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Food - District Soul Food & Lounge, Washington, DC

District Soul Food & Lounge

3.4 (52)
$30 and under
Soul food
500 8th St SE, Washington, DC 20003-2834

About this restaurant

  • Great for live music
  • Neighborhood gem
  • Good for special occasions
District Soul Food Restaurant and Lounge will be providing a unique mix of southern cuisine and live entertainment featuring a selection of delicious soul food and signature cocktails. Owners Craig Parkinson CEO, David Roundtree, COO, Christopher Alston, Chris Everette, and Eddie Reynolds are excited to bring District Soul Food Restaurant to the heart of barracks row in Capitol Hill. Executive Chef John Fearrington (La Residence, True Flavors Southern Diner) will bring a menu strongly influenced by Southern flavors. Our Sweet potato pound cake will be one of the items that is sure to have customers coming back time and time again. District Soul Food Restaurant and Lounge will operate as a restaurant, Cigar Lounge, accompanied with a food truck and catering services for special events.

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Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable booking network. To check availability, please contact them directly.

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Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Soul food
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Executive chef
    John Fearington
  • Neighborhood
    Capitol Hill
  • Cross street
    E Street SE
  • Parking details
    Metered parking Valet Parking 1 block away
  • Public transit
    Eastern Market
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cigar Room, Cocktails, Counter Seating, Entertainment, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Happy Hour, Late Night, Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wine

Reviews

OpenTable reviews from verified diners

Reviews from people who have dined at District Soul Food & Lounge.

3.4

3.4
(52)
  • 3.6Food
  • 3.4Service
  • 3.7Ambience
  • 3.5Value

Noise • Moderate

52 Reviews
  1. ALEXANDRIAG

    Washington DC2 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on March 29, 2019

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 3
    Our server was very attentive; so the service was great. The crab fries were delicious and also the sweet potato hush puppies. The catfish was very unappetizing; lot's of breading and no flavor. The oxtails were just okay, I still have the leftovers in my refrigerator; and I'm a foodie so that's unusual for me. I went on a Friday for lunch and several menu items were unavailable. I didn't have any drinks so I can't comment on the bar.

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  2. OpenTable Diner

    Washington DC2 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on March 23, 2019

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    When we made the reservations online it didn’t indicate that they were only serving brunch. We had to wait more than 15min for a server to .order coffee, my date was running late and by the time they arrived the table next to me was just receiving their food. We didn’t order any food and decided to leave.

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  3. DestinyA

    Cincinnati2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 16, 2019

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I'm glad we found this gem. The atmosphere was great, the food was good, the music was perfect and we definitely enjoyed ourselves. The owner even came out and gave us a tour of the place, and made sure everything qas going well. We will definitely be back !

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  4. NeetC

    Washington DC14 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on March 12, 2019

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    GREAT but lots of ROOM to grow! I was looking for a special place to have a birthday lunch with 3 other mature and extremely discerning suburban women - neither of whom were overjoyed to drive into DC for lunch. I won them over by location. So your location, in addition to two other things attracted me to this restaurant - the food and the newness. I was not disappointed. I walked into a very good looking venue - NEW & very different from the Banana Cafe. The color scheme and the artwork is beautiful! The food was GREAT! I am from low country SC and grew up on the dishes that are offered on the menu. (I consider myself an expert. LOL!) The food was good and authentic. Our server was charismatic and kind. These are the things that would compel me to return. Also the choice of music is SUPERB. It felt like a soul food spot. However, at noon, mainstays on the menu were not available - Soul Rolls and either dessert (banana pudding & sweet potato pound cake). I'm no expert on the restaurant but I think that the Soul Rolls (at this Soul Food restaurant) should be a main staple & AVAILABLE. And at 1 o'clock after a half day of opening (as they are closed Monday until the evening), I thought they they'd be locked, loaded and ready to go. At the very end of the meal and outing, I made a comment about not getting the soul rolls to the woman who appeared to be a manager of some sort. She brought some out for us. THEY WERE GREAT! Someone from the kitchen also brought the trash out and walked through the dinning area right behind us. That was extremely disconcerting. I hope that was that particular employee's decision and not the direction of the management. Overall, it was GOOD experience with GOOD food. I am rooting for the success of this spot. I am going to give it a little more time before I return. BUT I WILL RETURN!

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  5. ARC65

    Washington DC12 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on March 10, 2019

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    Both of us enjoyed the food we ordered. However, the service and attention to details needs to be improved. I am planning to go back, though.

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  6. KennethJ

    Washington DC2 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on March 3, 2019

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    Although the service was an area of frustration (took over an hour to get food), the food was mostly terrific. Fried catfish, great! Shrimp and grits, wonderful. Sweet potato hushpuppies, over fried. I really wish the wait staff and owner had been more communicative and professional about the service problem. Will give them another try but will wait till they have been open longer.

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  7. OpenTable Diner

    Washington DC2 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on March 3, 2019

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Overall experience was pretty good. Crab fries are awesome! We had an issue with our food, but one of the owners was in the restaurant helping staff out, and was very accommodating to our situation. The server was great as well. My girlfriend and I went there for brunch and enjoyed the bottomless mimosas! There was also a live band upstairs. We’ll definitely go back and recommend it to others. Even better, it’s black owned!

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  8. Coco Gold

    Washington DC74 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on March 3, 2019

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 3
    Great crowd, chill music downstairs.

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  9. lindamck

    Washington DC13 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 3, 2019

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The food was great and the service was impeccable.

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  10. TyraB Gold

    Washington DC21 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on March 2, 2019

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 3
    Food is pretty good. They need to revise the greens to make them more sweet, less bitter and clean them better. They were gritty. Mac needs more cheese. Catfish and pork chop were delish. Need cornbread basket or something. I will go back

    Is this helpful?

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $30 and under
  • Cuisines
    Soul food
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Executive chef
    John Fearington
  • Neighborhood
    Capitol Hill
  • Cross street
    E Street SE
  • Parking details
    Metered parking Valet Parking 1 block away
  • Public transit
    Eastern Market
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, Cigar Room, Cocktails, Counter Seating, Entertainment, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Happy Hour, Late Night, Takeout, Weekend Brunch, Wine
  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. Washington, D.C. Area
  4. District of Columbia
  5. Capitol Hill

Not available on OpenTable

Unfortunately, this restaurant is not on the OpenTable booking network. To check availability, please contact them directly.

Is this your restaurant?
Claim this listing
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