When you think about presidential dining, fancy restaurants with white tablecloths and multiple courses probably come to mind. But what if the most powerful person in the world only ate at one place in the nation’s capital during four whole years? That’s exactly what happened during Trump’s presidency. While most presidents make the rounds at various Washington DC spots, Trump stuck to just one restaurant the entire time he lived in the White House. The choice might surprise you, or maybe it won’t once you hear about it.
He only visited his own hotel restaurant
During his entire four-year presidency, Trump made exactly one restaurant choice in Washington DC. That place was BLT Prime, the steakhouse located inside his own Trump International Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue. Think about that for a second. The city has thousands of restaurants, from hole-in-the-wall spots to high-end places that celebrities love. But Trump never set foot in any of them except the one bearing his own name. It’s like moving to a new city and only eating at your own kitchen for four years straight.
The choice makes sense when you consider what Trump wanted from a restaurant. At BLT Prime, he knew exactly what he’d get every single time. Nobody would surprise him with weird ingredients or cooking styles he didn’t like. The staff knew his order by heart, and fans would often wait at the door to cheer for him when he arrived. For someone who likes things done a certain way, sticking to familiar territory probably felt like the safest bet. Plus, he didn’t have to worry about protesters or people who might not be happy to see him walk through their doors.
The same meal every single visit
When Trump did venture out to his hotel steakhouse, he wasn’t exactly adventurous with his order. Every time he sat down, he ordered pretty much the same exact meal: shrimp cocktail to start, a well-done steak as the main course, and a side of fries. No trying new things on the menu. No asking the chef what’s special that day. Just the same reliable combination that he knew he liked. For most people, eating the same meal over and over would get boring fast, but Trump is a creature of habit in more ways than one.
The well-done steak part actually caused quite a stir among food lovers. Most steak fans prefer their meat cooked medium or medium-rare so it stays juicy and tender. But Trump liked his cooked all the way through, which some chefs consider a crime against good beef. Still, when you’re eating at your own restaurant, you can order your food however you want without anyone giving you grief about it. The predictability of the meal matched everything else about his dining habits during those four years in office.
Fast food became White House catering
While Trump rarely left the White House for restaurant meals, he brought plenty of fast food into the building instead. Everyone remembers the photos of long tables covered in McDonald’s burgers, Burger King sandwiches, and Domino’s pizza boxes. These weren’t just quick snacks either. Trump actually used fast food to cater official White House events, like when he hosted the Clemson Tigers football team after their championship win. The image of fancy silver platters holding Big Macs in the formal dining room became one of the most talked-about moments of his presidency.
Trump’s love for fast food wasn’t new either. He reportedly sent a former bodyguard on McDonald’s runs regularly, and he’s been spotted eating KFC on his private plane. But here’s the interesting part: despite all this fast food love, nobody ever saw him actually walk into a DC fast food restaurant himself. He had people bring it to him instead. So even though he ate plenty of burgers and fries, those meals came from delivery or takeout rather than him visiting the restaurants in person. His eating habits stayed remarkably consistent throughout his entire time in office.
He promised to visit other places but never did
Back in 2016, Trump said during a legal deposition that Washington didn’t have many great restaurants anyway. But then he changed his tune a year later during a radio interview in November 2017. He admitted that Washington actually had some pretty good restaurants, and he said he planned to start visiting them. Trump even acknowledged that people were criticizing him for only going to his own hotel. He promised listeners that he’d start going around to different places instead of just sticking to his usual spot on Pennsylvania Avenue.
That promise never happened though. Despite saying he’d branch out and try other restaurants around the city, Trump never followed through. People started guessing where he might go. Some thought Cafe Milano in Georgetown would be a good pick since his Cabinet members ate there all the time. The place even got nicknamed “the second White House cafeteria” because so many administration officials showed up there. Others figured he might try the Inn at Little Washington, a fancy spot about 70 miles from DC. The chef there even came to the White House to accept an award from Trump, who said he’d heard incredible things about the place. But none of these potential visits ever materialized.
Most restaurants wouldn’t have welcomed him anyway
Here’s the uncomfortable truth about why Trump probably didn’t venture out to other DC restaurants. He likely wouldn’t have been very welcome at most of them. Washington DC is a heavily Democratic city, and many restaurant owners and workers there didn’t support Trump’s presidency. If he’d walked into a random restaurant, there’s a good chance other diners would have booed him, cursed at him, or made the whole experience unpleasant. Some places might have even asked him to leave, just like what happened to his press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders at the Red Hen restaurant in Virginia.
