Restaurant Vero, Arlington - Closed

[Joe Riley]

Has anyone been here? I searched but didn't find any reviews.

Restaurant Vero

[dcs]

Has anyone been here? I searched but didn't find any reviews.

Restaurant Vero

It received generally positive reviews from 2 separate Washington Post writers:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?n...ies=Restaurants

I am remiss in not getting there myself, as it is only a couple of short miles from my house.

[gastronaut]

We've been there 3-4 times and it's generally quite good, but IMHO many of the dishes are a bit over-worked, too much frou frou toppings and additions instead of leaving things alone. But I prefer Obelisk's pure flavors and presentations to Kincaid's overwrought concoctions. Prices are reasonable and the wine and beer (including some tasty belgians) is good. It's a little bit loud due to hard surfaces but I'll go back. I'd just prefer it if they backed off on the "toppings" and such on the dishes.

[Joe Riley]

Well, I went there this evening, and met up with some friends (in the trade, so the wine was already chosen).

I very much enjoyed the "Traditional Bolognese" (House made Bolognese over home-style pappardelle pasta with crostini and basil) and I had a delicious crème brulée with berries for dessert.

No kidding, I didn't have any lunch today, and that Bolognese really filled me up. With a little pepper added to it, it was darned-near perfect for me tonight.

It WAS rather noisy, but it isn't a large place. I have the feeling that it draws very heavily from the surrounding neighborhood, whose residents are probably happy to have such a decent place within walking distance with plenty of nearby parking, too.

Don't know if it's necessarily a destination, but you could do a whole lot worse. If you live in North Arlington, I'd recommend checking it out, but I'll bet that it fills up fast on weekend nights.

Check out their website (as posted above) before you go to save yourself some time perusing the menu and beverage list.

[Demvtr]

I had some of the best sweet potato soup of my young life at Restaurant Vero two weeks ago. I also had a gnocchi dish featuring butternut squash, mushrooms, and asparagus in a cream sauce, that was very satisfying (though it turned out to have been a bit rich for me). I did, however, have to send the gnocchi dish back before I could tuck into it, because it was served to me the first time around with cheese on it. (The cheese was not noted on the menu.)

The wait staff was quite pleasant.

Vegetarians (or those, like me, inclined to order vegetarian dishes) take note: although the online menu denotes no vegetarian entrees, both "special" entrees when I was there were vegetarian (the gnocchi and a "vegetable stack" dish that my companion ordered). Accordingly, you can call to find out if a vegetarian entree will be available on a given evening.

[MarkS]

Me and my wife dined here last night.

Extensive wine list which was fairly priced and well chosen. We had a burgundy which was superb. No bar which is not a show stopper though my wife did want a cocktail.

I had a grilled ceaser salad and my wife had a salad of heirloom tomatoes and mozzarella. Both well prepared.

I had lamb chops with Israeli couscous and my wife had red snapper. Both were well presented and we cleaned our plates.

We shared Key Lime Cannolis which was a fresh take on this desert. Excellent.

Bill for two including tax and tip was 130., which I think was reasonable. Too bad this place isn't in Rockville/Potomac where I live.

[SeanMike]

On a side note, I'm a big fan of the wine events here at Vero. They're usually around $100 or so and on Monday nights.

That aside...

I went here Tuesday night. After a long weekend in Pittsburgh I wanted somewhere nice, somewhere quiet, and somewhere delicious. It hit the spot on all three counts. Being a fairly early (around 7 PM) Tuesday night, it was pretty darn empty.

I got a glass of Trinitas Old Vine Cuvee' ($11) from Contra Costa County, California. I like wine, but I'm not the guy to ask about the individual flavors, etc., but it seemed to me to be a nice between-point red - not too heavy or spicy, but not too light, it hit me on all the right notes. I ended up having a second glass of it with my entree.

