First Look: The Hamilton

Plaudits: None
Neighborhood: Downtown, McPherson Square

The Setup

This First Look brings us to the brand new addition to the Clyde's family: The Hamilton.

The Vibe

Perhaps it's appropriate that The Hamilton is so close to the White House; such is the level of grandiosity of just the sheer scale of the place. Built into the former Borders space on F Street, The Hamilton is almost more high-end hotel than restaurant. From its entrance on 14th St, you enter the bar, which is exactly what you'd expect out of a sister of Old Ebbitt's; it's almost like this is the spillover room for the venerable oysters and drink bar down the street. Everything is wood-paneled and old school, like a room straight out of the Untouchables, except for the pictures of DC scenes that abound around the area. The space is kept dim and gets real loud, with the post-work hoi polloi that fill the space.

Past the bar is one dining area, a room that represents the Clyde's influence, though a tad bit more formal. The room, more wood panels and beiges and organized in rows of booths and fours, is a testament to power lunches; the row of booths along the F Street window can actually have sliding doors close them away from the main floor. The strange part of the room, and the part that makes you wonder if The Hamilton even understands its American provenance and American theme is a sushi bar which lines the back wall of the restaurant.  Beyond that, another bar, then a lobby like area, then another dining space.

And what exactly is in this lobby? The stairs down to The Hamilton Live, a concert space where the music and movies section of the Borders used to be. But the space is entirely reconfigured into a jazz club like setting. All black with B&W pictures of famous musicians, the room rotates around a small stage, with two-tops lined up in rows extending like sun beams. On the left side and the back of the room are a two raised platforms with a bar each and some rail seating and tables. The music there will almost always be local, and the loudest it will probably ever get is Norah Jones, but it's a decidedly cool date space, and where we spent this dinner.

The Food

In The Hamilton's defense, the menu downstairs is ostensibly much more limited than the real dining room. From these options, Texas and I split the Clams Casino pizza (clams, bacon, roasted red peppers, oregano, mozzarella). The pizza was okay, which is to say that it wasn't terrible, but it was nothing to call home about either. The mix of ingredients was interesting, but the crust was in the middle place between soft and crunchy, so that it pleased neither of us.

For dessert, we split the "hot chocolate" ice cream sandwich: chocolate chili cookies and cinnamon ice cream in a crispy chocolate shell. This was a little more notable: some nice heat from the cookies, and the ice cream was interesting, though it didn't meld and melt as much as we wanted it to.

The Verdict

Awesome space, meh food. But we're psyched to go back and experience all The Hamilton has to offer.

Food Rating: ** (out of 5)
Date Rating: 4 Hearts (out of 5)
Dress Code: Casual
Bar Rating: Suits Scene
Vibe: Chatty in the room, Noisy in the bar and live space
Cost: $$ (out of 5) ($25-$50 for two)
Pairing: Itself. I mean the Live space is a wonderful date.