Best Family Style Restaurants in Penn Quarter

We loved that the special Thanksgiving menu offered a variety of options (turkey 3 ways, salmon, gnocchi…) and the starters were substantial & had great variety. The service was attentive & “cool”. No big upsell, but we had a wide scope of options. The noise level was comfortable on a holiday. A nice balance of family-friendly & adult dining. Huge fan. We had 3 college-aged guests & 2 adults over 50. High priority was dessert (10/10) and menu variety of options. Win win. Easy on-street parking. Courteous service.

Delicious food. Great service. Only complaint was the seating. Even though there were many open tables we were seated right next to another table that was very close. We had to move our tables over a bit to give some place next to the couple next to us. Felt very cramped

Great family style Italian restaurant experience. We had dinner in one of the little side rooms which added an unexpected degree of intimacy. Shrimp fra diablo was excellent, along with the Caesar salad, and the garlic toast. But the dessert was the best— the Titanic is unforgettable! Excellent service complemented well the exceptionally excellent food.

Great place for pre game meal. Good service. Need to do something with windows….lots of flashing lights outside can be bothersome….

We had such a delightful experience at Estuary! We were in DC for business/vacation and wanted to try somewhere special and romantic. We were seated near the corner so had views out both windows of the pretty Christmas lights and the beautiful water feature below. The service was incredible--Lauren took such good care of us! The food was fantastic and it all tasted very fresh. We had the crab cakes and I may be spoiled forever because these were simply outstanding--lots of whole, sweet crab chunks and little if any filler. Loved the green sauce and the tiny veggies it was served with! I had the mushroom risotto and husband had the NY strip steak. Both were delicious. All of the dishes were plated artfully, which enhanced the experience. For dessert we had the chocolate bar which is like a layered mousse and was sweet and decadent while still being light. One thing we noticed--because the kitchen is open, we could see food coming out that wasn't on our menu (burgers and other sandwiches and fries, and I think a large slice of chocolate cake?) Those are for the adjoining lounge menu but I wonder if diners could order those as well? We would absolutely return to Estuary to dine again. Everything about it felt special! Kudos to the chef and all other staff members for such a job well done!