Opal

Opal is literally the chicest hidden gem in DC!!! From the greeting, to the outdoor patio, minimalist yet funky decor, to the open kitchen. You are sure to enjoy your time here. On Sundays, the restaurant offers a patio/indoor dining option where you can taste 4 different skewers (salmon, sirloin, etc) with different sauces and toppings. Additionally, I recommend trying one (or 2) of their various cocktails. The mezcal cucumber is their #1 seller and after you the 1 sip you'll understand why ! Id also like to shoutout our server Lawrence. He was attentive and ensured we had the best time !

This place is .. interesting. First, if you want to go, make a reservation. But the food itself is mediocre at best. We got the following:- lamb pita (5/5) great! But very small for the price. This is not a "meal" pita - puttanesca (2.5/5) fine but tastes like school cafeteria pasta - fire-roasted oysters (1/5) terrible. Tasted like they put hot sauce on low quality oysters to hide that they were low quality - Trout (5/5) cooked very well. Great cauliflower- German Chocolate Cake (4/5) pretty good. Won't wow you but fine.

Fresh, simple but sophisticated Mediterranean cuisine adjacent takes in a nicely understated but vibey spot. Standouts at dinner are the mezzes. Especially the lamb pitas which I wish was a dinner sized portion. The bread service is out of this world, but can get expensive in a hurry. Same goes with the wood fired oysters. All very good but for the expense, should be. Crab balls were a little disappointing because they were just ever so slightly over fried on this occasion but generally tasty. Main courses need to be larger portioned (even people who love this place acknowledge that...) but I really appreciate the execution on the seafood and fish dishes. My halibut was excellent as was the salmon - the sides are sneaky MVPs of their dishes as they take great care in the flavor profile.Diabetic inducing sticky toffee pudding. Worth it. We usually eat at the bar, but when sat at a table once, the service was excellent and not overly doting. Drinks? Well crafted, but also a little light pour for the price. They're not obscenely overpriced for DC, but still a little heavy on the wallet. Still, quality place in a nice atmosphere.

I ordered the NYE MENU. The portions were tiny. If that's what would be served in the restaurant I would never go there. You couldn't even fill the vessel on the ravioli and bisque. Shame on you. Then the flavor was so bland. I'm sorry but a hard pass on Opal. Don't do it if you're not going to do it right.

Had a great experience here! Came on a Sunday for brunch and while we didn't have a reservation we were able to sit at the bar and get similar service. Fermine was our bartender/server and was so kind, helpful and continuously attentive! We did the 3 course brunch with the bottomless drinks and a had a great time. Drinks were constantly refilled, food was delicious and the actual restaurant is spacious, clean and has a nice chill vibe that is perfect for a friend hang out and/or date! Overall great spot. Parking is street parking but was easy to find and easy location to access. Going to come here again for special occasions especially since they have a whole other upstairs space for this purpose!

My boyfriend and I went here for their restaurant week brunch deal for $35 with optional $17 bottomless mimosasAll the food we got was very delicious but the burger was pretty mediocre The star of the show was the tiramisu, i would definitely go back for this hands down.

Rating- 3.5 stars! I went to Opal with a group for brunch. It had a very nice and relaxing ambiance! The staff was very welcoming and I really appreciated our server who worked to make sure we were all happy with our orders. For myself, I decided to do the 3 course brunch. I started off with the Cucumber + Mezcal cocktail which included spicy mezcal. I loved it! It was refreshing, but the spice also hit you. It was fun! I next had the shrimp and polenta for my first course which was tasty. For my main I had the orange fried chicken and waffles. It was good--just good. Lastly, I had the Tiramisu for dessert. I ended up giving the 3.5 rating because our dishes were hit or miss amongst the group. Some were great and a few sent back. I still recommend Opal if you're looking for a brunch within the Chevy Chase area. Maybe the day we went was an off day!

Came here today for brunch with a girlfriend of mine and it was okay. Ample parking options to choose from (there's a CVS and I believe a Walgreens) that's nearby for you to park at, so you're not limited to metered parking.The food was good, but I do wish there were more options to choose from. The main entree options was very limiting in my opinion.But with that said, the food was good. I got the Wagyu burger and asked for a fried egg on top, and the salad to start me off with.This place is great if you're in a bind for a place to do brunch, and you need somewhere that's nice and the menu not being too complicated or busy with options.

While I love Nina May, I was less excited about Opal. The service wasn't as personal, although the space is also very modern and well decorated. The food is similarly local and seasonal, but I felt that the dishes were less creative than at Nina May. The food tasted good, it just wasn't as exciting as I had expected. I feel like you won't go wrong, but there wasn't anything that's a huge must order either. Standouts were the ribs and tomato salad, though!

On Monday, I dined at Opal, a nice restaurant in DC. It is cozy and formal, and I was excited to try it. I was sat immediately, and the small menu made it easy to order. I got their wood-fired bread appetizer and Maine lobster ravioli as my entree. I also asked my server for a wine recommendation and had a glass of Chardonnay, I think. The food and wine came out extremely quickly. The bread was delicious. It was dense and a little sweet, like brioche. Each slice had sesame on top, which added a toasty flavor I enjoyed. The butter and oil were nice accompaniments. My main entree was served as soon as I finished the bread. It had five decent-sized raviolis with two tasty sauces. The menu said it was served with bouillabaisse, a fish soup/stew, but it was so thick it felt more like a sauce. It also wasn't served with a spoon, so I wouldn't call it soup. The "bouillabaisse" had a mild lobster flavor. The other sauce was called garlic labneh, which is a Lebanese yogurt dip. It tasted tangy and tasty. The ravioli was stuffed with lobster, but I was disappointed that it didn't have much flavor. Overall, it was good, but it wasn't remarkable. For dessert, I had the dark chocolate fudge brownie. It was nice, and I enjoyed the peaches. The brownie was dense and cakey, and not too sweet.Overall, the service was fast and attentive. I also appreciated that my server could immediately recommend a wine to accompany my meal.I was excited to try Opal and hoped for something exciting, but I was left wanting more. The food was good, but not great. The flavors were nice, but not bold or especially interesting.