Gravitas

Overall Rating: 10/10Chef Matt Baker is a master of turning simplicity into sophistication. Every visit to Gravitas guarantees exceptional food, impeccable service, and unforgettable memories. Worth every penny, every time.Food: 5/5Pre-course:* Amuse-bouche: The perfect start to something special.* Bread Service: Fine-dining bread deserves a PhD--this is the gold standard!Course 1:* Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi: Always a solid choice.* Winter Vegetable Salad: Unique, but not a reorder for me.Course 2:* Parsnip Velouté: I need this at my wedding--no notes!* Seared Beef Tongue: Tender and flavorful, but too onion-heavy.Course 3:* White Bolognese: I need the recipe ASAP!* Winter Mushroom Tortellini: Good, but living in the bolognese's shadow.Course 4:* Pan-Seared Bronzino: Fish? Perfect. Squash? Meh. Rice? Needed a little something extra.* A5 Wagyu: It's wagyu, babe. Enough said.Course 5:* Apple & Quince: Cake + ice cream = pure happiness.* Butterfinger: So good it made KAT scream--literally!Service + Décor: 5/5Gravitas blends industrial chic with Michelin-starred hospitality, creating a fine dining experience that feels both high-end and inviting.Full Review on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DGQjbv_x1K4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==Disclaimer: These are my personal opinions. Please try these restaurants and form your own judgments--it's what I would do.

Those in hospitality should care about others & not support tyrants.Politics doesn't belong in the kitchen.https://youtu.be/9pWzgEj4Isk?si=MlrCkBMWi2tyQurR

I came here for Restaurant Week dinner and we splurged on the five-course meal ($95 before tax and tip; there was also a three-course RW deal for $65). First off, service was exceptional. Water glasses never went empty, the appropriate silverware was replaced between each course, we were checked on throughout the meal, each dish was carefully explained as they were brought out, empty dishes were cleared promptly, and they were even patient to make sure our cameras were ready and in place when things were poured tableside. For the most part, pacing between courses was excellent. The dessert course did take an above average wait time, but at this point, the restaurant was operating at its peak busyness, so it's forgivable. Our waiter gave great recommendations on popular dishes and was able to describe the various dishes clearly to help us decide. He also checked if there were any dietary restrictions or allergies prior to taking our orders.A few things to note before I dive in:- We made a reservation on Tock in advance, which requires you to put down a deposit for each diner. The deposit amount was automatically applied to the bill at the end of the meal.- We were able to find street parking right around the corner of the restaurant. The area can be a little seedy - beware of broken glass.- Before being seated, we were offered to check in any bags and coats, but the coats are just hanging on a rack by the check in/waiting area.- When paying the bill, they do accept the InKind appThe meal started with a trio of delicious canapés: a parsnip tartare, cauliflower soup, and duck arancini. All were tasty, but my heart belongs to the cauliflower soup which was rich and creamy. It also served as a foreshadowing of the tasty purées to come. Our meal also included bread service which featured their focaccia and Parker House rolls. The bread was toasty and buttery (perhaps too toasty... think dry) - but overall, it was a great start to the meal (I gotta have my carbs!).For the first official course, I went with the Yellowfin Tuna Sashimi. The fish was fresh and I enjoyed the texture from the puffed rice and crispy shallots.For the second course, I ordered the seared beef tongue. The beef tongue was cooked perfectly tender. I enjoyed the accompanying dollops of avocado gel; the salsa verde and chickpea tuille were just okay to me, with the latter lacking flavor. I was also able to try my friend's parsnip veloute. While I enjoyed the taste of the veloute itself, some components - particularly the banana bread and bleu cheese - were a little too adventurous for me.For our pasta (third) course, I thought I would love the Winter Mushroom Tortellini more, but the White Bolognese was the star. I love mushroom tortellini, but the hazelnuts in the sauce threw me a little bit. The White Bolognese, on the other hand, really surprised me in the best way. I'm generally not a big fan of bolognese, but if I ordered a bowl of this bolognese at a restaurant, I would be a happy camper. The housemade pappardelle was light and delicate but still held up to the creamy sauce. The meat and parmesan gave the dish a saltiness, and I found the dish to be nicely balanced overall. The bolognese was for sure a favorite of the night.Moving on to the entrée/protein part of the meal (fourth course), I ordered the braised beef short rib. The short rib was a good portion and tender for the most part, but it wasn't melt in your mouth. I enjoyed the accompanying celery root purée - truly, I am a fan of every purée that exited the kitchen and was served on my plate. The braised kale also had a good flavor and acidity. I did find the short rib to be on the salty side, which took away from the dish. My friend ordered the pan-seared branzino. The fish was nicely cooked and had a crispy skin; the dirty rice was also enjoyable. However, I would say that the protein course was probably my least favorite of the evening and none of these dishes wowed us.The fifth and final course, dessert, did end on a satisfying note. As a chocolate-peanut butter lover, I knew I had to try the "Butterfinger," which was delicious on all accounts. With layers of chocolatey and peanut buttery flavors, this dessert will surely quell your sweet tooth. I also tried my friend's apple and quince dessert which featured a spiced apple cake and sour cream ice cream. The apple cake was reminiscent of Thanksgiving dessert flavors. I was apprehensive about the sour cream ice cream, but it was a perfect balance of sweet and tart! Eating the cake and ice cream together gave the dessert tres leches vibes, but it was much sweeter than I had anticipated for an apple cake.Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience, and I'm happy to have tried this Michelin-rated spot. Service shines and the hanging lights in the industrial space give it a communal feel.

