Urbana

Washington, DC, United States

3.6

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 202-956-6650
Website:
www.urbanadc.com
Address:
2121 P St NW, Washington, DC, DC, 20037
b/t N 21st St & N Twining Ct
Dupont Circle
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.2 miDupont Circle
0.2 mi072
0.5 miNW Pennsylvania AV & NW 24th St
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Bitcoin
No
Good For
Dinner
Parking
Valet, Street
Bike Parking
No
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Trendy
Noise Level
Average
Music
Juke Box
Good For Dancing
No
Alcohol
Full Bar
Happy Hour
Yes
Best Nights
Thu, Fri, Sat
Coat Check
Yes
Smoking
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
No
Has Pool Table
No

Today

Today 7:00 am – 10:30 am
3:00 pm – 1:30 am
Open now
Local time (Washington, DC) 18:45 Friday, 29 November 2024

Business hours

Monday 7:00 am – 10:30 am
3:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Tuesday 7:00 am – 10:30 am
3:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Wednesday 7:00 am – 10:30 am
3:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Thursday 7:00 am – 10:30 am
3:00 pm – 11:00 pm
Friday 7:00 am – 10:30 am
3:00 pm – 1:30 am
Saturday 8:00 am – 1:30 am
Sunday 8:00 am – 11:00 pm

Description

Specialties

At Urbana, a commitment to craftsmanship guides everything we do, from our handmade artisan pastas to the welcoming hospitality we extend to our guests. With its sleek bar and artistic lighting, Urbana’s décor takes inspiration from 1920s New York. A Mediterranean-​sunset palette adds a splash of sophistication to any event, whether it’s a business meeting in our private dining room, a romantic dinner for two or a night out with friends in our lounge. No matter the occasion, Executive Chef Ethan McKee believes in simple preparations that showcase the light, fresh flavors of Italy and local ingredients even from our own backyard (literally: we raid our rooftop garden daily for fresh-​picked herbs and veggies).

History

Established in 2006.

At Urbana, a commitment to craftsmanship guides everything we do, from our handmade artisan pastas to the welcoming hospitality we extend to our guests. With its sleek bar and artistic lighting, Urbana’s décor takes inspiration from 1920s New York. A Mediterranean-​sunset palette adds a splash of sophistication to any event, whether it’s a business meeting in our private dining room, a romantic dinner for two or a night out with friends in our lounge. No matter the occasion, Executive Chef Ethan McKee believes in simple preparations that showcase the light, fresh flavors of Italy and local ingredients even from our own backyard (literally: we raid our rooftop garden daily for fresh-​picked herbs and veggies).

Meet the Manager

Ethan M.

Manager

Trained in classic French and Italian culinary techniques and acclaimed for his healthful menus, Executive Chef Ethan McKee imbues Urbana’s light, fresh dishes with indulgent flavor inspired by the Italian coast and beyond. At a young age, the Texas native moved to Northern Virginia, and thanks to his mother’s various roles in the restaurant business, the kitchen became a second home to him. He ultimately carried on the culinary tradition by enrolling at Gaithersburg’s L’Academie de Cuisine.

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,

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Ethan M. says,

«Consistency and quality product»

Yelp Gets Fresh at Urbana

16

reviews

Yelp Events

Ethan M. says,

«Yelp Elites had a blast watching Chef Ethan make pasta & Head Bartender Andrea make cocktails with fresh ingredients from Urbana’s rooftop garden!»

