Tabaq Bistro
Categories: Greek and Mediterranean, Tapas Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: U Street Corridor1336 U Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20050 (202) 265-0965
- Nearest Transit:
U St/African-Amer Civil |War Memorial/Cardozo (Green, Yellow)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 5:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 5:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.
Sat-Sun 11:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
52 Reviews for Tabaq Bistro
I'm a picky vegetarian who gets tired of eating the same old things but Tabaq was a pleasant surprise!!! I tried almost every vegetarian dish they offered so that I would know what to order when I came back. The complimentary bread with oil is a meal in itself. So delicious!!! I also liked the following items: Spinach Borek and the Hummus. For dessert, I got the profiterole and that was good too. I can't wait to go back!!!
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I have to agree with some of the other reviews that the food is "eh", but the place (location and view) are killer!
I'd recommend going with an open mind and just picking out 3 or 4 random things to try. Maybe dishes you'd never considered before, you don't recognize or perhaps cannot pronounce. I had a chilled squid dish that was pretty awesome.
It's also a perfect jump off point. You can grab dinner, a drink that may make you believe you're in Georgetown and then head out to any number of spots (big fan of Utopia myself).
The only downside is that I have to get bids on outfitting my dining room with a retractable roof. I refuse to eat any other way now.
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3.8?
Oddly enough I felt the food here was the best part of my experience. Seems like everyone here experienced the opposite.
I was brought here for my birthday and sadly the weather turned from gorgeous to downpour immediately before our reservation. Needless to say, the rooftop was not open. Anyway, it was still light out (kinda) when we arrived, and I think the dining area looks pretty cheap to be honest. However, it's amazing how everything/one looks prettier in the dark.
Our group shared 6 tapas and only one was subpar. The rest were good or excellent. Perhaps the food was good because the place was pretty empty, but I hope to return on a night the weather cooperates.
P.S. Downstairs, at the bar, they have buy-one-get-one-free drink specials.... yum. Definitely nice for a little pre-dinner greasing.
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A hip-charming bistro. This place was more narrow than wide with 5 stories - Floors 3 & 4 were a stairwell. Maybe that's where they tuck away their kitchen?
The main dining area - Floor 2 - was hopping on a Monday night. Mid-size bar, friendly & accommodating staff. Bartender made me a Caparihna, Brazil's national cocktail ~ I was on a mission to find the tastiest one during my trip to WDC. This one ranked #3, but was still good. Food pretty tasty.
Bottom floor has more of a lounge feel ~ DJ station, low seats, a small dance area, and the bathroom.
Top floor 'the Glass Terrace' (http://www.tabaqdc.com...) was closed that night, but they let us up there - nice bar, tables+chairs with candles, and a wonderful romantic view of the skyline. Pretty cool they can raise the roof for bit of al fresco dining on select nights.
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I went here with a few friends for Saturday brunch around 1 pm and was thoroughly disappointed, for these reasons:
1- Service was ATROCIOUS. The upstairs dining area wasn't even crowded, and it took over 30 minutes for our food to come out, when the waitress had promised it would only be 10 minutes. Throughout the meal, whenever we asked for things, they wouldn't be brought out for about 10 minutes, if at all.
2- It felt like we were dining in a greenhouse. In that upstairs dining area, they didn't have any windows open, and the a/c was hardly on. Even when we opened some of the windows, they questioned us as to why we would do that when it was hot outside. That's b/c it was better than sitting in a room full of hot uncirculating air. Idiots.
3- One of us ordered the Tabaq Breakfast, which included a variety of things, and they forgot to give the lamb sausage that was listed. When we asked for it, it came out towards the end of the meal, after about 25 minutes. Another friend asked for some butter, and that didn't come out until his waffles were already too cold for the hard butter to even melt.
I can promise you that I will never again dine at Tabaq. Worst brunch experience I've had.
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So as long as you don't go here in august in the middle of the humid humid sticky sticky gross gross heat that is Washington DC then you should be able to eat upstairs on their rooftop enclosed patio which has an awesome view of the city! This was our plan when my boyfriend and I went here, but with the humidity that patio turned into a sauna!! So we chose to sit downstairs and inside where the air was on instead, but took pictures up on top to say we went there!!
