Windows Over Washington Restaurant (Arlington, VA)
The Comedy Zone Revue features some of the East Coast's top touring comics, headlining a bill which includes live jazz from The Old Dominion Trio, plus dancers, magicians, and other variety performers.
Event summary prepared by the Goldstar Editorial Team.
* Additional fees apply.
Timing is everything! The Comedy Zone Revue is probably a much better nighttime diversion when the right combination of people - and the right number of people - are in the audience. My husband and I chose a Friday for our experience, and we enjoyed what each of the acts had to offer: jazz trio, emcee/comic, magician, and headliner comic.
We arrived a bit early, on purpose, and the greeter was very friendly, seating us right next to the stage. He chatted with us about his personal experience with Goldstar, recommending other activities we might try.
The Old Dominion Trio was excellent, a very nice accompaniment to an excellent dinner. We chose the three-course deal, good food for a good price. All three players were very talented, and their music added just the right tone to the meal.
The magician was friendly and competent, though just a bit awkward and disheveled (perhaps part of his professional persona?), starting his act by visiting some of the tables during dinner, then spending about 10 minutes giving a dedicated act during the actual show.
Our emcee told us at the opening of the show that the more we interacted with the performers, the more we would get out of the show. He was right, but unfortunately, the audience on this Friday evening was not generally willing to participate. Every one of the acts had to pull the smallest bits of interaction out of the rather sparse audience, and that makes their work so much harder.
The headliner, a veteran of stand-up who's performed worldwide, tried vainly to joke with the audience, trying friendly banter, some mild heckling, and even explaining his comedy, but with little result. Often, it was only a handful of the audience (my husband and I included) who were chuckling or clapping or offering even mild support for his work. So, even though he had a wide variety of very good material, he just wasn't getting a good response from the audience, essential for a good show.
By the end of the evening, my husband and I agreed that the format and content of this show are good, but it takes cooperation by the people in the audience to make the experience truly fun.
It is a very nice restaurant over-looking the DC skyline. The food is very good and upscale. Although a bit on the pricier side it is well worth it. The show itself is totally worth the admission fee. Definitely a nice event for a special occasion!
My husband and I enjoyed a nice evening out. The view was spectacular, the food was good and the entertainment was very entertaining. I would have to agree that the food is upscale and pricey. My husband ordered from the menu and I ordered the 4 course meal and we shared our food. We saved a little money that way and were very full and satisfied.
I would recommend this as a nice romantic night out. Make sure you take a ride up to the Skydome Lounge to the revolving lounge to see the view before 9pm; they charge a $10 cover charge/pp for Friday and Saturday evening dancing and entertainment.
** Correction: As an added benefit from the hotel they have offered our guests for the dinner shows complimentary admission to the Sky Dome on Friday and Saturday after the show. Normally a $10 cover charge to enter, the cover is waived with your dinner receipt, so you can enjoy the panoramic views from the top of the hotel with the revolving floor while enjoying a nightcap or two.
Most of the evening at Windows over Washington was very enjoyable. The view of DC is awesome, the food was very good, and the manager and wait staff was customer focused. The comedy zone act was also very good once you got past the first 15 - 20 minutes.
The emcee tried to make jokes and he was absolutely awful and spent the whole 10 minutes trying to infer that white folks didn't understand his black comedy even though the non-white folks didn't find him funny either. The first 10 minutes of the magic routine was really strange. Then the guy started on his comedy routine and he almost immediately started interacting with the crowd, which in most cases means they have given up on their own material and are now going to make fun of the crowd to get a laugh. Luckily it did not progress into derogatory statements but was pretty comical and he kept building on what he had learned from the crowd and used it later. His routine with the puppets was VERY good and very enjoyable as he used a lot of knowledge obtained earlier in the puppet / ventriloquist routine. Very cute!
I had bought all 9 tickets as this was a birthday celebration for me and I didn't want other individuals paying for a comedy routine if it turned out to be a comedian making laughs at our expense. However, I would recommend this as a good venue for both a romantic evening as well as a group activity.
In addition, they also provided our parking validation for the $21 parking in the garage as well as covered our $10 cover charge at the Sky Dome Lounge. When we went to the rotating Sky Dome, the view is also awesome and they put together seating for all 9 of us and were very attentive again. The music was current and the lounge was not overcrowded so we had a good time socializing and dancing.
