Cordelia Fishbar — Restaurant in Washington

This place is fantastic. It's not cheap, but not nearly as expensive as many of the other Union Market star restaurants -- and it is right up there in quality. As far as I can tell, most things are either woodfire cooked or raw, and everything I have had both times I went was excellent.

#1 Unless you are really opposed to raw fish, get the tuna crudo/tartare. I don't know if this is a menu staple or just a sometimes-thing, but that tuna crudo with the meyer lemon and capers and pistachios and parsley puree was wild. Balanced, bright, meaty, and probably the best capers I've ever had with the way they clustered them to fry them up. Unless those were just maaassive capers?

#2 Razor clams, grilled oysters, and raw oysters are all brilliant. The grilled were billed as the signature dish, but the raw selection was quite good and the razor clams were just perfectly prepared. Razor clams are a protein I have not often found in DC and they usually are overpowered by the sauces, but the simple smoky fatty excellence at Cordelia was memorable.

Very much enjoyed the variety in the cocktail menu, too, though I was sad they were down to just the Jet Pilot my second visit because their tiki drink selection the first time around was great. Copycat is really the only other place in DC I've been that had such quality options in that vein. Happy to see them incorporate some of Don Ciccio i Figli's amaros the second visit, though. I hear they do a lot more tiki fare for the brunch and based on the Jet Pilot -- we have to...

Came here yesterday for dinner. The restaurant itself is beautiful. It has an industrial chic vibe with a gorgeous wrap-around bar area.

My server, Bridget, was friendly and attentive as was the hostess and the lady who brought my food to my table.

Happy hour Old Fashioned - small in amount and very sweet. I guess I can't hold the sweetness against the bartender, as people have different preferences for their old fashioned. The quantity left a lot to be desired, though.

Potted crab dip- absolutely delicious. Rich and flavorful, with thick chunks of crab. The accompanying toasted sourdough bread was the perfect compliment. Bridgette even brought extra out for me to have with my leftovers.

Colada Dreams - mmmm, delicious! Like a Pina Coloda, as you might have guessed.

Seabass - At first taste, its light and prepared in a manner that allows its natural flavors to shine. After a few more bites, however, I'm hit with Salt. Too much Salt. Very disappointing.

Chocolate Truffle cake- small yet rich and decadent. Adding a bit more icecream would help cut the richness of chocolate.

Overall, a good first visit and I highly recommend...

Nice restaurant. It was very empty for a Friday night. I received a warm greeting at the front door and it all went down hill from there. I ate alone at the bar. My oysters were great. The bartender was visibly bored and tired. He spent most of the time with his hands in his pockets leaning on the bar, gazing off into space or hanging out with the female bar back in the corner. She seemed have friends at the bar and would come over and chat with them while the guest had to goose neck and wave to get staff attention. The bartender had to check with someone about every menu question I had, so not very knowledgeable about the menu. There was a couple arguing at the bar and the bartenders spent time chatting about that with thier friends instead of offering additional service. Great food just not what I expected in service from a clydes group restaurant. I've been going to Old Ebbit for years and never experienced anything like this. The food was good but this isn't the type of place where I would bring someone for an impressive dinner or at least...