Ericandblueboy Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 When I moved to D.C., I rented a 2 bedroom condo located at 3222 Cherry Hill Lane, in Georgetown. It’s a quiet alley with few disturbances. I would’ve been mad as hell to have a restaurant in that alley, but since I don’t live there anymore, I’m gonna go raise hell. So has anyone been? Recs? To be honest, the menu looks weak/boring. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgast Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 32 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said: So has anyone been? Recs? To be honest, the menu looks weak/boring. I haven't, but I did get to spend several hours with him at Minibar (while he was essentially running it) and I'd give anything he made a chance. While he seemed a bit shy, he really came alive talking about how some of the dishes there were made - and that evening was a complete delight. Definitely one of my top 5 meals in DC. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah Lee Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 For me, Reverie is the most exciting restaurant opening of late. In my opinion, this quote from Charles Mingus best describes the genius of Johnny Spero. "Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that's creativity." - Charles Mingus One day I hope to secure a reservation for the Chef Tasting Menu: “Friends of the House” by reservation only: With Pay-What-You-Can Seats, Reverie Will Hand Diners a Blank Check Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPop Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 I'm going on Saturday, I'm buying into the hype. Agree that the menu does look startlingly simple/boring, but the Palena Cafe menu back in the day did as well, and you know how everyone felt about that place.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share Posted February 2, 2019 The menu online is the menu we had. We started with scallop scudo - very acidic and dill - not the best qualify raw scallop I've had but a nice start Hake was our second course. The fish itself, steamed, was tender and absorbed the flavors of the broth. The accompaniment of clam was tough and chewy. The third course was Txuleta with an order of Mushrooms. The mushrooms were bland and the steak came from an old diary cow. Why is that $100 per order? I dunno. It was aged, fatty, well seared, medium rare, but ultimately nothing exciting. We were at the counter and the couple next to us ordered the [Spanish] Tortilla, with sea urchin and fish roe. They didn't finish the dish so I offered to swap some of our steak for their tortilla ($150 per order). We were happy to be able to try the tortilla without paying for it. We even finished the wine they brought ($50 corkage fee)! No tasting menu available except for the two people per night who set their own price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan Posted February 2, 2019 Share Posted February 2, 2019 Why is the tortilla $150? How big is it? Was it busy? Did your neighbors enjoy their food? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted February 3, 2019 Author Share Posted February 3, 2019 1 hour ago, Jonathan said: Why is the tortilla $150? How big is it? Was it busy? Did your neighbors enjoy their food? The tortilla isn't big (maybe 8 inches in diameter), but it has sea urchin mixed in, also sea urchin and caviar on the side that you put on top of the tortilla. Our neighbors said they preferred the steak. The place wasn't packed but our reservation was at 5:45. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deborah Lee Posted February 3, 2019 Share Posted February 3, 2019 Fellow food friend, Beth Lang dined at Reverie last night (02.01.2019) as well. This is what she had to say about the Scallop Crudo, the Mushroom and Lovage. She also enjoyed the Burger, which brilliantly pays homage to the Big Mac. A personal favorite of mine. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers2000 Posted February 6, 2019 Share Posted February 6, 2019 On 2/1/2019 at 9:20 PM, Ericandblueboy said: The menu online is the menu we had. We even finished the wine they brought ($50 corkage fee)! That is (in my view) nuts from a corkage perspective...that said - I was pretty surprised that they didn't have anything even resembling a wine list online. I assume they had bottle / by the glass selections? I likely wouldn't have pulled a bottle from the cellar for this dinner - given for this type of cooking I'd rather let the restaurant guide me a bit - but I find it a little odd that the only thing they reference in their menu's is their small cocktail list. I'm going next week with my wife and would be curious to know what the deal is on the wine front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 8 hours ago, Rovers2000 said: I'm going next week with my wife and would be curious to know what the deal is on the wine front. There is a wine list, and wines by the glass. I had something sparkling to start, and then we had a bottle of red for $100. I didn't order the bottle, and was a little sticker shocked when the bill came out. From today’s chat with Tom-meister Quote The price climb is real. Last week, I was surprised to find $17 drinks at a neighborhood Indian restaurant (they were good, but still!) and you won't believe what I paid last night, at a place I have yet to formally review, for a "tortilla" that featured sea urchin and caviar as garnishes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted February 9, 2019 Author Share Posted February 9, 2019 Checking my credit card charges today....the tip we added was not included. I wonder if the price reflects tip? