Old Ebbitt Grill Reviews

My wife and I had our rehearsal dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill on July 29, 2023. We booked their Lounge + Atrium Semi-Private space for 3 hours for our rehearsal dinner for 68 guests. The event staff at the restaurant were very responsive and thorough during the planning process and answered all our questions. Our only issue with the communication was that the restaurant seemed to use a shared email address for different people within the event staff so it was not always clear who from the restaurant we were communicating with. This led to a mistake made by the restaurant when we arrived for the rehearsal dinner. They did not follow the instructions in the email for how to properly set up the guest place cards with their names and table #s. It seemed only one of the event staff saw the clear instructions in the email but the staff member managing the event the day of did not see it. This led to confusion for guests trying to find their table. Everything worked out and was resolved so it was only a minor issue but just some feedback for how the restaurant could perhaps have better communication with the client and ensure things get communicated amongst all event staff.
Besides the above issue, we had an amazing experience at our rehearsal dinner at Old Ebbitt Grill. The area we rented was very spacious for the number of guests we had. It was very open and set up well for our guests to move around to chat with different people and the tables were set up in a nice manner. The space that we rented is only semi-private and therefore there was some noise from those dining at the restaurant but they did a nice job sectioning off our space. The restaurant would not allow us to use microphones within the space we rented so it was a little difficult at times to hear speeches. We had the restaurant put the tables close together so we were able to make it work but just something to be aware of.
The restaurant did a wonderful job bringing out the courses in a timely manner and were very organized and made sure everybody got what they ordered. All the food was delicious and a lot of our guests made sure to tell us how great the food was! We felt that we got great value for the price we paid for the food and beverage, service, and space . We would highly recommend booking Old Ebbitt Grill for your rehearsal dinner.

Varied menu fits everyone's dietary needs. Semi-private space with beautifully decorated tables. Service was professional and accommodating. Food was expertly prepared and oh so delicious.

We had our rehearsal dinner at Old Ebbitt and it was a wonderful experience! Working with them during the planning process was great-- they were always so quick to respond, and so flexible and helpful. The food was great! And the staff was very kind and attentive. Highly recommend!

We recently utilized the Cabinet Room at Old Ebbitt for our rehearsal dinner and it was great. The venue was easy to work with from start to finish and we found that it was a great value/price for a private room that would hold up to 50. We loved so much being able to share this DC establishment with our family and friends, and the experience was great as ever! Our wedding party and family members loved the food and the Cabinet Room was perfect for our party size. They helped us also bring in some florals, set up name cards and a few other little touches that made the evening so nice. We are so appreciative of the wonderful experience we had at Old Ebbitt for our Rehearsal Dinner!

I absolutely loved working with Megan and Lucy for my wedding in the Old Ebbitt Grill Atrium! They were an absolute delight to work with from start to finish. They also were so attentive to guests the night of; they paid special attention to a guest who was taking cancer medication and might need extra assistance with not falling without being overbearing.

Although the roof wasn't open to guests, they allowed us to take bride and groom pics at sunset and again at night to take advantage of the Washington skyline, as we barely missed the deadline for when they closed the roof for the season.

It goes without saying that of course the food was amazing. We had several guests comment on how it was the best food they had ever had at a wedding. Out of towners loved getting to be in a historic DC venue and try the famous crab cakes.

I knew when I was getting married in DC that I only wanted my reception to be at Old Ebbitt as it has a special place in my family's heart. I am thrilled I got to have the DC wedding of my dreams, and they worked with me to carry out our vision. I was blown away when I first peeked into the room during the cocktail hour. We also had a farewell brunch at the Hamilton, and they brought the flowers over from the reception so we could use them at the brunch. What a great team! Thanks again to Old Ebbitt for such a beautiful, awesome, magical wedding reception!
photos courtesy of Sandi Foraci Photography

We hosted our wedding Rehearsal dinner here in the Cabinet Room. It was lovely! The food was great (as it always is) and the bartenders and servers were superb! The cabinet room fit all 40 of us in the room comfortably. It was definitely a great place to host a dinner event!

Highly recommend for a rehearsal dinner. Service was amazing. Fast and friendly responses from the event team. Beautiful rooftop views. The food was delicious and the portions were huge. It was the perfect, intimate event with our wedding party. And then we had all of our close friends and out of town guests meet at the bar upstairs afterward.

Perfect venue for our rehearsal dinner. Intimate space for ~25 people. Food was delicious - my vegetarian bridesmaid said it was the best vegetarian meal she had EVER had! Everything you would expect from a DC institution.

