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Georgia Brown's

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5 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Southern Food for the Soul

  • October 10, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by stvchin from Tustin, California
Southern Food for the Soul

Georgia Brown’s is great soul food restaurant with excellent Southern hospitality. It’s located on 15th Street NW just south of K St NW. It’s directly across from McPherson Square and its accompanying Metro station. Georgia Brown’s came with high recommendations from locals, so we figured we would head down there on our first day in DC. We discovered that Georgia Brown’s is very popular with pretty much everybody. We went on a Saturday evening, and were told there was a two hour wait, and a peek around the dining room and bar confirmed that. We tried again on Sunday, but also with no dice. Finally, we succeeded late on a Monday evening. Still fresh from our west coast arrival, a 10 PM dinner at Georgia Brown’s would feel like a 7 PM dinner to us. Reservations are highly recommended.

We were given a warm greeting by the maître d, and seated in a few short minutes. We were given a comfortable table that backed to a padded bench. Our server was upon us quickly and took our drink order. The menu is filled with southern favorites such as jambalaya, Southern fried chicken, fried catfish, crab cakes, shrimp, fried green tomatoes, but also some interesting concoctions such as duck and turkey pate, and BBQ duck. My friend chose the jambalaya, and I chose the Cheerwine BBQ duck. We opted for the Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish Fingers for an appetizer. Our server took our order and gave us a plate of buttermilk biscuits, sweet cornbread, and butter. The biscuits were good, but the cornbread was to die for, especially with butter. The cornbread is visually appealing, having been baked in a Madeleine pan. An effect of the Madeline pan is a nice buttery, slightly crunchy exterior.

After devouring the bread offering, we looked around the restaurant. There is patio dining as you approach the entrance. A framed menu sits outside for those who want to see what’s for dinner. The lobby area divides the dining area and the bar. The upscale bar features rich hardwood décor, with wine bottles cellared against the walls. The dining area has ample seating with white linen table service. The kitchen is separated from the dining room by a large window, where customers can see their dishes being prepared.

Our Cornmeal-Crusted Catfish Fingers arrived and we were eager to dig in. The catfish strips are fried to a golden brown and served atop a seedless red grape and blue cheese slaw finished with a sweet corn tartar sauce. They were excellent, with a nice savory, yet welcome sweet taste from the tartar sauce. We even ate up the grape and blue cheese slaw.

Our entrees arrived shortly thereafter. My friend’s jambalaya looked quite interesting as it was essentially a deconstructed jambalaya. It had pinto beans, dirty rice, grilled andouille sausage, shrimp, blue crab, a duck confit and grilled chicken breast, all sitting atop an etouffee sauce. It was very unique as one could eat the components of the jambalaya separately and experience their tastes individually, or stir them in to the etouffee sauce to eat them as a traditional jambalaya. My BBQ duck was a smoked confit of duck leg with cornbread dressing, stewed beans, and the same grape slaw from the catfish appetizer. The duck was very good and very tender, as it easily pulled away from the bone. I’ve had barbequed duck Chinese-style, and Georgia Brown’s duck offering is much better.

The portions were perfect, as we cleaned up our plates, and found ourselves quite full. We turned down the dessert menu, although I would have liked to try their key lime pie. Our total was about $65 for two drinks, appetizer, and two entrees. It was a slight bit pricey, but not too bad. The service was excellent, as our server came by to check on us several times, as well as the different managers. Our foodservice was timely, and we never sat there wondering where our food was, even though the dining room was pretty full. When I’m in the DC area again, I’ll make reservations for Georgia Brown’s.

From journal Our Nation's Capital

Favorite DC Restaurant, Hands Down

  • February 10, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Lannb26 from St. Louis, Missouri
Given DC geographical location, there's an abundance of restaurants that specialize in southern or "low-country" cuisine. Vidalia, Acadiana, Art & Soul - you can take your pick and they all serve solid cuisine. However, everything from its monster sized Sunday brunch (with a buffet table + an extra entree), to its gumbo, to its corn bread with honey butter is excellent. GB's is probably the most unpretentious of its kind (meaning low-country cuisine in a fine dining setting) and it is not horribly expensive. Must have the appetizer sample platter of fried green tomatoes, bacon wrapped/blue cheese stuffed dates, catfish fingers, and fried chicken livers. Centrally located right off of the McPherson metro stop. Make reservations.

From journal Insight from a 4-Year Visitor to Washington, D.C.

Editor Pick

Georgia Brown's

  • March 4, 2002
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Jim Rosenberg from Wausau, Wisconsin
This nicely furnished restaurant features southern cuisine, including chicken, catfish fingers, rock shrimp and fabulous seafood dishes. The menu may remind you of New Orleans. It's a wonderful, upscale atmosphere and if you are lucky, you can get a window table overlooking McPherson Square, which is wonderfully active and just a couple of blocks northeast of the White House. That also means Georgia Brown's is convenient to the Washington metro (that's the name of your metro station: McPherson Square). There is outdoor dining in season as well as smoking/non-smoking areas. The servers know what they are doing and the food is well-presented and prepared by people who obviously know what they are doing.



In my own case, I chose an elegant 10 oz. crab cake which was absolutely the best I've ever had. A nice bottle of white wine from an adequate list of possibilities made it a very relaxing and tasteful lunch. (The portions in this place won't send you away hungry, by the way -- they are large). There is a bar and the place can become crowded at popular times and evenings, so a reservation is a good idea.


Hours of operation:


Open Sunday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday for dinner. Dinner until 10:30 Sunday through Thursday, until 11:30 Friday and Saturday. Sunday brunch 11:30 to 2:30.


A special nod goes to the Sunday Jazz Brunch. It's not cheap, but you won't go away hungry and the entertainment is marvelous. We give it very high marks! In a city that abounds with great dining choices, Georgia Brown's more than holds its own. You don't need to dress up more than business casual, but like many of the nicer places to dine in Washington, it would be difficult to ever be overdressed.

From journal Washington DC - Five Hotels; Dining

Georgia Browns

When we inquired about a restaurant specializing in Southern cuisine, we were told to head over to Georgia Browns. What a meal! In this environment, what else can you order but fried chicken and greens? And for those of you with a bit of a sweet tooth - brace yourselves. Let your eyes be your guide when your waiter brings the platter of all specialty deserts. Amazing! The atmosphere is very friendly, all the staff really seem to enjoy their job. The service at Georgia Browns was by far the best I found anywhere in Washington.

From journal Washington, post-9/11

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