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 11 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said: Checking my credit card charges today....the tip we added was not included. I wonder if the price reflects tip? This happened to me last year at Siren - the tip wasn't included when I checked my online records; then a couple days later it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranklinDubya Posted February 10, 2019 Share Posted February 10, 2019 The tortilla price at $150 seems pretty insane to me - I guess partially because Uni is not something I'd wanna pay extra for even though I really like it in certain specific contexts. I'd get it more if it came with a bunch of caviar but the online menu says paddlefish roe which is still tasty but hard to justify the price to me *as someone who tends to not overly care about most DC restaurant prices. I do really wanna go and get the duck though as that's one of my favorite things to order. Would like to see how it compares to Bresca's amazing Duck a la presse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers2000 Posted February 14, 2019 Share Posted February 14, 2019 My wife and I enjoyed ourselves at Reverie last night. Its a funny little space - but I liked the quirkiness of the location and the informality of the place in general. I also would say that you can get the entire menu sitting at their bar which was relatively empty at about 8pm last night (we had reservations - and sat looking into the kitchen which was fun). We ordered: - Scallop crudo - this was a very good dish - though the "sauce" could overwhelm the scallop if you weren't careful in terms of loading up a spoon / fork. Refreshing and light. - Beef Tartare - I really like beef tartare and this rendition, while not mind blowing, was solid. The oyster sauce was interesting as were the black garlic chips. - Mushroom - pictured in the post above, its a beautifully constructed dish and the mushrooms were really tasty - that said, I feel like 26 dollars was a bit excessive for what you get on this front. Additionally, I think "yolk fudge" isn't totally the way I'd frame that component of the dish. While delicious - I thought it a bit of a curious classification. - Duck - Order this. I thought it one of the better renditions of duck that I've ever enjoyed. Its also a LOT of duck - my wife and I were pretty stuffed after making our way through it. - Bay Ice Cream - for whatever reason, I seem to like Bay leaf in cream components (I've enjoyed Bay whipped cream as well) - who knew. This was fine - but I probably didn't need more food at this point since I was relatively stuffed. We paired the meal with a really nice "winter" rose that was balanced with the food we ordered and rang up for about 60 bucks. I had a glass of a nice italian orange wine at the bar (which had some nice funk to it) - and their by the glass list ranged from 14-20 a glass which seems to be the norm these days. All in all - I'd recommend going here. Reservations were easy to come by, the staff was gracious (though our waiter seemed to be on the greener side? There was a pretty long gap from when we received menus and when he returned to get us drinks - but serve was fine from there on out) and as I said above - I liked the refined food in a casual setting vibe. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FranklinDubya Posted February 16, 2019 Share Posted February 16, 2019 I was about to write up a post but I realized I got the exact same order as Rovers ^ and had mostly the same opinion of everything. I'd note that I thought the beef tartare with the oyster sauce was great but if you got too much of the black garlic sauce in a bite it overwhelmed everything else. The only difference was we got a burger to split after the amazing duck - we were starving going into dinner and both have big appetites so this was somehow feasible fullness wise. This was the best burger I've had in a while - the beef patty is made from trimmings from the aged dairy cow ribeye used in their large format steak course so it had a ton of flavor on it's own, and it was really well balanced with the quality cheddar, miso brined pickles and whatever the special sauce was (was a little tipsy at this point). The duck would be my most recommended item but I enjoyed everything I tasted minus the mushrooms which weren't bad but underwhelming. Will add my Instagram post pictures once I have that ready. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPop Posted February 21, 2019 Share Posted February 21, 2019 The Duck really is very good, but about $30 more than it should be given what you get. I really liked this place overall, especially the free corkage on the first bottle of wine. Definitely rooting for Johnny here, I think this place will do well. Btw I saw the Tortilla come out and someone would have to explain to me why it was $150. Same with the $100 steak. