You can enter the restaurant through it's massive front doors, or through the inside of the Park Hyatt hotel, which we did.
Certain parts had very high ceilings, marble, and soft lighting. I felt like I was eating in a museum.
The layout of restaurant is quite interesting aka confusing. It is not an open space, but more sectioned off into specific areas with multiple doorways, stairs and hallways. They offer full view and access to their kitchens, which are beautiful to see, however we got lost in the pastry station while trying to leave through the front entrance from the bathroom. We also had to ask someone where the hostess stand was when we first arrived too. Sooo my suggestion would be to enter through the large front doors and avoid going through the hotel all together.
I booked our reservations using opentable.com and tried to request a table near the kitchen for a nice view of people cooking. We were actually seated next to a window without a view of the kitchen, but were given complementary glasses of champagne. How nice! The bread and butter were very good and well-made.
The menu consists of organic, seasonal and sustainable ingredients. The ingredient's place of origin is listed on the menu next to the dish. There are also no off menu items offered and the dishes are meant to be shared (of course they don't have to be).
The bf and I enjoy watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations, and in the the London episode he's eating roasted bone marrow. He refers to it as "God's butter", and describes it as one of his favorite foods. We were so curious to try it! 'Oven Roasted Bone Marrow (Vadouvan Crust)' for $13 is served with sea salt and toast. It's very rich and oily. It tastes and feels more similar to fat than anything else. I really liked it, but the bf thought it was ok.
For our entree we had the 'Braised Beef Rib (Homemade Steak Sauce)' for $24. The portion was small, however it was so good. It melted in your mouth and the homemade sauce was delicious. This was the bf's favorite part of the meal. We also shared a side of 'Hand Cut BDT Triple Fries' for $10. These wedges were fried in duck fat, however they didn't have much flavor or taste as succulent as I expected. I think we could have done without them.
After almost bursting, we had to order dessert. We shared the 'Apple Pie' for $9, which was literally a small pie. The apples were cut into thick wedges, and the crust was to die for. They offered us complimentary vanilla ice cream with our pie, which was some of the best we've ever tasted.
We had a great evening celebrating together, and appreciated Blue Duck Tavern for making us feel special. Aside from the interior being a bit confusing, it's very different and beautiful. The staff was very attentive and filled our water glasses often (the bf's a camel). The food we ordered was delicious, and I think sharing dishes helps to cut back the cost of the final bill. The presentation of the food in the pans and with the bones was really entertaining. I suggest you make reservations way in advance because popular times go fast.
1201 24th Street Northwest
Washington D.C., DC 20037
(202) 419-6755
www.blueducktavern.com