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20 reviews of Urbana

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Place rating: 4
Suffolk, VA
We are staying at Paloma’s, it is 18 degrees out with a wind chill in the teens. We have traveled all day and were hungry, at 4:00 so We went downstairs to the Urbanna bar where it as happy hour. We ordered some of the bar food… Yum yum! Started with the grilled calamari. It was fabulous. Then we had a marguerite pizza which came out piping hot and oh so good… We were both still hungry so we then ordered the cast iron roasted shrimp with siracha chili! Again, it was delicious except for a bit overcooked or previously frozen langostinos as the tail didn’t come out clean. That didn’t stop me from sucking every bit of the delicious flavor! Well, after leaving the bar, we saw they had a reception with wine, hot chocolate and snacks to include marghuerite pizza. Now we know so we will take advantage another night. Our first impressions are very good!
Place rating: 2
Washington, DC
The décor and atmosphere was nice, but the food was not worth the amount of money my friend and I spent for dinner.
For appetizers, we ordered the octopus and brussels sprouts dish. They were both bland and we barely finished them. For entrees, we ordered the veal and gnocchi dish. Again, both dishes were bland. No flavor or any type of seasoning. Presentation of the dishes were great, but if only the food tasted as great as it looked.
I did hear that this is a great place to brunch, but I’m not sure if I would be convinced to go after trying their dinner menu.
Place rating: 4
Montgomery Village, MD
I came here for happy hour with my friends. Great environment and chill after work spot. The duck sausage pizza was amazing, the charred Brussels sprouts were surprisingly good and grilled calamari topped it off.
The servers could have been a little more attentive. We had to push all our dirty plates and cups to the end of the table in order to create more room. Which was sitting there for at least 15 – 20 mins.
Place rating: 5
Fairfax, VA
Great service! Brunch is awesome! Try the shrimp n grits!!! I almost licked my plate
Place rating: 5
Arlington, VA
Can get best of both worlds — happy hours are great at Urbana. $ 1 oysters, half priced drinks, and yummy sauteed brussel sprouts!
Their pizzas are delicious too! Baked in the open oven right in front of you (by the bar), the dough is chewy and simply perfect. If you’d like a nice dinner, you could be seated where the staff will take great care of you. Definitely recommend both — happy hour and seated dinner. Their staffs are so professional, kind, and accommodating, you’d want to return for all special occasions.
Place rating: 5
Fishers, IN
Great atmosphere, food and service. We went got brunch with a friend who eats here frequently. We all LOVED what we ordered.
Place rating: 2
Washington, DC
Okay, so let’s talk about brunch. This wasn’t my first visit… 2 years ago it was 5 star. I suggested it today as a great go to bottomless brunch the day of planning… Well, big mistake. Service was horrible, our waiter was meek and timid and just basically awkward. We made a 1:15p reservation and we got there early but they awkwardly didn’t even serve us water until our whole party was there. Then after waiting 10 minutes for the drinks we ordered, he explained they wouldn’t serve us champagne or Blood Mary’s bc we hadn’t ordered our entrees. How weird and we didn’t know this was the case until we asked why the service was taking so long (was so BAD)…
Oh then my meal came. Don’t order the jumbo crab crostini… No crab, ALL egg. When he finally checked on us I expressed my disappointment and he offered nothing. I asked if I could order a side of pasta (which all of my friends were eating) and he said he’d have to check. He came back and said no even though my friend who was late had just put the same order in, meaning they could have made a little extra for me OR they could have said I’m sorry we can’t do that but let us bring you something else…
The food was a fail. The service was horrendous and I was with two girls who complain more than me about service so for me to be writing this says something.
In the 2 hours we were there I watched each and every waiter/​waitress visit the hostess stand to socialize multiple times in just a 15 minute time period. This was reoccurring. No one cares that you are paying to eat there, the staff is just there to socialize… so SKIP IT.
Head to 14th street… the wait is worth it.
Place rating: 3
Centreville, VA
Pretty cool spot for an evening of happy hour.
