The Early Word on Whaley's in Navy Yard

Whaley's, a raw bar from the team behind DGS Delicatessen, opened earlier this month in The Yards development. Chef Daniel Perron's menu includes shellfish towers, crudos, crab salad, soft-shell crab, and even a few meat dishes. Brian Zipin is responsible for the cocktails.

Edit Lab at Street Sense designed an ocean-inspired interior complete with a glass facade, a colorful mural depicting sea creates, and water-inspired framed art. The restaurant already has 18 Yelp reviews with an overall rating of four and a half stars. Read on for the early word on Whaley's:

The Bright and Welcoming News: Instagrammer @sjirmer says the space is "incredible." Blogger Meet the District writes, "With floor to ceiling windows, the restaurant is bright and welcoming." [Instagram, Meet the District]

The Best Service in D.C. News: OpenTable poster Adrienne writes, "I was impressed by the high quality of service on the restaurant's first Saturday night open." Facebook user Josh Perry says, "Best service in DC" and another Facebook user, Ira Reed, says "very nice food & service." [OT, Facebook]

The Cool and Colorful Cocktails News: Blogger One Vanilla Bean writes, "I wanted to try more than one cocktail, but the #1 was so good that I just had to order to order a second one. Its ingredients include sparkling rosé, St. Germaine, rum, and grapefruit." OpenTable poster Aranks writes, "Cocktails were on point, well mixed, cool and colorful," but OpenTable poster BAWESQ75 complains, "there was no excuse for it not to have cranberry juice to prepare a Cosmopolitan." [One Vanilla Bean, OpenTable]

The So Much Seafood Tower News: Blogger Bad Sentences writes of the medium tower, "I really wasn’t sure about this order, because I’m not the most adventurous of seafood eater, but it turned out to be a great choice…So much food!" Instagrammer @polreanforreals calls it "the best way to begin a meal."  [Bad Sentences, Instagram]

The Dessert-Like Day Boat Scallops News: Blogger Meet the District writes, "the day boat scallops were almost dessert-like with the muscat grapes." OpenTable poster Caren loves the dish, and Twitter user @justjptweet writes simply, "Jesus, @WhaleysDC scallops, damn." [Meet the District, OT, Twitter]

The Excellent Clams Casino News: Blogger Meet the District writes, "The clams casino featured Cape Cod clams with chorizo and tiny croutons that gave it a perfect crunch." Yelper Marshall M. says they're "excellent."  [Meet the District, Yelp]

The Most Interesting Soft Shell Crab News: Instagrammer @jkogod writes, "Maybe the most interesting soft shell dish I've ever had," and Instagrammer @ninj_p calls it, "pretty tasty." [Instagram]

The Damn Good Seafood Risotto News: Blogger Bad Setences writes, "The risotto itself is made with vadouvan curry, coconut and Thai basil which would have been delicious enough on its own but when topped with tender scallops, mussels and shrimp and a filet of black bass it was incredible." Facebook user Chris Conner says, "seafood risotto!! So good!!" Instagrammer @adriamarch writes, "We didn't mean to eat the entire seafood risotto, but we did because it was so damn good." [Bad Setences, Facebook, Instagram]

The Dishes for Non-Seafood Eaters News: Blogger One Vanilla Bean writes, "The pork chop is a big serving of thick cut Ecofriendly Foods pork, and was perfectly cooked to order...The Carolina Gold Rice was creamy, full of Spring vegetables, and dotted with pesto. I could eat bowls and bowls of it." Yelper Adam A. writes, "I split the steak and pork chop with a friend - it was the right move because both were delicious, juicy, and large. Bottom line, while their focus is raw bar they still have items on the menu that non raw bar connoisseurs will love." [One Vanilla Bean, Yelp]

The Price to Quality Ratio News: Instagrammer @ryanlintelman says, "Incredible (if a bit pricey) food." But Yelper Greta S. writes, "Great price to quality ratio considering I am coming from New York." [Instagram, Yelp]