First let me say that the bar tenders here were so nice and friendly and talkative and definitely started off our night the right way and made us some pretty good drinks too.
We did all tapas and shared them and split some wine too (even though they didn't have our first bottle selection which was sad!!!) and we were very happy with our food, and after studying abroad in spain for a bit together we have learned to love getting tapas. Their roasted red bell pepper spread could have had a little more flavor, but the other items were great!! The meatballs in the yogurt sauce, the chicken kebab, the scallops, and the spinach phyllo dough creations were superb and made our night end on a great, happy full note until we stepped out of the restaurant again and into the gross gross heat....where we probably sweated out all of the calories we took in at dinner! Can't the white house turn on the AC in that city????? ha ha
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Very good drinks. I'm not sure about wines since I haven't had one but any mixed drinks are awesome. Real fruit is used for any fruity drinks. If you order blueberry, the bartender will crash berries to make it into puree.
Oh.. Souffle is great too. Just have to wait a bit to get it but it's worth it! Very cute and slick inside.
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The rooftop's a great place for dinner, at least when it's not boiling outside. Nicely designed (kind of cool fabric swaths over the ceiling), and a fine menu. I liked the salad, mezze, tuna, beef medallions: all good. It's a solid combo of design and food that's fine to good. Expensive wine list (classic for DC) (you'd never get away with it in San Francisco), but I experimented with ordering the cheapest on the menu. Well, second cheapest. Not bad.
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I brought my date, who was visiting from Baltimore, to Tabaq at the recommendations of two people. Upon arrival, my date and I were greeted with warm smiles and friendly, timely service. But after the first snub by our waiter (he waited on the slightly more "D.C.-looking" pair next to us first, who arrived a good ten minutes after we did), the rest of the dinner experience at Tabaq went downhill fast. A Stella Artois never arrived for my date (and stupidly, I did not look at the check before paying, and ended up shelling out $6 for the beer that never appeared at our table), and the waiter, whoever he may be, continued to treat us as a secondary priority -- never once returning to the table to ask how our entrees turned out or if there was anything else he could do, etc. etc. I'm definitely not a fan of stifling table service, but a "how is it" would have done just fine. I realize neither my date nor I looked like the suited drones who may usually pile into "swankier" D.C. restaurants, but that's no reason to deny respectable paying customers the service they deserve. DO YOUR JOB. The guy pouring the water was awesome, however. I left feeling unwelcome. I doubt I will ever return. The food was good, but not great, and the Euro trash dance music was awful.
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I WOULD do 0 stars if it was possible. I created this account on yelp just for this one horrible restaurant,
tried to charge us for meals that were not ordered just because we were in a large party, and they thought we would not notice. Then they said they would call the police if we did not pay for those meals.
WOW. Worst experience of MY LIFE.
It is such a scam and rip off.... food is not that great. I will never come back.
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1 Previous Review: Show all »
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02/27/2008
0 STARS -
i never write reviews but my experience here was so traumatizing and horrible i have to… Read more »
Food was okay, atmosphere was okay - it was very humid went I went and the rooftop did not have enough circulation. Drinks are average. Service is kind of snooty. Zaytinya is better.
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My wife and I had a great experience here. I would highly recommend it. The view from the rooftop area was great. There are tables up there where you can have dinner, it's not just a bar. We did go on a Sunday night, which based on other reviews might be a good time because it wasn't crowded at all. We didn't find the music too loud either. The service was excellent. I would highly recommend the Kofte, the Lamb Kashar and the Adana Kebab. The Adana Kebab was especially good, the meat practically melted in your mouth and the rice was perfect. The food was well complemented by a Greek red wine called Haggipavlu-Nemea (just ask for "Haggie"). I thought the food was reasonably priced, but the drinks did seem bit steep, especially martinis at $13. Mojitos were more reasonable at $8.18 (I don't know why the .18).
