Inn at Little Washington

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#1 of 3 Restaurants in Washington$$$$, American, International, Vegetarian friendly

+1 540-675-3800+ Add website

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Hours

Sun

12:00 AM - 11:59 PM

Mon

12:00 AM - 11:59 PM

Tue

12:00 AM - 11:59 PM

Wed

12:00 AM - 11:59 PM

Thu

12:00 AM - 11:59 PM

Fri

12:00 AM - 11:59 PM

Sat

12:00 AM - 11:59 PM

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MICHELIN

What is Travelers’ Choice?

Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.

Ratings and reviews

4.5

965 reviews

#1 of 3 Restaurants in Washington

MICHELIN

View more on MICHELIN Guide

RATINGS

Food

Service

Value

Atmosphere

Details

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PRICE RANGE

$218.00 – $218.00

CUISINES

American, International, Contemporary

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

meals, features

Location and contact

309 Main St Middle and Main Streets, Washington, VA 22747

+1 540-675-3800

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MICHELIN Guide's Point of View

Chef Patrick O’Connell has long been the steward of this idyllic restaurant just outside Washington. In a town whose very existence seems tied to his s...

Read more on MICHELIN Guide

Three MICHELIN Stars: Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey!

First Course Selections

Carpaccio Of Herb Crusted Baby Lamb

with caesar salad ice cream

Beet Trinity: Three Iterations Of Our Garden’s Beet Harvest

with Allison Hooper’s Fresh Chèvre, Beet Sorbet and Orange Essence

A Tin Of Sin: American Osetra Caviar

with peekytoe crab and cucumber rillette. supplement twenty four dollars

Chilled Maine Lobster In Mustard Vinaigrette

with horseradish panna cotta

A Marriage Of Hot And Cold Foie Gras

with sauternes gelée and plum preserve

Second Course Selections

Aged Gouda Macaroni And Cheese

with virginia country ham

Olive-crusted Chesapeake Bay Rockfish

with artichoke tortellini in an orange-pernod essence

Does this restaurant have private dining rooms?

Yes

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About

A Michelin Three Star, Forbes 5 Star, AAA 5 Diamond country house hotel retreat, The Inn at Little Washington presents exquisite American Cuisine with a French influence in a charming and sophisticated dining room. The sumptuous award-winning cuisine is accompanied by a Wine Spectator Grand Award wine cellar with over 2,500 selections.

PRICE RANGE

$218.00 – $218.00

CUISINES

American, International, Contemporary

Special Diets

Vegetarian friendly, Vegan options, Gluten free options

Meals

Dinner

FEATURES

Reservations, Private Dining, Seating, Parking Available, Valet Parking, Free off-street parking, Wheelchair Accessible, Serves Alcohol, Full Bar, Wine and Beer, Free Wifi, Accepts Credit Cards, Table Service, Non-smoking restaurants

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4.5

965 reviews

Excellent

788

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Terrible

Matthew T

Bethesda19 contributions

Wonderful place; Prices out of Control

Oct 2024 • family

I'll keep this simple; I love this place, but a) it's really not up to the standard of most three star Michelin restaurants, and b) the prices are out of control. To charge $388 with tax and tip extra, and still have up-charges for many items that they used to not up-charge for (I'm looking at you, Tin of Sin and Cheese Cart) is just ridiculous. Again, I've eaten here many times, and I've enjoyed every meal, but they need better service, more courses, and more unique foods/presentations to come close to justify their prices now.

Written November 4, 2024

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

sarah w

3 contributions

The Ultimate Experience for a Foodie

Sep 2023 • couples

I do not understand the negative reviews. If you are complaining about the cost, then this is not a culinary experience for you. If you are complaining about the portions, then I do not know what to say, but I was more than full and I did not consume everything they offered to me. My boyfriend and I booked the kitchen table for a birthday celebration. We were immediately greeted and ushered to the living room of the Inn where we enjoyed some cocktails before dinner. Then we were greeted by one of the hosts and ushered into the kitchen itself for dinner after being told that we had our table for the entire evening and should not feel rushed, but encourage to tarry and enjoy. When we entered the kitchen there was an enjoyable exhibition of pomp and circumstance as we were personally greeted by Chef Patrick O'Connell by name and his brilliant smile. Our table was spacious and the seating comfortable. Immediately the attentive staff began to serve and accommodate us. Everyone was gracious and enjoyable. We had water immediately and personalized menus in hand as we were guided through the selections and choices before us. With those made, we began an incredible experience for any passionate foodie. Everything from the house made bread and butter to the parmesan truffle popcorn was not only delicious, but available for unlimited refills. Restraint was necessary to avoid being overly full long before the end of the meal. We chose to get everything on the gastronaut's menu between the two of us, including the $62.00 upcharge for the caviar dish. We had ten courses, including a hand delivered first dessert course by Patrick in honor of the birthday. Every course and thus every dish was exceptional in taste and presentation. They then sent us home with a bespoke box of confections. We got more than I expected. We also chose to do the wine pairing, and with that additional charge, I can say that one should expect to spend several thousand dollars for an all in dining experience in the chef's kitchen. What you pay for is an experience and an encounter with not just the 3 Star Michelin Chef himself, but his staff and to witness first hand the amazing fluidity of the kitchen staff. While I have never eaten in the dining room, I can say that I would without hesitation come back and dine there. This was a once in a lifetime experience to mark a special occasion for us, so the expense was well worth it to us, but if you are concerned about the fiscal bottom line or portion size, then this might now be the culinary experience for you. For us, it was one to remember forever.

