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Health & Fitness

Intimate and cosy restaurant features food from a former Watergate Hotel chef

Down “antique lane” in Kensington, between an antique shop and a second-hand bookshop, sits a restaurant that brings American and French cuisine together.

There’s a faded Yelp! sticker on the door of K Town Bistro declaring the restaurant “highly rated.” On K Town’s personal Yelp! page, business owner Gonzalo Barba responds to complaints and compliments.

“Customer service is our top priority. We’re flexible, prompt and friendly,” Barba said. “We want our customers to leave happier than they were when they came in.”

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The restaurant holds 16 tables and is relatively crowded for the mid-afternoon with 10 of them full. Crockery adorns the yellow walls behind the bar.  Quilted tapestries and pictures of food hang on the walls above the customers’ heads.

Barba founded K Town Bistro after he left the Watergate Hotel to start his own business in 2010.  Barba catered to many customers in the past, including Condoleezza Rice and members of the Kennedy family.

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The restaurant was in positive graces for several customers there. Two groups in the restaurant spoke about the tastiness of their meal. Several Yelp reviews have shown an opposition to the restaurant, though. 

“While the food might be good, I feel it’s overpriced for a place with an atmosphere and décor that doesn’t quite justify the prices,” said restaurant patron Adam Kizilbash.

Prices in the evening range from $6 for French onion soup to $35 for a surf and turf, which comes with a filet mignon, four shrimp, green beans and fingerling potatoes.

Parking is easily found in the Safeway around the corner from the restaurant. Parking is also available, but limited, on the street outside of the restaurant.


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