So, I would recommend this venue highly especially if you take advantage of all the perks, the food from the restaurant, the lounge upstairs, and the paid self-parking.
Stand up comedy combined with a magic show. The show was basically entertaining, but not the best I've seen.
I liked the beautiful view and the food. The comedians were not very entertaining. Most of the main comedian's act consisted of questioning and attempting to embarrass people in the audience. He didn't seem to have a routine or jokes but winged it based on the comments from the audience.
The dinner was lovely with superb food and exceptional service. The Old Dominion Trio were really good and the magician and comic were not too bad.
The view from Windows Over Washington was spectacular - the unmentioned dinner guest.
It was a great evening; I strongly recommend it for a night out.
The venue is intimate and has a wonderful view of Washington, D.C. This particular comedian was average. But the last time I went the headliner and the warm-up acts were awesome.
Dinner can be ordered at the early show. It was a taste festival! Top- chef food. Expensive, but the presentation and the wonderful flavors will make you forgive the price, until you get your credit card statement.
Great evening: food , drinks, comedy and a wonderful view. Worth checking it out!
The jazz trio did a wonderful job and we enjoyed listening to them very much.
The emcee for the evening, a black gentleman, made several off-colour jokes and used the word "nigger" frequently during his time on-stage while addressing the primarily black audience. I found this to be a bit inappropriate for this venue.
The magician seemed to be a beginner. The highlight of his performance (Saturday night) was helping an audience member propose to his girlfriend (she said yes). His timing was off and his attempts at humor failed.
Davin, the headliner was very funny... though he had to explain many of his jokes to the crowd. I would recommend seeing Davin at another venue any time!
The Windows restaurant has a remarkable view of the city. The food was expensive, mediocre, and portions small. The service was extremely bad. We were almost half way through the show before we could give out order and the waiter never came back to check on us after bringing a bottle of wine and food. He then proceeded to make errors when we were paying our tab at the end of the evening. I would NOT return to Windows for any meal or event in the future.
The food and wine were both delicious. We arrived a little before 6pm the gentleman that checked us in was incredibly nice and accommodating. We went for drinks upstairs and came back to the restaurant around 6:30. We were the only people in the restaurant until after 7pm. The 1st act didn't start performing until around 8:30 and the main act a little after 9pm. Also, the restaurant was very chilly.
Good show, dinner a little pricey, but tasty
I thought the show was funny and appreciated L.A. Hardy's humor. We did not eat there so I can't comment on the food. What I didn't appreciate was that my Goldstar ticket said the show would start at 7pm and it actually was scheduled to start at 8pm. No one told us that when we arrived at 6:40 so we had over an hour of down time to wait. I wouldn't have arrived so early if I had known the start time was not what was advertised.
The jazz show wasn't good because it was an electric guitar and way to loud for that size room. Our party of 4 found it difficult to chat and enjoy our dinner. The comedy show was funny.
The dinner and show was good for a special occasion. The show's MC did a good job and made sure anyone celebrating a special occasion (anniversary/ birthday etc.) could be recognized if they wished to be.
However, the food was pricey for the quality -- On top of the show prices, it was $42 each for 3 courses plus the costs of drinks and coffee ($10 for each glass of wine). The appetizers were good (corn and shrimp basque and lettuce salad) while the entrees were average at best (crab cakes and rockfish) and desserts were garden variety/ clearly refrigerated for some time prior. The waiter tried to take my soup plate before I was finished so that he could take our plates at the same time (major no-no for any high-end restaurant). The wine selection was expensive for the quality.
The jazz/ classical guitarist at the beginning was nice background music. The magician was little cheesy for adults. The comedian Mike Storck was pretty funny with clever literary and cultural references (although I am glad we had the earlier PG version as the uncensored late night version would probably be laced with too many profanities for our tastes since there were already enough in the early evening version of the show. Mike had pokes at the downside of being a comedian on cruises, his bad experiences with U.S. made cars, Alabama rednecks, ADD/ADHD (his own), crazy old girl friends, and "ethics for dummies" (so if any of those topics are likely to offend you, it may be a good idea to skip this show (and there were some offended guests).
