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By: GREG ALEXANDE COMMENTS
 
Most Americans — myself included — have limited experience with Russian
cuisine. What I found at the Russia House was excellent food and top-notch service
in a dramatic setting that provided a memorable evening.
Nestled in an elegant and historic mansion on the corner of Connecticut and
Florida avenues in the Dupont Circle area, co-owners Aaron McGovern and Arturas
Vorobjovas have created an elegant establishment perfect for a romantic evening.
Upstairs is a lounge area with comfortable couches and chairs perfect for relaxing
and soaking up the Russian flavor, along with one of the 50 vodka selections
available or one of the fun summer drink concoctions offered, such as the “Pink
Panther,” “Moscow Mule,” “Sputnik” and “Red
Velvet Punch.”
We were immediately greeted by a friendly maître d´ who guided
us downstairs to the main dining room while providing a history of the building
as well as the restaurant, which opened in the spring. Downstairs features three
dining rooms — one smoking, one non-smoking and one small room for a group
of six. Our friendly waiter informed us that most of the accents in the restaurant
were handmade by a Russian artisan, including the finely detailed dark wood
moldings.
The menu, however, could use a facelift. While many restaurants today feature
menus that help enhance the décor, Russia House’s menus resemble
a junior high school student’s book report cover and were surprisingly
inconsistent with the rest of the formal atmosphere.
Russian-inspired starters — called “small plates” —
include a Russia house salad, cheese plate, rabbit sausage and borscht —
a beet soup served cold. Our waiter recommended the perogis, which were wonderful.
A slight variation on traditional Polish perogis, the baked dumplings were filled
with potato, onion and smoked duck and served with a ginger-scallion crème
Fraiche. Unlike some perogis, which are greasy, these were a perfect way to
start the meal, as was the trio of hummus, baba ghanoush and olive tapenade,
which are served in separate containers with toasted pita points. Of course,
a Russian restaurant has to serve caviar; Russia House offers five choices,
as well as an assortment platter.
Only eight entrees are offered, although almost every palate is accommodated.
Lamp chops, beef stroganoff, chicken Kiev, salmon, venison and seared sea scallops
were all tempting, but we opted for the filet mignon and Russia House crab cakes.
The filet is served on top of a potato cake with a wild mushroom sauce. The
beef was perfectly cooked and was so tender, a knife was hardly necessary. The
crab cakes were filled with lump crab, red onions, beets, pickled garlic and
haricots verts — tiny green string beans — and served with a mustard
sauce. The small cakes were nice and crispy, but a bit lacking in crab meat.
Dessert selections, which are all made in house, included crème brulee,
mango tart tatin and chocolate mousse. The chocolate mandarin orange mousse
was filled with a raspberry puree and was sinfully sweet. The unusual roasted
mango served in a light pastry with a caramel cream sauce was divine.
The upstairs lounge scene is much livelier than the downstairs dining rooms.
While the dining rooms were sparsely filled on a Saturday night, the lounge
was busy with Russian-speaking patrons and local straight couples enjoying the
fun atmosphere and ample vodka. We seemed to be the only gay patrons there,
but the mood is light and extremely inviting. Gay men and lesbians would be
wise to give Russia House a try.
Appetizers range from $8 to $15; entrees $26 to $29 and desserts $8 to $10.
1800 Connecticut Ave., NW
Phone: 202-234-9433
www.russiahouselounge.com
Food: 
Service:
Comfort & Aesthetics:
Value:
Scene:
= Stay home and eat cereal
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