Grapeseed

Food: All excellent — except the dessert. Oysters, gnocchi, soups, and meatballs all were stellar. The cheesecake w/​clove was neither. More like dollops of sour cream — no flavor, certainly no clove. Everything else was great.
Service: Good. Friendly and timely. She should have taken the dessert off the check, it was that bad and we said so — nicely.
Space: In sad need of an update. I see other reviews that say the same thing– good food, poor ambiance.

We’ve been going to Grapeseed for years; the food has been consistently great and the service generally good. I’ve often been surprised that the restaurant isn’t more crowded.
One problem may be the layout and ambiance — the appearance and set-​up don’t match the quality of the food and the service. In the front are tables packed pretty tightly and looking more like a basic lunchroom than a fine-​dining establishment. There are just a few booths and they are tucked away along the hallway leading to the restrooms. Overall it seems like a facelift might go a long way toward bringing the look and feel of the space up to the quality of the food Grapeseed serves.

I came here for a business lunch and really liked it. I pretty much judge every place I go to on their calamari and Grapeseed did not disappoint. I had a chicken bacon sandwich for lunch which was tasty and priced fairly. I will be back.

Went to Grapeseed during restaurant week and again for a friend’s birthday. Both times, I was not disappointed in the quality of the food and the service. We were especially impressed by the charcuterie plate. I also enjoyed the wild mushroom fricassee with polenta.
Probably the thing that impressed me the most was the attentiveness and the friendliness of the wait staff, bartender, and even the manager, who came to chat with us after our meal. I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t busier during the week while we were there– hopefully restaurant week will help to boost business!

Great space, service and atmosphere. My husband said its the best steak he has had in a long time. Loved our cozy, private booth. Did a little something special for my husbands Bday! Overall, great, new choice for a special bday dinner for my hubby!

I went back and forth on my rating for this restaurant, between three and four stars. I ended up deciding to break up my impressions as done below, so people can decide what is important to them.
First, the food. The meal was good. We enjoyed the charcuterie plate. Our selections were very good quality. I liked the tomato oil dip that came with the bread. My companion and I each ordered steak, which was cooked to perfect temperature and had a beautiful grilled taste to it. The grits as an a la carte side were not super exciting, and has a thicker texture than what I’m used to, but the pimento on the top was a nice addition. The horseradish mash was fantastic. I asked the waitress for some wine recommendations by the glass for each course and I was really happy with those. The zin especially was a nice surprise.
Then, the service. We went on a night midweek. It was pretty quiet. I got the impression they do more lunch business, just based on the fact that the server said most of their specials were offered at lunch. The server was very, very nice, but couldn’t really answer the questions we had about a number of items listed on the menu. I’m not sure if the restaurant needs to do a better job letting their servers taste the food as the menu changes, or do a better job training the servers to speak about the options, but it seemed like a missed opportunity to sell their brand and what was a good product. We weren’t really asking anything difficult — for example, the menu listed a few cuts of steak, and we were curious what they were. Or, we asked her what some of the cheese options were. Our server did go and find put some of this info, I just felt like maybe she wasn’t given all of the info she needed. Again, though, she was very nice, she was pretty attentive, and the food and drinks themselves came out fairly quickly. And as I said, the server did really well with the wine recommendations.
Finally, price. It was a pretty solid meal, and we enjoyed it. For the final total, though, I think I would have been more satisfied with the price tag had it been clear that the restaurant staff really knew the products and could make recommendations based on our questions.
Overall, I’m going with four stars. I think I’d come back, particularly for a business function or something where I wanted a reliably good meal, but maybe not as something really special.

From the summer lunch menu I ordered the Woodmont Salad and asked to add shrimp at $ 4.95 extra.
The salad was decent enough, but there were about four small pieces of shrimp, one almost needed a magnifying glass to identify.
I pointed this out to the waiter, who offered no explanation or apology. Of course the item remained on my bill. Not a restaurant to re visit.

I decided to give this place a try during restaurant week. Overall, the place was pretty cool. The restaurant week menu was awesome, lots of great options. The desserts were my favorite! The grilled pound cake… yum!!!
Here’s what I really liked… the staff was friendly… the entire staff, not just our server. That goes a long way in my book!
Here’s what I didn’t like… the set up of the restaurant. If you want a booth, you pretty much have to sit in the hall near the party room, which is on the way to the restrooms. Also, I think our server was new because she kept forgetting things. She made up for it with her sweet demeanor, but it was just a tad annoying nonetheless.
I plan to check them out again.