Written September 23, 2023

Jade050

Washington DC37 contributions

One of the best dining experiences I've ever had!

Sep 2024 • friends

Spectacular dining experience! Nothing new to say, I'm sure, but rather just to confirm what has already been said about this iconic restaurant. The food was outstanding and the service unparalleled. The attention to detail was off the charts. Tip 1:: eat in the kitchen if you can, the entire experience is a creative masterpiece. Tip 2: Arrive around 30 minutes before your reservation time to experience the bar and explore the restaurant a bit. Interesting fun fact: I wasn't able to make out what the kitchen staff on the other side of the kitchen were shouting periodically. (The kitchen is big!) I was curious and followed up with an online inquiry the next day (having forgotten to ask our wonderful waiter), and received a prompt response: "the kitchen sounds out 'here we are' to acknowledge that a guest is arriving or departing the kitchen." It reminded me of the traditional Japanese greeting in restaurants, also delivered at a high volume: "irasshaimase!!"

Written September 29, 2024

jim t

Aldie111 contributions

Not worth it

Sep 2024 • family

I initially hesitated to write this review, but I realized that every restaurant, regardless of its reputation, deserves honest feedback. My wife and I dined here for our anniversary, hoping for a memorable experience. Unfortunately, while the food was good, it didn’t quite live up to expectations. My wife’s entrée, a prosciutto-wrapped tenderloin, arrived lukewarm at best, which was disappointing. However, the main reason for this review is the unsettling feeling we left with. The waitstaff’s demeanor made us feel as though we were a burden or had unknowingly offended them. We spent part of the evening and even the next day questioning if we had done something wrong. The only explanation we could think of was that we were among the last seatings of the night, and perhaps the staff had already mentally checked out. When I spend nearly $1300 on a dinner, I shouldn't be left wondering if it was my fault that the service was subpar. In contrast, the previous night we dined at Three Blacksmiths and left with a sense of joy, eager to recommend it to friends and family. It was less than half the price, yet the service was far superior, and the food quality was on par. I’ve had better service at places like DC Prime or Morton’s. Maybe I don’t fully understand what a 3-star Michelin rating signifies, but based on this experience, it didn’t seem to offer anything extraordinary. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this restaurant, as it did not feel worth the money.

Written September 2, 2024

Kendall K

1174 contributions

Michelin, what’s the grading criteria? How is this rated your highest grade?

Aug 2023 • couples

This restaurant is good but overhyped. I think Michelin gives this one a “pass” due to the uniqueness of its location, the history and frankly it needs to be re-rated because it does not meet the standard of a Michelin 3 star like Aponiente in Spain. I had high expectations due to how everyone in the town speaks so highly of this place. It honestly feels a little weird because it’s as if everyone is afraid to speak truthfully on the restaurant out of fear they’ll disappear like in a horror movie, kind of cultish vibes. If this is your first Michelin I get why you’d love this place but they have some work to do. Anyway, out of all of the Michelin restaurants I’ve been to, the service, the presentation and the food all was top notch and was like a dance. The Inn at Little Washington seemed like they were resting on the fact that they were a top rated restaurant and didn’t need to work as hard. For a restaurant that I spent nearly $1,600 for I expected a lot. I didn’t like that I had to pick between menus. Since I paid for a tasting menu with a wine pairing I expected the restaurant to provide several courses that would fill me up and I was not anywhere near full at the conclusion of dinner. The plating and presentation of the food was boring, there was no style or awe factor in how the food was presented. Most places will try to match the cuisine to a creative plate. It was pretty underwhelming. The Michelin company rated The Inn to have a gastronomy star yet the restaurant didn’t explain what specifically about their menu was gastronomy like others that I’ve been too. The sommelier we had wasn’t certified and didn’t have his grape pin. Typically Michelin restaurants who have a sommelier in training will have an actual sommelier with them throughout the dining experience. With our wine pairing they placed several empty glasses on the table which I had never seen before and didn’t fill them, typically your wine glasses aren’t just sitting on the table taking up space from your plates. Generally each glass is brought to you for each course. They didn’t take the time to wipe off the bottles after they pulled it from the wine cooler, as the sommelier in training poured, there was lots of ice water from the bottle dripping on our table and food. The waiters didn’t remove bread crumbs from our table, didn’t fold our napkins when we went to the restroom, didn’t have a stool or basket for us to put our belongings in at our table. Nothing during the fine dining screamed three star restaurant, I think Michelin needs to re-evaluate this, I believe this place is a ONE star at best. Overseas Michelin’s seem to have to go through a higher grading criteria because I’ve seen way better places that are underrated that could be two or three stars and the Inn is somehow rated higher with not nearly as good of service. Typically if the chef is not on travel they will come out and greet their guest and Mr. O’Connell didn’t seem to have the time I presume to stop by tables to simply say hello. I truly expected more but you know what they say about high expectations leading to high disappointment. It’s just not worth the money spent.

