Crane & Turtle

Absolutely wonderful! Delicious food, friendly staff and a very warm environment. I’d go back in a heartbeat!

Fun little restaurant. The menu is «out of the box», French /​Japanese /​seafood-​ish? Done really well. It is a lot of fun to watch the sous chefs do their thing in the open atmosphere. The desserts are A+. Sit at the little bar if you can.

The only way I would give a one star is if there is food poisoning. And sadly there was. I took my boyfriend out for his birthday here last night. The service was attentive and the food (that I had) was great. But my boyfriend kept saying that there was something dirty tasting about the oyster in his Sautéed Halibut (with Oyster stew). I don’t like oyster so I mentioned that is probably what it is supposed to taste like.
I have to admit that my meal was phenomenal. I had the Jardin Composé (with the Ricotta Dumpling) and we shared the Poached Sun Shrimp (with Greek Yogurt, Pickled Ginger). I was really liking it and also enjoyed my Black Manhattan.
Then we went home and suddenly I was awoken by my boyfriend around 1am/​2am. Yup. Food poisoning. It was a rough night (more rough for him). And now this morning things are better but sadly our plans to go to Crane and Turtle for the ramen has been changed. We concluded that it was probably the oyster and sadly part of the $ 120 I paid for the meal went straight down the toilet.
Hopefully others have better experiences.

Expensive, but a great new spot. The white negroni and black Manhattan were great, and really enjoyed numerous menu items. I will likely be back again, but probably for a special occasion. We sat at the bar which was nice/​convenient, because we were able to watch as some of our dishes were prepared.

This is the gem of Petworth. The service and hospitality here is discrete and positive. Watching the ballet of the chefs working the open kitchen right in front of the low bar seating is worth a ticket alone. The food is the highest level of taste and presentation that you can get in this part of NW.
Do not miss the hay-​smoked tuna, much of the menu changes so try something interesting, including orange wine. Also, Ramen Tuesdays from 5:30 — 6:30 is fantastic and little-​known thing.
Here’s how good the service is: I didn’t know that many of my friends would show up last night, and we ended up with 9 for Ramen. They were so accommodating and we figured out how to make it work even in their small space. We changed up the plan on our end and they were flexible. The Ramen was AMAZING, rich broth, the pork slightly smoked, scallions diced small for crunch, and the right chew on the noodles. Everyone had a great time, and they were even gracious about the unexpected mass of people. Please, make reservations here ahead of time, don’t be like me. And then enjoy one of the best meal experiences on offer in DC.

Amazing service! The place to sit is at the bar so you can see the chefs at work. Watching them slice tuna is as relaxing as sitting on a cloud. Eating the tuna is pretty great too.

My husband and I went to Crane and Turtle for our anniversary. I googled a new and upcoming restaurant to check out in D.C. this place was one of the restaurants listed. Luckily, this place recently reopened after taking a hiatus and I was so excited after reading about their menu, reviews, and photos on Unilocal.I was quite surprised at how small the establishment was, but nevertheless quite charming with great ambiance. This place is not for a large group — at most 4 in a party is appropriate, in my opinion. It’s a great place to take someone on a date and sit by the open kitchen bar where you can watch the chefs cook and arrange their master pieces. My husband and I were sitting directly in front of one of the cooks responsible for the Amuse De Mer; he, at times, chimed in on our conversation– as we pondered about the dishes he was preparing. We wanted to try all the dishes because it sounded so good. We settled with Big– eyed tuna, sea trout carpaccio, and Tataki wasabi. All three were delicious but our favorite was the Big-​eyed tuna. For appetizers, we ordered the chestnut soup and sukiyaki. I fell in love with the soup– it was creamy with interesting texture and the flavors were spot on; I almost licked the bowl. The sukiyaki was a bit salty. I thinking the tofu was replaced with another component it would have been better; it absorbed so much of the broth I felt it made it salty. For dinner, I ordered the Tom Yum Gun. This was the only disappointment out of all we ordered. The shrimp balls on the Tom Yum Gun and the skin on the chicken was also a bit salty, so after trying my husband’s sukiyaki my palate didn’t sit so well. The bok choys, however, was seasoned to perfection. I regretted not ordering the dumplings and the carrot vegetables; they looked delicious as the waiter took them to the other patrons. The staff was friendly, accommodating and welcoming. After they found out it was our anniversary, they gave us a plate with «happy anniversary written in chocolate along with crumbled pie crust topped with whipped cream and a candle– very simple with a nice gesture. I would have given this place 5 if the two dishes weren’t salty.

