Gravitas — Restaurant in Washington

We went here with the expectation of an amazing start to a wonderful night celebrating my husband’s and his brother’s birthdays, but due to the extremely slow service, we ended up cancelling our other plans, and this ended up being a pretty mediocre night/birthday celebration that cost over $700 for 3 people.

As discussed in more detail below, my main issues were that (1) we had a long and uncomfortable wait for our table despite our reservation, (2) we did not receive our first course until 1 hour after finally being seated, (3) we were at the restaurant for 4 hours, even though we asked them to speed the dinner up as much as possible, and even though they told us it would take 2-2.5 hours, so we had to cancel our other birthday festivities, (4) no one did anything special for their birthdays, or ever acknowledged the birthdays, and (5) the food was under par for a Michelin restaurant (although quite good for a regular restaurant) as I found one of my courses inedible (although others at my table ate it and thought it was fine) and didn’t particularly enjoy another.

We arrived for our 7:30pm reservation and were told that our table wasn’t quite ready and to wait on this small bench (facing the hostess stand and about 3 feet from it because they didn’t have a true waiting area) that had the umbrellas container on it. We were not given any updates or any indication of how long it would take, and we ended up waiting awkwardly on this small bench for 30 minutes staring at the hostess, and having to awkwardly get up when people needed to get their umbrellas. After about 15 minutes of no one speaking to us, my husband asked if he could have a menu while we were waiting. Then after another 5-10 minutes, my husband asked for an update on status of the table. He was told that it was impossible to provide an estimate. At that point, after 20-25 minutes, and only after my husband had prompted their attention by requesting the menu and asked questions, they asked us if we would like to order drinks while we waited. They then said that they would charge the drink to our table unless we wanted their house wine, in which case they would provide it free of charge since we had waited so long. This seemed like way too little way too late, especially since I wasn’t drinking that night and was STARVING.

We were finally seated at 8pm for our 7:30pm reservation. However, our first course did not come until 9pm (although we had amuse-bouche and bread in between at least), so we were starving.

Since we had been told that the meal would take 2-2.5 hours and we had a 7:30pm reservation, we had plans to go to a bar to celebrate their birthdays with friends at 10pm. When the first course didn’t come until 9pm, we contacted their friends and pushed the plans back to 10:30pm, and we asked the server to bring the meals out as fast as possible because we had plans. The server indicated that there was not much that could be done.

Ultimately, the dinner took just under 4 hours. We left around 11:30pm from our 7:30pm reservation and had to cancel all birthday bar plans with friends since the bars closed around midnight. My husband’s brother was especially disappointed since this was his 21st birthday and he had really wanted to go to a bar. So the slow service really ruined the evening/birthdays. On top of that, the restaurant did nothing at all to celebrate their birthdays and did not even acknowledge them or wish them a happy birthday, even though I had told them in advance that we were there to celebrate their birthdays.

I also was disappointed in the food for a Michelin restaurant (although the food would be good for a regular restaurant). I found my main course inedible (although my husband gladly ate it) and I did not enjoy another of the courses. On the other hand, I thought the salad was surprisingly unique/pretty/impressive, I liked the dessert, and I thought the amuse-bouches were quite tasty. The bread was good but nothing special. I was disappointed by the lack of surprise courses that I have come to expect from Michelin...

I am editing my review due to someone posting a review of 5 stars, perfect service, perfect food, and perfect ambience less than 12 hours after my initial review of Gravitas and four days after another bad review by a customer. I flagged the review as the person who provided the 5 stars is previously in pictures with the chef and has only reviewed three restaurants affiliated with the chef…not a good look! Google has not removed the review.

Modified/shortened review based on length restriction:

A complete disappointment for our 24th anniversary dinner.

We have eaten at Michelin Star and Michelin Gourmand/recommended restaurants in Germany, France, Netherlands, and Malta. This was our first time at such a restaurant in the U.S.

First impressions matter. As we walked in to be seated, our table had crumbs on it and our glasses had water stains and fingerprints on them. The serving staff had noticeable stains on their aprons.

Atmosphere: The kitchen is open - fried smells made their way out to the dining room. One of the cooks wore a baseball cap. Despite five open tables in the same area, the restaurant placed couples on both sides of us so that there was no privacy for intimate/pleasurable conversation.

No Chef Baker in the kitchen. We paid over $400 to eat cold and tasteless food that would never meet his or Michelin standards. The cooks had to have forgotten critical elements that tied in the flavors.

Food: Underwhelming. We did not receive our bread service. The couple next to us also did not receive their bread service...until they asked about it. We were asked by the waiting staff about dietary restrictions at the beginning of service. We mentioned that I do not eat fish/seafood. The very first service, canapés, arrived with one of the three small canapés being tuna tartar.