Lucy and Megan on the special events team are incredible to work with. We initially booked the Cabinet Room at Old Ebbitt for a seated rehearsal dinner for 30 people. That process was easy and straightforward. No issues either when I had to make food accommodations for guests and changes to the bar. Ultimately, our wedding plan was cancelled due to Snowzilla. We moved our ceremony up a day and ended up having 25 guests celebrate at a dinner at Old Ebbitt. Lucy and Megan worked with us to flip our rehearsal dinner to our wedding reception. They worked quickly and couldn't have been more professional or accommodating. When I called last minute after realizing we didn't have a wedding cake, they provided one for us and a number of other details we had forgotten. We ate and drank to our hearts content the night of our wedding and our friends and parents had a truly amazing time at Old Ebbitt. The servers and bartenders were also top notch. It was a wonderful experience!

I cannot recommend Old Ebbitt Grill highly enough. Lucy and Megan were so easy to work with and made sure everything went perfectly! The space is absolutely gorgeous and unique. The views from the rooftop for cocktails cannot be beat. And even though our cocktail hour got rained out, everything was adjusted and you'd never know anything else was planned. Our ceremony in front of the fountain was perfect, and our guests are still raving about how much they loved the food during the cocktail hour and for dinner. For the size of the space and the amount of service, you can't find a better deal in DC. Extremely reasonably priced.

We had the rehearsal dinner in the Cabinet room. It was a great location for our guest to see some of DC and the staff was phenomenal with recommendations and accommodations. They have a large screen for video show, a private bar and made sure everything was taken care of. Thank you!

Our first dinner date was at Old Ebbitt, so it was a special place for us to begin with, but they consistently impressed us when we were comparing venues and did not disappoint on wedding day! Lucy toured us around the atrium and rooftop when we first visited, then most of our planning was with Jaki. The entire team was so professional and friendly and we had no doubt throughout planning that they had things locked up and in order.

Some Ebbitt-specific highlights:
- The rooftop space is out of this world. Best cocktail hour ever on the rooftop in beautiful weather with incredible views (who needs an indoor photo booth when the Washington monument is your backdrop??) and live music.
- Food.... we've never had a bad meal there. In fact, it was hard to narrow down from all the great choices at the tasting.
- The atrium is a pretty unique space - there is a LOT you can do with lighting since it's a very classic white marble backdrop and live music sounded fantastic in the space. The table layout worked out very well so that I didn't think anyone had a "bad" table stuck in a corner or far away from the action.

The team had the two spaces set up well in advance of our arrival for cocktail hr and they looked fantastic. The attention to detail made my inner-OCD self so happy. Everything ran so smoothly. I'm sure they were ironing out a lot of hiccups during the night, but we were never aware of any. The table service was great, and I don't think there was a line at the bar all night.

We can't say enough about how wonderful the OEG staff and venue were for our wedding. We would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good value, great food, impeccable planning staff and a unique space in DC.

We couldn't have picked a better venue for our special day!!!! Amazing!!!

I went to a wedding at Old Ebbitt's many years ago, and thought, "I would love to get married here!" And years later, here we were!!! The atrium at Old Ebbitt's is GORGEOUS!!! The marble, the high ceilings, the fountain, the millions of tea light candles everywhere made for a beautiful venue! The private events group was amazing. We worked with all of them which was nice because there was always someone to respond to one of my many emails. We were planning this wedding from Philadelphia, which was hard so it was nice to be able to keep close contact with our venue. It never took them more than a day to get back to me! We worked closely with Jaki and Lucy who were incredible. They made everything so easy and were so accommodating! The deposit we had to put down was very reasonable and given the location and how beautiful the venue was, I think the cost was more than reasonable! Can't get a better venue for your Washington DC wedding for a better price! We unfortunately had to postpone our wedding due to a family emergency but Old Ebbitt allowed us to move our deposit to a new date even though it took us 8 months to come up with a new date. No other business would have done that! Lucy met us at the car to help bring everything in the day before and she was there the whole night running the show making sure everything went smooth and everyone was happy. I didn't technically have a wedding planner, but I didn't need one because we had Lucy! My parents also loved her and were so happy she was there. She helped clean everything up at the end of the night and make sure everything got in my Aunt's car. From start to finish, this team is the BEST!!

Jacki and the staff at Old Ebbitt truly were amazing. We had our wedding reception at Old Ebbitt in the full atrium. We had about 160 guests at our reception. They were wonderful to work with and made us feel that everything was taken care of for our reception. The rooftop cocktail hour was truly spectacular and allowed our guests to truly enjoy the unbelievable view of the district. The food was delicious-so many of our out of town guests raved about the filet! After our reception ended, our families and friends headed into the back bar at the restaurant and Jacki made sure that we were all well-taken care of by the staff. We are extremely happy we chose Old Ebbitt for our reception.

