The House of Representatives is, you may have heard, rather busy right now. But it’s technically not in session, which means that as of today, for the first time, you can visit the House of Representatives Members’ Dining Room for lunch, whether you’re on the House payroll or not.
The dining room will be open to walk-in guests on a first-come, first-served basis from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. whenever the House is out of session, according to a press release from the House’s Chief Administrative Officer. But your better bet, the release says, would be to make a reservation on OpenTable, where the eatery is categorized as “$30 and under,” “elegant dining” and “American.”
The menu for the dining room has proved elusive so far, but pictures on the OpenTable page show salmon, steak, burgers, and fries, as well as white tablecloths and an elaborate chandelier. At press time, the OpenTable page said the room had been booked 43 times today alone.
The dining room, once open only to House members and their invited guests, became marginally less exclusive a year ago when it opened up to Hill staffers, Roll Call reported. At the time, a Congressional ID and “business attire” were required to enter.
The dining room opened in 1834 with an eclectic menu of “oysters, beefsteak, and partridge,” according to the House web site. It’s operated out of the same set of rooms (H-117-120) since 1858.
“In the 19th century, the House favored a finer dining experience, choosing well-known proprietors of high-end establishments to take over the management of food service in the Capitol,” the House site says. These days, the establishment describes itself on OpenTable as providing “seasonal menus and heart healthy options coupled with traditional items such as House Bean soup.
Some regular visitors to the dining room have decried its declining standards in recent years, including a 2015 shift from menu service to buffet style, according to the Roll Call report.
The room apparently has also been a hotbed of low-grade corruption. According to a Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics report covered in the Washington Post, several House members reported conducting “campaign” or “political” business while dining there, in violation of House rules prohibiting campaign business on House property. Some representatives disputed the charge that they had violated the rule.
Visitors to the dining room must enter the Capitol through the south door, according to the OpenTable posting.
