton of tables but the restaurant feels really spacious. I love the decorations, it definitely feels like you’re in an old Virginia country home.
My friends and I started with cocktails (side note: I love the names of all of them, interesting but not in a hipster/​kitschy overkill way). I had the American Trilogy which was very strong (I hope you like bourbon, because I do). My friend had the Apium which was really delicious and refreshing, everyone loved this cocktail. The Bamboomerang was understated but very nice too. Grilled bread with sorghum butter arrived for the table. I love grilled bread and will follow it anywhere and everyone agreed that the sorghum butter was delicious. The charred hen of the woods mushrooms followed. These had a delicious flavor, I could have licked the plate. Next we had the pheasant and cranberry beans. This was a good dish but probably my least favorite. The mustard seeds and the pumpernickel were my favorite aspects of this dish. There was barely any pheasant present and I just don’t find cranberry beans that exciting. Next we had the lacquered quail on a string. The oyster stuffing was wonderful and it was exciting to see paw paw in the dish. My friend and I usually go paw paw hunting every year but I have never seen it on a menu before. The addition of that alone was really exciting and showed how much the chef cares about honoring the food of the mid-​Atlantic. My favorite dish of the night was definitely our last dish the pork in the style of bacon. You could definitely taste the bacon flavor with the tenderness of perfectly cooked pork. The onions and the greens were fabulous as were the breadcrumbs. I could eat this dish all the time. If I had one complaint about all of the dishes it’s that there were a lot of foams and purees. It was almost an overdose at points. There were also a little too many pickles, but I personally like pickles so it didn’t bother me much. Service was excellent throughout our meal.
What the chef is doing here, really celebrating the food of the Mid-​Atlantic, is really exciting and I felt really honored to get to witness it. I can’t wait to go back. From what I can tell the menu changes almost daily so although you might not see the dishes I ate on the menu when you go, I assume that you will love it.

Top notch!
First of all, this space is gorgeous. Wood-​laden, earthy, low lit, open kitchen.
Service was impeccable. Water glass never went below halfway mark; servers were helpful and knowledgeable about the food, flavors, and chef’s vision with the menu, which by the way is created newly each day.
The grilled bread and sourgum butter is BANANAS. The best butter I’ve ever had, light and sweet (with fennel pollen).
Started with roasted beets and foie gras. Both were nicely plated, well balanced, and sized appropriately for an appetizer.
Real gems were the mains though. Boyfriend had the stuffed quail (who’s this was delicious and juicy) and I had the pork shoulder (fall apart tender).
Very please with our first visit. Can’t wait to get back (though we’ll need to call three weeks in advance again!)

Great service, fun drinks, good food, and awesome desserts.
Our waitress was awesome. She was friendly and super knowledgable on the menu. A downside of this place is that probably 80% of the menu has some type of pork in it — however our waitress happily went to check to see which dishes could be served without pork.
I ordered the cheese and crackers as an appetizer and the cauliflower soup as my main dish. They were both pretty good. I wasn’t blown away with either dish, or any of the dishes my friends got, but nothing was bad any means.
However what was amazing at this place was their desserts! Initially I got a bit annoyed that my friend ordered desserts because I was ready to dip and didn’t want to overload on sugar, but it turned out that she made the right choice. We got two desserts and they were both amazing!
It was a cool one time experience and I don’t think I would return — but if I do it would be for drinks and dessert.

The open space concept, where the kitchen is only steps from your table and only separated by an island, feels like a chef is preparing food with seasonal ingredients cooked in your home. While providing a pleasant ambiance, the food was ok.
The poached egg concoction was trying to be sweet and tart, but the flavors were trying to sing over one another, rather than harmoniously. The thin scallops were fine; the fennel and radish provided a freshness. Still, the subtle flavors were perhaps too subtle. The trout was also fine, not much more to say. The cornbread was a little dry. The cauliflower soup was a delicious creamy texture with broccoli, a little sweetness, and some roe (I believe). On the whole, I was not satisfied. Maybe I should return during a season when there are more options.

If Blagden Alley didn’t already look like an ad in a Brooklyn, New York magazine, now it does. The Dabney is right in the alley and it’s brick architecture fits right in. Look for the large glass ceiling to floor window and the small sign that marks the restaurant.
There’s a narrow outdoor terrace at the entrance. You walk inside and there’s a long bar before you get to the dining area with simple, wood tables. The lights are dim making it a great date spot (Too bad I was here with a buddy rather than my wife!). The kitchen is out in the open with a stone over that roasts many of the dishes you order.
It’s all small plates so plan on splitting whatever you order. We asked the server what to order and she was spot on. In order of what we loved the most:
1) Poached farm egg– It comes with bread and cast iron pot with the most amazing goodness inside.
2) Buttermilk biscuit– We didn’t order this but they accidentally brought us this on the house (thank you!). It was perfect with the poached egg and maple sauce. Wow.
3) Buffalo river ranch ribeye– Order it medium and it’s perfectly tender.
4) Grilled cabbage cooked in duck fat– It’s only $ 6 and will be the best purple cabbage you’ll ever eat.
5) Grilled flowering brassicas– This tasted good but it’s literally just a few vegetables and not worth the $ 12.
The cocktails were spot on. I ordered the «ORCHARD SCINTILLANTE» and it was perfect. It’s sweeter (of course) and comes in a champagne glass with an orange peel. At the end of your meal, they bring two hand made cookies.
To sum it up, the food was amazing, the atmosphere perfect (even the bathrooms were perfect), and the service spot on. It’s a tad pricey, but not as much as it could be. If you’re looking for a nice restaurant without totally killing your wallet, this is your place. I highly recommend!