The Washington Inn

My wife, Uncle and I had dinner there last night and it was excellent! A lot of shore restaurants have high price tags but the food doesn’t justify the cost but The Washington Inn is the exception!
My wife had th tuna (which was gigantic) and cooked to perfection, my uncle had the filet and I had the NY strip special. My steak was slightly over cooked (medium rare instead of rare) but I didn’t complain. The cut was great and the overall dish was delicious.
The homemade desserts were delicious and the service was spot on. I would have given them a five but the steak not the right temp cost a point. Otherwise, the meal was great and we would go back!

My husband and I have traveled the world and the Washington Inn is our favorite, in fact we got engaged there! The personal touch of the staff from the minute you walk to the outstanding menu and wine cellar… there is no dining experience that comes close. Michael, Mimi and of course the worlds greatest bartender Marty always make this a memorable evening. The quaint setting of various styles of rooms, from the wine cellar, to the porch are what define the Washington Inn. It provides the diner with a level of food and service that many can only find in the larger cities, with the cultured quaintness of a seaside town. Do not miss this incredible place!

Delicious meal! I enjoyed every part of my meal: black bass, sautéed spinach and a risotto cake. My husband had the Valentine’s Day special surf & turf and both the filet & lobster were cooked to perfection. Very expensive but a nice treat.

The atmosphere was cozy ! Our waitress cat was on point it made our Valentine’s Day one of our best the food was delicious! The Fish had a unique flavor. We will be back and highly recommend this restaurant

Had the best dinner here on Sunday ²⁄₁₄. Wonderfully prepared locally caught fresh Sea Bass with a Hollandaise sauce. Served hot on a warmed plate. It was prepared with a risotto cake and sautéed spinach. Atmosphere and service were perfect. Stellar wine list. We will be back next time we are in Cape May.

We were lucky to dine at the Washington Inn on a Saturday night in January. We started with the braised lamb and cavatelli pasta, a delightful umami treat. Then we devoured the seafood cioppino, which was filled with fresh local seafood, and the duck breast, which was twice what I could eat. The shitake bread pudding and sautéed spinach were good counter points to the savory duck breast and «blackberry beurre blanc” – in quotes because that is my description of the smooth, buttery berry sauce that graced the meat. We will look forward to another visit, and more delightful dishes.

We debated between Peter Shields and WI for our anniversary dinner. We made the wrong choice. Although we had made reservations weeks in advance, we were seated in the Garden Patio. This might be a great spot during the day in the Summer, but not mid October on a cold, rainy night. Our view was through dirty windows with tacky lattice framing the area. We were seated so close to the other table that I could have shook their hands.
The food was OK, but not spectacular. The best parts were the bread basket and dessert, the entrees and sides, not so much.
Next time we are in Cape May, it is Peter Shield’s for us. Other guests at our B&B raved about the food.

Remarkable restaurant, in every regard.
We started with an awesome wine list on a tablet. We enjoyed a great Italian Falanghina white, well served by our waiter. And that was a big part of the experience — our waiter.
James took care of us, in as high quality and friendly a way as is possible. He was excellent, from recommendations to service to conversation.
I had perfect fresh and flavorful arctic char (on James’ recommendation), with unbelievably fresh asparagus. The ladies had a delicious looking cioppino. Everyone fully enjoyed their meals.
The restaurant is a nice setting, classy yet comfortable, with good table spacing.
I would recommended The Washington Inn to any foodie staying in Cape May.

We’ve been going to Cape May for over 15 years and have only eaten at this restaurant once before a very long time ago. We decided to make a last minute reservation and we were not disappointed! The food was excellent, the service was wonderful, and the atmosphere was very conducive to a fun evening out with the family. Will definitely be returning!

We were looking forward to this place and we made reservations for our last night in Cape May, disappointed.
The appetizers were better than the entrees. Our waiter was nice enough, but inexperienced and ge had too many tables. I hate waiting

My last visit here left a lot to be desired. Granted, I did not have a reservation and felt very lucky to be able to get an impromptu seat at the wine bar but felt forgotten in the corner. The wine bar menu was a great option offering hamburgers and a small portion of a crab cake and five dollar glasses of wine so that was an unexpected score in and of itself but we asked for bread three times — — waited an inordinate amount of time for our food to come out of the kitchen — — and I found all three things that we ordered to be lackluster. The fries were soggy, the hamburger was overcooked (and cold) bad combination and the crab cake was tasty but a bit dry and flaky. I will be back here for sure I just hope my next experience is a better one.

Dined here last night for my husband’s birthday. Experience was excellent. Aside from our waitress being great –she went above and beyond to make him feel special– the food was great too!

