Russia House Restaurant & Lounge

Not really my scene, but the doorman was really nice.  I'm so used to seeing the same unhappy, large intimating man that makes it seem like you should be thanking him for even thinking about letting you in.  Nice to see a smiling face at the front door for a change.

I'm a neo-soul - U-street-back-in-the-day-when-folks-weren't-­comfortable-walking-their-sweatered-poodle-at-11pm kinda chick so I didn't go to Russia House for any euro-anything type of ambiance, though I can understand why some might,I went to Russia House because it was my 35th birthday and I wanted to eat caviar and rabbit stuffed with fois gras and these really beautiful sausages and a duo of kobe beef that was perfectly charred on the outside, with a pink supple interior that was like butter in my mouth. I went to Russia House because when I showed up 30 minutes early for my reservation (long transportation story) they seated me right away at a special table behind glass doors and gifted me with a Dirty Queen birthday martini. I went to Russia House because our server laughed when she realized we were using our napkins and refilled water glasses to apply temporary tattoos to not so discreet areas and even held out her wrist so she could be 'branded' into the group.

Yep the inside is dark and warm and a little comfortably worn but why oh why does everything have to be all shiny and new? Modern and crisp has it's place but I'll always have a warm spot in my heart for places reminiscent of someone's basement, that feel like at any moment your middle school crush could walk around the corner and ask you if you want to sneak off to one of those dark worn corners and play 7 minutes in heaven....

I don't know what the lounge is like, or what kind of service you get at the bar, but for that one night, behind glass doors with me and my girls and a packet of temporary tattoos and a bracingly cold vodka sampler, Russia House was perfect.

Great bar that is definitely Russian. We went here on a quiet night, our bartender was very nice. To describe her as stunning would be an understatement. The staff here is obviously designed to help bring the crowd. I had a great Russian beer called Baltika and also tried one of their Mango Cream martinis, that thing was delicious. An interesting bar with a strong Euro vibe with a focus on electronic music that I would return to on a future visit to DC