The food is always fantastic and usually the customer service is superb. My organization planned a dinner but due to unforeseen circumstances we had a change in our reservations therefore amending our contractual obligations. The manner in which the situation was initially handled was in my opinion was not appropriate.

I am changing my review due to an email sent by the excu chef to my corporation. I previously posted regarding our experience at the restaurant and check out. I was also informed that my review cost them booking a large party.
I admit that I was not privilege to the contract that was in place and that we were bound to 20 people even-​though we advised that we will only have 7, four hours prior to our arrival.
Management finally agreed to only charge us what was billed at the end of the day. Which was an incredible act of kindness on their part.
I travel a lot and do many events at many restaurants. Was this my best experience no, however I say the food was good.
By no means do I want to cost any business, business. Could things have been handled better? Yes, by both parties.
The manager slash host was in tennis shoe. If this is the feel of the restaurant then don’t change.
I will rate the restaurant on the food and give it four stars.
The desert was incredible.

Everything about Grapeseed was perfect. The food was extraordinary and the service was outstanding. I hosted a working dinner in their wine cellar room. Everything from our appetizers to dessert was fabulous. Most of all, I want to thank Jeff and his staff for letting us stay past closing so that we could finish our project. I can’t wait to go back next time I’m in town.

Four of us went for Restaurant Week. The food and service where great, everybody enjoyed dinner.
I need to have a repeat performance before I give it a five stars I’ll be back!

I came here a few weeks ago for Restaurant Week 2015 and had a lovely time. The great thing about visiting Grapeseed for RW is they offer the entire menu, not just some pre-​determined list of courses. (Well played.)
Course 1 — Baked Potato Soup (See Pic)
I ordered this without the bacon that they traditionally top it with. It was great! The thick soup hit the spot on a cold January day, and the cheddar cheese swirled throughout added the perfect amount of cheesiness. This dish was topped with scallions, so onion-​haters, be sure to opt out.
Course 2 — Gnocchi (See Pic)
The gnocchi were flour based rather than a traditional potato, so they were a lot fluffier than the standard stuff. They came tossed with roasted vegetables in a light olive oil sauce which was delicious. Overall, the dish was a huge hit flavor-​wise, but the portion size was ungodly. For me, flour-​based gnocchi leftovers are hard to heat up properly so taking a trough of it home is not realistic. My recommendation to the kitchen is to cut the gnocchi by about 25−30%.
Course 3 — Chocolate Mousse (See Pic)
Grapeseed’s chocolate mousse was heavenly. Rich dark chocolate mousse topped with sea salt, sitting atop a drizzle of caramel? As the Barefoot Contessa says, «What’s not to like?»
Service was attentive without being aggressive, which my table appreciated. Thumbs up!

I Came to celebrate my Birthday on a Saturday night at 6:45 with a reservation on restaurant week. It was on my list to try in Bethesda, one of the few places I had never been. We got seated right away in the back and the restaurant was less than half full. The atmosphere is OK, a little bright and quiet. We knew this going in so it was fine. The biggest issue we had was the below average service, we had two different waitresses… one told us the specials, another took our order. It took 10 minutes after sitting down to get any attention. At any place with good service A greeting or water should be offered very close to when you sit down. Our drinks took 20 minutes and we didn’t order our food until 30 minutes after being seated. The entrees didn’t arrive until an hour and 40 minutes after being seated (8:20). Bread didnt come for 30 minutes after being seated. It was starting to get busy after 7 but any restaurant should be prepared for that on a Saturday night, especially in Bethesda. Lastly, a manager/​owner never came by to ask how the meal was or apologize, customer service is not valued at grapeseed.
The Food: ³⁄₅ stars but a little overpriced. Started with the crispy beed tips and fish tostada/​taco. The fish tacos were quite good but the beef tips tasted like Chinese food heavy in sauce. The salads were all mediocre although the grilled caesar was a nice twist. For Entrees, I got the ribeye and it was not very good. They overcooked it and was covered in sea salt. My girlfriend got the filet mignon and said it was great. The oysters and chicken dish were also enjoyed by people we dined with. The food was fine but for the price it should be better.
I would compare Grapeseed to Persimmon in terms of atmosphere and cost. The menus are also quite similar but the big big difference was the level of service/​attention and quality of food is a a star better at persimmon as well.
With plenty of options in Bethesda, We wont be coming back.