Written August 13, 2023

SVWOnline

27 contributions

Even 3 Star Michelin Restaurants have bad nights.

Aug 2023 • family

Not our first visit, but certainly our least enjoyable. Our only expectation was that the experience would justify the $2800 we paid for a party of 4. I feel strongly that objectively it missed the mark. I will repeat what others reviewers have already stated. My very first cocktail was incorrect. The food service timing was oddly off. A table close to us was seated after we were and was on their 3rd course before our appetizers arrived. The bread service was inconsistent and as many have pointed out the breadcrumbs on our table were only removed prior to our desert. Quarters were cramped, forcing servers to reach over the table. Multiple times during the meal objects were dropped close by startling all of us. Overall the service was good but not delivered with ease and the engagements felt rehearsed. The star of the evening was our sommelier. Her knowledge and explanations of our wine pairings were both insightful and entertaining. At the end of our meal we were not offered after dinner drinks or coffee/tea service. We end up retiring to the bar area for drinks, where the disappointment continued and we waited 15 minutes for someone to recognize we were done so we could pay our check. I ended up paying cash for the drinks so we could leave without any further hurdles. It’s unfortunate and I don’t think we’ll be back.

Written August 13, 2023

Tecey

Arlington56 contributions

Disappointing

Aug 2024 • couples

Unfortunately the Inn at Little Washington's model of a multi-course meal of rich food is fundamentally flawed. While some of the dishes on the Gastronaut menu were delicious, it would have benefitted from dropping at least two of the courses, which would have made the meal more enjoyable. Sadly, the Gastronaut's menu was extremely disappointing with 3 of the dishes too salty, so much so that one of them was inedible. Since we were driving home afterwards, we tried the non-alcoholic wine but all three proved undrinkable. Overall, not the evening we had hoped for and definitely not worth the money. Too bad because the service was impeccable and all the staff delightful.

Written October 24, 2024

shvarz

New York City281 contributions

Good, but not 3 stars and too expensive

Mar 2023 • couples

To begin with, the service was hit or miss. The waiter could not answer any questions about the menu or the wine. There was no consistent presence, a large group was working together and thus it felt rather impersonal. And given how many people were involved, it was surprisingly not attentive enough, missing opportunities to check on us. Later in the meal our waiter changed and the new one was better. Still, not something you expect from a 3-star Michelin. The food was generally excellently prepared, but lacked the inventiveness one would expect from a 3-star Michelin. OK, I got a perfectly prepared medium-rare piece of lamb with some herby crust, but it's just a piece of lamb. If you are a traditionalist and really enjoy old classics with a bit of a twist, then this place is for you. When I pay 1K for dinner, I expect something to tickle my senses. From the whole dinner I can only remember wasabi sorbet served with carpaccio that was unusual and inventive. To me this was a very good dinner, but it should have cost about half as much as we paid. So, we enjoyed it, but will not come back. DC these days has a lot of Michelin restaurants that give more for less money.

Written March 15, 2023

chamdexor

Chesterfield1640 contributions

Excellent evening at the Inn

Nov 2022 • none

This is my 2nd 3-Michelin star restaurant and untold numbers of 1-Michelin starred restaurants. Overall, I found the service, atmosphere, food to be excellent. First, the atmosphere: very warm and southern. It gave me a comfortable feel which I liked. It's funny because usually I go for a more modern aesthetic, but I actually really loved the atmosphere here. Walking in the door, the fresh flower gave a beautiful scent. The crackling fireplace made it warm and cozy. Lots to look at with a busy, yet still cozy dinner setting. There are several rooms from what I could tell, but we were not far from the fireplace so that was lovely for us. The service was great. They kept the pace based on our clues. When I had to use the restroom, the pacing slowed to accommodate my return. The tables were a tad close together, but nothing bad. The food was great. I'm getting tired of going to fancy restaurants where they give us multiple amuse bouche(s) and they're large and it ends up we are full before the first course arrives. The Inn did the amuse bouche correctly - just a proper starter and a single one at that. On top of that, we loved real bread. One restaurant I went to brought us a puffy bread that was just air inside (like a balloon with a bread crust). Ugh. So I loved the Inn's bread offering. Outside of that, the dinner and wine pairings were delicious. We'd love to return.