Even if a restaurant wanted to stay neutral and just serve him like any other customer, they’d face serious problems. Any place that hosted Trump would probably deal with angry protesters outside, negative reviews online, and customers who’d refuse to come back. Restaurant owners already deal with thin profit margins and tough competition. Adding political controversy on top of that could ruin a business. So even though it sounds nice to say restaurants should serve everyone regardless of politics, the reality was much more complicated. Trump sticking to his own hotel restaurant avoided all these potential problems, even if it meant his dining options stayed extremely limited.
Previous presidents ate out way more often
Trump’s single-restaurant record stands in sharp contrast to other recent presidents. Barack Obama was famous for taking his wife Michelle out to trendy DC restaurants for date nights. They’d pop up at local hotspots, sometimes with just a small security detail, and enjoy meals like regular people. These outings became news stories that people loved to follow. Obama seemed to genuinely enjoy being part of the DC food scene and discovering new places around the city. It made him seem more connected to the community where he lived and worked.
To be fair, Republican presidents have historically gone out to eat in DC less than Democratic ones. The city votes overwhelmingly Democratic in every election, so Republican leaders probably feel less at home there. But even taking that into account, Trump’s complete avoidance of the restaurant scene was unusual. Most presidents at least try a few different places during their time in office, even if they’re not going out every week. Trump’s decision to stick entirely to his own property for four straight years set a record that probably won’t be broken anytime soon. It showed just how isolated he was from the local community throughout his presidency.
The hotel location made it convenient
One practical reason for Trump’s choice was simple geography. His hotel sits right on Pennsylvania Avenue, just a short drive from the White House. When you’re president, you can’t just hop in a car and drive across town whenever you want dinner. Every trip requires security planning, road closures, and a whole team of people making sure everything stays safe. Going to a restaurant just down the street made the logistics much easier than traveling to Georgetown or some other neighborhood farther away. Less travel time meant less disruption for everyone involved.
The hotel’s design also worked in Trump’s favor. BLT Prime is located inside a large building with its own security already in place. The Secret Service could control who came in and out more easily than at a standalone restaurant with big windows facing the street. Trump could enter through secure areas without crowds of people watching his every move. For someone who faced more protests and opposition than most presidents, having that extra layer of protection and privacy probably mattered a lot. The convenient location and setup made his hotel restaurant the obvious choice even if other factors hadn’t been involved.
Business and pleasure mixed together
Another angle to consider is that Trump never fully separated himself from his business empire while serving as president. Other presidents have put their assets in blind trusts or taken steps to avoid conflicts of interest. Trump kept ownership of his properties, including the DC hotel. So every time he ate at BLT Prime, he was essentially spending government money at his own business. The Secret Service had to pay for their meals and hotel rooms when they accompanied him. Other officials who joined him for dinner paid the restaurant, which meant money going into Trump’s pocket.
This arrangement raised ethics questions that dogged Trump throughout his presidency. Critics said he was using his position to promote his own businesses and profit from taxpayer dollars. Supporters argued he had every right to eat at his own restaurant and that the amounts involved were tiny compared to the federal budget. Either way, the situation meant Trump had a built-in financial incentive to keep visiting his hotel rather than spreading his business around to other DC restaurants. Every meal at BLT Prime was both a personal dining choice and a business decision that benefited his company. It’s hard to separate those two aspects when looking at his restaurant habits during those four years.
The pandemic shut down everything anyway
By the time Trump’s presidency was winding down, the pandemic had changed everything about dining out. Restaurants across Washington DC closed temporarily or shut down for good. The ones that survived shifted to takeout and delivery only, with no indoor dining allowed for months. Even after restrictions loosened, many places operated at limited capacity with strict rules about masks and distancing. So even if Trump had suddenly decided to venture out to new restaurants in his final year, there weren’t many good options available anyway.
The pandemic devastated DC’s restaurant scene, with hundreds of beloved spots closing permanently. Many restaurant workers lost their jobs, and owners struggled to keep their businesses alive. During this crisis, Trump continued to downplay the seriousness of the virus, which made him even less popular in a city that was taking the situation seriously. By his last days in office, DC was heavily boarded up because of threats from his supporters, and National Guard troops patrolled the streets. The city felt like a fortress. In that environment, going out for a nice dinner wasn’t really an option for anyone, let alone the outgoing president. His single-restaurant record ended up being sealed by circumstances beyond just his personal preferences and the political climate that surrounded him.
Trump’s restaurant choices during his presidency tell us something about how isolated he was from the city where he lived. Whether by choice or necessity, he never became part of DC’s community in the way other presidents had. His single restaurant visit to his own steakhouse stands as one of the more unusual facts about his time in office. It’s a reminder that being president doesn’t always mean experiencing everything a city has to offer, especially when politics, security concerns, and personal preferences all point in the same direction.
