MenuPages

I have never been more embarassed for a restaurant. My boyfriend took my very-hard-to-please-self to Cafe Atlantico last Saturday hoping to find a DC gem that I could tolerate. (I'm a New York City girl and am generally horrified by my DC restaurant experiences.) Needless to say, I was not impressed. Our service was atrocious. We waited for 20 minutes for a waiter, 20 minutes for our wine and an additional 20 minutes for our "made at the table" guacamole to be prepared while the incredients just sat on a tray next to us. As for the food, I felt like I was on Candid Camera. I order the skirt steak medium rare and when it arrived it was a charred fatty piece of beef floating in what appeared to be hummus. I would've sent it back, although our waiter never reappeared to ask how our entrees were. I could've used some pita bread to go with my plate of hummus. There were no greens, no special sauces, no flairs, nothing. I was bored out of my mind with the dish. As for my boyfriend's entree, it was "Brazillian" which evidently means to just throw some Cayenne Pepper on a chicken breast. The only redeaming quality of the restaurant was the space - very loft like, very cool. I can't wait until the restaurant shuts down so I can purchase the space and turn it into something useful.

I really wanted to like this restaurant after all of the hype (and I love to dine out here in DC); however, my expectations fell flat when I made a reservation. The service was terrible. The waiter couldn’t be bothered, the bar tenders were rude and not knowledgeable or helpful in any way. The food was not tasty and way overpriced. You can do much better in DC. Try the Capitol Brewery or Zengo just around the corner.

Good food, good healthy portions, just enough variety on the pre-fix menu. Outstanding Mojito cocktail and wine selections. Make reservations if you don't want to be forced outside at a street table, although it was a pleasant evening. All in all a great experience and right in the theatre district.