Ardeo Restaurant
3311 Connecticut Avenue
Washington, DC
Neighborhood: Cleveland Park
Closest Metro: Cleveland Park, about 1 block from the metro
Valet Parking available $5 during the evenings
Type of Cuisine: Creative Continental
So I'm sorry that I haven't written in a while. I've had a few requests to start writing again, so hopefully I can get the readership beyond 7 readers. I was set to meet a friend of mine who lives in Silver Spring and figured that it was an excellent chance to spread my wings and try some of the places I never get to on the other side of the city. Bethesda is ever changing and I would like to become better acquainted with those restaurants, but at this time, I ventured as far as Cleveland Park; an area I haven't been around much in a while. My boss recommended Ardeo, although she couldn't remember the name, as a place that my company took our executives a few months ago, so I figured this was probably the place and decided to try it. The cuisine is best described as creative continental as most of the dishes are unique takes on some standard fare. For some background information, we had an 8:00 dinner reservation (hurray for Open Table) on a Tuesday evening, so it wasn't the overwhelmingly popular shift. It should also be noted that the weather forecast was calling for severe thunderstorms (and they came to some extent while we were in the restaurant). My friend and I were both dumb and didn't take advantage of the valet parking, although it didn't end up mattering. The bar next door is called Bardero, I thought that was cute.
Menu:
Appetizer:
Me: Hearts of Romaine Caesar Salad
CLASSIC DRESSING, PARMESAN AND BOUQUERONNES TOAST 7
Friend: ASPARAGUS AND GOAT CHEESE IN BRICK PAPERGRILLED ENDIVE, PISTACHIO, HONEY-GARLIC BALSAMIC 9
Entree:
Me: SEARED AHI TUNAMANGO, SPRING ONION PISTOU, MISO EMULSION 23
Friend: Alaskan Halibut with a chunky Mushroom coulis (not on the online menu) 24
Dessert:
PEAR UPSIDE-DOWN CAKECARAMEL SAUCE, BUTTER PECAN ICE CREAM 8
Sweet:
Service: It's rare that I start the sweet section with service, but I felt that it was worth mentioning. Good service at a restaurant is often a combination of several things: the restaurant and policies, the circumstances and the individual server. I think that this restaurant had an interesting combination of all of the above and I will try my best to break down those differences here. So I apologize in advance, because I can write a lot about service. The restaurant was not overwhelmingly crowded, largely due to the Tuesday, 8:00 time and the weather. I think they had two or three servers on duty, which was probably more than they needed at the time (restaurant policy) and I'm pretty sure that we were our server's last table of the night which also had a large bearing on the quality of the service.
Our waitress, Emily had only been at the restaurant for about a month, but, as always, I was apt to request her to utilize her knowledge of the menu. She was very friendly and honest in answering my questions about all courses of the meal and, perhaps most importantly, she was able to admit when she hadn't tried something, although the first time it took a little bit of prodding. She gave her opinion when I asked for it and told me what she saw ordered often and what she had tried. For someone who hadn't been there for very long, she had a lot of knowledge. Despite the fact that she only had two tables when we got there, she was able to observe our table from the confines of the wait station in a very thin restaurant. She was able to observe and watch us, without making us feel pressured. At the end of our meal, she tactfully suggested dessert without pressure and then she chatted with us while we waited out the rain, partly because it was her last table. Despite the speed of a lot of the service, neither of us really felt pressured to eat quickly, partly because of the server and partly because of the spacing between courses.
The one concern about the service was the speed with which the bussers pulled dishes off the table. They had my plate in their hands the second my fork hit the plate. It was a little bit unnerving, but I think the server's friendly nature and tactful wait before coming back to the table pushed it more into the realm of giving diners some elbow room.
Ahi Tuna: The tuna was perfectly done. Sashimi grade tuna done up with a slight sear on the sides and practically sashimi on the inside, but lightly sitting in the miso emulsion with the mango and spring onion combination. The sauce added a subtle, yet delightful kick to the tuna's natural flavor (a trait I commonly look for in a dish is to bring out the natural flavor of the ingredients). I suppose the main knock on the tuna would have been the portion size, which was a little bit small, and the lack of side dishes to go with it, but after the appetizer, it ended up being a good amount of food and didn't encourage overeating. This was a suggestion from the waitress that took a little bit of prodding to get to.