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I have to say that i was very excited to write a review about this place but was surprised at the negative experience other fellow yelpers had. I first went to Tabaq when it first opened. my experienced was great. i had gone with my boyfriend for dinner. we didnt make a reservation and it was very busy. the hostess was very nice and honest and said it could be about an hour till a table openned up. well we had a drink at the bar and 20mins later we had a table. after that we enjoyed dinner and the service was good.
i just went back last nite after a 2 year stay in LA.. and this is how my experienced went:
i took 3 girlfriends that were visiting from NYC I didnt make a reservations (again ugh) so we waited for a bit at the bar (make reservations!!!) we got a table and our waiter was awsome. the first time i went years ago i didnt really know how i felt but now this place has an unmistacable identity so listen up and see if this is what you are looking for: this place has amazing food, the menu is mainly tapas style, i had the seafood rissotto and the lamb braised shank and i was in heaven. one note is that they make no substitutions my girlfriend wanted to sub something and was politely told that it wasnt possible --no biggie she ended up loving the stuffed chicken just the way it was, drinks are very good. i loved the pearis martini. our waiter was always checking on us, was very personal, and we felt like we were in a family restaurant, and whe i told the waiter that he said that it was a family restaurant.. locally owned by brothers. I didnt feel that it was "elitest" at all. all the waiters and waitresses were young goodlooking and from what i saw treated the people around me the same ( and we were sourrounded by a very diverse croud) this place is the place where you come to get fine dining quality food but without the stuffiness of having to worry about holding your salad fork right. its a place where you come to have fun. there was a birthday at the table next to us and the cake was brought out and the whole restaurant started to sing happy bday to this lucky girl.
we finished dinner and were planning to go to Marvins but decided to stay. the lights dimm down and the music goes up. its not euro trash. its filled with a nice mix of everythig (we heard madonna, bob marley, dj tiesto that nite)
final note:
i will bring all my friends here for dinner or brunch (I didnt know and cant wait to try it) and also they have a club on the 3rd level and a lounge on the 1st level... i think i might just have to move in!!!
fyi: (not sure if he will be there much longer but my amazing waiter was Pres i give him 5 stars too)
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This place has gone way down hill. I went here for dinner tonight. The service was not good, tables were closer to each other than ever and the food was seriously not tasty at all. We sampled a couple of entrees and tapas. The chicken, shrimp and scallop kabobs were very forgetable. The tapas are so much better at Jaleo or Zaytinya or other places around the city. The portions for the money was not worth it. I rarely saw our server throughout our whole dinner. Stick with getting a drink here on the rooftop and maybe a side of olives. Go next door to Cafe Nema for some Middle Eastern food.
The feature that makes Tabaq all worthwhile, in my book, is the fabulous rooftop bar. However, you should avoid peak crowd times, because it gets ridiculously crowded. They open the windows of the glass rooftop bar on pleasant nights, and it's a beautiful place. Beautiful people. Pretty bar - with several levels to explore and find a private nook. Decent but expensive drinks.
It's a good place to take a date.
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I know there's no little badge under my picture that says Elite, but it doesn't mean I'm not an elitist (of the bad, non-yelp varitey). So I relish the chance to be contrary, and was kinda thinking that all the below average reviews that I'd read on yelp would be shredded by the brilliant and incisive prose that would bring out all of the excellent things of this restaurant and make me an internet celebrity for changing the way people think about this place on U St. I really wanted to write that review, but my nothing in my experience here didn't give me anything to latch on to. I guess I'll continue my anonymous restaurant bashing for another day. Sigh.
If only one of the things that went wrong had happened, I'd have been willing to write it off to bad luck and give the place four stars. Unfortunately, the symphony of unfortunate experiences was too much to chalk up to coincidence.
We had been offered reservations for either a six or nine o'clock seating, and opted for the nine. We arrived on time, but weren't seated for over an hour, as they allowed the group before us to be seated after arriving two hours late. During the wait we were stuck standing in cramped hallways which smelled faintly of urine.
After finally getting seated, things were looking up. Our drinks came pretty quickly and they made sure we had some bread. My mojito was pretty weak but everything was okay. The main problem was that they seemed to be out of everything on a Saturday night: down to one beer on tap and we had to ask for four different wines before we found one they still had. Half of the mezzes were gone, too. Bizzare. The food came after a wait, and it was all pretty good, though one person had a soft stomach afterward. I got the meal-sized chicken, and it good enough to save Tabaq from a one-star review.
