Convivial

I really enjoyed my dinner at Convival. We booked a last minute reservation on a Saturday night, and they had plenty of availability. We were seated right away, and our server was friendly!

The drink list was long, and everyone enjoyed their pairings. We ordered an assortment of food for the table, but everyone was completely satisfied with their meal! The mussels were massive and delicious, the trout with almonds was cooked perfectly, and the quiche portion filled the entire plate! We also enjoyed the beef bourguignon, and the pot-au-feu.

Came to Convivial with a group of 8 for restaurant week, and it was a great experience. The restaurant décor is beautiful with modern yet rustic vibes with the wooden walls and tables, as well as some nice outdoor seating.

For food I got the Tartare de Beef appetizer, and the Beef Bourguignon and a Salmon Dish that I do not remember the name of, for mains!

All of the ingredients in the dishes we had tasted super fresh and high quality, especially for the tartare de beef! The beef/steak is served raw, so it has to be good quality, with a beautiful egg yolk on top. Flavors were on point, salty, peppery, rich with the marinated beef, the salad and frites on the side compliment the richness nicely.

The Beef Bourguignon was my favorite dish overall! Suuuuper tender beef in such a savory and deeply flavorful sauce. The veggies braised in the sauce were tender and delicious, and the potato mash was fantastic and seasoned to perfection. A great combination of classic beef bourguignon ingredients!

Lastly the salmon dish was also pretty amazing. The fish was perfectly cooked, nicely grilled and seasoned, it just melted in your mouth.

The service is exceptional, our server was super attentive even with our large table, and the owner even came out to greet us and chat, super friendly and inviting energy! Definitely will be back for the next restaurant week for sure.

I went to Convivial for dinner with a friend before going to see a play at the Washington Stage Guild. They are very strict on reservation time, so make sure you're not late! I love the feel of Convivial inside, although some of the tables are super close together. We ordered burrata appetizer to share, which was delicious. Creamy and rich, as burrata should be, with a nice contrast to the crispy kale. For the entree, I had the bronzino, which was cooked well and served in a delicious, velvety sauce. I may have like the sauce more than the actual fish, to be honest. For dessert, we shared the macaron, which was filled with a lemon curd and served atop some kind of berry sauce. I could've definitely ate the whole thing myself, it was a perfect meal ending. For drinks, I ordered the St. Ex - a seasonal gin-based cocktail, which I enjoyed.

Overall, the meal was solid, and the service was friendly. They did forget to bring us espressos we ordered at the end of the dinner, but by the time they realized their mistake, we had to leave for the play. Convivial is definitely pricey, but for a nice dinner out, it's a good option. It just doesn't have that craveable quality that some other spots in the city do at this price point. However, I'd like to come back for brunch, since it's well-known for that.

Went to eat here after a race. Ordered foie gras and escargot as appetizers. Very good. The butter sauce has more butter than herbs. Both could've had more bread with it so we ordered more- my friend really enjoyed the brioche(?) that came with the four gras dish. The cassoulet was richer than I thought but it was my first time trying it so wasn't sure what to expect. I'm not a bean person but I did eat the beans in the dish.

We came for a birthday dinner on a weekday and really enjoyed our experience. The vibe in the restaurant was quite calm and not very busy, so good for a quiet gathering with friends. The service was amazing. Our server kindly introduced the specials on the menu, was very attentive during our meal, and wished me 'happy birthday' many times.

Everything we ordered that night was great. We got the burrata per the server's recommendation as a starter. It came with fresh greens, sweet peaches and grapes, a delicious hazelnut dressing, and crispy kale chips on top - so good. We got gnocchi Parisienne and moules frites as mains. The mussels were cooked in a delicious white wine broth. The portion was generous and I had leftovers for the day after. However, the gnocchi was the highlight of the meal for me - a slightly sweet squash puree topped with sauteed mushrooms and Brussels sprouts as well as pillowy soft potato dumplings, more kale chips and pumpkin seeds for a crunch. I appreciate how everything was seasoned to the right amount, nothing too salty or creamy, which allowed us to enjoy each bite to the fullest.

It wouldn't be a birthday celebration without a dessert. They had a wide selection but we settled on sharing the profiteroles. The presentation was great so was the flavor. The chocolate sauce was surprisingly not too sweet and the vanilla ice cream complemented the hot meal we just had nicely.

We started off our brunch with a mimosa and Bloody Mary. The mimosa was good, but the Bloody Mary was a little watered down, thus I will not be ordering it again. For our hors d'oeuvres, we ordered the grilled octopus. The octopus was delicious as well as the potato salad that was also on the plate. Our entrées included the quiche and the steak and eggs. The entrées were both very large portions. The steak was cooked perfect but it did have a lot of fat that I needed to cut off. The service was excellent, but was a little slow to start. The actual environment and ambiance were just OK to me. It was an interesting interior design for a French eatery. I enjoyed my time and can see myself back here again trying something new.

I had brunch here some Saturdays ago and everything was amazing. I arrived earlier than my reservation time but we were able to sit and be served right away. My guest and I had the luxury of having two servers (a veteran and one in training) and I'm not sure how long the new server had been in training, but he was stellar all around!

Our food was phenomenal. We ordered the Parisienne Breakfast Basket, pancakes, and the quiche lorraine. It was all great. The servings are large so you can definitely share everything they bring out. We will certainly be back. We sat outside so the day was nice and the vibes were even nicer but the inside felt like a party waiting to happen. Great service and food!

I stopped by here yesterday for a glass of wine and a small bite. The Tuna Carpaccio was quite good and I really enjoyed the Cab Franc. The bar service was good as the staff I talked to were nice. I would definitely return to try more of their food out.

Highly recommend Convivial! The vibe was relaxed and the employees were very attentive and friendly. The escargot and chicken were both exceptional. Will definitely be returning!

I was in town for business and this was our last dinner in DC. Absolutely beautiful dinner and service. I had the loup de mer, a whole boneless bronzino. I have never had the opportunity to order a fish like this and I am so glad I did. Absolutely lovely and satisfying but not heavy. The sauce and vegetables beneath the fish were delicious.

The dessert was a tasty chocolate cake.

Service was lovely.