Starfish Cafe

This place is positioned for greatness! The new bartenders are bringing on the drinks and personality, the menu has been revised to concentrate on what they do well, and I have a feeling that a new look is coming to this place soon, so stop by and experience the Starfish!

The atmosphere is very strange and the food is really mediocre at best.
Went there on a Friday night as a group of 3, seated immediately which was good. The straw/​bamboo placemats– kindof gross because you can see where food was scrubbed out of them. Ordered a beer on menu, didn’t have it. didn’t tell me, just brought me a horrible domestic as a replacement.
Food: straight off the Sysco truck — salmon steak, crabcakes, veggie medley, sandwiches. All loaded with salt and not good. oh, and this is not a cheap place. Crabcake plate (crabcakes looked like hushpuppies they were so small) was close to 20 $. 3 people walked out for 90+ and food was not good and only 3 beers in that whole ticket. bad value-​bad food-​service was good, but they are stillbringing you bad, overpriced food.
Save yourself the time, money and experience. I’ve always wondered how this place was and now I know. WIll not return.

We’ve been here now 40 min, still no food! I’d like to review the food but… We asked to speak to the manager but he/​she never showed up. What’s going on??? We took our showers this morning. Well, be that as it may, we ended up walking out and going to a great place down the street called ZEST American Bistro.
One would think with all the competition close by there would be an extra effort to give good service and food. Coming from a restaurant background (my family owned a restaurant) this is by far the worst place I’ve ever been. Not only is it unprofessional, but the bathroom reeked of urine (great way to gauge how good the restaurant is) and there were corny unattractive art work on the walls. NOT a good restaurant!

The Rice & Beans are really, really good. I have to admit, I’ve been here many times, and I’ve always gotten the Rice & Beans. However, other people I’ve gone with have ordered other things and reported that they were good.
This is a nice spot on Barracks Row that usually isn’t crowded, usually has an outside table available, and usually has good service for a nice price.
BTW — did I mention the Rice & Beans yet!!!

Food wasn’t terrible, but I would never go back. We had oysters for an appetizer, grilled salmon and Oyster Po Boy for entrees. The glaze on the salmon was not very tasty, but the coconut rice was yummy. Oyster Po Boys was mushy. Fresh oysters were fine.
Service was impeccable, but the menu and the décor need some help. The waitress told us that the restaurant has a new owner who plans to transform it to an Italian joint. We’ll see…

Went to Starfish Café for supper on a weekday night. It was very quiet, but it was after supper rush.
My wife ordered the mini crab cakes, which where probably the best that either of us have had (granted we our both Midwesterners, but we have tried some seafood around here). I had the lobster mac and cheese, which was pretty good. The hush puppies served before the meal were also pretty good.
They lose a star with the so-​so atmosphere and the prices that just seemed a tad too high for the food. The crab cakes were barely the size of normal appetizer for $ 10, and the entrée was nearly $ 20. Probably about 25% higher than what I would expect at a comparable restaurant.

We came by to get a drink while waiting for a lunch table a few doors down. Drinks were fine (a little strong for the daytime, but I am not objecting) but the slow service is where this place loses a star (or should I say a starfish?)

Absolutely disgusting food. Came here for brunch and had the three cheese omelet and my friend had the spinach and mushroom omelette. We both agreed that it tasted as though they had made the omelettes days before and decided to serve it to us. The waiter gave us the check 2 seconds after giving us our food, which I’ve been told is a restaurant’s way of shoo-​ing you away. Funny, we were 2 of maybe 7 people in the entire place. I told the waiter I wasn’t done ordering and he went away, rightfully embarassing. When we were done eating and ready for the check, it took over 10 minutes to receive it and it took them over 10 minutes to actually bring back my card.
Never. Again.

* 10 minute wait to get check
* 20 minute wait in an attempt to resolve incorrect charge
* 30 minutes wasted and the charge remained incorrect
Not cool at all !!!

The food was decent enough. I wasn’t looking to have my mind blown, I was just looking for something solid and tasty after a long afternoon of walking around the city. My friend ordered the Crab Louie, which was really good, and I had a Fried Chicken wrap, which satisfied my dining requirements for the afternoon.
Our server was incredibly nice, nice enough to make me want to come back. Actually, everyone we spoke to at Starfish was super friendly.
I’ll probably be back for brunch.