This place is still a very nice establishment, but they recently announced they are doing a ramen pop-​up from 5 – 6:30 on weekdays. My friend and I rushed over from work as quickly as we could and arrived at about 6:20 and were informed that we couldn’t be seated– they decided to stop serving ramen early so they could save room for their dinner reservations… bummer. They shouldn’t advertise it if they can’t deliver.

Crane and Turtle is my Rose’s Luxury of 2015! It’s the restaurant that is doing such special things in the kitchen that bite for bite you are shaking your head thinking how do these flavor combinations work so well together.
I’ve been twice and tried many things on the menu… I’ll just say, make a reservation (the place is tiny), trust the servers suggestions, or trust your gut, and you won’t be sorry.
I’m sorry to not offer specifics as to what I ate, but take a look at the menu… I just don’t know what half of the ingredients are, so I can’t speak to what makes a specific dish delicious.
You’ll have to take my word for it, that if I’m comparing the quality to Rose’s…it’s a special place!

Absolutely adore this place with creative marriage of Japanese and French cuisines. Small but comfortable and organized layout (also love the custom bathroom wallpaper).
The bar seats are ideal for those who want to watch chef at each station quietly but productively produce beautiful dishes one after another.
The seafood-​centric menu changes frequently depending on season, availability and whatever chef desires so each dining experience is different and refreshing.
My favorite were roasted baby carrots which were perfectly assembled with not too overpowering mustard BBQ sauce, and Mugi miso red snapper that was evenly paired with creamy cauliflower purée and miso lettuce on the side.
Given the limited space, reservation is definitely recommended if/​when possible.

Tiny little place that you should almost always make reservations for beforehand. They now have a gorgeous small outdoor patio that has a more limited menu. If you can, request to sit at the open kitchen bar so you can watch them cook and plate.
Their menu changes quite often so come back often. All the seafood dishes I’ve tried have been excellent — I especially loved the trout they had recently on their appetizers menu, though the scallops dish that’s perennially on their entrees menu is a bit boring compared to some of their other items. They usually have two specials each night — if they sound at all interesting, get them because you might never see them again. If the confit ton toro is still on the menu when you go and you love pork, get that. It’s almost pork belly like. I was obsessed with their previous incarnation of their seaweed salad that didn’t have coconut oil and actually ordered a second portion when I tried it. Bring that back, please!
They had a giant list of rosé wines during the summer, and fingers crossed they keep them on for a while longer. The best part is that they’re available by the half glass, so I could sample several during one meal. The servers are always very knowledgeable and the cooks and chef are really nice about talking to people at the bar seats when people have questions.

Went here midweek with a friend. On street parking was easy. We scored a table outside. I was a little worried when she offered big spray but I only suffered a few mosquito bites.
I started with the tuna appetizer and it was amazing! I ordered based on photos on Unilocal. (BTW the menu changes frequently so don’t get too attached to the photos!). It had big slices of seared tuna sitting on a sauce that did not over power the tuna. Very fresh!
For my entrée I ordered the chicken. I had read on Zagat about the best chicken dishes in DC that you have to try. This one (C&T Tom Yum Kung) was listed based on the claim that the chickens eat scraps from Per Se. Lucky chickens although that story doesn’t end well! The chicken entrée lived up to the hype. Wow! The chicken breast was big and moist. Also on the dish were chicken meatballs made with dark meat; they were flavorful and yummy. It had baby bok choy and trumpet mushrooms that completed the dish perfectly.
The fig dessert special was also amazing but I love anything with figs. It was like a tart and had sauce and ice cream. My only complaint would be that the tart was a big piece and the ice cream scoop way too small.

A great date night.
My husband and I had been waiting to try this restaurant for a while, and we finally managed to make it up to Petworth for food. Crane and Turtle is an extremely cute little restaurant. There’s probably only about 10 tables inside, and a comparable number outside. The wallpaper in the bathroom must be self designed– it’s got the paper crane and then a C & T in a repeating pattern.
From a service perspective, they were attentive. The appetizer chef was happy to tell us about the different fish he was serving, and even shared the recipe for the amazing red miso mayo. The challenge of sitting at a bar was that it was difficult to refill our water glasses. The server unfortunately left one of the items my husband ordered off the menu. They brought it out to him quickly once they realized their mistake, but then they still charged us for the dish. They did forget to charge us for my husband’s beer, so that evened it out.
One thing I did appreciate was that my husband told them about his shellfish allergy, and they created a version of the menu that only had the items that he could eat safely. I also saw a personalized birthday menu, so there are a lot of personal touches.
Overall, from a food perspective, I’d recommend sticking to the fish dishes. My husband ordered basically all of the raw fish options (there were four including the amuse de mer) and he enjoyed all of them. Especially the dish with the red miso mayo.
He also ordered the shwarma (which was the forgotten dish). He liked that it was basically like a middle east burrito with merguez chopped up inside a thin pita burrito. I think they cook it in a palm frond or something and then unwrap it and serve it.
In addition, I ordered the seaweed salad, the seared rockfish and the C&T Tom Yum Kung. The seaweed salad was fine, the seared rockfish was cooked pretty close to perfection and the C&T was underwhelming. The trumpet mushrooms were flavorless, the tsakune (or meatballs) were a weird consistency. I would not recommend the dish.
Overall, a great restaurant in the middle of Petworth. We would go back (if only because we didn’t get dessert since we were so full).