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanvtaylor Posted February 25, 2019 Share Posted February 25, 2019 On 2/20/2019 at 8:36 PM, DPop said: The Duck really is very good, but about $30 more than it should be given what you get. We had the duck and were very much blown away by it. Our whole meal was impressive--the rugbrod perhaps a less showy dish but nonetheless so flavorful and with great mouthfeel. The mushrooms dish was really well put together, and we loved it. But the duck was splendid--the fennel pollen seasoning adding a perfect compliment to a roasted duck that I would eat monthly if I could (and I guess I could); it's almost too rich and decadent to think about eating it more regularly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ericandblueboy Posted February 28, 2019 Author Share Posted February 28, 2019 Tom gives Rev 2 stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers2000 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 41 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said: Tom gives Rev 2 stars. One thing I found interesting was that he didn't order the duck based on the licorice aspect. I actually almost didn't either (I despise black licorice) but unlike Tom apparently - I asked one of the bartenders what they thought about that and received the "its fresh licorice dust" and it is "very subtle". To be honest, I didn't get a ton of licorice flavor and as I said above, I thought the dish was a home run. Its a shame that Tom missed out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtureck Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 48 minutes ago, Rovers2000 said: One thing I found interesting was that he didn't order the duck based on the licorice aspect. I actually almost didn't either (I despise black licorice) but unlike Tom apparently - I asked one of the bartenders what they thought about that and received the "its fresh licorice dust" and it is "very subtle". To be honest, I didn't get a ton of licorice flavor and as I said above, I thought the dish was a home run. Its a shame that Tom missed out. It's a shame that Spero writes his menus in a way where you really can't tell what you'll be getting... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Wells Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 2 minutes ago, mtureck said: It's a shame that Spero writes his menus in a way where you really can't tell what you'll be getting... Agree, for those prices it should not be a matter of entering the Circle of Trust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 4 minutes ago, Bob Wells said: Agree, for those prices it should not be a matter of entering the Circle of Trust. Hmm, I've seen this quite often (everytime you order an omakase, for example). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers2000 Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 18 minutes ago, mtureck said: It's a shame that Spero writes his menus in a way where you really can't tell what you'll be getting... 10 minutes ago, DonRocks said: Hmm, I've seen this quite often (everytime you order an omakase, for example). I think both of these are fair. The point I was trying to make I guess is that Tom missed out on a dish that I thought was excellent b/c he had a similar judgement to my initial one. I simply asked a bartender and got an answer that allayed my fear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtureck Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 6 minutes ago, DonRocks said: Hmm, I've seen this quite often (everytime you order an omakase, for example). Apples and oranges. If you're ordering omakase, or any kind of tasting menu where you're accepting that you don't know what you're getting, or you won't be deciding what you'll be eating, that's one thing. If you're ordering off a menu with multiple options, it's a different game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 5 minutes ago, mtureck said: Apples and oranges. If you're ordering omakase, or any kind of tasting menu where you're accepting that you don't know what you're getting, or you won't be deciding what you'll be eating, that's one thing. If you're ordering off a menu with multiple options, it's a different game. Kinship (and hundreds of others). In other breaking news, Robert Parker has proclaimed the 1993 Red Burgundies a disaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Wells Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 1 hour ago, DonRocks said: Hmm, I've seen this quite often (everytime you order an omakase, for example). Don with all due respect, I think that is different. With omakase, you're trusting the chef to give you his best stuff, but you know generally what the dishes will look like. With a menu like this, you're trusting that the named ingredients, some rather unusual, are put together in a way that you will enjoy, and you have really no idea what you will be getting. There is trust in both situations but in the former it seem to require less of a leap of faith. JMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 50 minutes ago, Bob Wells said: Don with all due respect, I think that is different. With omakase, you're trusting the chef to give you his best stuff, but you know generally