After having been seated for just under an hour, the hostess came up to us and told us that they had a private party in twenty minutes and that we'd need to be wrapping up. We objected, pointing out that we would have been out by that time if they'd made the same request to the group before us. They didn't press the issue, but it left a bad taste in all of our mouths. As a little icing, the waiter then spilled a good amount of water on himself and the back of my chair (which are really uncomfortable, by the way).
Glaring mistakes aside, I was still pretty unimpressed with the atmosphere. The music was so loud we couldn't talk over dinner, and I think they were playing the MTV Party to Go 1996 disc or something. I'm willing to forgive the missteps, but I won't forget the experience. Not going back.
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If you plan to go to the roof, make sure you stretch your legs! What a hike! My buddy and I went there for a drink after the Citizen Cope show at the 9:30. I had a great vodka tonic. The roof or top floor is enclosed in glass and the views are great. The only problem, huge problem, was that people were smoking up there and I started to cough up a lung. I wanted to hang out but was getting ill. Cool place nonetheless.
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I've been here twice - first for a night out with some girls from work, and second as a random stop on my solo Friday-night adventure around DC.
I like the modern, clean-lines decor on the first floor. Haven't hung out in the basement lounge or the rooftop patio...but did check them both out. Warning: prepare for several long flights of stairs to get to the rooftop - I didn't mind, but some people might, especially in heels.
Both times I found the food to be pretty good. Not amazing, but above average. The calamari with fennel, olive, and parsley tapas is pretty good, as long as you like kalamata olives. I also like the Halloumi and Olives.
I had a great greek red wine that I really enjoyed, and I think the specialty martinis are excellent. The prices are steep, though, so head to the downstairs bar on weeknights for 2 for one drinks during happy hour. It's a great deal and almost all drinks are included!
The service was great - the female bartender at the downstairs bar was helpful and friendly.
All in all I like Tabaq. I definitely plan to head back there with my fiance or some girlfriends to get the night started, but not necessarily for a full dinner.
To sum up my experience, I really wanted to like this place, but the food here was okay, and the atmosphere was good. I had really been looking forward to dinner at Tabaq, as I'd heard good things about the views from the rooftop as well as the tapas selection.
I was with a group of 4 girls on a Thursday night, and we were lucky enough to grab a table on the rooftop bar. The dolma (stuffed grape leaves), the spinach botek (just ask for the spinach "cigars"), and the chicken purse (tastes much better than it sounds!) were highlights. The seafood tasted like it had been frozen, which was a disappointment as I was expecting fresh seafood from a restaurant with Tabaq's reputation. Since this is a Greek/Mediterranean restaurant, I was surprised that the hummus was so bland; also, the lettuce in the salads was wilted. The service was decent, even though our particular waiter was quite entertaining. I expected a crowd since it was a Thursday, but the rooftop wasn't that crowded. We ordered 2 bottles of wine with dinner, so I can't really attest to the drink prices. If I go back, it would probably be for drinks on the rooftop only.
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Ridiculous view up top!!! Strong pours from a dude behind the bar who is a pro. Four stars for the upstairs bar!
Problem: When we first arrive upstairs, I ask if we can sit at a table. I am snobbily asked if we have reservations (it is Friday). I am told we must have reservations. Two four-tops remain empty for the next 1.5 hours while I exercise the daylights out of my liver at the aforementioned bar. I am not happy but refrain from reminding the snobby waiter/floor mgr(?) what a restaurant douche he has just been. Then I look at the unperturbed view of my new city again.
I am ok. I am drunk.
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My friends like going here, but I don't find it particularly great. Inside they didn't really do a good job planning the space so for the most part you're going to find yourself cramped next to a wall. As everyone says the roof is really nice. Great view of U Street. The food is ok. Nothing to write home about. The hummus is pretty good. It's a good place to start the night out, but not the best place to stay. If you go out for dinner go somewhere else. If you're looking for a quick drink and a snack to nosh on this is a good choice.
