Skydome is a popular restaurant located in Arlington, Virginia. It’s not just a typical restaurant, giving you access to a 360-degree view of the D.C. and Arlington area. This well-reviewed restaurant has a classy and friendly atmosphere.

The Skydome restaurant is located at the top of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Washington DC – Crystal City. We left around 5 pm from Manassas to get ahead of traffic on 28; the drive was around 40-50 minutes to arrive. We arrived, and the valet led us to the parking lot. Then, we got into an elevator that had many buttons leading to the hotel, but we pressed the rooftop button. When we stepped out of the elevator, we arrived at a small hallway. At first, we were a little confused, but then we spotted a door that said ‘Skydome’ and opened it.

As soon as we entered, we were greeted by the host. He asked if we had a reservation or if we were a walk-in. We told him we had a reservation and the name it was under, and then he told us to wait a few seconds while they got our table ready. The reason we had RSVP’d prior was because it was a Friday night, and peak hours at Skydome are usually between 6:00 and 9:00 pm. Our server, Rob, seated us with ice-cold water and handed over the menus while taking our drink orders.

We were on a spinning platform that rotates 360 degrees, giving us a view of the DC area. It takes about 45 minutes to complete a full spin. The restaurant had dim lighting, cherry vines wrapped around the top, along with cherry blossom umbrellas hanging from the ceiling, and overall, it had a very modern look, making the restaurant’s vibes feel classy.

The chairs and lounge-style seating were comfortable enough to relax and enjoy the meal. There was also this section in the middle where there were couches, and you could just sit and enjoy the view. This section doesn’t spin at all. I, Brianna, personally like sitting back whenever I get too full, and the couches gave that space to lie back and enjoy the view.

Once we were comfortable in our seats, we looked over the drink menu and picked a Sprite and a lemonade. After about five minutes, Rob brought us our drinks, which tasted really fizzy and cold.

Skydome overall has a menu with a variety of different foods, but it is mostly focused on American-style foods. They have many choices for appetizers, including a cheese and charcuterie board, seasonal hummus, crab dip, chicken wings, crispy brussels sprouts, and grilled octopus. The price range for appetizers was around $14.00-$28.00.

We ordered their popular Crab Dip for an appetizer, which had a rich flavor to it, but it was on the cheesy side. It came with small slices of sourdough on the side to eat with.

They also have many different options to choose from for main dishes on their menu. It consisted of salads, flatbreads, shrimp paccheri pasta, mushroom bolognese paccheri pasta, black angus burger, ribeye steak, organic roasted chicken, rack of lamb, Faroe Island salmon, and filet mignon. The dishes also come with one side of your choice; you get to choose from mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, local greens salad, French fries, Mexican roasted street corn, creamed spinach, truffle fries with garlic aioli, or sweet potato fries. Most of their main dishes had a price range of around $28.00-$64.00, while sides had a price range of $7.00-$9.00.

I, Camila, ordered a Caesar salad for my main dish, which came with crisp romaine, heirloom tomatoes, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, croutons, and chicken. The romaine lettuce was crunchy with a fresh and high-quality taste to it, and the Parmigiano was savory with a slight taste of sweetness. The chicken also had a flavorful taste to it, while the seasoning wasn’t too much or too little.

I, Brianna, ordered a mushroom bolognese paccheri pasta, which consisted of cermini mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots, cashew parmesan, and sweet basil. It generally had a savory taste and was more of a vegetarian option if you don’t want meat in your pasta. The cashew parmesan had a nutty, cheesy, and savory flavor while having a powder-like texture.

Once we finished our food, we wanted to try a dessert from the Cherry Blossom Menu. The Cherry Blossom Menu is a limited-time menu that consists of 3 courses and is focused on Japanese-inspired dishes. Course one is a Cherry Blossom salad and beef Bulgogi dumplings, and course two includes cherry Gochjuchang braised short ribs and crispy garlic miso glazed salmon. Lastly, course three consists of a Cherry Pistachio Mousse Cake and a Green Tea Panna Cotta.

We decided to try the cherry pistachio mousse cake, which included a sugar cookie and cherry coulis. It tasted as good as they presented it to us, the pistachio and cherry tart combined well since the pistachio was nutty and the cherry was slightly sweet. The texture of the mousse was soft and airy, while the base was crunchy. So the taste definitely matched the presentation of it, with the layers looking very appealing when cutting into it.

All the food took about 20-30 minutes to come out, which isn’t bad considering the fact that we had an appetizer, four main dishes, and dessert. Service was faster at some tables than others, depending on the number of people in a party.

Overall, spending your money and your time at the Skydome restaurant is definitely worth it. You get amazing views of DC, it is a perfect place for any occasion, and you’ll remember your experience forever, though it was a bit pricey.