what the dishes will look like. With a menu like this, you're trusting that the named ingredients, some rather unusual, are put together in a way that you will enjoy, and you have really no idea what you will be getting. There is trust in both situations but in the former it seem to require less of a leap of faith. JMHO. Breakfast at Citronelle. There are countless examples of this! I mean, I'm not saying you guys are wrong (there's no right or wrong here), but Johnny Spero is influenced by places like El Bulli and Alinea - who knows what you're going to get there if you order "Chicken under a Brick?" You might get a chocolate squiggle of someone cowering in fear, with an almond tuile on top. I know that Eric Ziebold used to put dish names in quotes if he deviated too far from the norm. This conversation will surely get back to the restaurant, and will be noted, so I wouldn't worry about your voices being quashed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPop Posted March 5, 2019 Share Posted March 5, 2019 To get back to the food, my wife and I returned on Saturday and the duck was even better this round. I retract my previous statement; I remember the late Mark Kuller (RIP) once tell me when I was complaining about the food prices at The Source that you could boil down most things in life to their simplest form (clothing, wine, art, etc) and pick any luxury thing apart as not being worth the things that made it up, but that's not what you're paying for at the top end; you're paying for the talent of the person creating it. We all know this, but it's good to remind yourself of it sometimes, and the thought, effort, and creativity combined with ingredient costs are certainly worth every penny of the $100 that you pay for it. The skin is tacky from the beet juice and licorice that the duck is brined in, giving it a lovely stick to go with that fatty and unctuous flavor that we enjoy so much. The medium rare (bordering on rare) meat on the breast is brimming with flavor, bolstered by the nice layer of fat surrounding it. This combined with the 96 Volnay that we brought were enough to leave smiles plastered on our faces on a cold, wet night. The other dishes that we had, however, did not hit on the same notes. The Mushroom dish didn't resonate at all with me, it was somewhat devoid of flavor outside of a hint of smoke and sweetness of the egg yolk "fudge". I didn't get the appeal or thinking behind this dish, and the same went for the Beef Tartare, which was nicely chopped and plated but the whole dish was overwhelmed by the farro tamari sauce that was dotted throughout the plate, again sweet and not to my taste. I have been twice now, and while I love chatting with Johnny and really enjoy the vibe at the counter, I can't say that I have loved any of the other dishes I have tried apart from the duck. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotus125 Posted June 10, 2019 Share Posted June 10, 2019 Ever since trying Johnny Spero's short lived Suna, I've been excited to see when he would again open his own place. (FWIW, I liked the Suna concept and had some good food there, but thought the dishes were high variance and not all enjoyable). I enjoyed his run at Minibar and Columbia Room, but obviously not the same as creating his own menu. After several mixed reviews, we kept delaying our plan to try Reverie. But when friends had to cancel plans elsewhere at the last minute, we dropped by. While Reverie is probably not for everyone, we really enjoyed it. It veers in the new-nordic direction, with the occasional dollop of obvious Spanish influence -- a mashup of foodie favorites. The space is lovely, and the service is great. The staff accommodated with grace our walking in without a reservation on Saturday night. A host and a back waiter appeared to remember us from meals at other restaurants -- a sign of good staff. And our waitress gave great advice in guiding us through the menu and selecting a bottle of wine that was a perfect fit for the food and our quirky wine tastes. As for the food, it ranged from good to great. And in contrast to my take on most restaurants, the food got better as the meal went on, i.e., the desserts were exceptional and the entrees were better than the appetizers. We started with a scallop crudo with buttermilk and dill (very nordic and solid); a seeded, dark nordic bread served with seed miso and cheesey butter that was cultured with epoisses (the gf would have preferred a different type of bread, but we both loved the butter and miso); and peas with verbena, fresh cheese, seaweed, and I think some kind of vinegar gel (probably the best of the three). For entrees, we had a grilled kanpachi collar with peanut miso, kosho mayo, and herbs, and an agnolotti that was effectively filled with cooked fish roe and in a cream sauce with more roe. Both were great. Overall, the kanpachi was probably just a bit tastier. The gf described it as the perfect, sophisticated barbecue. But the agnolotti was delicious -- like a mix of taramasalata and stuffed, al dente pasta -- and the more creative of the two. The wine list steers in the natural direction and seemed to be fairly priced, based on a few reference points I recognized. We tried all three desserts, and they were spectacular. A birch ice cream (surprisingly smokey); a chocolate and sunchoke dish with olive oil that evoked cocoa pebbles; and a cherry granita with marshmallow and berries. This kind of food isn't for everyone. And don't expect it to be Noma or Amass. But this is an exciting addition to the DC food scene. I'd be pleased to go back, and I look forward to watching this restaurant grow. 