Fine Dining

• The Caucus Room (thecaucusroom.com) is a political-themed fine dining establishment in downtown Washington, approximately one mile north of L'Enfant Plaza. This restaurant features pictures of Washington landmarks, such as the U.S. Capital and Washington Monument. Caucus Room's dining area has leather chairs and linen-covered tables. Dinner entrees include Australian lamb, flat iron steak and roasted chicken.
  
  Wolfgang Puck's The Source (wolfgangpuck.com) is the on-site restaurant at Washington's Newseum (newseum.org); the restaurant is a five-minute drive from L'Enfant Plaza. This restaurant has three levels of dining areas and features floor-to-ceiling windows offering views of D.C. The Source provides prix fixe lunch specials and entrees include quail, Kobe short ribs and vindaloo chicken.
  
  

Breakfast Cafes

• The Cosmo Cafe (cosmocafedc.com) is less than five blocks east of L'Enfant Plaza; the cafe is on Maryland Avenue, across the street from the Federal Aviation Administration building. For breakfast, this cafe serves an all-you-can-eat buffet; selections include pancakes, French toast, bacon and oatmeal. Sit-down service is also available. The restaurant has a casual atmosphere.
  
  L'Enfant Plaza is 1.3 miles from Cafe du Parc (cafeduparc.com), which is next door to the Willard Intercontinental Hotel (washington.intercontinental.com). Cafe du Parc's breakfast menu has eggs Benedict, buckwheat crepes and Croque Monsieur -- a combination of grilled ham and Gruyere cheese. This French-themed cafe offers outdoor dining, which provides views of Pershing Park.
  
  

Potomac Waterfront

• Captain White's Seafood (captainwhitesseafood.com) is next to the Francis Case Memorial Bridge and a half-mile southwest of L'Enfant Plaza. This waterfront eatery is a family-owned operation and provides outdoor dining. Captain White's also has a seafood market. Dinner options are catfish, flounder, crab cakes, jumbo shrimp and scallops.
  
  Located on Water Street, Jenny's Asian Fusion (jennysdc.com) restaurant provides views of the Potomac River, less than a half-mile from L'Enfant Plaza. The dining room also overlooks the boatyard of the Gangplank Marina. Jenny's serves its dishes gourmet-style. Asian entrees include ginger scallion lobster, Cantonese beef chow with flat noodles and orange tofu.
  
  

Hotel Restaurants

• On the ground floor of the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel (lenfantplazahotel.com), the American Grill serves American cuisine in a casual setting. This restaurant specializes in steak and seafood specials. The dinner menu includes Maine diver scallops, king salmon filet and Angus-roasted filet mignon. American Grill suggests making reservations.
  
  CityZen Restaurant, a AAA five-diamond restaurant, is in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel (mandarinoriental.com), a five-block walk from L'Enfant Plaza. The restaurant features Asian-themed décor and white wine selections. The menu has three-course and six-course dining options. CityZen enforces a business casual dress code. Dinner items include duck foie gras, duck Bolognese and Maine lobster.