Quick update: the calamari sucks and the hummus isn't as good as I thought. The view---there's a naked fat guy in the next building jumping around watching Seinfeld. 45 mins per order. You gotta order 2 drinks at a time or you're going to be waiting all night for a drink. The manager is some sleezy euro trash guy that tries to kiss every girl that walks by. It's amusing to watch him at first, but after a while is awkward . This place sucks. Food is bad and really $$$. The view isn't as its cracked up to be. And the creepy guy is creepy. Advoid this place at all cost.
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as a restaurant, this place serves up a tapas menu that was very mediocre, but after 11 they add the DJ and the fun begins. The upstairs is great as an extra bar space but it's up 3 flights of long assed stairs, so make sure you're sober up a bit by checking out the view of the city before the trek down to avoid embarrassment. they do offer valet parking too for all those that fear high heel disasters.
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The fare is tasty and their dishes are unique and innovative...but you pay dearly for it. Also, the cocktails come in at a bank-busting $15 each. The service was good overall. If you're looking for a hipster U Street hangout for 'culturally enlightened' DCites, this is a good place to check out. If you're looking for cheap eats, steer clear of Tabaq.
Like our waiter's sexuality, I'm a little mixed here. The atmosphere was very hip and trendy although the red heating system that runs along the top of the wall looks like an afterthought. It is definitely a place that is trying to be cool rather than just being cool. Of course the high school dance flashback was an added bonus when the couple at the table next to us decided to use one chair instead of both. They bordered on the edge of R rated. The show was low-class, but at least it was free!
I thought the food was above average. I had the calamari appetizer (Grilled with fennels, olives, and parsley.) which was really really good, the Seafood Brochet (Grilled shrimp and scallop kebab with steamed rice and vegetables with shellfish sauce.) which was okay. When I tried to tell the waiter that I didn't want dessert because I wasn't interested in any of the selections, he said I had to be crazy. I'm not so sensitive, but his dry sense of humor might not have been taken so well by others. Since it was restaurant week, I opted for the Classic Profiterole and only ate the vanilla ice cream. They did score a point for using chocolate syrup to decorate my friend's plate with a birthday message.
A few of my friends had ordered alcoholic drinks. It wouldn't be cool for them to be cheap so you know there was a bit of inflation there. Anyway, when it came time for the bill they automatically added tip since we were a party of six. Would have been fine except that they added 18% on top of tax and included the alcohol. My $33 dinner turned into a $41 dinner.... really just not cool in my book.
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This would be a rating of four stars, if this place wasn't so damn full of itself. Snooobbbbyyyy. Yes, we know you have a glass rooftop that's incredible, but other than that you ain't nothin'.
Ok, partially kidding. Tabaq's food is delicious (albeit a bit heavy) and the view is sublime. If money is no object, you get a seat on the top floor and you are willing to poo-poo the holier than thou waitstaff back, you will have a great meal. The cocktails are inventive and so tasty.
For those of us on a budget, however, Tabaq is a little too much to bear. Sometimes you just want to say oh PLEAAASEEE. Get off your high horse. And that's what I do say -- when I'm not jumping on an invitation from someone to eat there... :)
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I'll admit when my buddy suggested the Foie Gras I was a little hesitant since there is so much controversy surrounding its preparation but after I tired it I have to admit it was something magical. That aside the food was very delicious and the atmosphere was very moody w/ live music playing softly in the background. I especially enjoyed the green oil that was poured into a dish for bread dipping very enjoyable. My pear martini was delicious! Overall, great experience!
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My first memory of this place was from a political fundraiser over a year ago, and needless to say I was not impressed. Granted, it was a cold DC night and it was my first time visiting the city. However, the space was overly crowded, poorly laid out, and I was freezing cold in the roof top patio.
Fast forward a year later and I was ready to give it a second chance.
My boyfriend and I came here for brunch this morning and were greeted by a relatively crowded roof-top patio. Luckily it was a crisp, clear day and we were able to see the top of the Capital from our seat. The crowd was mainly twenty-somethings, lounging on mimosas and chilling in jeans. Our entire time there people were filtering in and out.
The food was delicious: the lamb sausage was spicy and dense, while the fried chicken and waffles was AMAZING. I haven't had anything so delicious since the Viceroy in Santa Monica. The fried chicken was presented as two meaty chicken tenders- perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy in the center. In contrast the waffles were sweet, light, and melt in your mouth tasty.
