The Hamilton Hotel on the 14th and K Streets NW in downtown DC has recently undergone a large renovation with changes to their guest rooms, the lobby and the reason you are here, their restaurant and lounge.
Named for one of America’s founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, the 1877 built hotel pays homage to his contributions through its extensive use of historical design details. Hamilton was one of the United States Constitution’s most influential promoters as well as the Secretary of the Treasury in the late 1700s.
The food now pays homage to it’s location on K Street – situated among law firms and lobbying shops, you’ll now have yet another place to take clients for breakfast, lunch, or dinner thanks to the awesome menu upgrades at 14K.
Being walking distance from McPherson Metro, and not far from the White House, a quick and delicious lunch upgrade is just what they needed. The decor is simple and clean, the dinning room never got too loud, and their outdoor patio dining will be great for warm weather happy hours and dining as well.
We started with warm bread and a nice garlic, herb, and olive oil spread. Fresh bread, hot, and soft. Basically what you should expect. If anywhere gets this wrong (and doesn’t have room temp butter), just leave.
The fried calamari we ordered was delicious! Warm, super crunchy, tender on the inside, perfectly salted. This is dangerous stuff. Lucky they don’t serve it by the bucket.
On the lighter side of things, we tried the tuna sashimi and were pleasantly surprised. The tuna was very fresh, clean tasting, and perfectly seared. It was served with a duo of sauces which were nice, the presentation was very appealing, and the side seaweed salad was simple and good. I would have put the sesames on the side of the tuna that was seared however.
For the entrees, a meat and seafood option were selected. We ordered a medium rare steak and frites which was a eight ounce New York Strip with fries. The steak was cooked well and seasoned simply. The real winner was the chimichurri sauce served with it. Tasted fresh and housemade. Perfect for the strip steak. The fries were crispy and well cooked (although they were not cut in house). The side of a tomato, lettuce and red onion was a bit confusing. I know Peter Lugar in New York serves a raw sliced tomato and red onion “salad” as an option with their steaks, but these seemed like burger toppings. There was nothing wrong or bad about it, just confusing.
The salmon teriyaki on the other hand was not confused at all. This dish packed tons of flavor and was cooked absolutely perfectly. I can’t tell you how perfect this salmon was cooked. The outside had a nice sear and the inside was so flaky, tender and buttery; easily cut with a fork. The vegetables were cooked nicely and retained a crunch and the Basmati rice worked as a great mop for the glaze. Honestly, this dish shocked us at how balanced the flavors where, but mainly how perfect the salmon was cooked.
So the next time you find yourself downtown, check out 14K Restaurant. Their updated menu and convenient location make it a winner.