Stable DC — Restaurant in Washington

Summary: Cozy, cute, our go-to brunch spot, great options for vegetarians, but the sides for dipping with the fondue are frustratingly limited and bland.

Brunch dishes: Have done the quiche, spaetzli casserole, French toast, fondue, and the "craffle" (waffle with bruleed bananas). Their quiche is the best I've had in my life. It's vegetarian, just cheese and onion. It's literally perfect. The French toast is delicious: not too eggy and soggy, with a cinnamon-sugar "crust." The craffle is the only dish I've gotten that I wouldn't get again; it's just okay. My friends who e

Fondue: funny enough for a fondue joint, this is where I docked a star off my rating. The glaring shortcomings of the fondue experience at Stable are the severely limited, bland fondue fixins. We've had the belpet knolle (dried garlic/cracked pepper) and pear williams (shcnapps-infused) varieties, and garlic/pepper is the hands-down winner we get every time. But the bread cubes are "blah"--just sad little vehicles for the cheese, but too soft & spongy/porous to hold up well if you really want a respectable forkful of fondue (and isn't that the point?!) I've lost many a bread cube in the pot when it crumbled off the fork (RIP). It's like a step above Wonder Bread. If you regard the dipping agent on your fork as simply the anonymous vessel for shoveling melted cheese into your mouth (valid), then you probably won't take issue with it. But for me, the heart of the fondue experience is the surprising pairings of flavors and textures on your fork with the melty cheese: a bite of acid or vinegar, pickled stuff, fruit, or even just something with crisp crunch. That's entirely missing here. Nothing crunchy, pickled, sweet, or tart. Everything is bland. It's as basic as it gets. IMO you have to pay too much for the few plain dipping options other than bread, like a small dish of thin, wobbly apple slices. The prices aren't exactly cheap here, but with a brunch group, I'd readily pay for a basic assortment of accouterments. You can dunk anything in fondue--that's the whole point! So it's a bit puzzling how plain they keep it. It frankly comes across as low-effort, especially given how much attention they put in elsewhere.

BUT, is the dried garlic and black pepper fondue itself delicious? Yes. My friend and I gorge ourselves on it every time, zero shame. I just always feel short-changed with our sad bread cubes and flimsy apple slices.

Vegetarian experience: There are multiple options, and almost all of the main dishes I've tried have been great on their own--no fondue required. The spaetzli casserole is an insanely satisfying winter comfort dish. I've never found such a hearty, gooey, comforting meatless dish on any menu. Their pastries are very good and in demand, too. We get a big warm pretzel with mustard or a couple of cinnamon rolls and jam-filled Heidelberg pastries. Those are two of the more popular pastries that sell out on weekends, so you might be out of luck past 12-1 pm on a Saturday! (Tip: you can call and reserve some ahead of time for your party if you have a reservation, which my friend insisted on doing recently!)

"Chalet" seating: I think they require a certain number of people to reserve a chalet in the back of the restaurant, but you should definitely try it for groups! These wood-paneled booths are little curtained-off private nooks with touches of rustic decor evoking the Swiss alps, and stiff rolled wool blankets you can use. It's kind of a hybrid indoor-outdoor situation: enclosed and covered, but only heated with space heaters in winter, so it's both cozy and a bit "rugged." They do a clever job creating atmosphere and a bit of a novelty experience with the small space they have. I don't know how "authentic" it is to the alps, but I do kinda feel transported from DC!

Despite my quibbles about the fondue setup, we keep going back every few months, so it's clearly worth it. Overall, cute spot, strong food, great brunch. We always look forward...

We came here for a friend's 50th, as she lived in Geneva for 10 years during her childhood, so she was thrilled to see a Swiss restaurant in our area. We were a party of 11, and we were seated at a long table close to the window at the front of the house.

Five of us reserved the Raclette Experience in advance so they were seated together around the broiling/warming mechanism on one side of the table. The remaining 6 just ordered other dishes from the menu.

First, cocktails. Three of us had the Mafioso, which is a Mezcal and Aperol cocktail, served with a large square ice cube to keep from watering down the drink. We all had a second one of these, since it was excellent!

Appetizers. We had two orders of the Roasted Brussels Sprouts which is prepared with bacon, onions, Raclette cheese, and an egg on top! It was phenomenal! And some of us who are new to Raclette got to try some! Highly recommend. One of us had the butternut squash soup, which she said was very good. We also had a cheese and charcuterie board for the group to nosh on, which also came with little cornichon pickles.

Main dishes. I ordered the Veal Zurich, which was very good. I've never had a potato rosti before, and it's like a well done potato hash brown as a crust with a mashed potato consistency inside...very tasty and the perfect complement to a veal and mushroom "stew." I also saw red cabbage as a side with other main dishes, so I asked for a side of it myself because I just love it and never see it at restaurants. It was prepared with a cinnamon flavoring so it was more sweet than vinegar tart like other preparations. Our vegetarian/vegan friend had the Roasted Butternut Squash, which she said was very good and she appreciated the addition of quinoa for extra protein to feel satiated.

The Raclette experience came with a literal cloth sack of potatoes (to keep them warm), pickles, and pearl onions. Plentiful amount of Raclette cheese slices, but we asked for additional "broiling scoops" (they remind me of little metal dust pans! I have no idea what they're actually called) because it does take time to broil the cheese to perfection and then in two bites you're ready for more. So it was good for each person to have multiple pans going at once.

We ordered a bottle of wine for the table, and I had the Tawny Port as an aperitif. We skipped dessert (only because we had birthday cake waiting back at our house). But there were several options on the menu that were calling to me...next time!

Service was excellent and our entire group really enjoyed their meal no matter what they ordered. Thank you, Stable, for an excellent evening...

I do not recommend this place based on its customer service. I walked in here last Saturday ONE hour before closing. The hostess made a point of stating "We are closing in one hour." I thought to myself..."uhhh okay?" I was a little confused as normally 5-30 minutes is the typical warning, and 30 minutes is stretching it... unless it's a three hour meal kind of place. I then request not to be seated where the draft hits as it was very cold on Saturday. Guess what? That's exactly where she decides to seat us. My friend requested a seat in the back as we saw a room since the initial seating was subject to the draft of cold air from outside. So the hostess seats us at the empty bar. What made this worse was the looks we got from the chef and his sous chef or whatever he was. IT WAS THE MOST UNWELCOME I HAVE EVER FELT IN A RESTAURANT. If that was the chef he should be ashamed of himself for his lack of hospitality. We felt like we were not wanted in the restaurant.

This kind of attitude is the problem in Washington DC restaurants. When staff think they are too good to serve you and give you an attitude when their entire survival is based on MY MONEY. Some nerve, I say. After being received like dirty dish rags we said we were going to another place. I WILL NEVER GO BACK IN THIS PLACE. I didn't get to try the food, but if that's the attitude that comes with it, no thank you. Try acting like that in New York City...you'd be closed in less than six months because no one would put up with that kind...