RARE Steakhouse & Tavern

Five stars were not enough to properly rate Rare. Even as the restaurant filled there was still a sense of intimacy and quiet enough for a nice dinner conversation. The service was beyond expectations…attentive but not intrusive. Rare is by definition a steakhouse and it did not disappoint. The dry-aged steak melted in my mouth. My wife opted for the Maryland crab cake which were large and nothing but lump crab…mouth watering even now as I think about it. Rare is the perfect place for that special occasion. Go and enjoy. Parking: If you’re good with Metro Rare is right across the street from the McPherson Square station. Kid-friendliness: Leave the kids with a babysitter so you and fellow diners can enjoy this experience.

Me & my husband flew down from Indianapolis to bring our 1 yr son here for his 1st birthday and 1st steak dinner it was well worth the flight our waiter was very pleasant very kind and helpful the 22 oz ribeyes were top notch and cooked to perfection the lobster mac and cheese taste better than any other steak restaurant I've been to we will definitely be back next yr.

Way way over priced for what you get. Food was WAY over salted from the apps to the mains. My steak tasted like it was brined in salt water bath. Server said he would get me a new one. New one came out and wasn't cooked haha so i didn't eat a main. No one came by to speak to me or apologize. Was told to remove my cowboy hat lol. Charged us, a party of 23 people, to cut a birthday cake, $7.00 per person! Lol a joke, a cake that we brought in haha. Mind you they had a $100 minimum to reserve a table lol. What a joke. You can get a steak perfectly cooked/seasoned and for about 1/3 of the cost. Don't go on a Saturday unless you plan on waking a few blocks to get to it because the parking garage next door is closed on Saturdays. Don't waste your money here, we will never return for sure.

Beautiful restaurant with great ambiance. I ordered the crab cakes, not great. Shoulda ordered steak at the steak house.

I was ready to leave a 5 star review - until my husband told me his own personal experience that was brought up to my attention the moment we left the restaurant. We were celebrating our 15 year anniversary and they had great small touches that made the experience special. They tailored our needs of wanting a beautiful seating area. Overall food and dining experience with the food/ambiance was pleasant. Our booth was next to the station where they had the servers. My husband is a native Spanish speaker, and informs me they were talking inappropriately about the customers at their tables (how cheap they’re being, oh they’re not going to get dessert, etc…). My husband personally spoke Spanish to our server out of respect, and yet we declined dessert as we were full - then our server mentioned we were being “cheap”. How outrageous. For being more fine dining and costly, it’s pretty unprofessional. So, take that into consideration.

Waitress barely speaks English. Very cold and arrogant welcoming.

I’ve dined at Rare multiple times and each time it’s been relatively good. My most recent visit this past Saturday on 02/17/2024 was easily the worst experience I’ve had at a restaurant of this caliber in a very long time. We planned ahead for a party of 7 and when we arrived we had to wait 20-25 minutes for our table which we hand a reservation for. Which we were okay with. Here’s were things took a weird turn for the worst, just like any restaurant of this caliber they start everyone one with bread or fresh rolls and butter. Our waiter didn’t offer us any bread, and when we asked for the complimentary bread we were told we can only have one piece per guest and that is all. As I’ve stated before I’ve been here multiple times in the past and this was never the case. When we asked the waiter about this “ new policy “ his response was the kitchen stated this is the new rule. I asked one of the managers I believe. His name was David and he stated that rule doesn’t exist and he did rectify the situation by giving us more bread. It was the principle more than anything that our waiter made it seem like we were being racially profiled. Everyone was dressed accordingly, we all were respectful from the moment we arrived and we didn’t require much attention once we ordered our food. Coming up with fake rules for certain guess isn’t going to keep your business moving forward. The waiter tried to be friendly to in the end and it was far too late for that. I won’t be returning or referring any of my friends and colleagues to this establishment. We dine all over the DMV and have never been so disappointed in the service we received at this establishment. Please hire new waiters who truly appreciate taking care of the guests regardless of their skin tone.