Medium Rare Restaurant, DC

M and I were pretty pumped to try out Medium Rare, a new restaurant in Cleveland Park.  What makes this place stand out from other restaurants is the lack of menu items - their main dinner option is steak frites, with bread and salad.  The steak frites are offered in two separate portions, so it feels like you're getting a ton of food for the price.  They do offer a vegetarian option but for the most part, people are here for the meat, haha.

Ordering your meal is much quicker than at regular restaurants- since we already knew we were here for the steak haha.  We started things off with some nice warm crusty bread and soft butter.

Then, the salad course- this was cold and crispy, dressed lightly with what seemed to be a mustard-based vinegarette.  Nothing fancy but it was a tasty plate of greens.

And here we have my first plate of steak, with their steak sauce ladled on top.  I had asked for medium rare but these were more of a medium well cut - no matter, the steak was great, especially with the sauce.  The bread was also excellent for mopping up the extra sauce. 

Where are the frites? You may be asking.  Well, one thing I've cut out of my diet this year is fries (sometimes I literally won't stop eating them for days on end, it was getting dangerous, haha).  I requested no frites with my steak, and our server kindly offered me another serving of salad, or fruit salad (which they serve during brunch on the weekends) in place of the frites.

I went with the fruit salad, and it was the usual mix of canteloupe, honeydew melon, red grapes, and pineapple.  It was a large goblet filled with fruit, a nice option to have - although it may not be available every day (we were here on a Sunday). 

And here we have my second plate of steak, yum.  As you can see this one is much more on the rare end than my first plate - I liked this plate even more than the first as a result, haha.  I do have to mention that people shouldn't go here expecting two full-sized steaks for $20.  Instead, it's more like one large-ish serving of steak that is split into two servings for you.  It's not like I wanted more steak or anything, but I think people need to have their expectations in line before coming here thinking it's going to be an all-you-can-eat steak feast or something, haha.   

Overall M and I enjoyed our dinner very much and thought everything was delicious.  We didn't have any room for dessert- but I have heard that their dessert portions are enormous and great for sharing.  I think it's an interesting concept for a restaurant and a low-key neighborhood spot.  This place would be especially good for indecisive eaters that happen to love steak, haha.

Medium Rare

3500 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20008

202.237.1432

Reservations are available on Open Table for 5:00pm and 10:00pm