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zgast Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 Finally got around to dining here. Really enjoyed the meal and think I'd head back again in the future - certainly to try the duck and burger that everyone raved about. We shared: Scallop crudo - similar to the above comments. Enjoyed the dish - particularly the little garnishes that hit the tongue with little bits of lime. Not sure if these are natural or made by the kitchen, but I enjoyed them. Clam and crisped rice salad - This was just ok. Definitely the least favorite dish of the night. The lemon sort of overpowered all the other flavors except the dairy. The bread - It's dark multi grain bread, but we enjoyed it enough that we almost ordered a second. Agnolotti - Lotus125 described this well. It had a cream sauce but ate fairly light. The fish flavor was there but the roe didn't overpower anything. Lamb - This was the favorite dish of the night. Really well cooked rare lamb that ate almost like a pastrami - that tender. So, so good. Cherry Granita - This was over something that I can't recall right now but served as a very tasty end to the meal. We migrated through wine glasses with the meal, trying a sparkling rose from Spain, California Chardonnay, and the Brouilly. All were solid choices. The service staff were excellent. Casual but welcoming. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiouskitkatt Posted November 13, 2019 Share Posted November 13, 2019 Inkind dining credit has launched at Reverie. As far as I understand this is a frequent diner program in which diners prepay, and is powered through InKind. Is this the new trend for dining? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcs Posted November 13, 2019 Share Posted November 13, 2019 3 hours ago, curiouskitkatt said: Inkind dining credit has launched at Reverie. As far as I understand this is a frequent diner program in which diners prepay, and is powered through InKind. Is this the new trend for dining? I wonder if they offer refunds if a place closes on short notice? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curiouskitkatt Posted November 13, 2019 Share Posted November 13, 2019 On 11/13/2019 at 3:10 PM, dcs said: I wonder if they offer refunds if a place closes on short notice? There is a tab on the page to ask your question. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPop Posted November 23, 2019 Share Posted November 23, 2019 FYI they stopped free corkage here and are now charging $50/bottle, making this a considerably more expensive experience for someone who prefers to bring their own bottle in like myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@Lf82 Posted November 25, 2019 Share Posted November 25, 2019 Came here early with my wife for a 5pm seating at the chef's table. We opted for the tasting menu and all the courses were spot on. With that said, we were seated by the meat station and as we were wrapping up our entrees, you could see the line cooks artfully grilling & fanning a gigantic rib and whole smoked duck. It was then that we realized that we needed to make a follow-up visit to try their large format meats. Fortunately, the cook could see our longing gazes and offered us a pair of duck 'burnt ends' that were rendered fat and smoke flavor bombs. With all that said, the real reason that i wanted to comment was to talk about a simple, yet striking display of humanity that we had witnessed that night. Towards the end of our meal, a tall man had walked in. He was clearly a dear friend/family member to the staff, and one by one, several crew members (to include the chef) shared very very long embraces with this man. It was obvious that he had experienced a recent tragedy or loss. What had initially appeared almost awkward/uncomfortable quickly gave way to a thought - these people clearly care deeply about each other. As cliched as it sounds, I really could feel the love in the room that evening and it was nice to witness something so touching on our anniversary. (My wife joked that she wanted a hug too afterwards). In any case, we'll return some day for the meats, which were clearly cooked with love, as witnessed by all that evening. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheezepowder Posted March 14, 2020 Share Posted March 14, 2020 Washingtonian says that starting today, Reverie will offer their burger and whole duck for carryout. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 I saw Johnny Spero this afternoon, making a delivery to a car - he said they'll be doing this until this Saturday, and will then reevaluate at that point (in no way did he imply he'd stop; merely reevaluate the rapidly changing situation). While you're picking up your carryout, stop by Georgetown Butcher (run by some former employees of the excellent (and unaffiliated) Organic Butcher in McLean). I recommend trying the "Georgetown Wagyu" cut - the two businesses are a fifteen-second walk from each other, and if you go early afternoon, you can get one of the precious few parking spaces on Grace Street. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanvtaylor Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 We picked up a few burgers (really good) and an order of rugbrod. It was an easy transaction and worked out great for us. We'll be back for more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonRocks Posted March 22, 2020 Share Posted March 22, 2020 46 minutes ago, seanvtaylor said: We picked up a few burgers (really good) and an order of rugbrod. It was an easy transaction and worked out great for us. We'll be back for more. Sean, how did Reverie's burgers travel/reheat? Have you tried the duck? The Rugbrød sounds like a must-have, but you're doubling-up on the bread - what, exactly, was it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanvtaylor Posted March 23, 2020 Share Posted March 23, 2020 On 3/22/2020 at 12:02 AM, DonRocks said: Sean, how did Reverie's burgers travel/reheat? Have you tried the duck? The Rugbrød sounds like a must-have, but you're doubling-up on the bread - what, exactly, was it? The burgers made it home with no problem, and were still a bit warm so we didn't worry about reheating them (and once we sat them on our plates, they were gone very fast...) We've had the duck at the restaurant, and would have ordered it as well but it was sold out for the day. The Rugbrød was three nice slices of dense rye bread, served with a brown miso spread and a butter (maybe flavored?). I thought that we would have them at breakfast the next day, perhaps underneath some poached eggs, but the rugbrod didn't survive the night. 😏 My wife loves this bread, and for us any order from Reverie will automatically include this if it is available. For me, you could make an amazing meal out of the duck, rugbrod, and the Caesar salad. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jca76 Posted July 14, 2020 Share Posted July 14, 2020 we've been rooting for johnny spero since suna, where we had one meal during its short tenure that hinted at the chef's potential. we had three very good meals at reverie in the last year, and have been keeping an eye on the take-out options since the beginning of the quarantimes, eager to support the restaurant. given that we don't eat meat, this past week's reverie at home for 2 seafood menu was our first opportunity. the highlights: the bay leaf custard topped with jewel-like red currants was silky textured, herbaceously not-too-sweet, and brightened by the acidic pop of those currants. it may be the best take-out dessert we've had in the last four months. the scallop crudo, a favorite from our first reverie dinner last summer, remains a delightful new nordic-inspired play of sweet raw scallop, creamy buttermilk, and vibrant dill. (i don't get the crispy scallop chips, which i find to have a strong seafood funk and dense crunch that overpowers an otherwise delicate dish, and, to be honest, make me think of oversized fish food flakes. luckily, they were packaged separately and easily left off.) the madai crudo with smoked olive oil benefited from an additional sprinkle of sea salt, but was otherwise lovely -- clean, just a hint of smokiness, with a good acidic balance. both the crudos were thoughtfully individually packaged (two of each crudo), the garnishes carefully placed atop the seafood, so that it was easy to scoop them onto a plate for a beautiful at-home presentation. steamed carolina gold rice dusted with furikake was tasty on its own and a great vehicle for sopping up the herb butter sauce from the turbot. the nits: both the excellent (cultured?) seaweed butter accompanying the focaccia and the herb butter sauce needed salt, but that was easily fixed. (and i much preferred the focaccia to the dense rugbrod we'd had in-restaurant in the past; it always felt a bit too virtuously wholesome for me.) we had been excited to try the clarified gazpacho that had been listed on the menu when we placed our order (which we did a day or two before), but unfortunately it didn't make it into our bags. however, we got a prompt and apologetic response to our email, with the promise to refund part of the dinner cost. these things happen, and it was handled fine. the only real miss for me was the roasted, on-the-bone turbot. i acknowledge that turbot with a buttery sauce is already the sort of classic dish that is less my speed (and honestly a bit more boring that i would have expected from reverie), and i realize that it's a challenge to figure out a cooked fish that will travel adequately. even with a reheat in the oven, the skin was unappetizingly slimy, but once discarded, the flesh underneath was basically unseasoned -- back to the kitchen for lemon wedges and salt! -- and studded with a surprising amount of fat. i usually get a visceral joy out of performing my own dinnertime seafood butchery -- filleting a whole roasted fish, dissecting grilled head-and-shell-on prawns -- but separating the turbot from its skeleton just made for frustration and a bit of a mess. while i've roasted a lot of whole fish, i'll admit that i've never before tackled a turbot, so i'm just not familiar enough to know whether this was just my own personal (lack of) preference. overall, i'm glad that we ordered, and we'll definitely be keeping an eye on reverie's pescatarian-friendly options for future take-out. and i'm still thinking about that custard. 