Guys, lay off the salt. I had a simple spring salad — while tasty and tangy with the house dressing, it was incredibly salty. Also had the «customer favorite» of shrimp and grits — a nice combination — although a bit too creamy losing the texture of the grits and, again, too salty. The abundance of salt overall left my tongue numb and overpowered the actual food. Partner had the gumbo soup, which seemed as if it was made with instant rice and canned chicken — blah. Shrimp in his salad was of the frozen variety and tasteless — blah.
Service could have been a little more attentive, it was almost as if we were forgotten after we had ordered and our meals delivered. After 15 or so minutes sitting at a cleared away table, we asked for the check. Dessert was not even offered — it probably would have been salty too. However; the staff was very friendly when we interacted with them. The décor was laid back, non-​fussy, and had the feel of a neighborhood place where the locals would hang out.
With all the food choices in the DC area, and especially on 8^th Street SE, not sure it’s worth a second chance. Definitely disappointed with its first chance.

Overall, this place is cool. Very good service, friendly waiters, etc. I like the mix of New Orleans/​Louisiana with Latin American/​Cuban cuisine. It makes for an interesting menu.
The food is not amazing, but definitely worth trying. The hushpuppies are very good. The lobster mac and cheese, mentioned several times here on Unilocal,is a bit heavy on the cheese and light on the lobster. I also had the calamari and the ceviche, which were both very good.
I don’t think this place is amazing, and therefore might be a bit overpriced, but it’s cute and friendly and has better service than a lot of other places in the area.

Oh dear. I loved their caipirinha. After tip, it’s about $ 10. It wasn’t too sweet, it was strong, and very flavorful. Almost 5 stars for that alone.
Bartender was super nice and offered to bring out our drinks in the 95 humid heat (we had a pager from Cava that ended in range at the outdoor seating area)
However, I think they need to check their lime supply (they looked precut, like they’d been sitting out a while). Didn’t affect flavor, but nonetheless… Oh yea, my gf and I both had an itty bitty fly in each of our drinks. Cover you lime/​sugar supplies guys. Bartender was horrified and remade our drinks strong in a flash. Sans flies.
Will try their brunch at some point and update if that is an improvement… and inspect my drinks from now on.

Every time I’ve been to Starfish, I’ve been served by its infamous bartender, Patrick. Yesterday he mixed me a Caipirhina that rivaled some of my favorite bars in Berlin. The guy is really great at what he does, running around taking care of (and chatting up) a lot of diners and a few people at the bar. We tried his «hot cinnabun» shot last night for dessert and it was delish!!! Complete with sugar sprinkles on fire and yummy yummy fun.
I need to take a moment to rave about the first thing I ate at Starfish – a fried oyster po boy. I highly recommend their po boys!!! Their sauce is great and they come piled high with seafood. I also love the batter Starfish uses to fry.
Last night we had the crab louie which was a bit disappointing. The fresh veggies on the plate were wonderful, but the tomato mayo could have been more plentiful and the lump crab lacked a nice rich flavor.
The salmon and scallop ceviche, on the other hand, was fabulous. It is reminiscent of ceviche at Banana Café, but they’re both packed with citrus flavor and great spices. Their ceviches could be a stand-​alone meal.
We split the starfish paella, which arrived pleasantly split by the kitchen (I love that). The fried asparagus on top was awesome and the dish was heavy on seafood, light on rice. The saffron sauce was rich and flavorful. It is definitely enough for two and a unique paella that you won’t find somewhere else.
After wanting to try someplace new, I’m glad I went back to Starfish’s seafood.

