Requin

So — am a huge fan of Jen Carroll. Had a wonderful meal at Rouge 24 when she was filling in for RJ Cooper. Also, enjoyed watching her on Top Chef and thought she was one of the better chefs. My son and I went to Requin when it first opened as a popup & had a really good meal. I dined there last night with a friend and unfortunately the food standard is not up to par. We had a couple of rillettes that were decent but there was only one dish (risto misto) that was very good. Everything needed more seasoning, especially salt. The crab cake was over puff pastry which looked like it came from the store and the green peas was so over powering you couldn’t taste the crab at all. The waiter asked us about it, since we left most of it, and we were frank with our opinions. Bill came and nothing was taken off. We were sitting directly across from the kitchen and watched Jen throughout our meal. She doesn’t look happy; did not see her smile all evening. So not sure what’s going on — but unless they improve on the offerings, this place won’t last long. Good luck Jen — I hope you take this critique to heart.

for starters, we were «those people» who came in right before the kitchen was closing and the staff was super generous and accommodating and still allowed us to order anything from the menu. Definitely appreciated that. We ordered a couple cocktails and some small plates because we didn’t want to get too crazy before closing. We ordered the «eat your vegetables» and «clean slate» drinks. Both were good, but the «eat your vegetables» was better.
For food we ordered the market salad, escargot, shishito peppers, and beef capaccio and profiterole for dessert. Everything was delicious and satisfying but our favorite items were the market salad and profiterole. The salad has delicious beets and perfect blend of salt, pepper and other spices. I enjoyed the escargot and the puff pastry that comes with it, but I think it would have been better if it was a bit hotter. The beef carpaccio was also good, but a little too complex for us. We typically like our beef carpaccio simple and with extra toast or bread.
Our meal was topped off with the super delicious profiterole. My favorite part was the pastry puffs and the brown butter ice cream was a great compliment.
This restaurant was great and I look forward to coming back again for the full dinner experience.

I wasn’t a fan of their extremely small plates for an extremely high price. Probably just not my type of cuisine.

Requin is located in the same location as Gypsy Soul, which I also visited once for dinner in the past. Check out my review of Gypsy Soul. I did NOT like Gypsy Soul so I can understood why they did not survive here even though I met their owner chef.
Requin initially was a pop-​up restaurant. Requin us now a permanent French Mediterranean restaurant by chef Jennifer Carroll in partnership with chef and restaurateur Mike Isabella. I love their seafood-​heavy menu featuring unusual small plates. The large family style dishes include grilled whole fish that changes with market availability.
This was my first visit here for family dinner. My family of four adults and two children (one baby) arrived at 6pm. The manager did an excellent job of accommodating our arrival including the storage of our baby carriage.
We were seated at a very nice corner booth. Our server, Mauricio was very knowledgeable about the menu and all items on the menu.
Check out my pics to see what my family ordered and enjoyed. We could not finish our main course of seafood bouillabaisse for $ 76. Everything was very tasty, but, this place is not cheap. They even charged $ 3 for extra serving of bouillabaisse bread. My total bill without gratuity was $ 302.10.
At the end of our experience we mentioned to Maurico that we wanted to meet chef Jennifer Carroll, but that did not happen so I was disappointed.
I will return here probably, although there are so many other good restaurant choices in Mosaic.

Love the idea of a popup restaurant. The female head chef put on a show. Her command of her kitchen was to the point of it being a turn-​on. We are lucky to have her out in the burbs, even if it is just for a few months.
A few of the dishes were a miss but overall, a great experience. The vibe is strong and the service was pretty good. Especially considering it hasn’t had years to mature and refine.
The chicken is highly reviewed and was probably one of the best roast chickens I’ve had. The shredded cucumber app looked and tasted pretty bad the app with the various seafood parts was way too salty. The smashed potato dish was incredible. Beignet dessert with ice cream was fantastic.
I’ll be back as I live down the street :)

Excellent food! A little loud. The waiter Nick was good, but a little too intense and fast talking. He knew his stuff. Just slow down and breathe.

I’ve been having trouble writing this review because even though our meal ended up close to $ 250, there was really nothing memorable past the cheese plate which was served at room temperature – the way it should be.
The service was attentive to the point of oppressive at times. The space itself was so close to the previous Gypsy Soul that I kept having flashbacks to the (in my opinion) better food there. I missed my fried chicken skins. My stomach didn’t want what it was receiving. The ghost of restaurants past is still haunting this place.
Finally, the place was near empty on a Wednesday night which would have been fine except for the total uncomfortable silence.
I just heard that this will be a permanent fixture in Mosaic, and I’m a little bummed that a better restaurant won’t fill the space in a few months.