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lotus125 Posted April 3, 2022 Share Posted April 3, 2022 We've watched Reverie evolve since it opened in 2018. We have enjoyed all of our meals there (and COVID takeout). But our most recent two have been our favorites, and our last was truly excellent. The restaurant, which I'd previously described as a mashup between nordic and spanish, has fully evolved into a successful, new-nordic experience. (I wonder if the soon-to-open Bar Spero will be an outlet for the chef's also excellent spanish food.) Our most recent meal would have held its own against some of the better restaurants in Copenhagen and Stockholm. This style of food may not be for everyone. But for those who like it, Reverie is a must. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post johnnyspero Posted April 24 Popular Post Share Posted April 24 Just giving everyone an update who might have been following our progress since the fire but we are back open. We just wrapped up our first month of service after being shut down for over a year and a half. It's probably a very different experience than what most had in 2018 when we first opened, we made a huge transition during covid to focusing on seafood, would love to see some new and familiar faces come through! 6 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcturus Posted June 12 Share Posted June 12 So full disclosure, Johnny and I have known each other for a long time. We were line cooks together briefly and friends on social media, but we've never really hung out outside of work. I'm not an impartial source, I'm rooting ferociously for Johnny to succeed as I have been since he opened Suna. It's a travesty that nobody has given Reverie a review after re-opening. Because it's spectacular. I went in early April, solo. Had the tasting menu and a few glasses of wine. I took a bunch of pictures, but they were all above the 2mb site limit here. If people want to see them and pics of the tea that I'm drinking and the wines I'm selling, I'm @g.rumbles on instagram. Here's what I wrote on instagram after: It's hard for me to put into words how superlative Reverie is. In an age of endless pretentious bullshit, filler, fuckery, and overly verbose instagram screeds on the concept of perfection by chefs desperate to be noticed but not desperate enough to put in the work to merit the glance, the concept of Reverie is so refreshing. The food is just aggressively delicious. There's nowhere to hide from the levels and layers of flavor, umami, and richness executed with finesse that Johnny throws at you. It's incredibly honest. The food doesn't need to hide behind dozens of garnishes, but it also never, ever gets old. My palate fatigue at the end of the meal was zero. A meal at Reverie is a brutal onslaught of contrasting flavors and textures that can only leave a trail of satisfied diners in its wake. The things that man can do with rice, eggs, and seafood are nothing short of alchemy. I'm still dreaming about the coconut rice. Literally, I've had dreams about it. Please send help. But even better than that, there's zero pretense. Many of the courses are run by the chefs that plated them. The service is graceful, genuine, and precise. The wine list is thoughtful, intelligent, and pairs with the food marvelously. To anyone in DC or soon to be there, go eat at Reverie. Now. If it was one of the top 5 meals of my life, odds are it'll be one of yours too. 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty L. Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 18 hours ago, Arcturus said: So full disclosure, Johnny and I have known each other for a long time. We were line cooks together briefly and friends on social media, but we've never really hung out outside of work. I'm not an impartial source, I'm rooting ferociously for Johnny to succeed as I have been since he opened Suna. It's a travesty that nobody has given Reverie a review after re-opening. Because it's spectacular. I went in early April, solo. Had the tasting menu and a few glasses of wine. I took a bunch of pictures, but they were all above the 2mb site limit here. If people want to see them and pics of the tea that I'm drinking and the wines I'm selling, I'm @g.rumbles on instagram. Here's what I wrote on instagram after: It's hard for me to put into words how superlative Reverie is. In an age of endless pretentious bullshit, filler, fuckery, and overly verbose instagram screeds on the concept of perfection by chefs desperate to be noticed but not desperate enough to put in the work to merit the glance, the concept of Reverie is so refreshing. The food is just aggressively delicious. There's nowhere to hide from the levels and layers of flavor, umami, and richness executed with finesse that Johnny throws at you. It's incredibly honest. The food doesn't need to hide behind dozens of garnishes, but it also never, ever gets old. My palate fatigue at the end of the meal was zero. A meal at Reverie is a brutal onslaught of contrasting flavors and