Cork

I'm a frequent visitor to D.C. and have been to Cork twice; both visits were very enjoyable. The first thing one notices upon entering the restaurant is the lively bar area and the stylistic touch of ceiling lights lit by visible filament light bulbs. The bar area is fairly noisy and crowded, so if you want a quieter dinner, try to get a table in the back area of the restaurant, which is somewhat less noisy. Cork features small plates of American cuisine, clearly influenced by the tapas tradition. Everything on the menu was tasty -- my party started with a nice charcuterie board of cornichons, mustard and prosciutto, cherizo sausage, speck and Sopressata. Standout dishes include the avocado and pistachio bruschetta; braised pork cheeks with polenta were incredibly soft and tender; quail with wild rice; green and yellow string beans; chickpeas in a saffron sauce; trout with shaved fennel. The only dish we felt was unspectacular was the fried calamari and rock shrimp, which was adequate, but nothing special. We never made it to dessert, we were so stuffed. The wine list is fairly priced. Our waitress was attentive and friendly and service was very good. Cork is one of my favorite spots in D.C. for going out with friends.

I do not know what all the hype is, they take forever, consistently forget your order and it is load as hell in there. My fiancee and I waited over two hours one night and they forgot an order of ours. This has happened to other friends of ours too.

My girlfriend and I love this place. We've been twice and enjoyed ourselves both times. All the food we tried was wonderful and the servers gave some great wine/pairing suggestions. There tends to be a lot of guys in suits, which isn't exactly our style, but if you ignore those types (or are one yourself) and settle on the excellent food and wine, you are sure to have a good time. My only other complaint is that this place is not cheap. We'd love to go here more often but can't afford it. For us this is a great "special occasion" type place. Great food, interesting wines, who could ask for more?

This is a great date place...the food was excellent and different. The service and our server was delightful. I enjoyed two fabulous glasses of a french Cote de Rhone Pinot Noir and great tapas!!! And yes the avocado bruschetta and goat cheese cheesecake is exquisite. Even though the reviews have been mixed, my experience was awesome and I hope this restaurant succeeds and exceeds all of our expectations. Peace and bon appetit.

Finally got to Cork, just two blocks from our house. Had heard and seen mixed reviews, but none sufficiently negative to put us off trying what we had hoped would be a desirable addition to the 'hood. I don't drink much wine but my wife enjoys wine and is very particular about it. They do have a small but decent selection of beers. Flights of wine were reasonably priced and both a white and a red flight consisted of 3 decent to good wines. All the food selections were good portions, easily shared by two with no one feeling shorted - 5 dishes were adequate for 2 pretty good appetites. We had 3 cold dishes - chicken liver pate, smoked trout, and 5-item charcuterie - and two hot dishes - mussels and a brioche sandwich with egg and prosciutto. All were nicely presented, well-balanced and tasty not a dud in the bunch. The speck and the duck salami were two interesting items in the charcuterie, but the other plates were more interesting overall. A goatcheese cake was delicious, but could have used more cookie crumble, as there is neither cake nor crust. A complaint that seemed to have the most resonance was price. Yes, they don't have the chef from Proof or Indieblue, but the core quality was not far behind, just somewhat simpler, and the portions were a touch more generous, just enough so to leave us satisfied. Two flights of wine, a high-end glass of wine, a beer, 5 plates plus desert and coffee hit $130 however, the food bill was similar to what we end with at places of comparable style and quality, like Zaytinya. We splurged on the wine and didn't regret it. Our server was a delightful and attentive young woman, with a cool haircut, honest, not pretentious and not hovering. We are delighted to have Cork in the neighborhood and wish them success.