| Address | 1336 U St., Washington, DC 20009 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (202) 265-0965 |
I went for Restaurant Week and had mixed expectations. I'd been there for brunch recently and really enjoyed both the view and the food. But brunch is different from dinner for so many reasons, and several reviews I'd read before dinner made me worry about what was in store for me.
Basically, the food was great. (I had a vegetable flan which sounded... interesting... but turned out to be a rich puff of greatness.) BUT the waiter did bring us our entrees and set them at the table next to us while we were still eating our appetizers and bread.
The location's great. The rooftop gives such a beautiful view of D.C. BUT you definitely sit on top of your neighbors... meaning that it's pretty uncomfortable for people watching and REALLY awkward if you need to get up mid-dinner for any reason.
The apparent owner (I suspect) is really attentive and very genuine with his checks to make sure you're doing alright and that the food is good. BUT our waiter avoided us for about 30-40 minutes after we’d finished dessert (not for a lack of effort on our part).
In conclusion, what could have been a great dining experience was made mediocre by the details… so if you can walk in prepared to ignore all those things and enjoy the food, the view, and the owner, then you’ll love the place. If those other things are really important to you/you can’t ignore them, I’d pass.
The ambience of the restaurant is what I enjoyed most. It felt vibrant and the music added to my enjoyment.
This was a waste of time and money. Nice view from the roof deck, but the food was flavorless and the service was nonexistent.
Three friends and I visited Tabaq Bistro during "Restaurant Week" in DC. At first blush, the restaurant was lovely--a superior atmoshpere in which to enjoy a great meal...or so we thought! The receptionist seated us promptly but service went significantly down from there. We were first advised that there were no tables available on the rooftop and that we should have specified we wanted a rooftop table when we made the reservation--something we did not/not know. Our waiter left a lot to be desired...he was slow, inattentive, arrogant, and frequently appeared to be bored or, more significantly, that he just couldn't be bothered. Seriously, he would drop off food he knew was not what we ordered (so he later confirmed) and walk away without giving us eye contact or allowing us a moment to tell him it was the wrong item!?
Speaking of food...what a disappointment! For $30, one should expect the flavors to be excellent, the temperature to be spot on, and the presentation to be beautiful. Three strikes on that front. The food was tepid, tasteless (especially the much touted calimari), and uninspired. My fellow foodies were more impressed with their sirloin-inspired dishes, but the fish, overall, was unbelievably bad.
We finished the evening with a "taste test" of a new product, the name of which is long since fogotten (thankfully!)...it was a maple syrupy liqueur that will no doubt sell badly, if our experience is any indication!
All in all, I would be hard pressed to recommend this restaurant to any of my friends, let alone an enemy! So much potential, but nothing delivered. Go to Zola if you want a great meal with outstanding atmosphere!
My specific comment is about having a private event at Tabaq. I reserved a room called the "art room" for my engagement party. About 100 people attended and my fiance and I supplied the open bar. This was a very important event or we never would have splurged for the open bar. To make a very long story short, the bar was not finished renovating the room for the party, eventhough they promised all of the week before the party that the room would be finished. I showed up to a room with walls dripping with black paint, the overwhelming stench of fresh paint, no art on the walls, and large big screen televisions that didn't work. To make everything worse, the owner decided to try and cover the walls with white fabric to cover up the black paint-making the room look like the inside of a tent. I never would have rented this space if I knew this was how it would look. They refused to reimburse me for any of the money I spent, and in fact overcharged us a number of times. They won't communicate with us in any way. Please don't do business with this establishment!
Tabaq was just OK---I think I'm spoiled because I love Meze on 18th Street in Adams Morgan and this is very similar, but not as friendly and not as good. The service left something to be desired in that the waitress came over every 2 seconds until we ordered and then we couldn't track her down after that. The two-tops are VERY close to one another, so it was hard for us to ignore the two women sitting at the next table. Too expensive and not friendly or cool enough to warrant it.
The two of us tasted three appetizers and some of their wines. It was nice, the food was well prepared, and it sounded like the chef knew what he was doing. It seemed a little to trendy-looking for my tastes and although they sounded like they researched a lot of ingredients, the things we tasted were not made from anything rare or specialized. I would say that they are a bit overpriced but that the experience is still worth it for something like a nice date.
This was a City Paper event. The food was excellent and the ambiance was very interesting particularly the roof top room.
I was completely impressed by the overall experience. The hospitality of the staff, was above and beyond my expectation! I was elated by the entire experience. I most definetly would dine there again.
We wandered into this restaurant before a show and opted for a number of small plates to share. We were seated on the main floor, and I did not even know at the time that there is an upstairs, which I have since heard has an amazing view. I have nothing but good things to say about the design and ambience on the main floor, which is bold and lively, but not overpowering. The small plates we ordered were excellent, and the menu offers a number of interesting vegetarian options. The drinks are also excellent. I had a wonderful vodka martini with blue cheese-stuffed olives. The service was very good, albeit a little pretentious. This restaurant is a wonderful addition to U Street.
I went to this place to have some drinks outside on the 4th floor and was told my dress was not "proper." I obliged and came back after a short walk to my place. I won't be elaborate on details, but I will pass along the most annoying parts of the evening. The portions are tiny. My tuna steak was $9 and was the size of something I might find on the sushi menu..tiny..I repeat tiny portions. Drinks were overpriced ($12+) and the bus staff would never let you finish them let alone ask you if you were done with anything. Our server spilled drinks and didn't refill them, dropped plates, utensils, etc. It was a horrible experience and I will never go back nor will I ever recommend this wannabe hip place to anyone else until they clean up their act. Appalling.
Tabaq suffers from the curse of so many new restaurants. The owners have designed a beautiful space, they've come at just the right moment, when people are hungry for a new dining experience in their vibrant neighborhood...but the management still hasn't figured out how to run a restaurant.
I dined here on a Thursday night with seven friends. The problems were evident from the get go. First, there were flies in our cocktails. Actual fruit flies. Upon investigation, the bartender discovered there were flies IN the bottle of Maker's Mark used to mix our Manhattans. Anyone who has worked in a bar knows that, because of alcohol's high sugar content, you cork or cover your liquor at the end of the night, particularly during the doldrums of summer.
Our bartender wanted to comp the Manhattans, but it took her a full 20 minutes to get authorization to do so. As such, we were late being seated. We had to climb three flights of stairs to reach Tabaq's (admittedly spectacular) roof deck. But once there, we were overcome by the stuffy heat. There are no fans on the roof, and, incredibly, many of the large sliding glass windows were closed. Also, with no overhead lighting, we had a terrible time reading our menus.
Tabaq's tapas or mezze portions are too small. And they're unimaginative. The oil for dipping bread is remarkably good, but can you make an entire meal on bread? I had the lentil soup, which was uninspired, and the Tabaq salad. I took two bites and informed the waiter I didn't want it. He never asked why I didn't like the salad--he just summoned the busser to pick it up and then put it on my check.
The other diners in my party, to be fair, enjoyed their meals more. The lamb shank was spectacular, some of the best you're likely to find anywhere. But is it worth the flies, stifling heat, no lighting, and mediocre food and service? I’ll spend my money elsewhere.
