The Royal — Restaurant in Washington

Ok, I’m not sure where to start. I first found out about this place from @DevourDC. I then went on their page and saw all the nice pictures of food and drinks Now, I just had to try it. When we arrived, parking already was an issue but that normal in DC, so we will leave it at that. I open they door to the restaurant and immediately said.. ok, this is going to be a great experience. I advised the waitress that we had never been here before and I hoped to get a little more dialogue about what to expect from the journey of Latin American food we were about to eat…. I did not get that but whatever. We began to look at the memo and saw that some drinks and food items were “out of stock”. I honestly was not expecting for a Michelin Star restaurant from 2017-2022 to be out of anything. When I asked the waiter, he wasn’t sure what they had because he had to go check and he said “it must be supply chain issues”. This may have worked during COVID but we are beyond that. I mean there are many supermarkets around to buy what you need to avoid having to write “out of stock” (poor management). Then the waitress comes over and tries to tell me the same thing. We ordered empanadas, cheese arepa, meat arepa and braised beef gnocchi. When the order arrived, either it was too salty or not salty enough, poor taste lacking flavor, or just poor presentation. I have no idea how someone can call themselves a chef and put out such over priced garbage because that is exactly what it was. I would have been better served by a miniature food truck selling empanadas and arepas in Bogota for less than $1.00 than what I got at The Royal. The chef is American and the owners are Colombian. I’m not sure if the owners decided to travel forever and never check on the restaurant but if their ancestors tried the Latin food they served they would have disowned them. Each one of the dishes came with a pickled sauce, everything with the same sauce. How… just how does a Michelin star restaurant have the huevos to do this. The chef is an embarrassment. The marketing done for this place is amazing but it’s a con. I don’t what is worse, the fact that they try to convince people that their food and service are amazing when they are clearly not or that DevourDC actually placed them on their page and stated that they are “incredible”. I’m sorry but it’s sad and they lose all credibility, which leads me to believe that The Royal must have paid them off to market them. The avocado (something so basic that doesn’t even need to be cooked) was rotten. It was placed on two plates (one on the side and one inside the food) leaving the food with a horrible taste. How the heck does something so basic even make it past the chef or waitress to the customer. Again, let me remind you…. a Michelin star restaurant from 2017-2022. We left the restaurant with a sour taste in the mouth and we felt sick all afternoon and into the evening. The total bill was $80.00. Literally, I would have rather gone and spent that money elsewhere. The owners need a reality check, the chef needs to go back to school, and the waiters need better training in customer service and restaurant etiquette. I could sit here and write how Latin food should taste but I have exhausted my energy already on this post and neither the chef nor the owners deserve anymore of my time…. You have wasted enough of...

Great ambiance with quick service and solid, albeit occasionally muffled-flavor, food.

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Two friends and I came on a Sunday afternoon for a late lunch. We were hoping to get in earlier, but all the times between 10:30 and 1:30 were completely booked. Because of our timing, we had just missed Brunch. I had heard a lot of great things regarding The Royal and was excited to try the afternoon/evening food regardless.

The decor and ambiance inside is fantastic. There's a healthy amount of greenery inside beside the brick walls across the ground floor and the lofted area. The pods outside along the street are also very pretty and surrounded by greenery. A subtle touch I also liked was the use of old church pews as booths (which I wish I got a picture of).

The restaurant has converted to a full digital, order from your phone operation. While I know a growing trend that can assist in speed and efficiency for both customers and wait-staff, I'm a bit more traditional and prefer the direct interaction with the servers. I have also noticed it can sometime make it more difficult to get assistance if they are not checking the floor outside of food runs. That said, I did not experience issues today.

The food situation is small plates a la carte - although there are a mix of plates meant to be shared (such as the fries and sprouts), and others better served eating alone (arepas and sandwiches). My friends and I decided to each order one dish for sharing and one for solo consumption.

For sharing: House Fries (solid and easy eating, although not particularly special) Cheese Arepa (cheesy and good, but again not very flavorful, more of a snack) Crispy Brussel Sprouts (generally I dislike Brussels but I liked these, likely because sprout flavor was minimized and focus was on everything else which was indeed flavorful). Crispy Pork Belly (delicious, especially the pork itself! Quite a bit of toppings going on that probably subdued some flavor but was still enjoyable to eat)

For myself, I also got the Hearts of Palm Arepa - a veggie option with a bunch of vegetables served with Chimichurri on the side. While solid, it again wasn't the most flavorful and a bit disappointing. Again, I attribute some of the muffled flavors to the overabundance of ingredients rather than focusing on featuring less ingredients with enhanced flavors. I also had two non-alcoholic drinks from the cafe, both which were solid but not particularly spectacular (although the Lemonade with Espresso was refreshing, energizing, and fun to try).

Overall I had a great time and enjoyable experience, although honestly the food left me a bit disappointed. As $10-$20 per plate and the rave reviews I've heard I was hoping for bursting flavors. I would like to come here again for a cocktail or two (and perhaps in time for brunch), although I don't feel compelled to come here again for a...

Delightful bar, restaurant, and cafe! The Royal truly has you covered for every time of day; this lovely Michelin-recognized spot is located on Florida Ave just a few blocks away from the Shaw / Howard metro station. Given their proximity to both a major road and metro, there's absolutely no excuse not to visit this DC gem. It's a lively, vibrant space with a ton of fun decor, energetic music, and friendly staff. I visited for a weekend brunch and was super impressed by the diversity of their menu. We got a couple of items to share between the four of us, including the house fries, pork empanadas, masa gnocchi, hearts of palm arepa, and roasted brussel sprouts.

The fries were crispy and it went wonderfully with the slightly spicy, sweet, and tangy aji amarillo mayo. The empanada was super flaky and packed with the slightly spicy, rich pork filling; it was super flavorful, although my friends commented that they felt it was a bit too oily and heavy (I'm pescatarian, so I was busy enjoying the perfectly crispy roasted brussel sprouts as they chowed down on this one).

The masa gnocchi was tasty, and the corn gave this classic Italian pasta a unique texture. I thought it was a bit too soft and not chewy enough for my taste, but it was still really tasty, and I loved the rich, creamy queso fresco-based sauce and earthy mushrooms.

The arepa was expertly prepared, with a slightly chewy, crumbly corn shell stuffed with a ton of fresh veggies and salsa. This was a pretty unique take on the classic arepa, and I loved how refreshing and light the sandwich was, while still feeling robust and hearty enough to be substantial.

While the food was tasty, what really surprised me was the drinks. I ordered a matcha latte, another friend got a black sesame latte, and then the other two ordered cocktails. Every single one of these drinks -- whether caffeinated or alcholic -- was outstanding. It was genuinely one of the best matcha lattes I've had in DC, which a really deep, rich matcha flavor and vibrant green color (none of that brown matcha or overly sweetened mix shenanigans that I see at so many other cafes), and the black sesame latte was perfectly nutty and rich. The two cocktails were fruity and sweet, and the perfect pairing for our meal. I can see myself coming back to The Royal once or twice for the food, but I will absolutely be adding the cafe half of this establishment to my...