Outstanding! I was staying next door and peeked at the menu as I was walking by. As soon as dinner time came around, I was there. Everything was fantastic. The ingredients were super fresh and everything was bursting with flavor. Being vegetarian, there were several items on the menu that I could have and the small plates meant I could try a number of them. I recommend everything I tried – artichoke rillettes, curried cucumber, beet salad, swordfish (worth my rare detour into fish land) and the chocolate soufflé. And the service was impeccable to boot. A lovely evening during an otherwise hectic work trip. As an aside, I really wanted to try a lot on the menu, but one person could get by with one starter and two of the small plates.

Try this place if you want to be a little adventurous. Small portions but if you do the table entrée, it’ll be enough to share. The place was nice and clean and the service was great.

What a HUGE disappointment. I was expecting maybe too much and was just let down by the whole experience. From the inattentive waiter to the mediocre food it all made me — quiet frankly just angry and unsatisfied at the end of the night. We had the smoked blue catfish rilletes (ok), roasted root vegetable salad (good), sweet and sour prawns (the texture was awful– basically mush when you thaw seafood too fast), quail drummetts (dry and flavorless), smashed fingerling potatoes (good), and grilled whole fish (too expensive for what you got) for the main portion. For dessert we had the pumpkin spice bread (dry), profiteroles (with burnt caramel sauce), and chocolate mousse (meh). The execution was poor — from the service to the food and for the amount we spent — not worth it.

We took our three kids (3, 5 & 7) here for Easter brunch. Some people will have been to the place when it was Gypsy Soul. The décor is the same down to some of the dishes. I love the new cerulean napkins.
Pros — Good food & service
The service is good, not overly friendly– but polite and reserved. We started with a yummy, briny scallop ceviche. The swordfish steak and eggs is amazing– juicy fish, runny egg, arugula and bernaise oh yeah. The lump crab meat scramble was good. The kids had the french toast, which is moist, citrusy and topped with strawberries — a real winner.
Cons — stuffy atmosphere & not kid friendly
The meal wasn’t very well timed. The french toast came out ten minutes before our other entrees and we didn’t ask for it that way.
This place is no more child friendly than Gypsy Soul was. They do have high chairs, but there is no kid menu, or kid-​friendly drinkware. I really wouldn’t take a child under 7. The music is pretty loud, which tries to convey a more casual feel, but the décor is still industrial modern. Lots of metal and glass and feels a bit pretentious. Maybe some plants would soften it?
A good pick for date night, but not a place where you feel comfortable kicking back and loosening your tie.

I’m glad it’s a temporary pop-​up (although I hear it is opening in DC). I hope they tweak some things here and there before opening a permanent spot in DC.
Came for a friend’s birthday and the first few minutes were great. I had called ahead to make the rezzo and they asked if it was a special occasion. When they have us the menus, it had a little «Happy birthday» written on them — nice touch!
To start with the positives, the décor was chic and the ambience was nice. Loved the open kitchen concept with a nice little bar wrapping around it. The water was refilled so often that I think we probably drank a gallon each.
Now, the service (besides water refills) was slow. Our server barely checked up on us and the 2 times she did, it was interesting. When dining at a nice place, I expect the servers to have a certain kind of demeanor that reflects the restaurant. Do you know what I mean? Well, it’s like we were dining at a fancy TopChef’s restaurant but being served by a Denny’s server (sorry, no offense to Denny’s!) I don’t want to say anything too mean but it just was different than expected.
The food was just way too salty, simply put. Maybe that’s why we drank a gallon each. I hope Chef Carroll can tone down the salt because I think the dishes would be much more enjoyable if so.
I recommend getting the French onion soup. And don’t recommend the duck confit croquettes, nor do I recommend the pumpkin spiced bread (?) dessert.
We also got the seafood dish and the chicken — I think if it had half the salt it would’ve been good. Even my friend who likes salty food complained that it was too salty.
Oh and then my friend tries to tell the person at the front about our experience as we were walking out and he just interrupted her (rude) and told her to send an email.
Well, I’ll do you one better. Here is a 2 star Unilocal review.