Horrible. The first act was a large lady who escapes from a straight jacket - Boring. The second act was guy who told very outdated jokes regarding his upbringing in South East DC and how black people relate to this or that versus white people.
The supposed best and last performer was just as bad. He made racial jokes, even mimicking an indian waiter while he actually waited on a table. Jokes were inappropriate and just seemed to be done so many times before. YAWN!
Goldstar web site stated $20 dinners. The prices start at $25.00. Meals are very upscale, and delicious.
There were 3 acts total, and the best act was the final one. The view was amazing - take a camera! For 1 entree, 1 beer, soup plus tax/tip my meal was $52. It was all really good, but there was no entree under $20 that I can remember. The restaurant is small enough that any seat has a decent view. I was able to park on the street near the hotel for free, but the restaurant also gave vouchers for parking - so there was no cost for that in the end. I really enjoyed the entire event and plan to go back in the near future.
Let me start by saying the headliner was very funny and he wasn't vulgar, which our group really appreciated. The venue itself is very nice and the view is top rate.
However....when we tried to park our car through the valet, we were told that we would have to pay, and that we would also have to pay if we self-parked in the garage. I was very annoyed as I had called the Doubletree TWICE to verify the parking. We had two disabled people in the party and although we were able to park outside at the curb for free, it made for extra time, effort and steps. When we reached the restaurant, we were told there has been "confusion" about this in the past. Confusion? How about misinformation? If you know it's been a problem, straighten it out people!
I was also told TWICE on the phone that the show started at 7 (jazz combo starting at 6:30), and that we did not need to order dinner at the venue.
We rushed through dinner in the District only to arrive at 6:55 and find out the show was scheduled to begin at 7:45, and in fact it didn't start until after 8:00. Thanks again for getting us there an hour early when we didn't need to. The table was set for dinner, and even after we informed the staff TWICE that we were just there to see the show, the plates, utensils, wine glasses, etc were not removed from the table.
The combo was adequate and the contortionist was sweet, but didn't do anything that my 5'3" 105 lb daughter couldn't have done after practicing for a day. The warm up comedian was very loud, pretty obnoxious and not very funny. I was thinking that the whole thing was a big waste of time and money until the headliner came in and saved the evening!
Conclusion:
The people on the phone don't know/don't care when you ask questions and it's likely that you will receive the wrong information if you call to verify details.
It's too bad the staff didn't have it's act together (or seem to care) as the actual main portion of the show was worth seeing for the price we paid.
Fabulous panoramic view of DC and friendly, gracious wait staff immediately confirmed this as a good choice. Ken Evans was funny as hell. Haven't laughed that much in a long time. For me it was all fresh material.
Despite the view, the restaurant felt oddly claustrophobic.
Would recommend skipping a trip to the Skydome if you're looking for a quiet post-prandial. Can't remember entering such a nauseating environment but if strobe lights and high decibel music is your thing, you may enjoy it.
Wow! This was a great night: a leisurely, first class dinner; mellow jazz during the dinner; great service; and a superb comedy show. This was an upscale experience at a very decent price. An excellent value for the dollar.
The food was great, but the show was horrible! It was borderline painful to sit and watch the comedians.
My date and I had a really great time! The view of Washington was wonderful, and we saw a number of planes landing, which looked great with the city lights as a backdrop. The comedian was funny, though he had some odd moments and the contortionist was alright, not great. I would have to agree with other reviewers with regards to the price of the food; it was a bit pricey, but tasty though. Overall we had a good time, and I think I'll be going back and taking advantage of the free admission to the skydome. :)
The food is as described by others, pricey but good. Worth the money for the fixed price meal.
The show was great and the staff were very friendly and accommodating. Dinner begins at 6 but arriving in time to finish your meal before the show at 8 seemed best. From 6:30 to 8 we were able to enjoy Old Dominion Trio's Jazz and the amazing view.
Definitely business casual (no shorts guys). Ladies, it can get quite chilly so bring something to wrap up in.
Best part of the evening (and all parts considered it was great), no one would ever guess this has one of the best views in the city. We saw the lightening storm, fireworks from the stadium, planes landing, and DC landmarks all while enjoying a good show and food. I recommend it.