I recently went here for a weeknight dinner during Restaurant Week with a friend. Good food with about half the dishes Michelin-star caliber and a millennial chic fancy/casual-environment. The Restaurant Week deal was very reasonable and worth the price point ($65 for three courses, $95 for five courses).However, the service wasn't good as Gravitas was severely understaffed in the kitchen. This is entirely on management; our server was just as frustrated as we were with the slow service time. Our meal took over 2 hours from start to finish with a 25-minute wait between the first and second courses. Our server very graciously took responsibility (even though it wasn't their fault), taking a couple items off our bill and bringing us an extra slice of cake and non-alcoholic champagne to celebrate a special occasion; without our server making up for the slow service, I would have only given Gravitas three stars. Given what I've seen from other recent reviews, the restaurant understaffing at Gravitas seems like an ongoing concern.My friend and I got the five-course Restaurant Week meal option, which was preceded by canapes and bread service. My friend and I shared the following:Canapes: Solid, with the duck croquet with a dollop of jam being the highlight.Bread service: OK but nothing special. The focaccia and Parker House rolls were not warm and a bit dry but helped tide us over until dinner.First course-yellowfin tuna sashimi: The star dish of the night-the presentation was outstanding and Michelin-star caliber. The yellowfin was some of the freshest fish I've ever tasted and prepared perfectly. The soy provided just the right amount of salt without overwhelming the yellowfin, the rice had great crunch, and the jalapenos provided a good kick.Second course-parsnip velouté and beef tongue: The soup was fine but unremarkable. The beef tongue needed more acid to cut through the fat even with the salsa.Third course-winter mushroom tortellini: Stunning presentation, phenomenal taste, all-around Michelin-level dish. The pasta dough was incredibly fresh and perfectly cooked-some of the best pasta dough I've ever had. I'm usually not a huge mushroom fan, but the cook and preparation of the mushrooms was amazing, with great umami from the mushrooms and cheese. The added truffle was a great topper for the dish.Fourth course-bronzino and short rib: Good cook on the bronzino and delicious puree and rice, but the bronzino needed more flavor and acidity. The short rib needed far more salsa to help with the heaviness of the meat and the short rib could have been more moist.Dessert-"Butterfingers," apple and quince cake, chocolate cake: Another delicious course, with all three desserts outstanding.While I'm glad I got to try Gravitas, I would recommend other restaurants if you're looking for a fancy date night.