Granted, I was constantly reminded of my not-so-pleasant experience at Tabaq at night. However, their Sunday brunch was amazing and I absolutely plan on returning.
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Don't bother going to this place for brunch, it blows. The service was completely subpar - for some reason they had more than one server at our table, which resulted in complete confusion as to what orders had and had not been taken.
First, one of our orders and 2 side orders came out of the kitchen late. The server said they were on their way. I guess they were hatching their own eggs downstairs, because it took a half hour to get the rest of our food out to our table.
Secondly, we ordered a second round of mimosas. Again, they were late in bringing them to our table and we were done eating, so we went to server #1 and cancelled the order for the second round. Server #2 comes to our table with our drinks in hand. We tell her that we don't want them anymore - we already cancelled them w/ the other server - and she says we can have them for free. Fine with us. Thirty seconds later she turns around and says "Oops! These go to another table" and proceeds to TAKE THEM OFF OUR TABLE and put them on the table behind us.
Finally, after complaining to management, the check is brought out, only to find that they charged us for the "free" mimosas that were taken away and $7 for a $3 Bloody Mary - server #2 said she just "assumed" my friend wanted top shelf liquor.
The only reason why this place gets two stars and not one is because the food is halfway decent. Save your time and frustration - go to Creme down the street.
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Wow reading through the previous reviews I would have never eaten here. But I must say I had a much different experience from the rest. The food was pretty good, the service was great, and the view from the top floor was a amazing. The deck had a very romantic feel to it with an arboretum feel. I wish they had a viewing deck area you could go out on... But guess that means I will just have to go somewhere else. I know just the place.
I would go back... but after reading these reviews will reconsider. I want to leave a good impression on my palette and eyes!
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This is a very hip mezze restaurant on U Street. The dining room is on the top floor which has great views with its glass roof but is a bit drafty in the winter and you do have to walk up 2 steep flights to get there (not the place to bring grandma). The mezzes are decent but for the same price, I'd much rather go to Zaytinya. The service is spotty
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Atmosphere: It is very loud and very crowded. It's hard walk around an the space. It is also extremeley dark. It's in a brownstone that housed one of my old U street favorites. You can eat on the main floor our walk three flghts of stairs to the rooftop. The rooftop offers a pretty nice view of the city.
Food: Mediterrean tapas. The food was decent but as with most tapas places go here if you want to share food. You won't be able to eat one entree and be done.
The people:
It's the "New" U Street crowd. The new yuppies who have bought condos in the area. Of course not everyone is there to be seen but with it being so loud it's hard to have a conversation about anything important.
Waitstaff: Attentive and easy going. They all seem to be very friendly
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Food here sucked. I felt like everything was floating in olive oil or Chef Boyardee sauce and tasted very similar. I had one thing I liked and it was a little mushroom pocket-tart thing (sorry, can't remember the name). Small plates about $7 - $12. Drinks kinda pricey. I think a mojito was $11. Service was ok. This place's redeeming factor was the bar upstairs with the great view of the city and retractable roof. It was however very crowded. Might go back, if I was going late night for a drink. Wouldn't eat there again.
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I only hang out on the roof top. which offers one of the best views of the city around. can get a little hot since it is basically a greenhouse. The food is so so. but the drinks are good (priced average/higher than average.) the staff are chill and really cool to talk to.
P.S. - If I saw you there and the staff and i may have looked like we were making fun of you, it wasn't you were were talking about. it was the person behind you.
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The range of y'all's reviews pretty much exemplify how unpredictable the service can be. Thankfully, we must have stopped in on a "good" night, because -- I gotta say, I liked it.
Admittedly we made a reservation (maybe that helps?). We were greeted and seating quickly, and given the drink menu and the dinner menu. The martinis have hip names like Bella that has champagne, Absolut peach and OJ. I had the Bijou that has lime juice and a berry infused vodka in it. Mmmmm.
For dinner, I had the seafood kebab which features scallops and shrimp-- the shellfish was tasty and juicy. The rice it came with was nice and fluffy with a nice addition of almonds.