Cyndy’s Bottom Line: Good food at a high price point.
We read the reviews which were exceptional and were very curious about the space and how it would look after the departure of Gypsy Soul.
Not much has changed. The space looked beautiful. A nice open concept and flowing ambiance.
The menu is comprised of small plates to share and entrees for two — four people.
Our waiter Nick was excellent from start to finish. Nick explained the menu format and what to expect and provided great recommendations that we enjoyed.
This is what we ate/​drank:
Hubby had the High Roller ~
bourbon, dubonnet rouge, dry curacao, angostura bitters.
A fragrant take n a Manhattan.
I had a flute of champagne ~
Michel Trugy, blanc du blancs brut reserve, champagne, france, NV
A nice bubbly, priced high and half filled.
Ravioli
gruyère, french ham, bechemel, tarragon breadcrumbs
Delicious take on the Croque-​Monsieur. Loved the saltiness of the ham filling and the creaminess of the bechemel to balance out the flavors and the sprinkles of chives made it very tasty and delicious.
Grilled swordfish
Harrissa and served with caviar lentils.
The swordfish was grilled perfectly. This is literally a petite plate. There are small bites of swordfish which are delicious and spiced with harrissa.
Clam En Croute
Served with puff pastry.
Delicious and highly salted cockles on puff pastry.
Côte de boeuf
28oz, dry aged ribeye, charred radicchio, shishito pepper, veal jus
We ordered the ribeye medium rare and we received it a perfect medium rare. A good looking piece of ribeye and very tasty. The veal jus delicious and adds to the flavor of the ribeye.
Profiteroles
brown butter ice cream, candied kumquats, pistachio
A deconstructed play on the profiterole. The brown butter ice cream superb. Loved the candied kumquats the robust citrus flavor adds another dimension to the dessert.

I really wanted to love Requin being that I’m a big too chef fan but we just didn’t. Chef Jen was even there cooking and overall it was a lackluster meal.
We started with an order of the ravioli, escargot, and beef carpaccio. It all came out within 5 minutes of us ordering, which is somewhat surprising especially since the escargot and ravioli are hot dishes. The escargot tasted lukewarm at best and did not have much flavor. This was very sad for me being that this is a French restaurant and I LOVE escargot.
The ravioli was good but not outstanding and the beef carpaccio was barely standard. I was surprised since I had read such rave reviews about it. We got the whole fish which was probably our favorite dish of the night.
The service started out great but slowed down significantly and at some point, we were almost ignored. Our waiter also forgot to give us our leftovers so we had to wait another 10 min for that.
We had 4 total drinks and it ended up being $ 180 which is a hefty amount for an average meal. We won’t be coming back to Requin, Mike Isabella’s name hardly means much anymore with the DC restaurant game.

Incredible! I was in Fairfax this past week visiting a client and we stopped for lunch here. This French-​Mediterranean restaurant/​pop-​up is worth a visit if you are in the Mosaic District!
With Jennifer Carroll a Top Chef All-​Star as the chef you can only imagine how delicious the food is! We ordered 2 appetizers to start, the Veggie Planche, which came with four different versions of veggies and each option was amazing. the Blistered Shishito Peppers were incredible. We also ordered the Roasted Root Vegetable Salad and the dressing on this salad was perfect and complimented the mixed greens and goat cheese so well it was a preserved lemon vinaigrette!
I ordered a bowl of the French Onion Soup as my main entrée and it was plenty (after both appetizers!). It came highly recommended which is why I chose this option over ALL the other mouth watering options and let me tell you something that soup is to die for!!! With big chunks of bread and this melty cheese covering the top of the bowl, it was messy with cheese everywhere… but I am NOT complaining. It was incredible, I literally ate every last drop!
Oh my gosh, if I could afford to eat here everyday I would. It is pricey, but you pay for delicious food. The ladies we were with also knew Jennifer so she actually stopped by the table to say hello, she is friendly, nice, super sweet and clearly an amazing chef!

Perhaps we had overly high expectations based on food reviews and such, but we were not wowed. The host who also took our coats was very gracious. Our waiter while not overly attentive, checked in to make sure things were okay. The fingerling potatoes were my favorite. The French onion soup was very dense — you could get away with being your only meal. The tagliatelle was very spicy which was not stated in menu. I only ate a few bites before having to stop eating. The chocolate soufflé was really good. I think if they definitely have promise and it was nice to go to a French restaurant which my husband and I think are a rarity these days.

My husband and I walked over to this restaurant as part of an impromptu date night around 9:45. We asked the host, who was very nice, if they were still open. He said yes, but the kitchen was closing down around 10pm (an hour early?). We were immediately seated and started scanning the menu quickly to get our order in before the kitchen shut down. Our waiter came over was pleasant, but we did not feel very informed about the menu. He informed us the dishes were similar to a tapas style, we quickly picked the cheese dish, not very thrilled with how the rest of the menu appeared. As we waited and looked around, we noticed other people had larger non-​tapas meals. We were — and still are — confused.
When our cheese dish arrived, the server (not our waiter) placed it in front of us and left. We stared at the cheese and had to guess what the cheeses of the day were. Our guess was a Gruyère (lovely), Brie (standard), Blue Cheese (nice), and perhaps some kind of cheddar like cheese. Honey centered the plate, flanked with a kumquat mostarda and razor thin apple slices. As we guessed the cheeses we realized something was missing — bread. How can you be a french concept restaurant and not serve bread with your cheese. Have you been to France? It’s a given. The waiter was kind enough to bring some out when we asked it, but honestly, we shouldn’t have had to. He also helped us confirm our guesses, though he needed to ask the chef for clarification on one. The downside to the cheese plate was the kumquat mostarda, which was bitter and did not pair well with the intended cheeses.
We planned to have a Valentine’s dinner at this restaurant on Friday, but will be cancelling our reservation and choosing elsewhere. I hope they iron out the service and details before they move back into DC.

