Obelisk - Washington, D.C.

We had an amazing feast for a birthday dinner. Intimate, romantic wonderful food and service. I'm so glad this gem made it through the pandemic!

Great Italian food is supposed to be simple, straight forward. Obelisk puts the ingredients first and executes at perfectionist level in a cozy, comfortable, quaint atmosphere.

Obelisk offers a memorable meal with attentive service. I’m not aware of a more intimate and personal dining experience in DC. Each course was straightforward in concept, and distinguished in preparation. The wine pairing was selected thoughtfully to accentuate each of the five courses, and it featured some uncommon and delicious Italian wines.

I had a great experience here and shared the only window seat with someone. It was nice to be able to look down on P Street Northwest. The Negroni I ordered was the best I ever had. We shared a bottle of Pinot Bianco, my favorite white wine. The meal was incredible and quite filling. I was surprised. You might expect a place like this to have smaller portions. The Mixta course was a kind of scallop ceviche with dill and cilantro. Crostini with lardo and cherry tomatoes. Delicate Italian cauliflower in an anchovie olive oil sauce. The Secundi was watercress ravioli in a walnut butter sauce. I had quail wrapped in pasta, in brodo with spinach. The meat course was Dorade for me. My first experience with that fish. It was a little bit of a fishy fish if you know what I mean. My dining partner had wagyu sirloin tip. Then there was a cheese course with sour cherries, followed by dessert, a kind of rhubarb strawberry tart. Quite delicious, with homemade vanilla ice cream. I booked the place using a deposit of over $50. At the time I didn't realize that each dinner was going to cost $113. With the wine pairing, it would have been $186/person. With one bottle of wine, the cocktail, tax and gratuity, the bill was close to $400. That's a lot of simoleons for a person like me. The ambience was nice and quiet. Food quality was excellent. I would recommend this restaurant if you want to have a high level gourmet foodie type dining experience, and can afford it. I'd love to go back sometime.

(10 stars) Obelisk is an experience. It's quaint and personal. There are 3 at the back of the house (the chef, sous chef and a dishwasher) and 2 in front. The women in front are knowledgeable in every aspect and so friendly and willing to share. There is zero pretense here. It's about the food, the wine and the experience. The wine list is very approachable although we decided on pairings. The menu is ever changing to provide a new experience each time. We will make this a regular (out of the way) stop.