The Delegate at Convention Center Gives D.C. Another Hotel Dining Option

The Delegate is now running on all cylinders inside the new Courtyard and Residence Inn next to the Convention Center, marking the latest hotel restaurant to arrive in D.C.

The cavernous option for full-service breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner (901 L Street NW), is located off of the dual-branded Marriott hotel lobby.

It serves starters ($8-$18) such as French onion soup, Rappahannock oysters, black sesame ahi tuna, and fried green tomatoes with Firefly goat cheese and jalapeno fig jam. Heftier orders ($20-$42) include pappardelle, crab cakes, and wild salmon with succotash and crispy lemon pepper chives.

A representative for Thompson Hospitality tells Eater a pizza oven will be installed soon to fuel production of Neapolitan-style pies. The family-run restaurant group also runs Hen Quarter nearby and acquired Matchbox this summer.

On weekends, brunch at the Delegate (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) calls for French toast and berries, warm skillet cinnamon buns, and stations for meat carving and omelettes. Weekday happy hour (3 p.m. to 7 p.m.) at its 40-seat modern bar slashes prices on beers, wine, and bar bites. The operation, which is also in charge of feeding the property’s 500-plus guest rooms, is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. The bar stays open until midnight on weekends to accommodate badge-wearing convention guests wanting to booze later.

Here’s a look at the opening dinner menu:

The name is a playful ode to the political appointment — the delegate — who can’t vote on the U.S. House of Representatives floor. The cocktail list ($13-$18) also features a D.C. bent, with the blood orange-accented Death & Taxes, mezcal-infused Only Spy I See, and Granny Smith Goes to Washington featuring Cotton & Reed Dry Spiced Rum.

The Delegate/official photo

D.C. got an influx of new hotel dining options this fall with the arrival of restaurants and bars inside Moxy, Eaton and newly renovated Fairfax properties. Come spring, both the Moxy and The Delegate will add rooftop bars.

• Inside Moxy Hotel’s New Millennial-Friendly Game Room Bar Downtown [EDC]
• Secluded Embassy Row Restaurant Hopes to Be Dupont’s New Place for Small Plates [EDC]
• Thompson Hospitality Is Now in Charge of Matchbox Food Group [EDC]