Georgetown's breakfast institution runs on routine
Eggs benedictA poached-egg standard done the old-fashioned way, fitting for a Georgetown room that has been running brunch for decades.
PancakesA straightforward stack for the table, the kind of order that keeps regulars coming back to the same booths.
Hash brownsThe right side to pair with eggs, simple and reliable rather than fussy about it.
Martin's Tavern has been a Georgetown fixture long enough that regulars know the booths by name, including the one where a sitting president reportedly proposed and the one named for the Washington Post editor who held court there. That kind of history matters less than what still lands on the table. Eggs benedict is the order to know, classic hollandaise, and the hash browns alongside are the kind of griddle work that separates a diner from a short-order kitchen coasting on nostalgia. Pancakes round out a breakfast menu that treats the format seriously rather than as an afterthought before dinner service takes over.
The lunch crowd runs steady, and the room fills fast on weekends when Georgetown foot traffic peaks; a table is not guaranteed without patience. Service is straightforward and unfussy, suited to a two-top catching up or a larger group without much fuss over reservations. The menu leans traditional enough that some substitutions, like a baked potato swapped in for soup, are politely declined rather than accommodated. That rigidity is part of the identity: this is a kitchen that knows its lane and does not wander from it.
Pricing sits in the moderate range, reasonable for a sit-down breakfast or lunch in a neighborhood where tourist markups are common. The clientele mixes longtime Washingtonians who treat it as a habit with visitors drawn by the history and the booths. It works as a group-friendly stop for a casual meal, not a special-occasion splurge, and it does not try to be anything else. For a Georgetown breakfast or lunch with an actual sense of place behind it, this remains one of the more dependable rooms in the neighborhood, eggs benedict and hash browns doing most of the talking.