There’s a choice of full bar, and a small happy hour menu. The mixed drinks are not bad, unfortunately leaning towards more mixer than liquor. Pretty common during happy hours, but we’re not complaining too much. Good selection of beers and ciders on tap as well.
The food is preeeetty good! We had the margharite pizza, fried vegetables (tempura), and a dozen of oysters. They are all as we expected to be. The tempura vegetables were mostly red peppers and onions, but they did season the tempura pretty well so that it’s not bland (plus+).
The service was rather slow. It took a while for us before getting our orders, and took even longer when we were waiting for our check and having our signed checks returned. The host at the welcome desk can’t process payments, so we had to wait for the server — who’s busy serving elsewhere for quite some time. Perhaps they’re short this particular night?
The ambiance of the place is very cozy. There’s plenty of seating both indoors and outdoors, and their outdoor patio includes a cozy outdoor sofa and romantic lighting. Plenty of space for seating on tables, bars, and dining area.
Glad I got a chance to try it! Not a bad spot :)
Place rating: 3
Sandy Springs, GA
Urbana was the the restaurant of choice for a friend’s rehearsal dinner. I like how Urbana has a plan to deal with such parties from the private space, to the menus, to the apps and terrific service.
The wait staff was quick to serve any adult with wine (red or white, this was wine provided by the bride and groom) upon entering the private room. Amazingly, they also had to put up with children running around, screaming and playing with the sliding doors. Kudos to the wait staff for keeping their cool because lord, these children weren’t mine and I was ready to give them a good talking-​to.
The food was ok. The menus were simple. I started with a salad which was delicious. I picked the tagliatelle pasta which was ok. Definitely a bolognese sauce that was heavy on the meat. I liked the consistency of the pasta, but didn’t care for the sauce. Dessert was a chocolate torte which really was more like a brownie. I love chocolate but was not a fan of the torte since it was just too dense and too sweet for me. I finished the ice cream though.
The apps were ok. Cheese board was lacking more crackers to go with the cheeses and the bread was decent. I just don’t know how I felt about the entrees but I’m sure the pre-​set menu isn’t a clear reflection of Urbana’s offerings.
I would give this restaurant another chance if I were in town in the Dupont Circle area.
Place rating: 2
Montclair, NJ
2.5 I found Urbana through Unilocal on a weekend getaway to DC.
Urbana has a lot of good qualities but it seems like the service is still a problem for them. I noticed that a few Unilocalers had issues with the service 11 months ago, but since we were stopping here on a whim just walking around DuPont circle we decided to give it a try.
My girlfriend and I were seated outside since it was a nice August evening. We got our drink and food menus quickly. We ordered drinks, appetizers, and food all at once. For drinks we ordered a beer and iced tea which took about 15 minutes to be brought out and came along with the appetizer which was the salmon crudo. The appetizer was ok it paired the salmon with a mandarin slice, a beet chip, and fish roe. The oil was a bit heavy.
In between the appetizer and our entrees of scallops and the roasted artichoke hearts salad about 40 minutes went by. We were checked on once around the 35 minute mark.
The entrees were a redeeming quality for Urbana. The scallops were slightly overdone and a little chewy but didn’t take away from the dish much. I enjoyed the turnips, zucchini, and almond butter pairing. The almond butter gave a nice creamy base under the scallops. There were also a few pieces of pancetta which gave it a smokey and salty flavor too.
My girlfriend got the artichoke hearts with quinoa. She noted that there were a lot of lite options. However, we felt that the prices were steep and the artichoke hearts shouldn’t be priced at $ 22. This could be since Urbana is connected to the Hotel Paloma. I would suggest that the dollar signs on Unilocal should reflect $$$ instead of $$.
The check transaction of taking and running the card also took an additional 15 minutes.
All in all decent food with good flavors but service is still slow and prices were high.
Place rating: 4
Washington, DC
