Restaurant Finder

Grapeseed American Bistro + Wine Bar

Cuisine: American Neighborhood: Bethesda

Based on 12 reviews.

Address	4865 Cordell Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814
Phone	(301) 986-9592
Fax	(301) 652-6463

Rater Comments

These comments express the opinions of individual Restaurant Raters, not those of Washington City Paper.

Review by dcjimmy on October 26, 2009

Fabulous little place that has been expanded to hosts large groups. Presentation and production gets high marks from me. I had the filet, as usual, and it was prepared as requested, medium, and I honestly can say it was one of the best I've had. The gnocchi with pesto sauce had complex flavors and was delicious. If you are in Bethesda and are interested in something non-chain, this is your place. Foodies will appreciate the menu and service.

Review by shanva on July 27, 2006

A participating Taste of Bethesda Restaurant... and we had the choice of any one beginning or middle, one ending, and a dessert... I had the mushroom polenta to start, and this creamy yet tastey dish was awesome. Then I had the tilapia fish w/potatoes and asparagus. MUY BIEN! I'm trying more and more seafood, and I like white fish that doesn't taste too fishy but has taste. Tilapia is the way to go. For dessert, I had the lemon cake w/berries (which I barely had room for, but was a must-try). I had a white wine to accompany my meal... it was $7 or so, and a very nice Savingnon Blanc to go with the fish. Cool place, and glad they were so accomidating with the Taste of Bethesda $30/for 3 dishes deal!

Review by cprego on January 29, 2006

We heard alot of good things about Grapeseed, so when we saw it on Bethesda's Restaurant week list, we decided to check it out.

Reservations were hard to come by (granted we were making them only a week in advance). The earliest reservation we were able to get was for 8:30 PM on a Sunday.

First Impression: The restaurant itself is a small space. There were a couple of big parties, so it looked very crowded. It was only 2 of us for dinner, so they placed us at a table for 2 along a wall (however there was a party of 10 right next to us).

Service: Disappointing. The service was very slow. Tables that were seated after us received their food before us (including the one next to us with the same waiter, etc). In between the appetizer and salad was 20 minutes (with no food in front of us). Same goes for in between the entree and dessert. It looked like the staff was more interested in cleaning the empty tables then serving us.

Food: The food was very good. It is comparable to good restaurants (so there is nothing that stood out above the rest). If it wasn't for all the other points mentioned, we would probably go back to the restaurant.

Value: It was restaurant week, so it was a good value for a 3 course meal. It allowed us to try a place without breaking bank.

Review by Ontheside on January 24, 2006

Grapeseed takes the crown for Restaurant Week. I hit Acadiana, IndeBleu, Poste, and Zengo during D.C.'s Restaurant Week, but my dinner last night at Grapeseed during Bethesda's Restaurant Week easily matched any of my D.C. Restaurant Week experiences.

None of my party of four had ever been to Grapeseed. I was happy to find out after being seated that the restaurant's Restaurant Week menu consisted of their entire menu, with upcharges for the filet mignon, scallops, and lobster entrees. Other than those exceptions, it was open season on the menu.

Interestingly, because the menu is divided, somewhat untraditionally, into Beginnings, Middles, Ends, and "Extras" (desserts), Grapeseed is allowing diners some flexibility for Restaurant Week. One can choose an End (entree) and two other dishes from anywhere else on the menu. That's right. You can get two Beginnings and an Entree and skip dessert if you so choose. (But I do NOT recommend skipping dessert. I was still thinking about my dessert on my run this morning, and my thoughts were on the lines of, "So worth it.")

If you've not been to Grapeseed, I'll briefly describe it. The restaurant is a narrow space and was, apparently, a garage at some point, as the front of the restaurant is a (well-disguised) garage door. The atmosphere is California wine bar, with blond wood bars and tables and wine bottles lining the bar wall. There is a u-shaped bar near the entrance and a second, small bar overlooking the kitchen in back.

The bread that started the meal was soft, white and so ordinary-looking that I normally would have passed. But the tomato-garlic oil that it is served with is so flavorful (and absorbed so well by the bread) that I ended up having two pieces.

All of us ordered different appetizers. My date ordered the stuffed piquillo pepper, which is a breaded red pepper stuffed with goat cheese and fried. It is served on a small plate surrounded by two or three sauces and/or tapenades. I did not try the pepper, but the sauces surrounding it, including one that seemed to be a tomato spread, were great.

