Whaley’s opened recently in Navy Yard, and I headed there with my boyfriend to grab some oysters and a cocktail. I love the Navy Yards area for the open space, fountains, and the variety of restaurants available.
Whaley’s is adorned with gorgeous large-scale murals in shades of blue. The high ceiling, mirror lined back wall, and glass front entrance give the space a sense of airiness and almost tricks you into thinking that you are outdoors next to a fishing pier. The food is focused on seafood, but they also have pork chop and hanger steak entrees for non-seafood lovers.
I wanted to try more than one cocktail, but the #1 was so good that I just had to order to order a second one. Its ingredients include sparkling rosé, St. Germaine, rum, and grapefruit. It is light, and refreshing, with just a hint of sweetness. It paired well with the oyster plate, the poached cold shrimp, and the razor clams that we had for appetizers.
After two cocktails, we had worked up an appetite and we were ready for a substantial meal. We ordered the pork chop sprinkled with a crunchy corn bread crumble, and the Carolina Gold Rice topped with crispy Parmesan crisps to share between the two of us. The pork chop is a big serving of thick cut Ecofriendly Foods pork, and was perfectly cooked to order. I was surprised at the large portion size because I had expected that Whaley’s would be a small portions restaurant. The Carolina Gold Rice was creamy, full of Spring vegetables, and dotted with pesto. I could eat bowls and bowls of it. I’m glad we didn’t order a second entrée because the portions were big enough to leave us full and satisfied.
Overall, it was a great meal with wonderful service.
Whaley’s is located at:
301 Water St SE #115
Washington, DC 20003
One Vanilla Bean 