I don’t venture to Petworth often, but when I do I go to Crane & Turtle.
A wonderful addition to the Petworth neighborhood. Although their style and price point may be a bit ambitious for the neighborhood, the cuisine they are serving here could easily stand up to many upper tier DC restaurants, who charge much higher prices.
We had dinner at C&T on Friday night and showed up exactly at our reservation time (lesson learned from other Unilocalers). It was a beautiful evening, so we asked for and received a nice patio table. Mind you, the restaurant is quite small and the patio has maybe 5 – 6 tables, so we were quite surprised that the patio was not full when we arrived.
While Unilocal classifies this as a Japanese and French restaurant, I think that is inaccurate. It’s more of a Asian cuisine meet European and New American influence if you ask me. I know that’s a bit vague, but if you look at the menu you’ll undoubtedly agree.
We started off with the Sea Trout Carpaccio off the Amuse De Mer menu. Fresh sashimi cuts of sea trout (like salmon) wrapped in smoked-​ikura and served with avocado mousee and dill crème fraîche. The sea trout and ikura melted in your mouth with the smokiness of the salmon eggs adding a intriguing complexity to each bite. I thought the dill crème fraîche was unnecessary, and while I assumed the sauces were intended simply as presentation, I found the avocado mousse so tasty, I ended up sopping up the remaining sauce with our bread. Our server noticed, and laughed saying the sauce was her favorite part and she does the same thing herself!
Our next dish was the soused sun shrimp. It seems like a popular dish, but I was not blown away by it, and would probably rank it as my least favorite. The spicy marinated tomato was my favorite part as it had very deep, slightly bitter and spicy flavors that were balanced by the tofu dressing and yuba chips. I thought the shrimp, while fresh and pleasant, just didn’t wow me, and I thought the dish in general lacked ambition. Maybe a safe dish for non-​adventurous eaters, but avoid for anyone seeking inspiration. That said, it was not bad, it was just a slight let down after a stellar Amuse De Mer.
For our mains we ordered the goan brook trout vindaloo and the C&T Tom Yum Kung (recommended by the server). I thought the trout was cooked nicely, but the dish was not spicy and only faintly reminded me of the fiery kashmiri chile spices vindaloo is known for. The dish was good, and I like the composition of the trout, sauce, and hearty veggies, but I probably would venture toward the jardin compose next time.
On the other hand the C&T Tom Yum Kung was outstanding. The heritage breed chicken sourced from a farm in Pennsylvania was incredibly tender, flavorful, and beautifully textured. I normally don’t order chicken at restaurants, but this blew me away. I asked the server how it was prepared thinking… hmm…this must have been sous-​vide, but no, to my amazement she said it was pan fried! I couldn’t believe it. Of course, the chicken was cooked perfectly, retaining all the juices. I must say the sous chef did a tremendous job! The Tom Yum Kung sauce added a unique dimension to the dish. They took a tom yum soup and reduced it down to a sauce, so the sour and spicy flavor were emboldened. I thought the sauce was an ideal compliment to the chicken. This was certainly my favorite dish and I’m glad our server recommended it.
Overall we had an excellent dinner at Crane & Turtle. Although every dish was not a home run, we did have two that were quite amazing. The service was top notch, as our server was very knowledgeable and not afraid to tell us what she liked and disliked on the menu.
Looking forward to our next visit to try more of the menu at C&T!

This restaurant epitomizes hipster-​ism gone a bit too far. For a restaurant that ranks 32 on the Washingtonian’s top 100 list, I was expecting better.
To start, the ambiance could use some work. The kitchen staff was visibly bored and unappealing parts of the kitchen were too visible (e.g., windex and dishes). The kitchen staff spent more time joking around than preparing food. The suggested wine pairing fell flat, it was too acidic, not balanced and overall… meh.
As for the food, the appetizer tuna dish was probably 2 stars. The tuna was chewy, too thick and the sauce underneath it lacked flavor. I felt myself wishing I was at good sushi shop eating sashimi. For the main course, I had the salmon and was mostly satisfied. The restaurant retains 3 stars and not 2 because I respect a place that can cook salmon (by that I mean level of doneness) with finesse. The rest of the veggies weren’t all that tasty and tasted of broth and blandness, but nonetheless this dish on its own puts this restaurant at 3.5−4 stars.
I forewent dessert at this point and left to go enjoy a better glass of wine at home.

