Napa 1015, 10th & H Streets NE - Closed.

[youngfood]

I'd vote Granville Moore's, but I haven't been in a couple months.

Argonaut has a new chef who seems to be trying to upgrade the food there. Granville Moore's is most likely to be packed. I understand there's a new spot called Napa 1015 which might be interesting. I took a shot at grabbing a bite from Horace and Dickie's last week, but the line was super long. I'd bet they are dishing up the best food over there, albeit from a crummy take out counter.

[Roo]

My wife and I ate here early last night, on the basis of a rave recommendation of a friend who lives in the neighborhood. I would describe the restaurant (on first blush) as having a pedestrian but well executed menu. A solid addition to the neighborhood. We started with the french onion soup and the portobello and tomato caponata. Both were basic renditions but the flavors were right on. The caponata was probably my single favorite dish of the evening. For dinner, we had the pork chop and the gnocchi. Neither plate was frankly much to look at, but the flavors were again certainly there. Well seasoned, fresh tasting. But they were still gnocchi in a cream sauce and a pork chop over mashed potatoes, not very inspiring. That said, the prices were reasonable and they were competently executed. I am still rather novice when it comes to wine, but the wine list didn't strike me as having much interesting, and there were only a few wines by the glass. Though, prices were moderate so I am really not complaining.

The space itself is pretty cool looking, with a nice, light-filled front room with the bar and more tables located in the back. Service was friendly if on the novice side. It wasn't too busy so we had plenty of attention and management was friendly and available to answer lots of questions. I'm not sure I exactly share my friend's rave about the place, but we walked out thinking we got a fairly good value for the money. It would be nice to see a bit more adventurous menu and wine list. I'm still partial to Granville Moore's in the area, but this place is a good addition.

[ppsailor01]

Rough review from The Washington Times.

[youngfood]

Napa 1015 closed over the weekend. My one visit here several months ago was disappointing and the wine list was clearly subpar for a wine-centric spot, but a lot of people said they had started putting out good food recently. They own the building and are going to continue to do catering, but it will be interesting to see whether they reopen or are replaced by another restaurant. This is prime real estate now that the streetcars are officially coming to H St and they are going to build high-end condos to cover the two blocks south of it. Napa's closing definitely opens the door to another more upscale, wine-centered establishment, which H Street is conspicuously lacking at this point. There's lots of other stuff coming soon, but none of it really fits the fine dining and wining bill.