This restaurant was a complete disappointment. The atmosphere was dull and uninviting, the food was bland and poorly prepared, and the service was incredibly slow and rude. Definitely not worth the time or money! He also does not appreciate their patrons money as told by his social media support

Went here during restaurant week because of the hype. I'm disappointed to say the least...We started off with the appetizers-My friend got the ceviche and I got the yellowtail sashimi... or so I thought. The yellowtail turned out to be tuna sashimi and it was warm. It honestly felt like grocery store fish. The ceviche was ok. I liked the soup but the shrimp was pretty raw, didn't feel like it was cooked in any citrus/acid.Ok here's where it gets better, the entree! We both ordered the scallops with polenta. This was a very balanced and thought out dish. The scallops were seared to perfection, it wasn't overly cooked and definitely great. The polenta balanced out the saltiness of the crust on the scallop and the ikura and the greens gave it a nice earthy touch. Def my favorite part of the meal.The dessert wasn't the best..I got the lemon pound cake while my friend got the chocolate. The initial tastes of the cakes were intense. The lemon had a strong acidic taste -- almost resembling a bit of vinegar. The overall cake was a bit dry but balanced out with the ice cream and the white chocolate cream. The chocolate one, I did not like at all. It tasted pretty burnt even with the ice cream.-Ceviche 4/5-Tuna 2/5-Scallops 5/5-Lemon Cake 3/5-Chocolate Cake 1/5Service was great tho, he was nice.

My boyfriend and I went to Gravitas for DC Restaurant Week, hoping for a great date night, but it ended up being pretty disappointing.We did the five-course menu, which started with canapés and bread. I had a winter salad, parsnip velouté with savory banana bread (which was delicious), white bolognese, short rib, and dessert. The ambiance was cute for a date night, and our waiter, Tristan, was super friendly and really tried to mitigate everything going wrong, but unfortunately, it just wasn't enough to save the experience.If you have a food allergy, I definitely wouldn't recommend coming here. None of the dessert options were nut-free, so they offered me a third option, which I appreciated. But even after taking note of my severe nut allergy, they still brought out the alternative dessert twice with candied pecans. That kind of mistake is beyond unacceptable and could have been life-threatening.Service was also painfully slow. It took over three hours to get through all our courses, which made the whole experience feel way too dragged out. If you have anywhere to be afterward, this is not the place for you. Another issue was the coat check. They never gave out claim tickets, and when we were ready to leave, there was no one watching the coats. If you have an expensive jacket, definitely hold onto it yourself.I don't know if the quality was lower because of Restaurant Week, but this was definitely not up to the standard of other Michelin-starred restaurants I've been to. The only real bright spot was Tristan, who was super kind and did his best to make things right. Unfortunately, the overall experience was still a letdown, and I wouldn't come back.Tip: If you have the InKind app, you can get $50 off your bill, which helps take the sting out of the experience a little.

I got try the 5 course menu for the restaurant week deal. Overall the food was good. I was really impressed most by the Parsnip Velouté, which was like a nice creamy sweet and savory soup. That was the most complex of the dishes on the this menu. The other dishes such as the tortellini, short rib and dessert, were good but they weren't as adventurous or complex flavor-wise. If you're looking for adventurous flavors from a Michelin star restaurant, then this might not be the place for you. I'm glad I got to try this menu for the restaurant week special pricing. The service was decent. They tried to fit our group of 5 at what would be a 4 person table and we had to ask to push together an additional table to have more room.

I will NOT support any "chef" committed to the destruction of DC..the very city that has supported him.

Is this the restaurant owned by MAGA Matt Baker?https://dc.eater.com/2025/3/4/24377219/gravitas-matt-baker-owes-taxes-retweets-anti-immigration-far-right