Plates are pretty small, though the entrees were decently sized. The food generally is good. Super expensive though.
For Amuse De Mer, we had the Sea Trout Carpaccio, Big-​Eye Tuna Tataki, Hamachi Tataki, and Tako Wasabi. The Hamachi was pretty good. All the sauces generally tasted like mayonnaise to me. I really liked the takoyaki that came with the tako wasabi. It’s too bad they only gave you one.
For Appetizers, we ordered the Pork Pork Salad, Olive Oil Poached Golden Tilefish, Kataifi Wrapped Fluke, and Banh Xeo (though technically listed as a main). The Kataifi Wrapped Fluke was awesome. The Banh Xeo was pretty good too. Really loved the Gruyère Cheese they added.
For Mains, we ordered the Maine Scallops and Petits Pois a la Japonaise. Both were pretty good.
For Dessert, we had the Mango Steak and Rhubarb Polenta Cake, though they were out of rhubarb and replaced it with strawberries I think. All tasted great.
Out of all these dishes, I’d order the hamachi tataki and wrapped fluke again.

The wait was three hours after we arrived at 6pm. And while I hate waiting, my oh my was it worth it. We sat at the counter and had the best view in the house.
The hamachi tataki was well salted, just perfect with the luscious fish with miso cured egg yolk and radish sprouts and nuta dressing. And the firefly squid special was delicious and nicely briny. The butter poached shrimp was surprisingly delicate and not overly rich, and the beef tongue was really well prepared, tender, and flavorful.
For dessert, the molten chocolate cake which is apparently precarious to prepare was incredible. And I’ve eaten too many molten chocolate cakes to count. The only non spectacular dish for me was the savory dessert option with pear and Gruyère stuffed puff pastry with moutarda. It was really interesting but not something I could savor.
The service was friendly and not overbearing. That everyone here is excited about the food and what they have created is inspiring and just plain awesome. I can’t wait to come back. I need to plan ahead next time to avoid the wait.

The food and service at Crane & Turtle are fantastic. The restaurant is a small place, in a potentially too-​easily overlooked location, but that shouldn’t allow anyone to miss tasting the delightful food that comes out of this French-​Japanese kitchen.
Everything that we ordered was delicious, the service was specular, and I’m eager for a return visit so that I can become more familiar with the menu.

Crane & Turtle is exactly what you want from a foodie destination. It executes the intimate and vaguely hipster atmosphere in the best way possible. The atmosphere reminded me of Little Serrow, but a lot more authentic and relaxed. The restaurant is extremely small, which makes it a top notch date spot but a possible challenge for groups. The kitchen is open so everyone can enjoy the show. In addition, they have some bar seating facing the kitchen, which can be really fun. The service was incredible and our waitress gave us the most amazing recommendations. Our reservation was a bit later in the evening and the restaurant was clearing out as we ended our meal. The wine pours were quite generous. They did NOT rush us in a any way and actually seemed complete content with allowing folks to say as long as they wished.
The food is GREAT. While the amuse de mer is expensive it is by far the most exciting and unique items on the menu. The quality of fish is incredible and I’ve truly never tasted sauces like this! I highly recommending trying a few of these. The Sun Shrimp are also extremely good, with this incredible sauce. So incredible that the waitress preempted our request for bread to soak up the sauce. For an entrée I had the sablefish which was quite large in portion size served in a hot broth. Even though I was mostly full by this point I could hardly stop eating it was so good. The flavors were rich, but not heavy. The duck, which my boyfriend got was phenomenal.
It’s worth the über uptown… and I mean über because at 9:50 as we were about to leave about a dozen less than savory characters showed up across the street to get liquor before sales ended for the night.

Phenomenal. Best food I’ve had at a DC restaurant in the past few months. Four of us sat at the bar recently, and shared the the hamchi, firefly squid, butter poached shrimp, beef tongue, molten chocolate cake, and the pear/​gruyère dessert. I couldn’t tell if I was too full by the time I had the pear/​gruyère, but it wasn’t up my alley. Everything else though was absolutely fantastic.
In addition to excellent food, the restaurant has laid back and inviting décor and service. It’s appropriate for a special occasion, or when you’re in the mood for good food in a comfortable environment.