So I was super excited to try the Requin pop-​up at Mosaic because every bite was absolutely delish! My group and I were fortunate to dine when Chef Jen was cooking and it was a total treat! She is very talented and accommodating; she even agreed to take a photo with us by the kitchen per our server’s suggestion. Our server’s name was Mauricio and he was on point that evening — very warm, attentive, and kind. Kudos to him; what a great attitude! Thank you for taking care of us.
It was lovely to dine with fellow foodies because this is the type of meal you’d like to really relish and enjoy. To start, we had the seafood platter, escargot, beef carpaccio and fries. I was stunned at how yummy the beef carpaccio was; I could hear myself mmmmm-​ing. The apps were awesome; It was a good foreshadowing of the seafood bouillabaisse we had all been craving as our main dish to share, as well as the whole fish. They truly know how to do seafood right. The whole fish was so fresh. I can eat this all day. The broth of the bouillabaisse was light yet flavorful, and they were very generous with the seafood portions. The bouillabaisse in Fiola Mare has always been my favorite but Requin’s has taken the number one spot in my list. It was THAT good; definitely recommend it. For dessert, we decided on the pumpkin spice cake and the chocolate soufflé and like the rest of the meal, they did not disappoint. The candied nuts garnish on the soufflé was heaven.
As you can surmise, I obviously loved my dining experience in Requin. Although I can’t wait for Kapnos Kouzina to make its way to Mosaic, I will definitely make an effort to visit them when they move to Georgetown. In the meantime, I definitely plan on becoming a regular here until their transition in April. Way to go! I hope you fellow Unilocalers enjoy it as much as I did! :))

Food was up to par, but service was horrendous. We went with another couple, so it was just the four of us. Our food came out by the time our friends finished their food. In fact, they’ve been done with their food for 20 minutes before our first small dish arrived. When we notified our waiter politely, he responded «food comes out when it comes out» and walked away. I’ve never been treated that way, even by my enemies. Most people would have created a big fuss or tipped low, but I didn’t want to ruin anyone’s night just because our dinner was ruined. This was just my experience, so i would definitely try them out. Who knows, it might be really different for someone else.

New pop up spot around the way, and it seems to be very well utilized.
Came here a couple of times for their cocktails; I have tried the Chartreuse swizzle, the clean slate, and several other drinks. My favorite is absolutely the swizzle, as I am a sucker for the combo of pineapples, limes, AND nutmeg, simply irresistible.
Our bartender was not as welcoming as we hoped, and unfortunately, we’ve gotten served by the same one every time.
We tried to make conversation with him in regards to the restaurant and our interest in their menu; things like certain details about their items, what his favorite dish or drink is, and why, but he was simply not fully coherent.
Nothing bad, but we expected him to be specific and slightly more in depth as to what the item was when we asked. For instance, we asked him how was is a certain beverage in comparison to another, and his answer was just that they’re both good, no explanation to anything, or how one is prepared vs. the other.
He was not attentive, and we felt a little neglected, as we had to ask for a menu, and he never followed up if we wanted to dine there, or if we had any questions, or anything.
We were both hungry, but we felt that he was a little short, so we just had drinks.
The gentleman host was absolutely hospitable and very talkative.

Pricey for what you’re getting. only a HALF of a lobster when you get the bouillabaisse for 4? C’mon, now!
The beef carpaccio was definitely the best thing we ordered. very flavorful and I enjoyed the little crunchy bits. the Roasted Root veggie salad was a bit sad, it lacked flavor, and an abundance of roots veggies! Smashed fingerling potatoes were definitely delicious, but not worth $ 10!
The soufflé was actually really good, but surprisingly enough, you didn’t need to preorder it. makes me wonder. Drink cocktails were tasty. Service was good. Just the price cannot justify the whole experience.

This is the former Gypsy Soul space and feels very familiar.
In a nutshell, the food was good but the choices are rather limited.
The starters or small plates were very good — a legume salad, roasted winter vegetable salad, and an outstanding bowl of French onion soup.
For heartier fare, your choices are large plates for sharing: an $ 80 steak, pork shank, roast chicken, grilled fish, and bouillabaisse. We went for the last 2 and the 2 couples shared. The bouillabaisse is more a heap of very good boiled seafood but there is little broth. The fish was a porgy — seemed a little pricey at $ 47.
There are no specials. IMO, it’s just not an ambitious menu such as at Mike Isabella’s other places.
It was a busy Saturday night but service was uneven.
The wines by the glass are also rather limited for a place in this price range.
I miss Gypsy Soul and am ready for Requin to pop over to DC and get someone else in this space.