One of my dining companions ordered the field greens salad with sherry vinaigrette. I did not try it, and its presentation was not particularly evocative, but he did finish every leaf, so I assume it was a classic done well.

The steamed mussels appetizer ordered by one of my dining companions looked outstanding, with a number of mussels bathed in an appealing cream-colored broth presented in a big bowl.

I ordered the Hawaiian-style ahi tuna, and it was the best appetizer I have had in recent memory. Presented on a long, rectangular plate, a clutch of diced, grilled pineapple occupies the left side of the dish, while rectangular layers of not-too-thinly-sliced raw tuna are presented (once again) in a perfect rectangle spread across the plate like a deck of cards spread across a table. Hidden under the generous portion of tuna was a small, sesame-seed laced pile of seaweed salad, and a sweet soy sauce drizzled over the whole plate brought all the flavors together. I left not a bite on the plate.

The four of us diverged once again in ordering our entrees. My date ordered the vegetarian offering, a fairly complex dish that was well-received, though not perfect. I believe my date, who accompanied me to each of the DC Restaurant Week outings, and lacks no sophistication in dining out, was a wee bit confused by the dish, and I was not far behind her. The menu lists a "smoked potato tart" as the main course. What comes out is a pale white disc, maybe a bit smaller than a CD, that looks like an English tea biscuit and is covered with a thick layer of what my date thought was sour cream. Nothing about the presentation would make one think of a potato dish, but the flavor was distinctly that of a potato, though it was just shy of being overwhelmed by the thick cream layered on top. The roast tomato jam laid atop the cream was a good addition to the tart and enlivened the flavor. I thought the tempura shiitakes, two big, fresh mushrooms fried in a light batter, were outstanding, but my date thought they were a bit greasy. The well-prepared sautéed spinach disappeared quickly.

One of my dining companions ordered the catfish entree, and that was, by far, the most interesting presentation of the entrees. The catfish does not make an appearance on the plate; it is ensconced within a pastry-like shell, along with its Creole sauce and the "dirty rice" listed on the menu. It was fascinating to watch my friend break open the shell, and she had nothing but good things to say about the fish's flavor.

Someone had to try the red meat, and one of my dining companions did so with pleasure. The filet mignon is an enormous chunk of meat, and I was skeptical of how well something so thick could be cooked, but my friend said it was cooked just as he wanted it, and backed his words up by absolutely cleaning his plate (and then wondering aloud about whether he could get away with sopping the sauce and juices up with a piece of bread). The filet was ordered medium but, despite my friend's utter satisfaction, I thought it looked a bit too pink to qualify as medium.

I inadvertently granted myself the biggest indulgence of the year so far by ordering the salmon. Let me preface the description of the entree by noting that the kitchen was flexible enough to skip the bacon aspect of the dish upon my request. The salmon is brought out in a medium-sized, hot-to-the-touch iron skillet. The half-dozen or so clams swimming alongside the salmon filet were fine, though I am no connoisseur of clams. The aforementioned indulgence came in the form of what the salmon and clams were swimming in: an absolute pool of rich yellow butter sauce. The buttery sauce seeped into the salmon and potato cubes, making what would have been a very good unsauced entree almost hedonistic. And a flaky triangle-shaped pastry (strangely labeled as a "cracker" on the menu) sopped up the butter sauce and melted in my mouth.

After a brief respite, we faced our last course. The table got one pumpkin crème brulèe, one "Chocolate Marquis," and two of the tempura-roasted banana. The pumpkin crème brulèe was good, but not great. The texture was a bit thin, and the flavor emphasized spiciness over the pumpkin's natural sweetness. The Chocolate Marquis consisted of two rectangular slices of what looked like a creamy fudge covered with stripes of a dark chocolate sauce and some scattered pistachios. "Rich" would be a descriptive understatement. One of my dining companions said that he may have gained a pound from his one forkful. It was a chocolate lover's dream, but is likely too much for one person to handle if he or she is less than a chocolate addict.