Written November 15, 2022

Elisa L

Paoli6 contributions

Memorably delicious!!

Aug 2024 • family

Absolutely wonderful experience!! Beautiful atmosphere and delicious food. Clean tastes, you can taste the quality of the ingredients in the food. Service was warm, attentive but also very respectful. We came for an early anniversary celebration and know it will be a dinner we long remember. We stayed at the Inn overnight and the included afternoon tea and breakfast were also delicious.

Written August 29, 2024

WPLandry

Fairfax600 contributions

Lives up to its reputation!

May 2024 • couples

We've been wanting to experience dinner here for a while now and could not be more happy with our entire experience. Everything was absolutely perfect from start to finish. Arriving at the Inn, you are greeted with respect as you are whisked from your car into the Inn. Our server was excellent and had quite the sense of humor! He provided detailed explanations of the dishes as well as tidbits about the restaurant, chef, etc. We felt the wine pairing was true perfection. Each dish complimented each glass and vice versa. With every bite, we were transported to a place of pure enjoyment. Not only that, but each dish was a work of art in the craftsmanship it took to create the display. After dinner, we relaxed for some time in the lounge and were treated to a tour of the kitchen where we had the honor of meeting Chef O'Connell. After dinner, our car was outside with the AC on and engine running, just waiting for us to settle in. Every moment was perfect and we could not have asked for anything more. This is truly deserving of 3 stars.

Written July 1, 2024

Christi C

Centreville18 contributions

Not worth 3 Michelin!

Aug 2022 • none

Overall: 3* Food: 4* Service: 2* Valet and greeting staff: 5* Meal was very good, some amuse bouche were a little salty, boba was undercooked, but overall very good meal. I am critical of the service because this is a 3 Michelin restaurant, and in my opinion, the service was not comparable to other 3 Michelin US or European restaurants, and we are paying $600PP for the meal and experience. Our server, Nicholas, was polite but not very attentive. First, our napkins were not folded when we got up to go to bathroom. Our water was not refilled ( we asked the sommelier for it). Bread crumbs were not cleaned off our table, until the end, and Nicholas only cleaned one side of table with a napkin. Server and bread person reached their arms in front of us to serve. Food runners place their hands and fingers inside part of our plates, and only one person corrected the orientation of the plate. I ordered a glass of champagne $55, only half pour, pretty skimp

Written August 26, 2022

Linda S

Beavercreek195 contributions

Bliss in the Country

Jun 2022 • couples

The Inn at Little Washington is world class...3 Michelin star restaurant and AAA 5 diamond Inn. Our balcony room overlooked the enclosed dining atrium and was light and sunny. Shower was huge and bed was as well with superb linens and pillows. Our anniversary dinner was fantastic; I was able to "pick and choose" from the meat and veggie menus which was perfect. A wonderful South African syrah capped it beautifully. Complimentary continental breakfast is huge; you can upgrade to a full breakfast for a fee. We even got to meet Patrick, chef and owner! Two suggestions: a pool in the garden and kuerigs in the rooms to avoid going down for early coffee. One tip: make sure to check your final bill carefully-- there was apparently a computer glitch and our bill was almost $1700 too high. Thank goodness we checked. They fixed it but at a 5 star property, this is a little unsettling. Otherwise, all was perfect. Afternoon tea is a bonus.

Written June 9, 2022

JRM

144 contributions

Two Great Meals!

Jul 2022 • none

Dined here twice during a two-night stay in July. Both meals were incredible (even though I miss some prior dishes, such as the popcorn amuse bouche and the seven deadly sins dessert). The Inn changed both menus for us (1 vegetarian + 3 regular menus) the second night to avoid a repeat of the first night and even sampled a couple of additional dishes. The service was impeccable, of course, and the entire experience remains well-worth the splurge. (Also, apart from dinner, the house breakfast is great, and the inclusion of breakfast and afternoon tea with the room rate is actually a remarkable deal considering the quality.)

Written September 25, 2022

MickeyGW65

Pittsburgh53 contributions

Truly Exceptional Meal

Jun 2024 • couples

We had been looking forward to this experience for a while and it did not disappoint. We were greeted by our names and wished "Happy Anniversary" by every person who came to our table. Food was unique, flavorful, and definitely worth the hype. We loved all the little surprise tastings that we received. This is definitely a splurge on every level, but so worth it. The service was impeccable and we loved chatting with our server and the maitre'de.

Written July 4, 2024