Overall, I really enjoyed the food and ambiance at Requin and plan on going back.
Food: Everything I ate was delicious. The food is just shy of 5 stars. My husband and I ordered the smashed fingerling potatoes, beef carpaccio, french onion soup, and the seafood bouillabaisse. I have a salty palate and the seafood bouillabaisse was a little too salty for me. On a brighter note, the bouillabaisse had tons of seafood in it to include a lobster tail, calamari, mussels, clams, and scallops. It might seem pricey for a half order at $ 49, but it was more than enough for the two of us.
Ambiance: Loved the open kitchen and watching the chef complete each dish before it went out to guests.
Service: Pretty slow. I waited a while at the bar for a drink and also waited an extended amount of time for a drink at my table. Our server was friendly and knowledgable and I believe it was the bar service that slowed things down.
*TIP*: Requin offers happy hour every day until 7PM. I had the Gemey red wine and it was delicious! There are also beer and food items on the happy hour menu.

This place is by far the best spot in the Mosaic … And here is why:
1. Zach the bartender, my fellow Boston homey, mixes the best drinks this side of the beltway.
2. You can sit at the bar and watch chef Mike and chef Jen in action, crushing it and it’s no bigs.
3. The food, obvi. We’ve tried it all: whole fish, salads, neato squash pastry, carpaccio. It’s all top notch stuff that you won’t find at match. Sorry match, that’s just the truth. Ps. You have good pizza.
4. Great red wine selection, something severely lacking in the rest of the mosaic (outside of trio)
I am totally stoked that they finally opened a spot in my neighborhood that I can frequent… daily, don’t judge.

We returned to Requin a month later and were a bit disappointed. The GM did a fabulous job taking care of customers, which is why Requin did not lose a star, the food however fell sloppy. The cote de bouf, priced at $ 79, came as 2 sloppy and unappetizing chunks of lukewarm meat. I am still a bit shocked that Jennifer Carroll, who hawk-​eyed every dish that left the kitchen, let this go. The taste was still the same but presentation was a big fail. The french onion soup, both rich and full of flavor, fell on the salty side. The bouillabaisse, $ 46 for a half order and came with 2 prawns, 2 small lobster claws, tiny pieces of scallops, and way way too many mussels, was so salty even the bread couldn’t save it.
Due praise should go where it is deserved however. The roasted chicken was perfectly cooked. The meat was moist and that crispy skin! A well executed dish that despite its simplicity was very much enjoyed.
The redeeming dishes of the night were the dessert. The profiteroles with brown butter ice cream was the perfect combination of crispy and soft. The ice cream was incredibly addicting that I had to hold myself back from licking the plate. The pieces of kumquat and pistachio added an interesting texture and flavor profile. The blood orange and basil sorbet was a burst of flavor and incredibly refreshing. The chocolate soufflé, while a bit overcooked, was still a solid dessert.
Requin provides a fun place to dine, something which Merrifield could use more of. As Top Chef and Ripert fans, we love the open concept kitchen and watching Jennifer Carroll work but at $ 60/​pp for overly salty food. Meh…

