Peachy's Picks Washington, D.C.: The Oval Room by Ashok Bajaj, Knightsbridge Restaurant Group Sixth Restaurant to Be Reviewed by Peachy Deegan Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Dining perfection at The Oval Room of The Knightsbridge Restaurant Group by Ashok Bajaj
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In the world of international fine dining, there are two kinds of restaurant owners.
1. Ashok Bajaj
2. Everyone else
A native of India, Ashok Bajaj has been blowing away the competition in Washington, D.C. for many years with style and class. He would never tell you that himself, and we are happy to brag about him, for him. He does not ask us to do this: he earns it honestly. Our only criticism of Ashok is that he is not that into social media, but he probably does not need to be so much if he is friends with Peachy!
Ashok's background in fine dining came in London, where we plan on reviewing restaurants sometime and maybe the ones he used to manage.
If Ashok ever comes to Manhattan to open a restaurant, all restaurant owners here should be intimidated, because he is THAT exemplary, and in most cases, better.
Probably no one has been featured as much as Ashok over the years, and definitely not for as many different venues. He sets the standard for restaurant group owners and sincerely cares about people and relationships. He also works incredibly hard, and everyone knows James Beard has been singing the praises of Ashok Bajaj for many years. All that we have written on him is our honest opinion and we did not know Ashok prior to walking into 701 in 2013. As you may remember we had worked with a prominent sports team in Washington around the time we began working with Ashok. Even better than sports are his dinners, which is why we still write on him! Maybe the Verizon center could get him to cater...
Ashok was last featured in 2015 for an encore review of 701:
Ashok is still almost an octopus. He visits each of his restaurants every day and his presence is there even if he is not: a rare find that we definitely do not see at the Manhattan restaurant groups, or we would be telling you about them. Everything of The Knightsbridge Restaurant Group that we have ever experienced is high-caliber quality, and we have never found a faux pas. Ever. Still.
701 was the first restaurant we reviewed by Ashok:
Then Nopa:
And The Bombay Club:
Bibiana:
Rasika West End:
So, The Oval Room is the sixth restaurant owned by Ashok Bajaj we have critiqued.
Working with him is like playing Monopoly. Guess who loves Monopoly.
Peachy Deegan is very selective and detail-oriented. So is Ashok.
She definitely does not like everything and everybody and you should see the discard pile.
Everything was perfect in our Oval Room experience, right down to the bread basket.
How many reviews do you see where everything is perfect?
The Chandelier is just gorgeous. (Matthew we're talking to you.)
Of course, why would you stop at one chandelier.
The tablecloths are perfect, the water glasses are perfect, and they know to give us room to write and take pictures. We have to explain absolutely nothing to The Knightsbridge Restaurant Group because they know. Maybe they were just born that way. If someone doesn't like Ashok and his professional team, we'd say you should just assume they are just jealous of their phenomenal success.
So, ta da!
Even better than The Oval Office (we would imagine, we have not been) is The Oval Room.
It is steps away from The White House.
The Oval Room opened in 1998 and in 2014, Executive Chef John Melfi, whom we met and worked with on our inaugural experience at The Oval Room, joined the party. John's work is extraordinary and we were entirely pleased.
For our green salad, we chose the Roasted Chicken Salad which looks like it just stopped off the runway and had its hair done by Mover and Shaker Edward Tricomi. The avocado accent was an especially nice touch and the free-range chicken was warm and just right. The flavor and texture variety was simply sensational and if you put this plate in front of Peachy blindfolded she'd probably guess someone with Ashok did it. Heirloom lettuces and orange rounded out the symphony of salad and Ms. Picky I Don't Like 99% of Salad Dressings in Existence even liked the Ginger-Soy Vinaigrette. And normally, she is absolutely not into soy.
Though it is good to see the world through rose-colored glasses figuratively, when you can figuratively see it and literally drink it, why not!?!
The Gruet Brut Rose NV Sparkling Wine from New Mexico is simply divine, and was the perfect drinking buddy to this edible ecstasy of amazement.
We were trying to get The White House (probably not entirely possible) to reflect in the glass but you get the idea...
Don't hate this because it's beautiful. Eat it.
Guess where the edible flowers are coming from!
Chef Melfi and Ashok push the boundaries of creativity to the ideal climax with the Tuna Sashimi.
Citrus Salad, Trout Roe, Cucumber, Basil Seeds and Yuzu, a simple syrup sucra highlight this wonderful dish. If God turned into a food, this is what she would be.
For our entree, we opted for the Grilled Calamari which arrives fresh every day from Rhode Island. Up with New England!!!
Purple potatoes, charred fennel, piquillo pepers and squid ink emulsion team up for a seafood extravaganza to remember. Really, these pictures speak for themselves and they are more powerful than our words. We do not edit pictures for anything ever. Everything is genuinely this bright and fresh.
From every angle, the Grilled Calamari earns applause.
This is what dessert is supposed to look like!
Ashok could run a culinary institute with all his knowledge and great ideas, but lucky for you, he has chosen to feed you instead.
Meet the passion fruit sorbet with pineapple consummate, dehydrated raspberries and strawberries, the absolute last word in Washington sophistication.
We do sincerely hope we can find other single individuals that own six restaurants we like as much as these, but realize how hard it is to find people like that....we love love love Ashok!
The Oval Room is Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
We can't wait to return to Washington and see Ashok!