A solid three. Owned by the same people who brought you the Banana Café across the street, Starfish Café was the first in the new wave of eateries that opened on Barracks Row in the early 2000s.
The space is quite pretty, with pastel tones, a small bar located up front allowing for great natural light from the large picture windows, exposed brick, and with original artwork on the walls. No draft beers, but about 18 bottle selections including Magic Hat, Spaten, Afligem Blond, and Bohemia.
The food is good, but a bit on the pricey side, and doesn’t quite live up to the setting (full disclosure: I have never been here for brunch). As you would imagine from the name, the focus here is on seafood, Caribbean-​Creole to be exact (i.e. a lot of fried stuff).
The meal starts off nicely with a basket of fresh, hot, hushpuppies. The gumbo is quite good, chock full of chicken, shrimp and andouille and with a little bit of a bite. The ceviche «cocktail» made with salmon and scallops, red onion, and avocado is tasty and quite ample. They also make a pretty decent po-​boy (shrimp, oyster, catffish or scallop), but again, at $ 12, a little on the pricey side, especially considering they’re not exactly overstuffed.
The Starfish Café does, however, make for a nice place to grab an afterwork drink or snack. I suggest a glass of Sauvignon Blanc and some fresh raw oysters. Eaten at the bar or in the sidewalk seating area, and you have a nice end of the day/​beginingof the evening.

Went here for a very late lunch/​early happy hour on the Monday of MLK day — great deal, and the perfect spot for a post-​very-​long-​walk-​all-​the-​way-​down-​the-​national-​mall. Burgers are ½ off on Mondays! And happy hour starts at 4p!
I had the Italiano burger, which came loaded with sauteed mushrooms and onions, shredded lettuce, fresh melted mozzarella, and tasted like the mushrooms had been sauteed in an Italian dressing. Quite tasty. And, the fries were perfect. My dining partner had the barbeque burger — pretty standard fare, with bbq sauce, bacon, and cheddar, but he said it was pretty good.
The menu looked pretty good, and had it not been for the ½ burger deal, we definitely would have gotten something more cajun/​creole. But for $ 11 (burger + beer), we were happy as clams.

The best thing we had at Starfish was their soup du jour — a safron lemon cream of asparagus soup with mussels. The hushpuppies that come as a side with the soup were good — golden brown and moist. My salmon sandwich was nothing spectacular but still tasty and the po boys ordered by the other two people in my party were devoured without hesitation. I also had a cup of the seafood gumbo which had plenty of shrimp in it and had a nice smokey flavor.
For desert we had what they called mango key lime pie, though there wasn’t much lime flavor left and while the mango sauce was flavorful and sweet, the diced mango pieces topping the pie were tart and unripe.

After deciding to decline participating in taste of the 8^th (which turned out to be a little bit of false advertisement), I accompanied a friend who wanted to redeem her remaining tickets at Starfish. While she waited in an insanely long line to get her «taste» (read, 20 – 25 minutes), my heart was nagged by the sight of fresh oysters at the bar.
Surprisingly, I found it very difficult to place my oyster and drink order. They were so consumed by counting people for the «tastes» (and there weren’t THAT many people there), that they completely ignored me. Fed up, I finally interrupted some other patron’s order for their sample and basically bellowed that I need a drink, was going to make a regular order and that that I had money not tickets. Needless to say, the server dropped the taste patron and took my order.
I’ll forgive them for their amateur service because of the special event going on. Though, I have a strong suspicion, based on their non-​rushed movements and confused facial expressions — they were not used to having a full house and were typically just as slow.
All that and still 4 stars? Yep… because they served me the best damn mojito I’ve had in my life, which was worth bad service three times over.

I don’t know why we decided to get seafood when it encouraged us to talk about the local seafood and question where we were getting ours from. I think it was the patio. A patio on a sunny day can convince me to do many things.
I got the ceviche-​what kind? I don’t think it matters. It didn’t wow me and it was big. I was excited at first, but that faded fast. Everything else on the menu seemed fried and expensive, besides the po boy sandwich which didn’t look appetizing to me either. Luckily, it was like 4PM and I was well on my way to thinking about dinner elsewhere.

I am editing my review on this restaurant after my most recent experience. They have raised their price on the chilled seafood appetizer and it didn’t come out as described — only salmon ceviche without the scallops as described. The oysters were small and nondescript. The cioppino also didn’t come out as described — no corn or potatoes to accompany — only one small bowl of soup that tasted as if they had dumped a can of tomatoe soup over some seafood — no flavor at all. The babeque shrimp is not authentic New Orleans style at all. And why did they not peel the shrimp in the cioppino? That is acceptable in new orleans bbq shrimp — but not in cioppino.
There are just too many othere good restaurants in the area to waste your time and money on this one!