We ended up at Requin as our first date night of 2016 and while I enjoyed myself, I was not left wanting to rush back. I was super excited to potentially see two of my favorite Top Chef contenders in the kitchen and found myself looking into the open kitchen often. I really loved this about Gypsy Soul and I hope they keep this open concept for the permanent restaurant that will be housed here after Requin moves to the National Harbor. It’s fun watching all the magic happen behind the scenes.
Being that it’s a pop-​up, I expected there to be some minor issues here and there, but we ended up having a quite pleasant server, so until the food started coming out, I thought we were in for a smooth ride. Our table of four decided to split the seafood planche to begin with and my dinner companions opted for the half portion of bouillabaisse with a salad to split for their dinner, while my husband and I decided to share several petit plaques to make our meal. The waiter seemed to think this was fine, with tapas restaurants sending food whenever it is ready I wanted to be sure that we all had food at the same time and he said it would not be a problem to order the way we did. However, if I did this again, I would make sure that either everyone was getting a shareable or a table sized meal, because the 3 small plates I ordered as my «main» course all came out first, before the appetizer even, and then of course by the time our friend’s bouillabaisse came out, my husband and I were done eating. So the timing was super awkward. Not to mention one of our dishes flat out didn’t come out-​thankfully our server was able to remove it form the bill at the end though.
Another thing I found odd was that we were only given tiny plates. Even when our friend’s soup was delivered, they were not given bowls, but kept the same appetizer sized plate we were given at the beginning. It wasn’t until we were waiting for our dessert to come out that we started looking around the restaurant and they realized other tables (within our same server’s group no less) received bowls with their soup. One table even received an extra bowl to discard their shells! I thought that was very very strange. They didn’t think to ask for bowls, they just assumed that’s how Requin served this meal (which admittedly is quite odd), but upon seeing them at other tables they felt slighted and annoyed.
Then for dessert, we ordered two souffles and a profiterole, but only one soufflé came out, so after waiting a few minutes, we flagged down our waiter to see what happened. He apologized, said there was a backup in the kitchen and the second one would be out ASAP, and in the meantime he sent out a complimentary profiterole. I thought this was a very nice gesture, but we shouldn’t have had to flag him down to receive this explanation. Also ASAP actually took 30 minutes. I was hopeful to give the manager I spotted walking from table to table this direct feedback, but in the two and a half hours we were there he never stopped by our table. Oh well. Hopefully this feedback will reach them and they can work out the kinks because I feel like this is going to be a great restaurant once they iron all that out.
As for the food… I LOVED the roasted root vegetable salad, beef carpaccio, and the wild burgundy herbe escargot. I really liked the french onion soup, the fluke ceviche on the seafood planche, and profiteroles. I wasn’t a huge fan of the sweet and sour prawns, as they were too glazed for my preference, and I did not enjoy the smoked blue catfish rillettes on the seafood planche. However, the bouillabaisse and the soufflé absolutely stole the show for me. Both were phenomenal!
I will be interested to join Requin again once it takes it’s permanent place in National Harbor.

Food was absolutely delicious, drinks were A+, service left us feeling a bit snubbed. My boyfriend and I decided to stop by for appetizers and drinks for our new years eve date. I remember when this restaurant was Gypsy Soul and I liked how they kept the open kitchen vibe.
We waited an uncomfortably long time to get water, but once we ordered food and drinks, those didn’t take too long to come out. We both opted to be fancy and get cocktails. I ordered The Clean Slate, which had vodka, grapefruit sherbet, and champagne I think? It was absolutely girly and delicious. The presentation was gorgeous with a pretty pansy flower garnish. My boyfriend got a bourbon cocktail with one of those super cool huge ice domes in it. He and I enjoyed our drinks very much.
Now for the small plates… when they said small. they mean small! She did warn us that people usually get 2 – 3 small plates per person, but my boyfriend and I wanted to share 2 plates to get the vibe of the place and see if we wanted to get a big plate. We told the waitress that we’d get two small plates and think about ordering a big one and she promptly took our menus away… which did not make us feel good.
We ordered the sweet and sour prawns and the french onion soup. The prawns were amazing, and the perfect balance of sauce. Warning… you only get two shrimps so keep that in mind!
The french onion soup was perfect, gooey, and carb-​y. We asked the waitress for an extra spoon to share, but she forgot and we had to ask her again.
The ambience here is beautiful and the food here is exceptional, but i probably won’t be back.

Really amazing. Maybe the service was rough to begin with, but ours was spot on last night. Amazing service and the food was SO good. Best meal I’ve had since Rogue 24.
We had the puff pastry with squash dish and the fingerling potatoes to start and then had the bouillabaisse for two. All were exceptionally delicious. We also sampled the profiteroles and chocolate soufflé for dessert — also well worth it.
I’m a fan of Jen Carroll and feel meh about Isabella, but this was really excellent! I wish it were staying in this location permanently. Get it while you can!

Service was pretty bad. Went with another couple and we both ordered at the same time and our food came out way before theirs. This in itself wasn’t grievous but the waiters lack of acknowledgement was. Every time we asked what was taking so long there wasn’t a sorry just excuses.
The Cheese platter (their website prices are slightly cheaper 16 vs 19) was okay, very small pieces of cheese and some fruit. They do give you a hard bread but it doesn’t go with all the cheeses. Better off going to B Side for your cheese boards.
The Smashed Fingerling potatoes were so so salty. Do not recommend.
The Sweet and Sour Prawns were okay. You get two large prawns, nothing exciting.
The couple that came with us liked their food (French Onion Soup, Beef Carpaccio and the Roasted Chicken) so I suppose it’s pretty dependent on what you order.

I’ve never had worse customer service. 10 minutes to get waiter, 3 different waiters were arguing over who would serve us. Waited another 15 minutes for our order. Waiter refused to check in with our table. Couldn’t get a simple water glass refilled.
The manager doesn’t show up until I ask for the status on the entrée. Such lazy staff, rude customer service.
It doesn’t compare to all the other great restaurants in the area: Matchbox, Teds, Taylor Gourmet, Sweetgreen. I’m never going back here again.