The scenery is beautiful overlooking D.C. The food is pricey but very tasty. The discounted price of the show balances out the price of the food. Food is optional not mandatory. The show had a variety of acts and they state it is different every weekend. There was sword swallowing, ventriliquist, comedy and magician. The revolving roof top dance club has a disco light and very loud music, not my thing but I am sure it is nice if you are in to that. Would definitely eat there and see the show again. Loved it!
The Comedy Zone Revue was entertaining and a great value. For the price of the ticket you receive free parking in the Doubletree ($21 value) and free admission to the Rooftop bar ($10 per person) in addition to the show.
The restaurant is quaint with amazing food and an awesome view of DC and the planes flying into / out of DCA. We arrived at 6:30 for the live jazz and were the only ones there until after 7:00 when the show was expected to start. The show ended up kicking off around 8:00 with a contortionsit who performs with the Cheeky Monkey Sideshow, an opening comedian, and the main headliner. All in all it was a great venue. Definately a good romantic night out.
let me start off by saying loved the price ------ the food was immaculate i was blown away with the detail in which was into every aspect of the nite --- from the door greeter, to the wait staff/servers, the politeness of all I encountered. The show was great --- im a fan of dry humor and thats what i received big UP's to all the performers Mr. Lawrence for MCng the show - you are def a riot ..... loves- loves- loves ya
Nice evening. Beautiful view, excellent food though a little expensive. Jazz combo very listenable, entertainers not very sophisticated but likeable and somewhat enjoyable.
It was an average show. Not the best I have seen through GoldStar in the past. The food was good but the service was below average. All in all - I will not recommend it to anyone as a great event.
The food was very good, though on the expensive side.
Master of ceremonies comic reasonably funny; contortionist very strange entertainment for a nightclub act - she was ok, but have seen much better. Headliner funny and improved over the last time we saw him at a different location. He cut down a bit on the off-color stuff, but still too dependent on it.
Very enjoyable evening. Jazz trio was excellent; comedians were funny, and the food was very good. Definitely worth the price of admission and would recommend it to others.
This time around, we had dinner somewhere else and stopped by to see the show. It was excellent.
We pretty much expected to hear the same jokes from the headliners, but surprisingly enough we didn’t! This time we got to see a contortionist; she was definitely flexible and very funny!
Tim Kidd was great, I felt bad for the “mustache” guy that he picked on for most of the night, but still his whole performance was pretty funny. I loved the finale of his show; the music part of his act was very original and hilarious!
The only downside for us was that it would have been nice to know that the show starts around 8pm and not at 7pm. We rushed our dinner and raced to the Comedy Zone because we didn’t want to miss the show. Oh well, we did get to enjoy the nice live jazz music.
This event was really good. And so was the food! The view was great. I would definitely recommend it.
Hi it was a light crowd and the main attraction was good and host was also very funny, the food was good and the waiter where great, but things where a little pricey, I then went upstairs to the bar and dance from and that was great,
thank you for your site I might not have ever went if I had not tried it from your site,,
thanks again,,
Fabulous view. Revolving bar upstairs is great after show. Make sure they comp you for admission since you attended Comedy Zone. Also parking is validated with the show.
Food is very good. try the 3 course pre fixe meal; best value there. Wine list ahs many reasonably priced bottles ($30-$35).
Show was solid.
Combination is what makes it so special.
Tips are provided by Goldstar members and Comedy Zone DC. Goldstar is not responsible for their content or accuracy.
Enjoy Contemporary American Cuisine alongside the most spectacular views of Washington DC, the Potomac River, and Reagan Airport. Along with your excellent meal you will enjoy the laughs provided by the Comedy Zone. Windows over Washington is open on Friday & Saturday nights.
The Comedy Zone Revue is a show like no other in the area. The evening begins with dinner and live jazz from The Old Dominion Trio. The next portion of the show features a variety of performers – dancers, magicians, celebrity impersonators, acrobats -- the list goes on. Each week offers something new! The Revue then turns the mic over to the weekend’s headliner for a hilarious whirlwind wrap-up sure to send you home in stitches!
The Comedy Zone DC presents live variety and nationally touring comedians.
at Windows Over Washington Restaurant
on November 28th and 1 more date