Eat the Rich

Can’t say I understand the appeal of this place. Cool and friendly bartenders, decent drinks, pricy small plates — nothing about this distinguishes it from any of the millions in DC. Besides an epic name, it was just standard. That said — everything was delicious. But in a way that I’ve come to expect of hyped places.
I suppose making this place your HH (cheaper prices) haunt if you are a local shaw dweller is good. Also great to come here with friends since the space is pretty open with big sized tables and a long bar next to a bunch for smaller standing tables. It’s just not a special occasion or date place.

Meh. I’ve been here twice now, and while the service is phenomenal (really — the waitstaff are laid back yet attentive and kind), the menu really leaves a lot more to be desired. I understand that it’s an oyster place, but I find the menu SO limited to just… oysters, and the oysters themselves are just «okay;» too mild for my taste. I usually end up getting the mac and cheese, which is fine. The bread is good, but not enough to make up for an otherwise lackluster menu. The drinks are just… okay. The happy hour specials are just… okay. I’d readily choose Pearl Dive on 14^th St (and their mussels! and their oysters!) over Eat the Rich, unfortunately. EtR has a lot of potential, I just hope that management expands the menu a bit as it gets settled into its new digs. For now, it’s just a beautiful, friendly, brand new… afterthought. It would take a gushing review from a mutual friend to bring me back.
Bottom line: If you’re in the mood for non-​fried seafood and something besides oysters, I’d look elsewhere. Forget it if you’re a vegetarian.

$ 1 late night oysters!!! Bartenders and wait staff were super friendly and explained items on the menu. Surprised not more people were there on a Saturday to take advantage of the cheap delicious eats.

Love the vibe. The bartender, Patrick, a gem. Great conversation and delicious cocktails.

We came seeking oysters and burgers for a late night meal… like 1:30am late. No burgers. only oysters for late night. So what did we do? We ordered 102 oysters. We hoped that the shuckers would not hate us… but everyone was gracious and we were served up some amazing oysters. Crisp and fresh!
I love the mignonette here. to the point of shooting a few of the leftover cups of mignonette.
They also do cocktail pitchers… so be sure to grab a few of those to go with your oysters!
Would love to come back to try their regular menu and crush some more oysters.
Thanks to the shuckers for putting up with us and all those oysters so late!
Oh yeah… did I mention that the late night oysters were only $ 1 each?

I love the atmosphere and the staff were great. I would definitely eat here again. If I’m ever in the area I will stop by here again for sure. Well, you know how I like oysters on happy hour too!
They don’t have my wine so I can’t give them a five but I would if they did.

Been here once few weeks ago. Amazing design, very casual. I loved the seating, perfect for groups and bar hopping. Staff is exteremly friendly. They were out of the beer brand my friend asked for, so they gave him another beer as an apology.
I didn’t taste their food, but were there for the late-​night happy hour time for oysters and coctails. I was sceptical when I heard their $ 1 per oyster deal, but oysters were very delicious.

Finally made it to Eat the Rich this weekend! After having wanted to try these three sister restaurants in Shaw (Eat the Rich, Southern Efficiency & Mockingbird Hill) since the Bön Appetit nomination for best new restaurant in the country (they eventually lost to Rose’s Luxury). Overall — 4 stars on the actual food we ordered, 3 stars on everything else…
Overall, we did really enjoy our meal — despite a few hiccups and high level complaints/​misunderstandings. We made a reservation for 3 a few days in advance, not realizing that there were not really any tables and it was more of a communal picnic/​bar situation. Made for some awkwardness but it wasn’t a huge issue. We did have one cocktail spilled on us, and another that arrived tasting a little off — but our server was very nice about it and they were replaced AND taken off the bill.
On to the food! The menu is on the small side, so a group of 3 of us got to sample a good amount of the dishes. For a seafood restaurant, we were disappointed there weren’t more nice composed «piece of fresh fish» type dishes in the entrée section. We tried the fried oysters, trout Hash, Baby gem Caesar — all were good but not amazing. Fried oysters were great but a little on the small side. Stand-​out dishes that really impressed us were the prawn mac and cheese, skate wing (though much smaller than we expected), charred carrots, and OMG the Parker house rolls served with honey and butter… those are a must-​order.
I would definitely go back for drinks and/​or snacks at the bar, but maybe not a a full sit-​down dinner. Or for their regular or late night happy hours for cheaper oysters — they were too overpriced to order regularly!

We went to eat the rich around 11:30 on a Friday night for a late happy hour. We got the $ 1 oysters and $ 7 natty boh’ with a shot of whiskey. Additionally we got $ 4 oyster shooters which were named Bye Felicia. The bar area was a little crowded so we headed to the back where there is picnic table seating and grabbed a spot. It was definitely a fun place to stop into on our night out in Shaw. I would like to come back and try out dinner.

I’ve been to Eat the Rich several times. We were introduced to Eat the Rich through the late night happy hour. Their seafood tower is delicious and for a pretty good price. You can also get an order of oysters or clams alone. All of the bartenders are great. The variety of drinks are good. All of the flavors are very complex and delicious.
The entrees I’ve tried have been pretty good too. The menu changes for the entrees, I’m not sure how often. The appetizers, sides, and raw bar are pretty constant. A must try are the parker house rolls. They are so addictive. I believe they are yeast rolls, they serve them with a tab of butter floating in what may be honey or maybe maple syrup. They give you four in an order and they are huge. I’ll definitely be visiting again.

