Any other recommendations near the National?

Anonymous wrote:Ceiba is just up 14th Street and many times better and more interesting than either CG or Oceanaire, IMO.

Ditto on Ceiba. Yummy cocktails too!

Anyone else that can't see past Quigleys at Chef Geoffs? Anywho, I would argue CG is more or a neighborhood hangout type of place a
Where Oceanside is more of a downtown power lunch kind of place.

Ceiba is just up 14th Street and many times better and more interesting than either CG or Oceanaire, IMO.

The food at CG is crap.
Oceanaire is over priced.
Go to Brasserie Beck.

I didn't think Oceannaire was very romantic, but it did have a certain glamour - it reminded me of the dining room of the Titanic, for some reason. (obviously before the iceberg.)

The food at Oceannaire is much better, but it is a smidge more expensive and less casual, too. CG is OK American food that appeals to a lot of domestic business travelers.

Anonymous wrote:But you have to consider that CG's isn't very good food.

Ditto. It's just so meh.

But you have to consider that CG's isn't very good food.

The nice thing about CG's is that you can go for happy hour, a casual bite to eat, or a nice dinner, depending on where you sit and what you order. Oceannaire is a more formal seafood/steak house type place.

Oceanaire is definitely less casual. I would not say either one is really romantic. Oceanaire will have a significant business dinner presence. If you ask them for a quiet table they have a few in a kind of a little room that are not as noisy.

Thanks for the fast reply!

I get the impression based on the more casual menu the Chef Geoff's is more low key and not as romantic. Am I wrong? Would love your thoughts!

We are really looking for good atmosphere rather than great food. We are not foodies.

I go to both a lot. I work in that block.

Chef Geoff's can be crowded at lunch but I never think of it as chaotic. Same with Oceanaire. The latter is smaller and feels more intimate. Chef Geoff's is cavernous and goes on and on and on, half the length of the block.

CG has a very broad menu. Something for every taste. Oceanaire is, well, mostly seafood. Can't lose either way.

The noise level is much greater at Oceanaire than at Chef Geoff's. Neither strikes me as chaotic.

Going to a show at National Theater. I know these two restaurants are pretty different but want some inside scoop.

Part of me wants to go to Chef Geoff's because I love his wife and run into them socially from time to time, but is it chaotic (my impression from the press)?

Thanks!