Clarity

We have been coming to Clarity since 2020, and have experienced this restaurant thru different owners and chefs. This was our first time there since the latest change-over and I have to say that Clarity is producing amazing food again. Not since Jon & Nick had Clarity been this good - but Tracy (the new chef) absolutely killed it. Food: my husband and I both shared our dishes during the course of the meal, so I was able to experience multiple options from the menu. For starters I got the scallops and mushroom soup, and hubs ordered the Caesar salad. The scallops were perfectly cooked and the homey pancetta / Brussels sprouts with it was so good. The soup was fantastic. Had crunch onion cluster on it and was a nice texture change to the soup. The Caesar salad was lovely as well. Great flavors. For dinner I opted for the halibut. That was perfect. Loved the delicate sauce and vegetable served with it. Didn't overpower the fish one bit. Lovely crust on the halibut as well. Perfection. Hubs opted for the schnitzel. I'm not a huge fan of that usually - but he insisted I'd love it. He was right. It was perfect. The breading was crispy and flavorful and the pork was tender and also had a great flavor. We were way too full for dessert - but their menu looked amazing. Drinks: Vic (bar manager) is amazing, but this time around we opted for a bottle of wine that I brought from home. But, don't sleep on any of Vic's concoctions - he's fantastic. Ambiance: we haven't been in since they redecorated. It's absolutely lovely. And the big chef table / re-done outdoor seating is fantastic. Service: wonderful as it always has been. Very happy with Josephina. She was attentive without being overbearing. If you haven't been to Clarity in a while, take this as a sign to go. Tracy's food is stellar. We will 100% be back and recommending this place once again to friends and family.

My girlfriend took me here for my birthday celebration. Everything I had from beginning to end was amazing. Complimentary bread was warm and delicious, I'm usually a bread-and-butter guy. But olive oil was a good combination. We had French onion soup and pork belly as our starters. I don't remember the last time I had French onion soup, so this was a nice surprise. Just a tad on the salty side, but I think that's how they are usually. The pork belly was very tender, and I love the sauce that come with it.Our main courses were yellowfin tuna and rib eye. I love both, slightly preferred my gf tuna. It was very delicious and the shrimp was great too. Ribeye was a little bit on the rare side when I ordered medium rare. Love the sauce though, they really know what they doing here.

Had an ok dinner tonight. Opted to dine ala carte instead of the tasting menu. Our server, Josephine, was pleasant and attentive but clearly working at the mercy of the kitchen and bar staff.My thoughts on food, restaurant organization and ambiance:The food was delicious. We both had the chestnut soup. It was delicious but served in way too large of a bowl given the richness. We both stopped 2/3 of the way through. I had the lamb shank. It was the most tender lamb I've ever had. The portion size was ridiculously too big. It could have served 2-3 people. The vegetables served with it were nicely roasted and flavorful. My husband had the schnitzel. It was also too large of a portion of meat and completely missing the spatzel which was a disappointment.We watched with mild humor...and ultimately frustration..at the lack of general organization and process in the restaurant management. The many staff seemed to be tripping over each other...either unclear of their roles or poorly trained. And of course when there is no process. You get experiences like we had where our pre-dinner cocktails arrived as we were about halfway through our soup course. And that was 30 minutes after we ordered the drinks and 20 minutes after we placed our dinner order. Clearly, no one is orchestrating the order food and drinks are served. The ambiance of the restaurant is in desperate need of some textiles or sound deadening tiles. No table linens, carpets or drapes to deaden sound. We were seated in a small dining room that had 8-10 tables. A large big screen TV on the wall playing holiday music was surely intended to be a festive touch. Unfortunately the volume was such that tables were all trying to speak over the music--and ultimately each other--which added to the chaos of the experience.In short, there is no doubt Chef Tracy can cook. But to make this reboot work, she's going to need a partner who can manage and train the staff, put some clear processes in place that reduce the chaotic service and find ways to reduce the overall noise level to make the dining experience as enjoyable as the food.

Tried Clarity for the first time tonight to celebrate my birthday. The food was hit and miss, with one particularly bad miss. The meal started with bread and olive oil. The oil was very bitter and needed salt to mellow it out, but there was none in it or on the table. We asked for butter instead and that was much better with flaky salt on top. The lamb pasta and pork belly appetizers were both very good, especially the pasta. The ceasar salad was pretty meh. The menu described it as being a new take on Caesar salad, so I was expecting something interesting, but it was a pretty run-of-the-mill salad. For the mains, the pork schnitzel was pretty terrible - the spaetzel was burnt and the schnitzel was way overseasoned and overly breaded and oily (and burnt). The crust was probably 2x as thick as the pork. We only ate a few bites. The sticky toffee pudding and sorbet were both good. Overall the food was OK, but, other than the pasta, I probably wouldn't go out of my way for it. Service was very good, though, even though it was notes in our reservation, they didn't do anything special for my birthday, which was a little disappointing. We saw others with candles on their desserts.

W O W!! Food was AMAZING, service was perfect, overall will be back. We tried variety of different foods as well as the course meal which was perfect portions and so damn delicious

This is a very nice, modern and upscale restaurant.Food - Very good. They have a seasonal menu and change it very frequently, so they have different dishes almost every day/week. Their Elysian Fields bolognese was delicious. The lemonade is also very good.Service - Good. Reservations are definitely necessary. They are relatively pricey though, as 3 people sharing one appetizer and getting 1 entree each will be minimum $250.Parking - They have a small parking lot outside.Overall, this place is great. Would highly recommend.

Came for NYE and sat at the chef's counter. We loved the complimentary chestnut soup, the bread and olive oil and exemplary service by all staff. My French onion soup was very good and my husband enjoyed his caesar salad. The schnitzel was exceptional, though I would've liked more spaetzels and fewer beans on top. Husband's waygu beef was good, but perhaps not worth the $82. The entire evening was really fun and we loved watching the kitchen staff work, it was very calm! I'd definitely come back and try more things, for a special occasion.

We stopped at Clarity for dinner before a show at Wolf Trap. After being overwhelmed by the menu for wines, cocktails and Manhattans (yes, an entire Manhattan menu), we settled in for some good eats. We got the Smoked Tomato & Red Pepper Bisque (garden basil with sour dough bread & fontina grilled cheese), a Warm Beet Salad with goat cheese and heirloom beets, and a Warm Deconstructed Potato Salad w/ Crispy Tempura Squash Blossom with goat cheese. Amazing combination of ingredients and some inventive preparations. An excellent meal before the show. I only wish we had more time, then we could've tried the tasting menu - it looked fantastic. Next time!

We've been here twice and both times, the food was great but the ambiance was lacking. We celebrated special occasions both times. First time, they put us in the back next to a TV and the back door that opens into the alley. A couple of staff used it while we dined. It was winter and the cold wind definitely blew in.2nd time, I specifically requested on the reservation not to put us in the back and that we were celebrating our anniversary. The hostess didn't even read my request and started going to the back. I stopped her and asked to be seated in the main dining room. Although it was a Friday night, restaurant was fairly empty. There were only a few diners but they put us very close to a table next to us. The whole time, all we could hear was the table next to us. They were practically at our table. Although the food was great, it was difficult to enjoy our experience.My sister and her boyfriend also tried this place for their anniversary and had a similar bad experience. They were seated close to other tables and couldn't hear their own conversation.

The French onion soup is the worst onion soup I have ever had, couldn't finish half of it. No taste, very little cheese and very little caramelized onions but a lot of bacon. The mushroom soup tasted good but is watery. Salad is also just OK. Overall, very disappointed with food here.