We were seated at an awkward spot at the bar (the oyster shucking station), and were asked to order from the bar. I had to get off my seat to get the drinks since there was this huge glass in front of me. Bleh. I’ll blame myself for sitting there I guess? lol. The cocktails weren’t that good too .
Oysters for $ 3? Um yeah, no thanks. If you were serving up some Kushi’s for $ 3, I’d be all over it. But some east coast oysters for $ 3?! Way overpriced.
The housemade bratwurst was delicious! Served with squash purée, fingerling potatoes, and purple daikon radish. I would order this again, but it was pricey for bratwurst.
The smoked bone marrow was also delicious. The sweet apple butter really complimented the flavors of the bone marrow.
The trout hash was pretty good. Who doesn’t like a delicious egg yolk on your food! Artery clogging food is tasty okay?
There is street parking, but not easy to find.

The Trout Hash is maybe the best dish I’ve had so far this year. A small appetizer served in maybe a 4″ cast iron skillet, but really great flavor. I could seriously eat that dish every day.
The atmosphere is very relaxed, and the service is top notch. Definitely coming back next time I’m in town.

Oysters are great. But I’m not sure raw oysters really show off the quality of their kitchen. Now the Chesapeake fried oyster sandwich is awesome. I’m sad I had to share that.
I wasn’t a big fan of the mac n’ cheese though. I found it too watery.
It gets really cramp and loud in there like many other popular DC bars on a Friday night.

I love everything about this place: cool vibe, close to home, never crowded, good food and drinks, late night happy hour and OYSTER. Their bartenders are always friendly and down to chat. I usually order either the Buck Hunter or Moscow Mule. Please never get too popular!

Hands down my favorite place to grab a few drinks and Oysters! Catch them during their happy hours for a great deal on oysters and other munchies. They have a regular happy hour and a late happy hour!
There’s a variety of oysters from around the region and will explain which ones are sweet to more brine-​y. I enjoyed the raw clams as well, though it carries more of the ocean taste than some may enjoy. Fresh raw scallops are also delicious! They maybe small, but overlook them just on size, not the taste. If you have the tolerance, go for Oyster shots! My favorite combo is the pickle back (shot of whiskey, with pickle Juice chaser containing oyster) Addicting and quite dangerous after a few (or 7, but who’s counting).
Their entrée portions are well sized and dishes can change with the season, I remember having their «Fish Pie» and was very satisfied. Fried Oysters, and the Trout Hash are stand out dishes too!
Bartenders are always friendly and willing to make you a drink off menu if you don’t find anything you like. The interior is clean, and trendy. It’s conveniently located next to the Shaw metro, so if you do have a few (or 7, but again, who’s counting) Oyster Shots, you don’t have to worry about the driving part. I do recommend making reservations, it’s a small venue and fills up very fast during the peak hours! Weekends stay packed till late.
Happy Oyster-​ing and Cheers!

I’m about to write reviews for all three of Derek Brown’s bars, so bear with me.
Met a girlfriend here last Thursday night to do a mini bar-​hop, nom, and gab session. Boy am I glad we did.
Eat the Rich is a classy, modern-​ish spot with great lighting and an even greater selection of booze (hi, The Botanist! Hi, Whistle Pig!) and a dude shucking fresh oysters and clams in your view the second you walk in.
Girlfriend and I decided to start with wine, so I cannot comment on the cocktails in this fine spot. However, the wine was delicious. We ordered two each of a few types of oysters and the super salty clams. I wish I could provide you with all the varietal names, but a) my memory sucks and b) I don’t feel like embarrassing myself spelling the local oyster name. However, we both agreed the Olde Salt oysters were hands down the best mix of salty, briny, and creamy-​sweet. Highly recommend.
Also recommended: our bartender was supremely knowledgable about not only the booze but the seafood. While we heard his advice, we went ahead and ordered some super salty clams anyway, just for kicks. He was right spot on in the description as our mouths were salty for a half hour after.
I want to go back to try their cocktails. Well done, Eat the Rich. And solid music selection!

Happy hour? Why yes, they have two! One for the early birds and one for the last night peeps. I was in happy hour heaven cause they have $ 1 oysters which don’t taste like $ 1 oysters! We also had the trout hash which we delicious! They have tons of seafood on the happy hour menu, but since we were happy hour hopping we just tasted a few things. We enjoyed drinks while we were there from the happy hour menu too! I love great food and drinks for a fab price!
Let’s not forget about the fact that they have decorated the place perfectly. We sat at the very long inviting bar so we could watch the oyster shuckers and the bar tenders work their magic. We both had to take a minute to walk to the back so we could see all the seating options the place had to offer and what other art it was displaying. This place was a great find and we will definitely be back when in town!

4.5, if I could give fractional points. About the only downside was that our drinks didn’t arrive with the meal. I chalk it up to the newbie server we had.
I had the softshell crab. It was big! Bigger than any I’d ever had before. The shell just had enough crunch to let you know it was there. The dressing and what-​have-​you on the bun with the crab complimented the beastie without overwhelming it. The wheat beer that was recommended went perfectly with the dish. My wife had a rum slushie of some sort or another. She loved it. Not surprising since the bartender was a James Beard bartender nominee!

Great fresh seafood, and great drinks as well. Staff is knowledgeable about all things seafood.
I had the fish tacos and they were fresh and totally delicious. We also got the redneck laundry, which is caviar and potato chips. It was pretty tasty.
I will defiantly be going back.

I love this happy hour. Dollar oysters and five dollar wine. Get the Parkerhouse rolls and you will thank me. Those rolls could fix anything, a bad day, a break up… or make a good day simply epic.
The Porgy for two is also awesome, as in, I went straight to my 2013 vacation in Istanbul, that’s really how fresh it is good. And the sauce it comes with is perfect for the rolls. Ambiance is laid back. Recommend.