The real issue, for me, was once the table became overcrowded with the bread basket, our drinks, and the meals. The view, though, is amazing. I didn't expect to see the monuments from this vantage point, and that was a lovely addition to a great meal.
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Great view, but otherwise very disappointing. The food looked great but tasted bland or just very odd - attempts at joining unique flavors seemed to fail - the Spinach Cigar Borek seemed to have a strange substitution for feta cheese, and was paired with a tomato base that was just plain weird, and the Salmon Shank was very bland. The wait staff were attentive, although not very knowledgeable on the below-average wine selection. But again.... nice view!
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I got pretty faded here so my recollection is a bit hazy. All the food tasted okay, maybe the one standout was the lamb
Wow
- lamb chops
- decor + view
Ok
- foie gras
- chicken (Pegasus?!)
- mussels
- hummus (iirc)
Thx to our friend Juan for treating us
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We went to Tabaq for the 5th DC Yelp meet-up on a Thursday night. The hostess was really accomodating with my numerous reservation calls - "um, eight people?" then, "twelve?" - and more than happy to seat us once we'd arrived but were still waiting on more yelpers.
I started out with a passionfruit mojito ($9) that was really delicious and quite tasting like a real passionfruit with minty notes. Luckily I was deterred by the price of the mojito otherwise my night might have ended differently - full of mojitos and sad at my bar tab.
As we were waiting for the group to fill out we ordered the hummus and mutebbel spreads ($4.25 and $4.75, respectively) to go with the warm bread they served. There was also complimentary dipping oil - a really rich garlicky herb-infused thing that I would have ordered had it not been free... The hummus was good, and the mutebbel tasty, though lacking a distinct flavor (I might have mistaken it for hummus had we not ordered that as well, but then again I'm kind of a hummus novice).
The emphasis at Tabaq seems to be more on the small, tapas dishes as they significantly outnumber the entrees on the menu. The waitress walked us through the menu and pointed out dishes that were great, though when she got to the seafood section she literally told us, "everything is good!" Which soooo didn't help. I ended up ordering the lamb shank ($7.50) and was going to wait to see if I needed more, which seemed unlikely given the massive amount of bread I'd consumed.
The lamb shank was less shank-like and more piece-like but still, at the end of it, a pretty decent dish for looking quite small. The lamb was really nicely seasoned, the sauce yummy, and the eggplant puree it sat atop tasted nothing like eggplant and more like a ridiculously creamy polenta.
I'll let everyone else talk about their dishes in more detail, but, essentially, my take on the other things I sampled -
Manti - (beef ravioli) - too chewy, sauce good.
Scallops - Amazing.
Puff Shrimp - Okay. I'm not a big fan of shrimp. This wasn't unique, ultimately.
Spinach Cigar Borek - a little greasy, really cheesy, not enough spinach
Kofte - I think this is the last dish that was almost forgotten, and it was pretty delicious.
The service was good, the waitress friendly and pretty attentive, and our food came fast even with the fact that there were twelve of us. I'd be happy to go back with a smaller group of friends, and maybe with a larger group of friends to try to fill out the cavernously empty lounge downstairs. Oh, and they had live music that started around 9pm that was very lounge-y and fun but a tad bit loud in the back where we were sitting. I found myself yelling to talk to Vivian who was seated right next to me...
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Being fairly new to the joys (or should I say tribulations) of tapas, I wasn't sure what quite to expect. But I think I could sum up my experience here at Tabaq in three words -- small, pricey and meh.
The dishes were small, the prices high, and the taste ... well, more miss then hit. The only dish that stood out was the scallops, which to be fair shouldn't be to hard to whip up anyway. The manti dish reminded me more of gnocchi then ravioli, and the puff wasn't puffy, and the sauces too salty. Blah, blah, blah. You get the idea. Off night for the chefs? Dunno. But I'd be more inclined to come here for drinks vs. food.
On the plus side, the ambiance of the place was nice. The lounge area downstairs looked very chill, even if the sketchy, SMALL bathrooms were located down there. I'd imagine the long lines of folks fidgeting and drone of flushes would kill the mood on a busy night ... Hit the upstairs deck instead.
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