The winter vegetable salad was pretty, but lacked any sort of harmony, balance or flavor. Our second dish, butternut squash agnolotti, was cold. The flavors were OK, but we received two, cold raviolis each. (The kitchen had about eight to ten plates of food on the pass under the lamp) I had the Crispy Chicken Roulade, but I am not sure where the "Crispy" came from…the chicken was very moist and good with the outside of the roulade consisting of fatty skin, not crisp or even close - chicken was one of two mains…not steak, a $75 supplement, not lamb, duck, etc) The herb jus and the couple of pieces of vegetables were very good. My wife's Pan Seared Bronzino was "OK," according to her. It did not look appetizing to me. For dessert, we divided and conquered the two different ice creams...yes, ice creams. No other choices as the Amish did not deliver the cheese according to the server. My wife had the winter ice cream, which was decent. I had the butterfinger ice cream, which had no balance...too much hardened chocolate shell for such a small spoon of ice cream and mousse.

The restaurant staff/kitchen should know what the customer wants it terms of pacing for the dishes. For example, within five seconds of finishing our first course and the server removing the plates, our second serving was placed in front of us before our silverware made it to the table (and this was the cold ravioli). After we informed the staff about the cold food and our pacing concern, a guy from the kitchen came out during our main meal and offered to pour white wine (fish) for my wife and red wine for me (chicken). We informed him we were good and did not want the wine. He insisted and poured the wine…pours were about 40% of what we received with our initial drinks and about 20% of what the couple next to us received with their wine pairing. We did not drink the wine. Two suggestions: Ask the customers what they prefer if providing complimentary drinks or remove the previously purchased wines from the bill.

Happy Anniversary was misspelled on our dessert plates. ** Pastry chef is advertised on the site. I am not sure of what this person makes for the menu.

Overall, a bad experience that was not close to our experiences at other Michelin Star...

Service: If a restaurant has good food, but poor service, it will never be great. Gravitas is a legend. No matter who you are, they treat every customer as VIP from the moment you walk in. My wife and I showed up a few minutes early from our Resy reservation time (8:45pm on a Saturday) and they informed us we wouldn't be seated until 9pm. Fifteen minutes is no big deal, but the host, A.G., handled it superbly. He was emphatic, personable, and personally got us cocktails (on the house, but in the end, we were charged for them accidentally) while we waited. Before we knew it, we were guided to our table. Our server, Jordan, was probably the best server we've ever had in DC. She was empathetic and anticipated all of our needs. She was well informed on the menu and passionate about the Gravitas brand.

Food: It's a pre-fixed menu with the smallest offering being 4 courses for $78 (they have a 6 and 8 course menu too). For more money, you can do a wine pairing with each course. Compared to other fine dining in DC like Pineapple and Pearl and minibar, the price tag isn't bad. It essentially comes to $20 a plate and the portions are filling. A 4 course meal will fill one person up.

My wife and I ordered the 4 course option and were informed one of the four must be dessert (that means we had to cheat in our no sugar in August goal). Below is what we ordered for each course including our cocktails (I am sure the wine is amazing, but if you enjoy cocktails, get that instead. I was served some of the best drinks I've had in DC):

Course 1: -Sunchoke Veloute: So complex and flavorful. Your server will pour a sauce over it and the combination of flavors is beautiful, especially with the fennel marmalade. -Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi: I do NOT like raw fish, but this is very well done. The texture and flavors are perfect that even if you don't like raw fish, you'll be craving this later.

Course 2: -Gruyere Agnolotti: It comes out almost like a ravioli with quality cheese mixed in. -Crispy Sweetbreads: I thought this tasted like a fancy Thanksgiving. The crunch of the sweetbread worked well with the sauces. Contrary to its name, it's a savory dish.

Course 3: -Slow Braised Beet: You know a winning restaurant when they can take a beet and turn it into a work of art. It comes out beautifully with the perfect texture and flavors surrounding the dish. If all beets tasted like this, the entire world would be eating them. Hay-Smoked Duck Breast- This is a smokey dish, but the smoke isn't overpowering. The duck breast is cooked perfectly.

Course 4: -Coconut Cake: A superb cake. Even if you don't love coconut, the other flavors tone down the coconut vibes. The only element that seemed a little off is the foam on top. It was cold when the cake is more warm. If we were to order this again, we may ask them to place the foam on the side versus on top. -Chocolate Genache: Yep, worth breaking out no sugar fast. It comes out as a thin strip of chocolate with all the other elements flanking it. It's beautiful and a chocolate lover's paradise.

Cocktails: -Southern Butterfly: This is a more sweet drink, but not overwhelmingly. I hesitated on this drink due to the mezcal (I find it a little too smokey for me). However, it's a well balanced drink and the mezcal plays well with the more sweet tones. It comes with a handcrafted origami butterfly on the side. -Water Lily: Hands down this is the best drink I've ever had in DC (sorry barmini and Columbia Room). It comes out a bright color with a single flower on top. It's sweet, but in a complex way. With every sip, it takes you on a journey that hits all of your taste buds ending on a sweet tone. This drink I will dream about for the rest of my life. -Ice to Table: Almost like a Manhattan but with peach essence. If you like smoother, less sweet drinks, order this. -Chesapeake Rum Runnin: My wife loved this drink. It's very smooth and a great option for those who don't love...