On my day 3 of 2015 Spring Dc Restaurant Hunt, and so far all the restaurants I’ve been have been very impressive! That being said, Grapeseed right now is #1 in desserts! My wife and I just finished our 3-​course meal here and the desserts and starters left us a very deep impression!
For starters, we had Mussels and Sala, for entrees, we had Steak Frites and Shrimp/​Grits, for dessert we had Devil’s Crumbs Chocolate and Greek Yogurt Cheesecake.
The desserts were an absolute amazement! They were very good by itself, but when I decided to take a bite from my Devil’s Crumb and combine it with my wife’s Yogurt Cheesecake, it was heavenly. We both thought it was he best combination dessert we’ve ever had! The starters and entrees were pretty good as well, and I just wanted to single out my wife’s mussels — outstanding.
The environment and the mood were good, but it was the food that left us wanting to come back for more!
Overall: ⁵⁄₅
Food: Definitely ⁵⁄₅

Came here during restaurant week and paid a hefty price for super small dishes. I believe I would have to come back here during Happy Hour or dinner in order to actually «like/​love» this establishment. The food was very tasty, however, so is boloco across the street. I must admit that I am a huge wine snob and boy do I LOVE wine. Unfortunately, I was on my lunch break with co-​workers and unable to have a glass. I will just have to come back with my Mother and give this place a second chance.

This pace is wonderful. My fiancé and I had a nice romantic dinner there. We were the only ones in the restaurant. The service was on point and our server was very tentative. The food was amazing. We had shrimp and fries oysters for appetizers and our main dish was catfish and chicken. All the food was great with big portion. We took a lot of leftovers home.
This is a great date night dinner place.

We went here with a Groupon and decided to get an assortment of appetizers instead of entrees. My absolute favorite was the wild mushroom fricasse. I can’t even begin to put into words what makes this dish so good, but I know I must have it again. The pork belly was a bit heavy on the fat and there was nothing else on the plate to cut the grease with so it was all just too overwhelming. The grilled calamari was also fantastic and in a broth that was light and flavorful, a dangerous combination that leads to eating well past capacity.

Went here with a friend because she got a livingsocial coupon for this place. Normally I don’t like that whole coupon non-sense…but I decided to come along, and I’m glad I did.
Got there Thursday night and it was pretty quiet in there… was it it the cold? Come on Bethesda, get it together.
The restaurant has some booths towards the back, and a couple of what appear to be wine tasting rooms behind glass doors. I assume you have to reserve those or have a lot of people with you.
So, on to the food. Had the deep fried broccoli and the Gnocchi with chicken. Broccoli was outstanding… that creamy sauce is awesome. Gnocchi was good, but not as good as the broccoli. How can it be?
On to the entrée… they had a limited 3 entrée menu, which I almost prefer. Sometimes there’s just too much choice in modern life. I had the stew and my friend had the salmon. Both absolutely delicious. The stew comes with these soft pitas for you to make little tacos with. You have to feeeeel the food, you know?
Dessert…not something I usually order, but it came with the coupon. Tried the Greek yogurt cheese cake (which comes out looking like ice cream) and the chocolate thing. The cheesecake is more sour than you might imagine, but very tasty. The chocolate dessert was very good. None too sweet.
Solid place.

We ordered 3 starters– the fired chicken liver, calamari, and … I want to say it was something like korean bbq beef with eggplants? But I don’t it here on the menu. I def didn’t like the first two, but I’m not a big fan of liver or sauteed calamari (I like fried calamari). The eggplant/​beef dish was my fav of the 3. For my entrée, I ordered the braised beef short rib. The meat was so tender! And it had the perfect about of flavor and sodium. Not sure if there’s much else on the menu I would like to try, but I can see myself coming back for the short rib.
The server was nice, fast, and patient. Food is rather expensive. Presentation of both the restaurant and food are pretty classy and fancy.