Nantucket's Reef, Casual New England-Style Seafood in Traville Gateway Center in North Potomac

[squidsdc]

I have been negligent in posting, but have been super busy if that's any excuse! We went here by accident on my birthday in December, and liked it so much that we've already been back once. And we will be back more often; just wished it was closer to where we live!

I recall reading somewhere that this place was in the works as it is run by a relation of the people who ran Fred and Harry's in Four Corners. I think it is a nephew? Anyway, they apparently opened in October.

It was a snowy evening and after seeing the Hobbit in Silver Spring we were looking for a casual spot to try something new. Decided to check out Quench in the same shopping center, but as we were parking I noticed Nantucket's Reef further in the center. If we had parked on the street I would've totally missed it! But recognizing the name as having read about it, and remembering I wanted to try it, we decided to give it a go. And we are very glad we did.

Mr. S noticed they had short smoked salmon on the menu and he has not seen it on a menu other than Artie's, which is too long a haul to frequent for us. The fish was cooked perfectly and was just as flavorful as the Artie's version. The mashed potatoes are skin-on, lumpy and delicious. He had the in-season veggie medley which was grilled and well prepared. I had a special fish of the day, but can't recall which one at the moment. It was a white fish that again was deliciously well prepared. I had a spinach side that I have never seen before--it was red and I thought perhaps prepared with beets. But it was just a red spinach! The service both times we were there was friendly and not obtrusive. We were almost too full for dessert but decided to give it a try. Loved my bread pudding (which is toted by the servers as one of the favorites, for good reason) and Mr. S also enjoyed his pumpkin cheesecake. But we knew we wouldn't be able to order a dessert the last time we were there since the serving sizes were generous and we were too full with the calamari appetizer.

Those of you in the northern Montgomery County area should definitely give this place a try. Dining in Gaithersburg/Northern Rockville is definitely looking up between this and the opening of Brasserie Beck in the old O'Donnell's space.

http://www.nantucketsreef.com/

[bookluvingbabe]

We haven't gone but heard good things from friends.  Their view was that it didn't replace O'Donnell's and was a little loud but solid food.

I think I saw a groupon/living social deal there but I didn't scoop it up.  Perhaps I should!

[squidsdc]

Definitely! Different type of place entirely than O'Donnells. This is a casual place, and if you eat on the early side like we do, you can avoid a lot of the noise.

[Joe H]

Fred and Harry's?  O'Donnell's?

Wow.

Four Corners when the Top's Drive Inn preceded Geno's (as in Geno Marchetti's) and Fred and Harry's was next door to the Pizza Kitchen.  Don's going to have an opinion on this...

And, O'Donnell's?  8200 block of Wisconsin next to the Seven Clocks?  Before that it was by far D. C.'s best seafood restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue near the Warner.

But I am old and have memories.

[DanielK]

I was there about a month ago, and I am not as enthusiastic as Squids. Fine, but nothing drawing me to return.

I will say that it is very loud and very crowded, even on weeknight dinner. I highly recommend using OpenTable.

We tried Clam Chowder, Spicy Fried Calamari, Fried Ipswitch Clams, and Stuffed Cod. All of it was fine, but nothing jumped out as fantastic. All but the cod I've had before at Freddy's in Bethesda, and all of them I strongly prefer the Freddy's version of the dish.

Since I've been to Quench three times and had three very mediocre meals, I still think that Cava is the strong first-place winner in that shopping center.

[hm212]

I would rather come down one exit on 270 and go to Sugo.

[squidsdc]

I was there about a month ago, and I am not as enthusiastic as Squids. Fine, but nothing drawing me to return.

I will say that it is very loud and very crowded, even on weeknight dinner. I highly recommend using OpenTable.

We tried Clam Chowder, Spicy Fried Calamari, Fried Ipswitch Clams, and Stuffed Cod. All of it was fine, but nothing jumped out as fantastic. All but the cod I've had before at Freddy's in Bethesda, and all of them I strongly prefer the Freddy's version of the dish.

Since I've been to Quench three times and had three very mediocre meals, I still think that Cava is the strong first-place winner in that shopping center.

Good to know, but Cava is a differrent type of food if someone is looking for seafood.

Unfortunately Cava is a bit too difficult a menu for me to navigate with my allergies, and I find it pretty rare to find a good mid-range seafood restaurant in the area. Bonefish is okay, but a chain and has extremely long wait times. And a different atmosphere entirely. This place has a friendly vibe and also has the sandwiches as well as higher priced entree's. We must've just been there at the best times as neither time was busy. And our weeknight dinner was during the holidays when many people were possibly out of town. But both times the service was friendly and efficient. (Both times we ate on the early side, and the second time I did use Open Table but still dined around 6pm.)

It looks like you ordered mostly from the casual side of the menu and I can't speak to that since both times we ordered from the entrees. Probably a very different experience and since I know you dine out often, I trust your opinion. We did try the fried calamari, and it was well done but didn't stand out as you said. For me, it would be fine if I was craving it that evening, but for the most part I look for well prepared fish entrees and sides to be my marker. And to have the fried calamari at half price for happy hour I would defintiley have it again in that circumstance.

I reiterate this is not a fine dining destination, nor is it a "best" or "5 star" place to be on someone's radar. It's a fun, good food, family place that would definitely draw me to return. A place I wouldn't mind stopping for dinner for a nice well prepared piece of fish on my way home from work if it was near where I lived. And since those places are few and far between, I thought others would also want to know about this place. Freddy's is similar but Bethesda is not easy for us to get to, and for those in Gaithersburg/Northern Rockville may also be out of reach for a weeknight dinner. So, more of a neighborhood spot to know about.

(hm212--how about posting about what you like about Sugo--and what  your experience was at Nantucket's. I don't even know from your response what type of food Sugo serves and if they even reach out to the same type of customer)

[MarkS]

My wife and I went here last night and we'll be back.  It wasn't fine dining but the food was better then decent and well prepared.  The servers get an A for effort and most important as an independant neighborhood place I hope they suceed.  They don't try to be Cava and I think they do a better job then Quench in the same shopping center.

I disagree with previous posts about noise.  8pm on a Saturday night and we were able to carry out a conversation.  The table were not on top of each other, we were seated against a wall in the front and it was fine.  Also bright, where too many places I need both my phone and glasses to read the menu.

Yes, there were kids dining too.  I really don't think people should be taking their 6 and 8 year olds out to dinner at 8pm but that is a different rant.

We each had salads to start and they were fine.  Well prepared, good mix of greens and nice dressing.

Bottom line, this is 5 minutes from my house and I'll be back.

I had the fry basket with fried oysters, grilled shrimp and scallops.  And a few Fat Tire drafts.  I would order it again.

My wife had grilled Mahi and she thought it was fresh and well prepared.  They claim nothing is frozen

[jandres374]

We were here a couple Saturdays ago after a basketball game in the area. Originally tried to get into Cava but was a 45 minute wait at 7 pm. We grabbed a table in the bar and had great service despite a packed bar. Food was fine nothing earth shattering but still a good value in my opinion. Would not go out of my way to go here but also wouldn't hesitate to return. I had a steak that was perfectly cooked kids had some calamari that they happily devoured. Wife had crab cakes which looked to be mostly lump crab.

[pras]

I thought the food was decent and the service was good.  I got a fried clam and oyster platter, which while it wasn't the best I have ever had, it also wasn't the worst.  I would definetly head back again.