| Address | 5247 Wisconsin Ave., Washington, DC 20015 |
|---|---|
| Phone | (202) 362-8040 |
| Fax | (202) 237-7818 |
There exists a class of restaurants, somewhere clearly above Bennigans and TGI Friday’s but still below, say, Clydes. They’re crowd pleasers, packed on weekend evenings, but less than satisfying for someone who actually likes food. Chadwick’s falls into this groove. When your crowd of friends drags you here, you’ll notice the chain touches such as the crayons and paper on the table and the waitstaff’s unisex uniform of baggy shirts and oversized ties. Chadwick’s somewhat channels the character of a British pub, with its excess of dark wood, tiny lamps, excellent beer lineup, and friendly staff that are not afraid to chat or take a special order, yet the food feels industrial. Your order arrives on a small plain plate with no thought to presentation, and the different ingredients seem like they just happen to arrive together, without complimenting each other. Nothing is wrong with the dishes, just nothing much right. A dish called “twin filets” vaguely resembles eggs benedict but with small steaks (although IDed as “filet mignon” by the menu, they clearly are not) instead of eggs sitting on top of English muffins with spinach and béarnaise sauce. It doesn’t feel like a composition, just separate ingredients together. Sandwiches arrive on puffy bread and some sauces arrive on the side in plastic containers. A“smokey tomato aioli” contained only the tartness of the tomato, not the richness or the umami. A side of onion rings was tasty, but included only four rings. And so it goes, small anticlimaxes that accrue. Their crabcakes, however are quite tasty, made (they claim) from local Chesapeake crabs and broiled to a fine consistency.
Chadwicks' tenure of more than 20 years on the southeast corner of Jenifer St. and Wisconsin Ave. is a testament to its consistent delivery of quality food in an atmosphere that combines a long bar with a substantial sit-down restaurant. The menu changes very, very slowly but features rotating signature specials, such as luscious beignets. The crowd varies from a mix of office workers, tourists and "ladies who lunch" at midday to a hardy band of barflies who close it down at 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. Many of the wait staff are students at American University, as are many of the bar crowd. Virtually all the menu items are reliable, if not adventurous. Chadwicks' executive chef tends to take ethnic standbys and tone them down a bit for the American-cuisine expectations of the clientele. Unfortunately prices have been creeping northward with inflation. The bartending staff maintains a friendly atmosphere. Departures from a norm of speedy, friendly service occur during about 15 percent of visits. This restaurant usually is available to seat and serve diners up until at least 10:30 p.m. Patrons who arrive at the peak rush hours of 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Thursdays through Saturdays may have to wait for a table...but the rollicking bar scene provides distraction during the delay.
