Best Restaurants for Special Occasions in Chesapeake Beach

I made reservations here for a Christmas brunch with my family and Wow! I am so happy I did! My family and I had a fabulous time and a fantastic brunch here at Old Ebbitt. Our server, Jasmine, gave excellent recommendations and was an incredible server. She was very warm and inviting, which is something we always look for. The french toast, chicken and waffles, eggs Benedict, crab and artichoke dip, and raw oysters were all top notch and delicious. From start to end, everything was perfect. This is where you want to have brunch in DC. Thank you, Old Ebbitt!

This was a tremendous meal, and a can't-miss restaurant when visiting Washington D.C. It was my wife and I, and we shared six plates: hummus, falafel, rice pilaf/barley, fried eggplant, brussels sprouts and (essentially) french fries. We were uncomfortably full when leaving, and this ran us a whopping $72 dollars before tip. Obviously if we had gotten drinks or wine, the price would have gone up considerably, but I can't imagine this kind of quality food in a metro area for $36/person in 2024. Plus endless homemade pita that was a cross between pita and naan was provided -- crazy delicious. The french fries had a house-made mushroom salt with a yogurt dipping sauce. The serving size on those were substantial, but basically they were just outstanding french fries. In terms of going for authentic Mediterranean food, we could have swapped this out for something else, but that was probably more our fault than theirs just having something a little more neutral on the menu for less-adventurous eaters. The other five items were all significantly above average, with my favorite being the sprouts and my wife favoring the barley/pilaf. Also, the speed with which we got through our meal was noteworthy -- one hour as they rotated through plates one at a time. It was a well-oiled machine.

Philomena is a pillar in the DC community and for great reason. When you first walk down the, many steps, you enter your known as house. During the holiday season, the restaurant is decorated from head to toe with Christmas celebration. The staff are all extremely courteous and helpful And always dressed amazingly. The food is outstanding. All portions are large enough to share so get a few dishes and let your table enjoy old world Italian cuisine. Anything on the menu is a score in my book. But don’t forget always leave room for dessert. The cannoli are amazing!

I dined here as a solo diner and usually you wouldn’t get the best service because the servers want larger parties, but this was not the case here. Zach made sure I was taken care of. This is a rarity as someone who travels a lot alone and has experienced the bad end of dining alone. I’ve had a few friends and family dine here when they visited and loved it so I’m glad I was able to get the same experience they had as a solo diner.

We had dinner on Thanksgiving and it was all very nice. Not crowded at all and the food was good. My salmon was a little overdone, but I take responsibility for that as I didn't specify medium rare and it was well done. Our waitress was outstanding.