Asparagus in Goat Cheese: Now I'm not a goat cheese lover, but I happen to really like asparagus. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to try the asparagus with goat cheese, but it was classically wrapped in the endive with a very good use of the pistachio and was probably the best presentation of any item on the menu. My friend really enjoyed it (hence the reason that he finished it before I even had time to ask for a taste).
Pear Upside Down Cake: Another recommendation from the waitress with the simple question "what's the best dessert on the menu." I really liked the pear upside down cake, although I'll admit it was nothing like I expected. I thought I would get a little more pear, however, the focus of this dish was definitely on the pecans. It had a lot of pecan pie and carmel flavor, mixed with the butter pecan ice cream. The cake was relatively moist, but some bites seemed a little bit drier. The flavors mixed very well together, but I think I would have liked a little bit more pear in the dish, it would have added some moisture and tamed some of the carmel.
Bland:
Menu: This particular menu was quite interesting. I liked the variety on the menu a lot. The waitress acknowledged that the fish tends to be more popular, but it's quite adequate no matter what you choose. It had quite a variety from gnocci to tuna to veal meatloaf to hamburgers. The menu also had three or four desserts that seemed like they could be signature desserts. This is a nice touch, however it can also lead one to wonder if the chef does anything particularly well or just everything well. As you well know, I also have a problem with menus that I think are a little bit pretentious. The Ardeo menu uses the words "Emulsion," "Gelee," "Bouqeronnes" and "Pistou." Most patrons get nervous asking a server to define 5 or 6 words on a menu, they stick to one or two. No menu should have that many words requiring description.
Halibut: Again, I didn't get to try it partially because of my lack of mushrooms and partly because I was so engrossed in my tuna, but it didn't look particularly good and I didn't hear great comments from my friend. I didn't hear any complaints, but it didn't appear to be anything special. It looked a little bit grainy for halibut and the mushroom wasn't presented particularly well.
Atmosphere: The tables were well spread out and the acoustics of the restaurant were fantastic, although some of that could be due to the relative emptiness while we were there. The decor was very simplistic. There was nothing that caught your eye or would make you talk, but it didn't detract from the experience either. The restaurant was a little bit narrow, which could cause a slight claustrophobic feeling and the proximity of the wait station could make anyone feel like they were being watched even if they weren't.
Bitter:
Drinks: I kept wanting to push this over into the bland section but I couldn't bring myself to do it, I felt like the drinks are used as way too much of a money maker. I give them a lot of credit for a good variety of liquor (any place that serves Chopin and Hendricks is okay in my book), but my Hendricks and ginger was way too heavy on the ginger ale. I didn't get much reaction from my friend on his gin and tonic, but I'm guessing it was the same. I looked at their wine list (and remember, this is my first entry since going to Napa) and it didn't impress me. Their selection was as good as most smaller places around here although a little tilted towards European wines. Their selection of dessert wines was fantastic. The wines on the list were way overpriced, which would discourage me from going there on a night where I wanted wine or from getting the type of wine I really wanted.
Caesar Salad: I'll be honest, I was a bit disappointed by the caesar. I should have listened because I think the waitress tried to caution me against the salad. I didn't like it, although for a different reason than her caution. It was a natural caesar salad with an attempt homemade dressing. I have high standards for homemade caesar salad because my father makes a wonderful one himself. This one did not stand up to it. The overwhelming taste of the dressing was lemon. While I appreciate the attempt at letting the romaine and cheese stand up on its own, the cheese did not have enough flavor and the romaine, for some reason, just didn't taste as fresh as some of the romaine I've had in the past. I think that the power of the lemon flavor may have tainted it some. The salad had some roasted peppers on top of it. It was an interesting touch on a caesar salad, which I'm not sure if I liked it or not.
Summary:
***1/2
All in all I enjoyed my experience at Ardeo. When my main course, dessert and service are good, I'm happy with a restaurant. I think the service pushed it over some, but it was a nice place in Cleveland Park. If you're looking for a night where you don't want wine it's a good place to go. It also seems like a solid restaurant that you can get a reservation on the day of pretty easily.
$$
I wouldn't consider it a great deal in this area. The prices on the menu can be a little bit deceiving. Drinks are quite expensive in general. My Hendricks and ginger, as heavy as it was on the ginger was a $10 or $11 drink (should be $8 or $9) and as I stated, the wine list is a little bit overpriced. I don't recommend it if you're looking for a good deal, but as I've said, the restaurant is a great experience, so it may cover for the value question. You do get some really good food for your money if you get the right entrees, but the entrees and desserts are small. Strangely enough, the appetizers are pretty large.
