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Urban Heights, Chef Cliff Wharton Joins RW Restaurant Group in Bethesda - Closed


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Apparently they are set to begin hiring.

Honestly, I think 2nd/3rd floor restaurants are cursed.  There are other locations in Bethesda that have been cursed but maybe they are turning around. The Tyber Bierhaus location is a good example (I hope they do well there!). Another is the location next to From Bach to Rock. I guess we'll see!

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Honestly, I think 2nd/3rd floor restaurants are cursed.  There are other locations in Bethesda that have been cursed but maybe they are turning around. The Tyber Bierhaus location is a good example (I hope they do well there!). Another is the location next to From Bach to Rock. I guess we'll see!

I don't really believe in the idea of "cursed locations." Sure there are spots that are advantageous and disadvantageous, but if you give a market what they want, they will find you. One example, people thought this location was "cursed" on the Pike for years...

Matchbox-300x194.jpg

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I think location is very important; just not definitive. Places in "bad" or odd locations can make it but the bar for them is probably higher and I'd guess the failure rate is too. Totally agree with Kev29 as a matter of principle and such examples (outliers?) do exist. The on-the-ground reality just seems more challenging than that.

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We stopped in Saturday night.  We were not hungry so the small plates approach was appealing.  We grabbed two seats at the bar, which was packed along with the restaurant. It was raining so not sure if anything was open on the roof top level.  Looks like they did some minor renovations but nothing too crazy

Service was great at the bar, although they seemed to be overstaffed.  They must have had about 6-7 bartenders and a manager behind the bar.  During our time there we were waited on by 4 of them.

Pretty good beer selection, maybe 5-6 beers on tap and a bunch of bottle selections.

We tried what they are calling a tuna bar - we had the sashimi and tartare.  The tuna looked great and the presentation was very nice but to me the taste was not there.  Although it was likely me as my fondness of fresh tuna has waned over the past few years.

We also had the wasabi blue cheese guacamole and lamb pot stickers.  The lamb was the clear winner.  Tried to order the duck rolls but they were not available.

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We tried what they are calling a tuna bar - we had the sashimi and tartare.  The tuna looked great and the presentation was very nice but to me the taste was not there.  Although it was likely me as my fondness of fresh tuna has waned over the past few years.

The only other restaurant in DC history that I'm aware of that had a Tono Bar was Sette Bello - it was fantastic when it first opened, and had its own chef (a very talented young lady, and I'm vaguely remembering her name was Esther, but I can't find my review anywhere). Well, anyway, the Tono Bar lasted less than a year - it was about twenty years ahead of its time, and couldn't make it in Clarendon.

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We made it to Urban Heights for dinner last Friday. Having been a big fan of TenPenh, I was happy to hear that Cliff Wharton was cooking here, and was highly optimistic.

The space, as it was when Roof was there, is a bit of a challenge. It was a little too humid to take advantage of the outdoor seating, so we went to the main dining room. I love the big glass windows that give you a nice view of the street below, but there's no space between the room and the bar. Wasn't a big problem since the place was pretty empty, but I imagine it gets very noisy when the place is hopping.

Our server started us out with an painfully overlong intro of a perfectly understandable menu that needed no introduction. Everything she pointed out was "wonderful", "fantastic", or "superb", a trend that continued when we ordered...every word that came out of our mouths was praised to high heaven. The onslaughts continued through the meal...when our appetizers, excuse me, "small plates," were set down, she asked us how everything was before we had a chance to taste anything. Then, before we could pick up a fork, she went into another spiel about the four unmarked sauce bottles on the table, and what each one was and to how to use them. Finally, she left and we were actually able to eat. Another nitpick...instead of telling us the specials when we got our menus, she waited until she came back to take our order to let us know about the extras. The whole experience left us longing for the touch screen ordering devices that we saw at a Chili's once. Nothing specific against her...from what we overheard at other tables, the wait staff is trained to be, shall we say, enthusiastic.

Anyway, on to the food. We started with a tasty, and very reasonably priced ($7) Moscow Mule variation...don't remember what they called it. Although the server effused about the small plates ("We're known for them!"), and barely mentioned the entrees, we went for a more traditional two small plates and two entrees.

We started with the Wasabi Blue Cheese Guacamole ($5), which was a fine guacamole without any semblance of wasabi flavor/heat and a very light sprinkling of blue cheese which also didn't come though in taste. It was served with fried wonton triangles, which gave it a good crunch and flavor, and would have been perfectly nice if I wasn't expecting the missing flavors.

We also had the spicy hosin Duck Rolls ($9), which again, weren't spicy. The duck was flavorful, but slightly mushy...it desperately needed some texture that the limp vegetables inside didn't add. Some small pieces of crisp duck skin would have gone a long way to elevate the dish. Again, it was fine...just nothing particularly exciting.

Despite being downplayed by the server, the entrees were both excellent.

The whole fried fish ($23) was fantastic. I was expecting flounder based on other reviews, and was surprised to receive a beautiful, plump, red snapper instead. It was perfectly crunchy and moist, and paired nicely with a tamarind dipping sauce. My only complaint was that the plate it was served on was too small by half. It made cutting the fish almost impossible without making a mess. Regardless, it was the highlight of the night.

We also had scallops with a black bean garlic sauce and shrimp risotto ($24). The scallops and sauce were a bit too sweet on their own, but were perfect when eaten with the creamy risotto. Another dish I'd certainly order again.

We ended with a ginger/cherry crumble in a fried wonton shell, served with cinnamon latte ice cream. Both were good on their own, but strangely, didn't work at all when eaten together.

Obviously this is a really small sample size of dishes, but I'd go back to try more of the menu.

I just hope that the service is toned down immensely.

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Dissapointed - I had heard good things, and had never made it to TenPenh so was looking forward to giving Urban Heights a try.  

We met up at the rooftop bar - crowded and the waiter couldn't find a drink menu - then after finding it there were only 5 or 6 

craft cocktails, two of us had one and neither was imprssive (Ended up doing wine with dinner)

 

Downstairs for our meal - the space is nice thought not sure why big picture windows looking out at power lines are a bonus.

 

Waitress was friendly but was having a hard time hearing two of us, and twice had to come back for more info as she either got it wrong or wasn't sure when she went back to enter it.  And annoyed that had to ask for more water 2-3 times.

 

We had a number of the small plates and they were hit or miss - some were good, others not so much.

Highlights were the Tocino Bao Bun and Brussel Sprouts 

Low point was the Oxtail Ravioli - pasta was very undercooked (yes we mentioned to waitress)

Average: Tartare Trio ,Buttery Bok Choy (cured pork belly, garlic) ,Lumpia ,Lamb Pot Stickers ,Chilled Calamari, Main Lobster Rangoon

 

dessert  we had a coconut chocolate bar dish and a sausy tart.

 

Rest rooms clean and not crowded.  

Dinner and drinks for 3 was just under $200 + tip

 

Grandma - no reason not to take her - she would enjoy the full windows, and well lighted and easy to eat food

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