Sequoia

Sequoia at 3000 K Street NW is the Georgetown waterfront restaurant that has consistently been cited for the most dramatic views in the neighborhood: the three-tiered outdoor terrace provides unobstructed views of the Potomac River, the Francis Scott Key Bridge above, and the Virginia shore across the water, which together produce one of the most scenically positioned dining experiences in Washington. The restaurant is operated by Ark Restaurants, the New York-based restaurant group that has specialized in waterfront dining locations across the American East Coast.

The Georgetown waterfront was transformed from its largely industrial and parking-lot character in the 1980s by the Georgetown Harbour development, which created the K Street commercial district at the river level that Sequoia anchors. The restaurant’s position at the K Street waterfront level, below the M Street commercial district that most Georgetown visitors encounter, gives Sequoia the direct river adjacency that the Georgetown waterfront’s topography provides for the buildings at the canal and river level.

The three-tiered terrace, which opens in the spring and remains active through the warm months, is the physical feature that distinguishes Sequoia from Georgetown’s other waterfront restaurants. The tiered design allows multiple levels of dining with varying proximity to the river, and the Key Bridge view from the upper levels provides the framing of the waterfront that photographs well and that Georgetown visitors specifically seek out.

The American food menu at Sequoia covers the casual fine dining categories appropriate to a waterfront destination: the seafood appetizers that the Chesapeake proximity suggests, the American entree selection from fish through steaks, and the brunch format on Saturday and Sunday that captures the morning waterfront experience.

Hours run from 11:30am weekdays and 10:30am weekends. Reservations are available online and recommended for outdoor terrace seating. Ark Restaurants, the New York-based group that operates Sequoia, has specialized in waterfront dining locations across the American East Coast since the 1980s, which means the Georgetown Sequoia is part of a portfolio of river and harbor-front restaurants that the company has developed expertise in operating. The waterfront restaurant requires a different operational approach from the interior dining room: the weather-dependent outdoor service, the seasonal fluctuations in the outdoor dining demand, and the maintenance of the physical plant in the riverside environment all require the specific knowledge that Ark’s waterfront experience provides. The three-tiered terrace at Sequoia is the physical infrastructure that makes the restaurant’s view offering more than a single table’s worth of waterfront exposure. The capacity of the terrace allows Sequoia to serve a substantial number of covers at the river level simultaneously, which is the economic foundation that a waterfront restaurant’s premium pricing requires. The Key Bridge view from the Sequoia terrace at dusk is among the most photographed scenes in Georgetown: the bridge’s arch over the Potomac, with the Virginia shore beyond and the Georgetown neighborhood in the frame, is the Georgetown scene that appears regularly in Washington food and travel media. The reservation system for outdoor terrace seating at Sequoia fills quickly in the warm months. Hours run from 11:30am weekdays and 10:30am weekends.