Both top chefs were in house the night I went with a party of 7.
Ambience is decent. Atmosphere needs to be blended a bit more between the bar and the dining area. The lights that hang down in the main dining area add a nice touch but the rest of the place seems a bit disjointed.
Our party sampled almost every item on the menu and had 3 bottles of wine and a few cocktails. The standout dishes for us were the kabocha squash app, smashed fingerling potatoes, and french onion soup.
Overall the food was good, with the exception of a few items mentioned above standing above and beyond.
The service was not so great. Keep it in mind that they literally just opened so there is time to improve, it just wasn’t on point for us that night.
We had to ask multiple times to fill water glasses, multiple times to order more wine, multiple times to order more dishes, and for several times for dessert menus. You would think a party of 7 SPENDING with no reservation would get more attention and perhaps a visit by a chef, but no. The coffee at dessert time was served cold.
When I go out to dine with the best, I expect the best, so I must rate 3 stars for the total package here.
Overall — a good time. For the suburbs, it’s probably a huge step up considering the surrounding offerings, but for overall rankings it wouldn’t be near the top of my list.

Damn… just…damn. We had heard that place was coming, but hadn’t realized it was open yet until we went looking for dinner and realized it was open. The reservations online didn’t look promising, but we figured we’d stop in to see if we could score a seat anyways, and boy were we glad we did! They haven’t renovated since it Gypsy Soul closed, so you still walk through massive wooden doors into a dark and modern restaurant, and one with a lot of bar stools that ring the huge and fully open kitchen. We choose to sit at the bar because we love watching kitchens work, and this was a fun one to watch. It was only the second night that they were open, and both Mike Isabella and Jen Carroll were in the kitchen expediting and generally making sure that the food was what they wanted to see. They clearly know how to hire and train staff, both kitchen and waitstaff; the waitstaff were friendly and seemed efficient, and the kitchen staff looked like they’d been working together for much longer than they actually have. Despite a full house and plenty of orders coming in, everyone was calm, cool, and collected, and watching them all cook was a pleasure.
As far as food, everything that we had was very good to great. As is our habit these days when trying a new place, we stuck to ordering a wide variety of smaller dishes rather than just one entrée each. When we go back, we’ll definitely have to try the dover sole (presented whole, then brought back to the kitchen for deboning) and the roasted chicken (everyone seems to be raving about it), but for now all I can describe are the small plates and the desserts. The roasted root salad was a nice mix of root vegetables and greens, and between the vegetables and the the ashed goat cheese it had a great earthiness balanced by the slight tartness of the lemon vinaigrette. The beef carpaccio was was quite good as well, and between the parmesan chips and the crispy shredded potatoes there was enough texture to offset the soft beef. Sweet and sour prawns served head on seemed to have a hint of heat to go with the citrus and balance the sweetness, and were perfectly cooked. The real standout of the small plates for us was the smashed potatoes; maybe a touch salty for our personal taste, but we rarely use salt at home so we notice it more than most. The fingerling potatoes were, again, perfectly cooked with a soft inside and a touch of crisping where they had been slightly smashed before being roasted. The crisp salami batons added a lovely crunch to the dish, and overall this was probably my second favorite dish of the night.
When it came to dessert we had two options; profiteroles with brown butter ice cream, pistachios, and candied kumquats, or chocolate shuffle with hazelnut ice-​cream and praline. My answer to a choice like that is, as Allie Brosh might say, «I’ll have all the things!», and a fine choice that was. The chocolate shuffle was beautifully cooked, and with the lovely deep chocolate flavor that comes from using good chocolate and cooking them from scratch. My personal favorite dish of the evening was the profiteroles though; when asked afterwards how it was by the chef as she topped up her glass of water at the bar in front of us, my answer is (and remains) that if it wasn’t frowned upon, I’d have licked that damn plate clean. This was a lighter and less sweet dessert than I usually like, but the profiteroles were beautifully cooked to be evenly brown and crisp on the outside, while still being soft and airy on the inside, and the ice cream, pistachios, and candied kumquats in any combination meshed fantastically with the profiteroles themselves.
Overall a great meal, certainly a 4+ at any time, but to be putting out food that good and that smoothly on their second night with an entirely new staff was simply stunning. I can’t wait to eat here again, although I suspect it will be hard to get in once the word gets out. But you know what? I’d happily wait for a table at the bar just to have those profiteroles again, let alone the rest of the meal. Don’t miss this place while it’s here.

This is a restaurant experience that will make you very happy. A true oasis in the food desert aka Fairfax! Thank you Mike Isabella and Jen Carroll for gracing the burbs with such a great concept restaurant, temporary though it may be.

