Vermilion in Old Town. Best romantic dinner DW and I have had in the last 5 years. And the chef is leaving very soon--catch him while he's still there.

My two cents--of the known "special" places, Komi is the best. It's not just hype; the food really is amazing. (More so than CityZen and Citronelle, in our experience, and closely beats out Eve, which BTW is even more off-the-hook $$$$.) We liked Komi even better before the tasting menu became so inflexible, but still. And the sommelier's attention to the wine pairings beats the others, IMHO. All of that said, though, if it's too $$$ for you, no worries. There's plenty of other good food around.

Palena is not the special, magical place it once was.

Anonymous wrote:Restaurant Eve
Rasika
Blacksalt
Obeslisk

Black Salt, while I like the food is neither that special or romantic. It can be noisy, the menu is limited and it certainly is not romantic.

Anonymous wrote:PP: Obelisk romantic? What??? It's like a retirement home. There is no ambiance or atmosphere at all. Do you disagree?

I don't know retirement home, but I do agree that it could use a dimming of the lights a bit. OK, I may agree with you. But I love the casual, intimite feel with fantastic cooking. There are far too few restaurants in DC like that.

PP: Obelisk romantic? What??? It's like a retirement home. There is no ambiance or atmosphere at all. Do you disagree?

For SPECIAL occasion, I wouldn't do any of the usual places downtown (Rasika, Proof, Source, etc fall into that category). The lovely thing about Komi and Obelisk are that they are very small and intimate restaurants, with multi-course/fixed prices menus. It just *feels* special. Personally, while I love Rasika, I would not be that excited to go for a big birhtday. I could go there for lunch any day of the week.

Komi is truly an experience; however, I understand that as the price point goes way up, people will have really high expectations. I have not always had the most perfect food at every course at Komi, but the atmosphere is unparalleled in DC and there are SO many little courses etc, that it's really about the overall experience and not each dish.

Restaurant Eve
Rasika
Blacksalt
Obeslisk

Citronelle is closed due to water damage for 6 months according to their website.

OP here. Looking for a nice semi-romantic, not 100% full of hipsters or old folks though, and somewhere that you are expected to be fairly dressed up. (No jeans, Harley Davidson tshirts)

Komi's mixed reviews put me off. The Source seems a bit cookie-cutter.

Anonymous wrote:Corduroy is lovely though not as good as before the move into their new space.

CityZen is worth every penny.

Proof is wonderful.

+1 for City Zen

Citronelle

Corduroy has a wonderful fixed price menu that's an great deal (considering the amount of food) for the price. Ask for one of the cozy booths. IMHO much better than Proof.

Also Palena, back room.

I did not think CityZen was that great for the price. We did the tasting menu for a friend's 40th birthday a few months ago.

My DH and I really enjoyed the Source a few weeks ago.

OP, it might help if you describe what kind of place you're looking for. Lively and hip or old-school and elegant?

Corduroy is lovely though not as good as before the move into their new space.

CityZen is worth every penny.

Proof is wonderful.

DH's 35th, want something where we actually dress up and have a nice dinner. We don't get to go out often with DS at home.
I heard about Komi, but I feel it's more hype than food (plus at $135/person without wine, that's very $$$$).

Is Corduroy a good alternative?

Other recommendations?