[2] He joined the Ebbitt and Reed properties into a single unit enclosing a 4-foot (1.2 m) wide alley between the two and built bathrooms with oval windows in the space above.

[19][20] The dining room was in the rear of the hotel, on the site of what used to be Farnham House, which in photographs from the period shows as the last three windows on 14th Street.

[22][33] In November 1889, Caleb Willard hired Henry C. Burch and Charles E. Gibbs, both veteran hotel managers in the city, to run Ebbitt House.

The restaurant, called "cheerful and sunny" by the Washington Post, fronted onto 14th Street NW, was lit with crystal chandeliers, and could seat up to 225 people.

Guests dined at tables set with tablecloths imported from Scotland, using Haviland & Co. Limoges porcelain china, silver-handled knives and forks manufactured by Reed & Barton, and Bohemian glassware.

At breakfast, the waiters wore brown cutaway jackets, vests, and pants with a gold stripe, while in the evening they changed into black tuxedos.

The menu — served buffet-style — included Blue Point oysters, green sea turtle, Kennebec River salmon, mutton, chicken, hominy fritters, stewed diamondback terrapin, canvasback duck, English pheasant, and a variety of vegetables, fruits, cheese, crackers, nuts, pies, and puddings.

[35] Willard's estate rented Ebbitt House to George R. Shutt, who had formerly managed the National Hotel at 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

[62] Anders Lofstrand, Sr. died in 1955, and in April 1961 Old Ebbitt Grill was sold to Peter Bechas,[63] the former head waiter at the Willard Hotel from 1955 to 1958.

[67] Old Ebbitt Grill was purchased on June 16, 1970, at a tax sale by Stuart C. Davidson and John Laytham, co-owners of the restaurant Clyde's of Georgetown.

[69] Davidson and Laytham bid in the tax sale hoping to buy beer steins and the mahogany bar, but ended up with the entire restaurant.

"[74] The new owners retained Old Ebbitt's dark paneling, shelves of beer steins, mounted game trophies, and spittoons, which it had long showcased.

The decor was made more whimsical, however, leading Washington Post architectural critic Wolf Von Eckardt to declare in 1978 that the Grill was "one of the most charming rendezvous on the Eastern Seaboard".

[77] Washington Post reporter Pamela Kessler observed in 1981 that its signature dishes included chili, blue cheese and Welsh rarebit hamburgers, quiche Lorraine, a Reuben sandwich, and steaks.

Around the corner from the restaurant on 15th Street NW and across the street from the U.S. Treasury Building stood the nearly block-long Keith-Albee Building designed by noted architect Jules Henri de Sibour and Rhodes' Tavern, the first polling place in the city, the first city town hall, and the place where citizens of the District of Columbia first petitioned Congress for the right to vote.

[92] The interior decoration was designed to mimic the bar at 1427 F Street, and included the game trophies, some of which were originals, not recreations, and rumored to have been shot by President Theodore Roosevelt.

[102] Old Ebbitt Grill was the site of a discussion among administration officials hoping to protect President Reagan from fallout related to the Iran–Contra affair of 1986.

In December 1985, Oliver North, a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps who was serving as a military aide to the National Security Council, proposed selling the weapons directly to Iran at a $15 million mark-up.

On November 22, Assistant Attorney General William Bradford Reynolds discovered an April 1986 draft memo from North to National Security Advisor John Poindexter, who was at the time also serving as a Vice Admiral in the United States Navy, which suggested that $12 million in Iranian weapons sales be used to help the Contras.

Choreographer and director Bob Fosse was preparing to host a party at Old Ebbitt Grill when he collapsed outside the restaurant and died of a heart attack on September 23, 1987.

[107] In 1991, playwright Neil Simon, director Gene Saks and the cast of the play Lost in Yonkers held the opening night after-party on January 17 at Old Ebbitt Grill.

[111] The Washington Post's Phyllis Richman claimed the combination of superb hamburgers with seasonal foods such as fresh Alaskan halibut, corn on the cob in the summer, and locally grown vegetables and berries, was what drew customers.

[116] Washington Post food critic Eve Zibart, writing in August 1995, said that its highly polished woodwork, counter facing the ice bed and shuckers, and excellent selection of oysters made it a "first-class raw bar".

The Beltway sniper attacks of fall 2002 did not affect business, which continued to hold steady through February 2003, a time of high alert and anxiety.

[122] Due to security restrictions in 2004, Old Ebbitt Grill was nearly prevented from its traditional practice of selling coffee and hot chocolate to spectators watching the inaugural parade, in this case for the landmark election of Barack Obama as President of the United States.

[124] The restaurant was praised by The Washington Post for being able to accommodate large groups, offering a variety of plain and upscale food, providing friendly service, and having the best raw bar in the city.

He appreciated small touches such as coat hooks near booths and pepper mills on tables and found the staff's honesty about menu choices refreshing.

[128] In 2010, after the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear, comedian Stephen Colbert hosted a Comedy Central after-party at Old Ebbitt Grill.

In attendance were Wyatt Cenac, Rosario Dawson, Mick Foley, Tim Meadows, John Oliver, then a Colbert show regular, and Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, the hosts of the MythBusters television series.

[144] Old Ebbitt Grill is mentioned by fictional White House staffer Sam Seaborn in Season 3, Episode 19 of the television show The West Wing[145][circular reference].