The bread came out first. There was a crusty farm bread (it might not be exactly that but it's how I always think of it and I think it was the same as the one with the mussels) that was good with the olive oil they provided, but the thick squares of another kind of more peppery bread were AWESOME. I could've had a whole meal of that bread and the delicious olive oil.

Still, I started with the Prince Edward Island Mussels ($10), listed as "PEI mussels in coconut curry sauce with crusty farm bread". The top ones were a bit lacking in sauce (which I could've remedied but alas, did not) but all in all they were quite tasty and hefty portion. It made me glad that I was alone - I don't have to share. Nyah!

My entree was the Tuscan Marinated Pork Ribs ($21), listed as "Tender ribs marinated in olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, herbs and olives. Served with potato, leek and red pepper gratin and asparagus". The ribs were excellent and tasty, though a bit hard to eat with a butter knife and fork (I should've asked for a steak knife). The asparagus and gratin were delicious.

I finished with a Warre’s Otima 10 Year Old Tawny ($17), as I wanted some port and wanted to try a tawny (I usually drink vintages). My waitress hadn't had it but heard a lot of recommendations for it and I was very glad I tried it, it was delicious.

The night hit the spot just about right. The only thing I'd change about Restaurant Vero, I think, is that I would love if they had some good custom cocktails to go along with their beer and wine selections, instead of just the plain old regular cocktails listed on their site (most of them just straight liquor).

[4bigreddogs]

Stopped by last night at 8pm with no reservation and the place was packed. We got a table after a 30 min wait (and a bottle of bubbly) at the bar. We've been several times and have always had a very good to great meal.

Last night may have been the best. Littlest dog (age seven) had the lamb chop appetizer and declared them to be the best ever. Big dog had fond memories of the pork shoulder and found it again to be excellent. I had the perfectly cooked rockfish special. The food came out of the kitchen HOT. Other dishes to try would be the crabcakes or any of their beef dishes. There's always an interesting salad on the menu that can be hit or miss. Mine last night included poached egg with lardon. I've had amazing variations elsewhere and this one was quite bland. We split the apple cobbler with a double scoop of ice cream - always a nice ending.

[DonRocks]

I was in Restaurant Vero about a week ago, and purchased a bottle of wine at retail - they were offering a 10% discount if you paid in cash.

This past Saturday, I heard from a credible source that Restaurant Vero closed for good the night before. However, when I asked for supporting detail, I was told that it was second-hand information, and that I should verify for myself. On Sunday, their website, their answering machine, and Open Table all appeared normal, and when I drove by and looked in the window, nothing seemed amiss.

However, as of today, there are no longer reservations listed on Open Table. When I called this afternoon and asked what time they were opening tonight, I was told, "We're not open this evening."

Cheers,

Rocks.

[Bob Wells]

I was in Restaurant Vero about a week ago, and purchased a bottle of wine at retail - they were offering a 10% discount if you paid in cash.

This past Saturday, I heard from a credible source that Restaurant Vero closed for good the night before. However, when I asked for supporting detail, I was told that it was second-hand information, and that I should verify for myself. On Sunday, their website, their answering machine, and Open Table all appeared normal, and when I drove by and looked in the window, nothing seemed amiss.

However, as of today, there are no longer reservations listed on Open Table. When I called this afternoon and asked what time they were opening tonight, I was told, "We're not open this evening."

Cheers,

Rocks.

Wow, so much for closing Tap&Vine to "concentrate on Restaurant Vero." Guess Vero needed more concentration. The curse of the Location of Death is a strange and powerful creature.

[bryanc28]

Is there any further information on the status of this place?

[DonRocks]

Is there any further information on the status of this place?

They're out of business.

[DannyNoonan]

They're out of business.

Vero was a nice idea and had the potential to offer something great for their neighborhood but, in my experience, the food was just never consistently good enough to justify the restaurant entering our regular rotation. Hard to put a finger on what exactly was lacking but we never left there with any feeling other than "eh". Will be interesting to see if some other brave soul gives it a whirl in this space.