The best of the bunch was the tempura-roasted banana. As described by our server, the kitchen takes bananas that have been made into the consistency of custard or pudding, freezes them, cuts them into cubes, and deep fries them in a tempura batter. What comes out is a large cube of near-caramelized bananas held together by a thin layer of tempura, with a subtly-flavored scoop of key lime ice cream slowly melting from heat emanating from the plate's star. The graham crumbs are a presentation-oriented afterthought that can barely be tasted in the mix of other flavors. Perfection is achieved in the caramel sauce covering the plate in a thin layer. This is not store-bought, cloying, thick, gooey caramel. This is a blond-colored, thin, sweet caramel that forces one to smile when it is tasted. There was no debate; the tempura-roasted banana put its menu-mates to shame.

In light of the fact that Grapeseed is, first and foremost, a wine bar, I will mention in closing that my party ordered a bottle of pinot noir. I drove, so I have no idea how the wine tasted, but I can say that it was expertly presented and appreciatively consumed by my dinner companions.

Review by mle on November 9, 2004

Spent a good deal of time at the bar snacking and drinking the most delicious wine when we all decided to grab a table for dinner, which was a bit of a wait, but WELL worth it.

Once seated our extremely friendly and oh-so-knowledgable waiter brought us more lovely wine and wowed us with the specials of the evening.

Two couples were dining, so both shared a salad, which the kitchen thoughtfully split up for us, and we all cooed with pleasure from the creamy goat cheese!

Dinner entrees consisted of Turkey, Lamb, Filet, and Risotto. Each was outstanding.

The turkey (my entree), was out of this world. I kept saying to the group that I had no idea turkey could taste this good! I marveled at it! And ate every last bite.

The scalloped potatoes that came with the lamb (yes, we all shared and ate off of each other's plates - it was too good not to), were divinely cheesey!

To top the evening off, when my husband got up from the table to go put money in the meter (boo, hiss Bethesda), the manager absolutely insisted that he sit and finish his meal, taking from him the sandwich bag of coins I came prepared with and directions to our car. Can you stand it? When is the last time you saw service like that?

Can't say enough good things about this place! If you haven't been - you must go! You honestly will not be disappointed. But be prepared to pay for it - bliss ain't cheap...

Review by bigpig on August 30, 2004

Fantastic, excellent, great. We all started with bubbly and finished with port and everything in between was awesome. The food is always interesting and perfectly prepared, and the best part is how often they change the menu. You never get bored here. Great service.

Review by djw1066 on August 18, 2004

I took my wife to Grapeseed for her birthday after several raves from friends and on websites.
I must say we were disappointed. The suggested wines were very nice, but the lack of affordable bottles always frustrates me. The starters, crab and lobster cakes w/ corn relish & cornmeal fried oysters were both tasty. But the entrees, a seafood stew w/rice and glazed chicken were very salty and to be quite honest just not very good. We decided to skip the desserts and instead went for ice cream - the best move we made that night.

Review by bennybig1 on July 12, 2004

In the heart of restaurant row is this gem- a little pricey and very cramped- expect to be within a few elbow lengths of another table- but other than that- top notch food and execution. This is a place where you can ask the waiter for a wine suggestion and NOT assume you're about to shell out 20 bucks for a glass of mediocre wine. The staff knows wine and the menu already suggests great pairings with food. Fish dishes have all been served perfectly- still moist but not sushi raw in the middle as at too many places. desserts were excellent- I've tried too many to remember.

Nice decor, great service and beautiful presentation. If you time it right you can get in on a weeknight without a reservation but forget it Fridays and Saturday. Only drawback is the slightly tight table layout.

Review by dewmath on July 1, 2004

Grapeseed does a great job of being an upscale restaurant without too many pretensions. The service was casual but professional, attending to needs without getting in the way. I requested a wine choice by description and the waiter came up with an excellent choice in a Spanish wine. In some cases the food had flavors that were a bit too strong -- one note overpowering others -- but on the whole the choices were interesting and successful.

Review by lloyd61 on May 24, 2004

I have been to Grapeseed a few times, and had dinners with and with out wine. It is a COMPLETELY different experience. If you have the means, order the tasting wines with the small sized portions that the restaurant makes. Grapeseed specializes in pairing foods with their wines.. in that order. The slightly sweet white wine that accentuates the duck and fig appetizer, the dryer red that goes with the risotto. I have yet to taste anything that didn't dance on my toungue. ALWAYS have a reservation though, because folks tend to linger over dessert.

Review by physicsusanne on March 15, 2004

Review by Josephena on February 2, 2004

Between the 7 of us we tried almost eveything on the menu, and everything was memorably delicious; Especially the gnocchi appetizer.