A Rake's Progress

Now closed

A Rake's Progress closed permanently in June 2020 (Eater DC). This review stays up for the record.

My Take

James Beard Award-winning chef Spike Gjerde and his Baltimore restaurant Woodberry Kitchen have earned a reputation for making locally sourced ingredients the stars of their menu. The food is excellent, and despite some inconsistencies with the service I intend to go back with seafood lovers to work through the raw bar and cocktail menu.

The physical space is breathtaking. Located in Adams Morgan, the renovated Christian Science temple provides a backdrop to one of the District's most impressive dining rooms. When we arrived for our 7:00 o'clock reservation, the entire room was bathed in the glow of the setting sun streaming through the stained glass windows on both ends of the vaulted space.

Our waiter was excellent: personable, attentive, well-informed, and accommodating. The sommelier was also on point. As good as they were it was the support staff that fell short. While none of their actions ruined the experience, their mistakes were notable.

This level of inconsistency is distracting and unfortunate because the food was excellent. We started with a trio of domestic hams (good), an off-menu cheese board (outstanding) and riff on a mille-feuille with savory pastry cream and a variety of vegetables (delightful). The "Crown of Duck" which included both a roasted breast and cassoulet was perfect. It was impeccably carved tableside and presented beautifully.

Rake's Progress is a nice addition to the D.C. dining scene, but to earn the love and loyalty of the sophisticated diners that can support it they need to deal with the support staff. "Being new" is not an excuse especially considering the $200 per person tab.

NOTE: Stravinsky is my favorite composer and while I'm not a huge fan of the opera that shares this name I love the story of the spendthrift son who squanders his father's fortune on gambling, liquor, and prostitutes. I decided to listen to the opera as I wrote this and would love to know why they chose the name.

Public Knowledge

While open, Spike Gjerde's restaurant at the Line hotel was known for Mid-Atlantic local sourcing, wood-hearth cooking, Tidewater cured hams and seafood platters (Eater DC). Washingtonian critic Ann Limpert (2018) praised the stained-glass dining room at twilight and appetizers such as the ham trio with sweet-potato biscuits, lobster toast and fried quail, plus the hearth-smoked trout, but found some mains needed fine-tuning (Washingtonian).

Ratings — Yelp 3.9 (227 reviews) · as of October 29, 2026. Source: Yelp

Details

Price: $$$$ of $$$$$

A Rake's Progress · The Line DC, 1770 Euclid St NW, Washington, DC 20009 · closed June 2020