textures that can only leave a trail of satisfied diners in its wake. The things that man can do with rice, eggs, and seafood are nothing short of alchemy. I'm still dreaming about the coconut rice. Literally, I've had dreams about it. Please send help. But even better than that, there's zero pretense. Many of the courses are run by the chefs that plated them. The service is graceful, genuine, and precise. The wine list is thoughtful, intelligent, and pairs with the food marvelously. To anyone in DC or soon to be there, go eat at Reverie. Now. If it was one of the top 5 meals of my life, odds are it'll be one of yours too. Wow. That sounds just great. Readers should be advised, however, that it's not remotely as affordable as the original Reverie (not meant as a criticism--merely a flag): It's $255 before wine, tip and tax. Beyond my means by several orders of magnitude, but I look forward to reading about others' delight! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyspero Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 8 hours ago, Marty L. said: Wow. That sounds just great. Readers should be advised, however, that it's not remotely as affordable as the original Reverie (not meant as a criticism--merely a flag): It's $255 before wine, tip and tax. Beyond my means by several orders of magnitude, but I look forward to reading about others' delight! Hoping this doesn't come off as defensive, truly just want to elaborate on how much change has happened since the original Reverie in 2018. After our first year of operations, we realized we were never going to truly survive as an a la carte restaurant in this small space down an alleyway. The goal was to always at some point offer a tasting menu alongside an a la carte menu and then COVID hit and we really put our heads down and realized the only way to make this space successful was to commit to the tasting menu. We did increase our prices from the last menu which was $225 because we significantly increased the size of our team, mostly FOH since before it was just a handful of us cooks running around with 1 service director with 1 or 2 servers. Also working with 100% seafood does increase our costs of goods pretty significantly. My goal, having been a part of the DC scene since 2007, has been to create something unique and special that showcases what we have here and compete on a global scale. Reverie very much scratches that itch and Bar Spero came into play when I wanted to make sure I wasn't only able to cook 16 course fine dining tasting menus when I really like to smash burgers as well. I know it's definitely a financial commitment to dine out anywhere, especially with a cost like Reverie so I appreciate anyone that finds a way to come support what we do here. I've always been a supporter, although I rarely post, of the DonRocks community and grateful for the support the majority of you have shown me from all my endeavours here in DC 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marty L. Posted June 13 Share Posted June 13 6 minutes ago, johnnyspero said: Hoping this doesn't come off as defensive, truly just want to elaborate on how much change has happened since the original Reverie in 2018. After our first year of operations, we realized we were never going to truly survive as an a la carte restaurant in this small space down an alleyway. The goal was to always at some point offer a tasting menu alongside an a la carte menu and then COVID hit and we really put our heads down and realized the only way to make this space successful was to commit to the tasting menu. We did increase our prices from the last menu which was $225 because we significantly increased the size of our team, mostly FOH since before it was just a handful of us cooks running around with 1 service director with 1 or 2 servers. Also working with 100% seafood does increase our costs of goods pretty significantly. My goal, having been a part of the DC scene since 2007, has been to create something unique and special that showcases what we have here and compete on a global scale. Reverie very much scratches that itch and Bar Spero came into play when I wanted to make sure I wasn't only able to cook 16 course fine dining tasting menus when I really like to smash burgers as well. I know it's definitely a financial commitment to dine out anywhere, especially with a cost like Reverie so I appreciate anyone that finds a way to come support what we do here. I've always been a supporter, although I rarely post, of the DonRocks community and grateful for the support the majority of you have shown me from all my endeavours here in DC Thanks, Johnny. Not defensive at all. I'm very much aware of how tenuous it is in the industry right now, and don't begrudge anyone charging whatever's necessary to make it work. I hope there are enough patrons out there in the DMV with disposable income to fill the seats at the *many* places that now regularly charge $100 and (much) more. It's simply not something that I can justify doing. Indeed, Bar Spero seems like a stretch ... yet because I've heard such great things, I hope to try it out soon, even if it means spending close to $40 for a burger. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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