What can't I say about Old Ebbitt Grill?? This is our favorite restaurant! We are there at least 5 times a month, but what they did for my WEDDING RECEPTION was above and beyond my expectations! Jackie, Tyler and the events team were the best! They were always available to talk to me even when I would be at the restaurant and ask for them! My reception was beautiful and the food was OUTSTANDING! My guest are still raving about the food and some have made old ebbitt their go to eating spot!!! I highly recommend them if you want great service and food!!!

The management and staff of Old Ebbitt provided phenomenal service at our wedding. The venue was absolutely gorgeous and they even took care of putting together my centerpieces for me! The food was absolutley delicious and the management worked with me to make sure I was getting the most food/drink for my money.

Great food, great place, great service. Just go there and eat once and you'll love it. Good price per plate, too. We had the dinner in the atrium of the restaurant, a great setting, just somewhat hard to hear anyone making a speach because there are other parties and/or diners in there with you.

Old Ebbitt Grill is one of our favorite restaurants in the DC area. The staff there are very helpful and attentive. The food is amazing and the service for our event was great. The private room at Old Ebbitt is a great place to have a close get together with family and friends before the big day.

I would recommend Old Ebbitt to anyone! It exceeded my expectations in every way. The rooftop cocktail hour overlooking the sites of DC was something that I will remember forever!

Our wedding reception at Old Ebbitt Grill was, in a word, AMAZING. When we started the planning process, my fiance's one request was a venue with a "DC view." I laughed him off because I knew we couldn't afford a venue like that with our budget. Come to find out, OEG has the most spectacular rooftop overlooking the White House and National Mall... and much to my surprise, it ended up being the cheapest venue on our short list. You will not find a better value for a "DC" venue in the area.

Lucy, our event coordinator at OEG, was fantastic - she took care of all the details, was happy to make all sorts of accommodations for us, and was very attentive to us and our parents throughout the entire evening. It was hard communicating via email in the beginning, but once the date got closer, I felt completely at ease that she and the staff had everything under control! As to be expected, the food was absolutely delicious and we received so many compliments from our guests. We are so glad we chose OEG and can't wait to celebrate anniversaries there for years to come!

Old Ebbitt Grill is the most beautiful venue I've ever been to for a wedding (granted, I'm a little biased since it was my wedding!). Our wedding was on July 5, 2014 (there is a flaw in the reviewing here and it won't let me choose the correct date!) The atrium is so classic, with the beautiful fountain, marble floors and super high ceiling. The rooftop provides one of the coolest views in the entire city, and hardly anyone gets to see it! The food was obviously delicious, and our guests raved about the crab cakes, all the appetizers at cocktail our, and the late night sliders and mac n' cheese balls were a hit! But most of all, the staff at Old Ebbitt takes the cake. Lucy and Jaki were unbelievable coordinators. Leading up to the event they did research, acted as sounding boards, and did everything to make the process as smooth as possible for us. But it was their attentiveness on the day before/day of that really stood out. This dynamic duo ran our rehearsal so smoothly that there were no questions the next day. And on our wedding day, they stopped at nothing to make sure that everything was perfect. Lucy checked in on me and my husband all night. We were never without a drink, some food or a smile. The execution of this massive celebration was flawless. And when we didn't want to stop the party, they made sure we could keep it going a little bit longer. Not one of our guests wanted to leave, and we had a packed house past 1am. We heard from many of our guests that it was the best wedding they've ever been to, and I'm convinced most of that had to do with how wonderful everything/everyone was at Old Ebbitt Grill. We can't wait to go back for anniversary dinners! Thank you for everything!

We picked this venue because of the rooftop view and we're so glad we did! We loved working with Megan and Lucy. They worked really well with our day-of coordinator and the day went perfectly. Our guests commented to us afterward that the food and rooftop cocktail hour were amazing. I would definitely recommend this venue-- it was one of the least expensive places we looked at, but we didn't feel like the service or quality were compromised at all.

The team at Old Ebbitt Grill were fantastic on the day, they are highly experienced and the day was flawless! The best part of the day was the cocktail hour on the roof, so many of our guests raved about it! The OEG is a great venue for anyone wanting a true DC experience- our guests from Australia, Ireland and the rest of the US loved being central to downtown DC, loved the food and raved about the view!

I cant say enough good things about this venue. Since we were having a DC wedding, I thought it was only appropriate to host our rehearsal dinner in an iconic, historic DC landmark. Not only was the food absolutely delicious, the reserved room was spectacular and the staff gracious and helpful. It was just a magical evening for us. The ONLY negative is that its obviously an older building not equipped with elevators and has quite a few stairs. This was not a problem for 99% of our guests....but it WAS a bit of a challenge for my husbands elderly grandmother. Just something to consider! Other than that small hiccup, the evening was flawless!