I have been twice to Urbana for brunch, once right after coming to DC in 2011 or so, and more recently this summer for Father’s Day. I definitely think it works me as the brunch place in Dupont Circle, the food is good and the Bellini bar is a nice change from ‘bottomless mimosas’. Especially since the Colonel loves him a Bellini!
Both times reservations were not an issue, and we were seated right away. The place was busy but did not seem crammed, important on a day like Father’s Day, which is a classic brunch day even for us ‘olds’.
Everyone was happy with what they got. The Sprossling got the spicy shrimp and grits, his papa got the tagliatelle, I got a salmon burger, and the Colonel the smoked salmon (I think). He always goes for anything smoked. The one thing I missed though was the delicious pizza from my first visit, which I think was fig and prosciutto. I also skipped the Bellinis this time, as I think I was the DD.
We were in, served, out, full, all handled impeccably. Will go again. Perhaps for Mother’s Day!
Place rating: 5
Washington, DC
AMAZING happy hour – great deals, great drinks and great food. Period. That seems so simple, yet the majority of bars in DC has SUCH difficulty with the concept.
Brunch here is great too but definitely a bit packed. In terms of dinner I haven’t personally tried it, but it definitely looks like a place that corporate groups take advantage of. Not quite the dc foodie scene type of place.
Place rating: 4
Newport Beach, CA
I wandered in after my conference in the adjacent hotel. I decided I needed some healthy but yummy food (preferably low calorie) and some wine. I sat at the bar and the bartender and barback were very sweet and very accommodating.
I ordered two appetizers so I could eat light but sample a couple of things. When they say their shrimp is spicy, it really is! I grow hot banana peppers at home and mine weren’t that hot at all! I’m wondering where the pepper growers got their seeds. Certainly not home depot! Also, the shrimp came with their faces on. I asked them if they could remove them since it kinda’ freaked me out and they happily obliged. There’s exactly 4 shrimp and a ton of peppers in that dish, but it hit the spot. In addition to the shrimp, I had the blackened brussel sprouts. Those came with pancetta and were so tasty! They were smoky tasting and a little bit salty with the pancetta but very delicious!
All in all, it was a comfortable environment where I felt well taken care of with good food and good wine. Thanks again! :)
Place rating: 2
Arlington, VA
Based on other reviews, I’m going to assume everyone was having a bad day when I came, but I won’t be back to test that theory.
We were seated quickly, but it took awhile to get our water and belinis (which were the one tasty thing).
Between the 3 of us, we ordered the veggie pizza, crab crostini, and fried eggplant panini, which were recommended by our server.
We waited at least 30 minutes for our food from the time we ordered, with no one coming over to see if we needed anything. But don’t worry, the hot sauce I asked for came (tobasco in a bowl) out 15 minutes before we got the food.
Once we finally got the food, nothing was as expected. The fried eggplant came with no eggplant (what?) so we sent that back, the veggie pizza was nothing special, and the crab crostini didn’t even taste like it had crab on it.
We then waited about 15 minutes post eating to receive our bill. I think they might have been understaffed that day (though no one told us anything) but I was not impressed.
Place rating: 3
Pittsburgh, PA
Sophia H. and I came here together to meet her friend, and she is clearly more up to date on reviews than I am. Shame on me.
The interior and atmosphere of Urbana is amazing. We had just come in on a bus and were totally under-​dressed. The formal looking, but comfy, couches and chairs were beautiful. 5 stars on atmosphere.
I ordered the ravioli ($ 15), and it contained roasted squash, marscapone, and butter. The dish was good, but the ravioli was under-​stuffed. It was a lot of noodles and not much else. The price seemed a dollar or two high for the portion and lack of stuffing, and the whole meal was a bit bland. There were four little raviolis. It just didn’t quite line up for me. I looked at the drink menu, and I think I would just stick to drinks if I came back.
The major downturn on the meal was our rude server. He just had an awful air to him. I can’t remember his name, but he was sub-​par. If I resided in the area, I might come back here.
Place rating: 1
Manhattan, NY
I have often been across the street from this place for almost two years and I have never ventured inside. I thought I would try it out for brunch rather than walking up to Café DuPont.