I was pretty excited to hear that Requin, a pop-​up French Mediterranean restaurant that is a collaboration between Chefs Jennifer Carroll and Mike Isabella (both on Top Chef), opened up in VA for a handful of months! The actual restaurant will be located in the Wharf development in DC and expected to be opened to the public in ’17, but for now, the peeps get to sample some of the offerings in their pop-​up version in the Mosaic District — yay! The menu is pretty interesting, as it offers items such as muscle escabeche, fluke ceviche, roasted root vegetables, escargot, etc. I was super excited that we were the FIRST ever ever ever party to be seated (proud feat — yesssss!). We had Nicholas as our server who greeted us warmly — he was extremely detailed and informative, and super sweet — I highly recommend in requesting for him! We tried: the Roasted Root Vegetable Salad (with endive, ashed goat cheese, and preserved lemon; the vegetables (especially the carrots) had a nice crunch and were super tasty; the ashed goat cheese wasn’t too overpowering and was a nice creamy touch); Chicken Wingettes (with celery root, parsnip, and coq au vin glaze; we both were not fans of this at all, as the glaze was just not tasty — it kind of reminded me of a very bland sweet/​sour glaze); Smashed Fingerling Potatoes (beautifully roasted fingerling potatoes (with a tang) and with crispy salami (thin and crispy!) and whipped raclatte (tasted like whipped butter!) — this was quite addicting!); Beef Carpaccio (with crispy shredded potato, cornichon, nicioise olive, and horseradish — literally the BEST beef carpaccio we’ve had — it was super flavorful, tender, and just an overall amazing dish!); the Kabocha Squash (with roasted hen of the woods, ginger, and brown butter, all on a puff pastry — this was actually pretty delightful, as the squash paired well with the creamy sauce and the puff pastry); a Roasted Chicken (this came with veal au jus and some whipped mashed potatoes — the chicken was cooked perfectly — it was tender, juicy, and had a thin crispy skin; this was one of my favorites!); and, the Cote de Boeuf (28 oz dry-​aged ribeye with charred radicchio and shishito peppers; this beef was prepared wonderfully and was a beautiful medium — tender, juicy, and lovely with the veal au jus — it was seasoned perfectly!). For desserts, the husband had the Profiteroles (with brown butter ice cream and some sliced candied lemon — the profiteroles were crispy and paired well with the brown butter ice cream; the lemon added a great citrus accent to it — yum!), and I had the Chocolate Soufflé (with candied hazelnut and a scoop of ice cream topped with a raspberry; dark chocolate fans will love this). For drinks, we tried their non-​alcoholic options, such as the Celery & Thyme Fizz, Pineapple Express, and the Market Punch! We’re definitely coming back, as they will be changing their menu often! The restaurant itself was spacious and dim, and you can see the chefs working in the open kitchen. Make sure you make a reservation for dinner; walk-​ins are allowed for seats at the kitchen counter/​bar. On a side note, I got to meet, talk, and take pictures with both Chef Carroll and Chef Isabella (total starstrucked (as usual) — they were both so super cool: D
+Beef Carpaccio: D
+Smashed Fingerling Potatoes
+Kabocha Squash
+Cote de Boeuf: D
+Roasted Chicken
+Profiteroles :D
+ask for Nicholas: D :D :D
+pop-​up in the Mosaic District
+adjacent (east) of the Hyatt
+collaboration between Chefs Jennifer Carroll and Mike Isabella: D
+will be located in the Wharf development in ’17
+free parking in garage

I’m going to start off by saying I hate giving «cheflebrities» 5 star reviews. If anything I hold them to a higher standard.
Food: 4 stars
Service: 5 stars
Location: 5 stars and only because I can walk here haha
We ordered
Escargot: which was our big winner of the night. Unlike the other reviewer, I loved it. If I ordered one thing twice tonight it would have been this
Beef carpaccio: well, it’s big. But it was average.
Wings: honestly kind of lacking in flavor but made up for in the amazing crispy skin. The celery purée was a nice touch
Potatoes: can’t go wrong. Never had it with salami before so that was a fun creative new way of serving smashed potatoes
Chocolate soufflé: only because the so called coconut cake on their website wasn’t an option
Service… Our waiter was Eric and we joked that we were expecting a «pretty woman» moment when we ordered the escargot. He educated us that restaurants are not allowed to serve snails in shells anymore. And that if a restaurant ever wanted to do the shell thing, they have plastic shells. So. Look at Professor Eric being all educational. Thanks man haha
I’d like to come back and try the rest of the menu once the crowds die down. I mean I may as well while they are still located in my backyard before they move off to DC
And on a personal note, I’m a Philly girl and I’m glad to see Jen back in the kitchen. Welcome back girl kick some butt