Best Hot Spot Restaurants in Laurel

This was a tremendous meal, and a can't-miss restaurant when visiting Washington D.C. It was my wife and I, and we shared six plates: hummus, falafel, rice pilaf/barley, fried eggplant, brussels sprouts and (essentially) french fries. We were uncomfortably full when leaving, and this ran us a whopping $72 dollars before tip. Obviously if we had gotten drinks or wine, the price would have gone up considerably, but I can't imagine this kind of quality food in a metro area for $36/person in 2024. Plus endless homemade pita that was a cross between pita and naan was provided -- crazy delicious. The french fries had a house-made mushroom salt with a yogurt dipping sauce. The serving size on those were substantial, but basically they were just outstanding french fries. In terms of going for authentic Mediterranean food, we could have swapped this out for something else, but that was probably more our fault than theirs just having something a little more neutral on the menu for less-adventurous eaters. The other five items were all significantly above average, with my favorite being the sprouts and my wife favoring the barley/pilaf. Also, the speed with which we got through our meal was noteworthy -- one hour as they rotated through plates one at a time. It was a well-oiled machine.

What the heck. This place was quite the surprise. It blew us away. The food was surprisingly good. We ordered several different times, and each time the food came out fresh, hot, quickly, and looked like an artist put it together. The jumbo shrimp with cilantro goodness was amazing. Calamari better than it should have been. The service was amazing. The prices? Way too low. Happy hour prices are ridiculous. I mean so ridiculously low. I think maybe they just love people. I’m not sure. I’d make this my go to spot if I lived here.

Philomena is a pillar in the DC community and for great reason. When you first walk down the, many steps, you enter your known as house. During the holiday season, the restaurant is decorated from head to toe with Christmas celebration. The staff are all extremely courteous and helpful And always dressed amazingly. The food is outstanding. All portions are large enough to share so get a few dishes and let your table enjoy old world Italian cuisine. Anything on the menu is a score in my book. But don’t forget always leave room for dessert. The cannoli are amazing!

Super Restaraunt. Very good atmosphere, friendly wait staff, very good price point. Reservations are highly recommended as this is a local go-to. There are four bars in the restaurant, one in each corner. So, while this is a white linen dining experience, you must not think of it as posh or fine dining given the tavern extraordinaire atmosphere. It obviously has the DC charm of “Cheers” sans Norm and Sam, with a kicked up level regarding the dining. Very tasty meal, great selection of cuisine. I highly recommend OEG.

I dined here as a solo diner and usually you wouldn’t get the best service because the servers want larger parties, but this was not the case here. Zach made sure I was taken care of. This is a rarity as someone who travels a lot alone and has experienced the bad end of dining alone. I’ve had a few friends and family dine here when they visited and loved it so I’m glad I was able to get the same experience they had as a solo diner.