Clearly I made a mistake.
I ordered the eggs Benedict and for some reason I needed to specify that I wanted my eggs poached. The food came out after a long time.
It was a bit cold.
The presentation was a studied haphazard manner mean to evoke simple preparation of high quality ingredients but all I experienced was a cold poached egg and overcooked bacon and some congealed potatoes.
The bloody mary tasted as though there had been a negligible amount of vodka added, at best. The bartender prepared it surreptitiously so I can’t know for sure. I didn’t finish it.
The service was pretty awful as well. I sat at the bar. The guy was near me essentially the whole time but barely made an appearance.
Next time, I will walk a couple blocks to. .. anyplace else.
Place rating: 4
Fairfax, VA
It has been years since my last visit to Urbana. Not sure why I waited so long… but I’m glad to have finally returned!
The restaurant is located in the heart of DuPont below Hotel Palomar. It’s a great location! The restaurant is dim and sexy. Great spot for a date or intimate gathering. We had a reservation for 5 and were promptly seated. The wine list is on an iPad (which is pretty cool) and they have a great selection. We had an awesome waiter who took time to explain the menu options and suggested his favorites. They offer family style meals for the table to share as well as individual dishes. I had the pork tenderloin with grits (which was a special that night). It was delicious! The rest of my group cleaned their plates… So I take that as a good sign! We were given 2 complementary desserts because we were celebrating 2 birthdays.
Great culinary experience… From the ambiance, to the service and the great food! I’ll be back soon. :-)
Place rating: 5
Bayside, Queens, NY
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!
We had double date night at Urbana last night! I’ve been there plenty times before for appetizers and drinks. We dived into their menu deeper last night, sampling on calamari, bruschetta, mussels (to die for), roasted beet salad, pork chops, steak, artichoke with quinoa, and my favorite their salmon and citrus appetizer!!! Everything was carefully prepared and delicious! Not one single complaint!!! Our server, John, was pretty amazing too! He’s taken care of us before, very nice, funny man! Overall 10⁄10 on ambiance, quality of food and service!!!
And I’m a tough one to please!!! I highly recommend this place any day of the week for dinner! Unfortunately, due to their lack of lunch crowd, they stopped serving lunch which was highly disappointing!
Place rating: 4
Washington, DC
When a woman turns a certain age it is inevitable that she will join a book club. In my early twenties this is an activity I would have scoffed this review is about the day I found myself straddling into basic b territory.
Luckily, thanks to the company and the $ 4 bellinis at Urbana the ride was not so bad at all.
There are three things I love about Urbana:
+ Bellinis — As I mentioned they have $ 4 bellinis which my wallet loves but if you’re really looking to party fore a mere 15 ducks you can drink your weight in champagne and fruit purée concoctions. From blueberry to pear to mango to peach, there seasonal blends will have you clinking glasses for hours.
+ Bombolinis — I would order this by the basket if I could but this comes as a compliimentary treat right before you are served your meal. Dough not miss out on this treat (see what I did there!!!)
+ Saturday Brunch — What’s up with restaurants serving brunch only on Sundays? Urbana is dishing up the eggs all weekend long!
From pasta to shrimp and grits to pizza to short rib hash to cinnamon rolls, the menu appeals to tongues of every persuasion.
And to that I say, cheers!
Place rating: 4
Washington, DC
Came here last night with a fellow Unilocaler for HH. Happy Hour is from 4 – 7 PM so you have to come immediately after work! I like what they have done with the place — it’s a little trendy and intimate with a hotel connected to the restaurant.
I am a little biased towards this place because they have an amazing deal on oysters for HH. Mary Kate and I ended up getting two dozen oysters for a $ 1 each! They were amazing quality too. We also decided to split a Margherita pizza for $ 8. As for the rest of the HH food menu, the options were quite limited. But if you are an ostreaphile like myself, I would say this place is a match made in heaven. We also ended up getting a glass of wine each which was $ 5– pretty standard for HH.
I will definitely be back for the $ 1 oyster deal but this place can get pretty pricey when it’s not HH!