This is my third time to this restaurant, great meals always, but this time the kitchen was off and probably leaving plates at the pass I ordered a very expensive steak, ordered it Med to med rare. It came out well done thru 80% of the dish. I proceed to tell the server it was over cooked, she picked up my knife and moved the slices of steak around to tell me it’s still good. If I wasn’t with new friends I would have flipped out. The 3 stars are for the past experiences. I plan to contact management to discuss

Read some of the less than favorable reviews and was a little hesitant to eat here. I had a much different experience. Excellent food and service. Out of the 10+ restaurants I sampled in Cape May, this one was far beyond any other. From the salad to entrée to desert. Did a meal were they paired wines with each part of the meal… they nailed it… Glad it wasn’t up to me to pick the wine :-)
They were very busy, but there was no pressure to leave/​vacate table after dessert.

My husband and I are big time foodies, and we picked this restaurant for our romantic date night while on vacation in Stone Harbor based on its stellar reputation and excellent wine list. We booked through Open Table and with the ease of pushing a few buttons, we had our reservation. Although, I forgot to mention my usual request for a quiet table not too close to others’ conversations. (We’ve already been at restaurants where the tables are so close that other couples next to us have actually chimed in on our dinner conversation.)
Big mistake for forgetting to request a quiet table not too close to others! We arrived early and were seated at a table of 2 in the sunroom barely 2 feet to the left of a table of 4 that had just been sat. (My usual fix would be to request a move, but my hubby doesn’t like to cause a fuss.) We quickly started to feel like we were at a community dining table rather than enjoying a romantic evening for 2 at a great restaurant. About 10 minutes later, another table of 2 was seated barely 2 feet to my left (with only a large plant separating us) and now we really felt like we were at a community dining table. Needless to say, it was hard to focus on our conversation when we could hear every word of both of our neighbors on each side.
I understand that restaurants want to utilize space as much as possible, but the seating really ruined our dining experience and we wouldn’t go back simply because we felt awkward and uncomfortable being so close to our neighbors. Not our idea of a quiet, romantic evening!
It’s a shame because the food and service was truly terrific. However, we will go elsewhere because we felt like the restaurant was more concerned with increasing revenue and profits by jamming guests in close quarters rather than cultivating an upscale environment where personal space was respected.

Dined here on Friday night with my family and it was excellent! Free valet parking. Beautiful restaurant in a large Victorian style home. The wine list was top notch. The specials and menu were very enticing. My wife and I had the lobster bisque — outstanding. She had the cavatelli entrée which was delicious and perfectly prepared. I had the catch of the day special — a blackened catfish that had an olive tapenade and was mouth watering.
**Then a very special treat. The waitress invited my young daughter to meet the chef and to choose her ice cream or gelato. We loved this.
For dessert we had a peach and blueberry crumble ala mode which was outstanding. Plus, they brew their own coffee which had a silky nutty deliciousness.
Highly Recommend!

Food was delicious. Limited menu, but adequate. Steaks perfectly cooked, fig appetizer was wonderful. Desserts just okay.

Four of us tried the Washington Inn for «Restaurant Week 2015» in Cape May and was very happy with our decision!
The food was excellent! The quality and presentation were superb! The Inn had an extensive wine selection and many choices on the standard menu but we chose the 3 course meal special which was $ 35/​person for Restaurant Week.
The only reason why Washington Inn didn’t get 5 stars in my opinion is because the wait staff seemed to have trouble giving us the correct dishes we ordered. They were all very knowledgable and professional but kept mixing up our orders.
I would highly recommend dining there!

All I can say is wow! The entire experience was amazing.
Service: exceptional/​attentive/​informative
Food: top notch. Try the warm crusted goat cheese with pickled veg and the crab cakes… outstanding
Ambiance: romantic/​comfortable/​unique
The wine selection was great as well.
Enjoy!

My wife and I went here the day after Valentines Day on several recommendations. Recommended for their steak/​seafood and wine list. It is an expensive restaurant with quality food. The are only open for dinner and it’s a white table cloth type of place.
We weren’t able to partake in the pre-​fix they offered until 6 but it wasn’t really striking us as a big loss.
The service was top notch!
Food was very good. Prices are expensive.
We ordered (as starters): Romaine salad with buttermilk blue cheese vinaigrette bacon Avocado grape tomato… colorful salad along with their grilled shrimp (Guacamole, pumpkin seeds, cotija cheese, crispy tortilla). Both were very good with fresh ingredients.
Their wine selection by the glass is expensive. Nice touch to be able to order from their Ipad. They do have lots of bottles but for the 2 of us, it wasn’t worth it.
She decided on a Organic Black Pearl Salmon (Parsnip purée, sautéed spinach, blackberry-​hazelnut salsa Drizzle of pomegranate molasses) which she really enjoyed. I had the Grilled Organic Meyers Steak (Red wine mushrooms, grilled red onions, garlic butter Whipped potato, asparagus) which was average. It was cooked like I wanted but I have been spoiled by the greatest steakhouses in the world.
We skipped dessert as we were stuffed. If you have the dough, it’s a quality place to have a romantic dinner. Enjoy!