Peking Gourmet Inn

This iconic restaurant and has been open for many years now. The Peking duck is their signature dish, and they have someone come out and carve the meat and skin for you, table-side. The duck is by far their best dish, I wouldn't recommend many other although they're still pretty good. The duck skin is absolutely delicious. While I'm not sure how authentic the entire menu is, this restaurant is exceptional for atmosphere and service. Our server came by to check on us many times and ensured we got everything we needed. It's clear how well-run the restaurant is, especially during busier times (Christmas excluded).

Update: TLDR Still great, not much has changed in the 30 yrs Ive been going here. Food is good service is good considering the volume. Maybe quality gone down a little over the years. If you dont like crowded tables and crowded waiting deduct 2 full stars from this review and avoid PGI...We went on Christmas day and there was a line out the door. The reservations everyone made were pointless as they just admitted based on the line and no regard to the reservation names was made - just a 40 min line to get in at 6pm. Once in there was another 30 min wait for a table. Its very packed waiting so be prepared. Id mention that parties of 2 (and 3) are passed over for 4-tops and larger, so on a very busy date I would not recommend going as a party of 2 or 3. We were a party of 3 and they seated 4-tops who had waited 10-20 min less than us while we stood there.Szechuan Beef Proper was far too sweet and over fried so that it was just like sugar dust to eat. Duck was good not great and the pork dumplings were fabulous. Of course, its expensive but he portions are large...

Background. I'm local. Have enjoyed Peking Gourmet Inn for more than 35 years. Christmas has always been a crush of people and a little crazy - all adds to the fun. But this year we ordered take out. I called on the Monday before Christmas and ordered verbally with the assistant manager for a 3 PM Christmas Day pick up. All was good. Gave my phone number and name. Got to PGI at 2:45 figuring there might be a wait. I checked in at the take out window when I discovered others in line waiting for their orders for over than an hour already. Found out my order wasn't even in their system because of some glich....... Very discouraging. So ordered anew. Then waited over 2.25 hours for my order. We were relying on PGI for our Christmas dinner!The Food was cold. We were shorted rice (only got one for 3 entrees). It was better quality than I could have cooked but still the fact that it was cold just made us pretty disappointed. Overheard others leaving PGI after eating making less than wonderful comments. May not be back unless I read some improvement has occurred. The old team who ran things - including the kitchen - weren't in the job and may have retired. It's a tough business and they worked very hard and were involved. The new crew seemed completely out of control. Some high schoolers and I could build an order record system that would be more reliable and utilitarian. Very disappointed when I made sure to have a manager take my order that it wasn't even in the system. Was it ever captured on paper and THEN put into a computer system? No. Obviously. Poor planning and poor Execution might be excused - but when the food was cold and subpar well that required a review.The young man at the take out window Christmas Day did a very good job performing his duties handling MANY frustrated but good natured people. He should get paid double. Planners and managers get a D grade.

Excellent Chinese dishes; our Peking Duck was excellent. Great cocktails; my Raspberry Lemon Drip Martini was outstanding. Both our soups (egg drop and hot & sour) were average. Impeccable service.

This place was honestly mediocre. Firstly, our table was situated in the very middle of the restaurant even though we had reservations and there were plenty of open tables with more walking space so it was a really tight squeeze. The servers were very nice and helpful though when we were ordering our food. They also took our food to the back to package up our leftovers which was nice. Firstly, we got a frozen mango daiquiri that tasted too strongly of alcohol and had no taste of mango. The alcohol prices at this restaurant were also ridiculously high for what they were. I would skip on the alcoholic drinks. We got the Peking duck which is their signature and came out very quickly. We were surprised since places that do Peking duck usually require you to wait a bit before it comes out. The meat was on the drier side and the bread wrap that came on the side was too doughy and thick for my liking. We also got the walnut shrimp which was not bad but way too saucy and thick on the breading. The fried rice was pretty good though. It helped to balance out the salty dishes we got and helped cut through the grease. All in all, I've had better Peking duck elsewhere. I wouldn't come back again as the food was not that good.

I'm supposed to love this place like their wall of celebrities do, but I don't think I really care for it.Nothing stood out. I though everything was mid and frankly, the peking duck was overpriced and lacking. It was fun, but once was enough at this place for me. Nothing made my taste buds sing.

We came to Peking Gourmet Inn for a birthday celebration, hoping the fame of this place would translate to a memorable meal. Unfortunately, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons.The food took ages to arrive, and when it did, everything was room temperature at best. Service was shockingly neglectful. Our server, Yang, spilled sticky sauce from the Szechuan beef all over my boyfriend's brother's hair, neck, shoulders, and shirt, then casually gave him a pat on the back with a half-hearted "sorry." To make matters worse, the dessert--a cheesecake for my boyfriend's mother's birthday--was served frozen.As for the food quality, it's hard to understand the hype. The $79 Peking duck was disappointing; you'd get better quality for a fraction of the price at a local supermarket. The green beans were drenched in oil, the Szechuan beef tasted sugary rather than spicy or crispy, and the calamari was so tough it was almost inedible. We thought the calamari would be fried, but I guess you would've had to specifically ask for that, which we were unaware of.The highlight of the experience? The water. After waiting what felt like an eternity, we finally got a refill. Overall, Peking Gourmet Inn was a huge letdown. Save your money and your time!! There are far better options out there.

Pro-tip: The duck is a must, you can probably skip everything else. The wrap for the duck is a bit thicker than what I've had in the past, but it works. Highlights: The duck is one of the best I've ever had and I've had it in Beijing where the ducks come with birth certificates. From the way they cut the duck meat so long, the generous portions of sliced cucumbers and scallions, the juiciest portion of remaining duck meat - it's all perfection. I regret not eating more duck and filling my stomach space with the other dishes. Lowlights: Servers are a tad pushy with recommending dishes to order. The orange beef was really tough. The green beans are salty.

This place seems iconic in DC! The restaurant is homey and covered with pictures of celebrities and government officials. We went on a Sunday afternoon and had a reservation but it doesn't seem 100% necessary. The star of the show is definitely the peking duck! it's definitely cooked well and taste delicious! The spring rolls and soup were also delicious! After the duck we were so full and the extra entries and fried rice seemed unnecessary and a little lack luster. The beef and chicken entrees we got seemed to lack in flavor.

The definitive place to get Peking Duck in the DMV area. You can tell by all the pictures of celebrities and dignitaries on the wall. Prices are much higher than you would expect from a Chinese restaurant (average price $30~$40) but quality of food is good. Obviously, the main dish to order is Peking Duck. The price for a whole duck is $80 but you can get half orders. Suggest you order a duck for every 4~5 persons. They carve the duck at your table and you wrap it with sauce and spring onions. Waiters usually ask you if you want cucumbers for an extra cost but we don't usually get that. I usually get the lamb chops as it's really good. Most folks usually get the JEO-YEN shrimp as well. We usually come here on special occasions as it's pricey. This is the place if you want Peking Duck.