Tabaq Bistro

It really broke my heart to discover that Tabaq closed!

Unbeatable view and location. Have gone twice for dinner and I heard the brunch is also fantastic. Food is simply delicious and service is great (manager once gave our party a complimentary round of drinks just because they needed some time to prepare our table). Décor is pretty minimal, but the view speaks for itself. Can get crowded.
Food — 5
Décor — 3
Service — 4

I’ve been to Tabaq twice now, just for drinks, each time. The first was several years ago and we were on the highest level before the rooftop for an event. The drinks were flowing and things were good.
This second time, I went for a rooftop event at about 5 pm in the summer. Color me surprised when there was absolutely no AC system of any sort. Around 100 of us, dressed in our top business attire trying to keep as many sweat stains away as possible, would have to crowd around 2 semi-​strong fans and hope for the best.
Our drinks were also awful. They messed up two of our drinks and seemed to have difficulty understanding our orders, even though they were off the provided special menu. We were overcharged twice and my drink tasted like pure watered-​down vodka. The rooftop was dirty, hot, and the service and the drinks were some of the worst I’ve had in DC.
Maybe it’s worth giving it another shot for dinner, but it’s going to be hard to convince me to go back.

There is so much potential here, but they really need to step their service game up… BIG TiME! I’ve been to Tabaq more than a few times, and I always have the same experience… good food, great cocktails, and a stunning rooftop view, BUT the service sucks (especially in the Red Room). I’m talking disinterested, slow, scowling, texting-​while-​they-​take-​your-​order service.
I really want to like this place, but at this point I’m pretty much done with it.

I climbed the stairways (about 4 w/​o AC, not joking) to this rooftop to catch up with a girlfriend after work. HH here was cool. There were only four other people there besides me and my friend, the place met my needs: a cool place to talk. I «negotiated» the Atrium a cucumber drink at the HH price and it was surprisingly very refreshing. I planned to have one and ended up having a few. I had my usual– pizza with mushroom & onions– flavorful and filling. I like this place although the bartender really didn’t leave me and my friend much space to talk. He came over and parked it at our table several times. Despite that the place is cool just be prepared for… you guessed it, the stairs!

I am very conflicted about giving them 2 stars, but I feel like I must .
I went for brunch with friends and I must say all the food was fantastic. Everything we ordered was amazing. The lamb and pork sausages that came with my Tabaq breakfast, were definitely the stars of the show. But the eggs were done well, the roasted peppers tasted really fresh, the potatoes were nicely seasoned, and the mimosas were heavy on the champagne. This, however, is where the positives stopped.
Granted it was a particularly hot day, the nice view from the rooftop was ruined by the oppressive heat inside the restaurant. But the real issue I have with the restaurant is the service. Our server took forever to even take our orders. When he finally realized that we are still there and alive, he took our order and messed up 2 out of our 3. After we got our food, he dissipated again and we were forced to eat our brunch completely sober since it was nearly impossible to get his attention and more mimosas. Its a Saturday brunch, I am not looking to be sober or responsible, so this is not acceptable.
Bottom line; The food is great at a very reasonable price. The portions are huge and you definitely won’t leave hungry. Go on a cool day when you are not in a rush and you will not regret spending your money with them. If they improve the AC and the service, they will quickly make a regular out of me.

*Friday Night Review*
I don’t have much to say about this place. When entering the bouncers are actually friendly and like to converse to a point but that’s probably because they don’t deal with a bunch of people. Bouncers that converse that aren’t dicks — you know that’s rare. So I’ll give credit where credit is due. I was here for a party and was originally on the 2^nd floor. There is a good vibe and everyone there seems to be out to relax, catch up on the latest scoop and dance if they feel the need. The bar on the 2^nd floor isn’t as stocked as the one on the rooftop. Also, the bar on the 2^nd floor doesn’t even have water so if your friend is plastered, one of your friends are going to have to go up to the rooftop and get a bottle of water. The rooftop situation is supposed to be a retractable roof but I have never seen it open even on good nights with a nice breeze and low humidity. I guess their main pull is the literal fact that you’re ‘on a rooftop’ but nothing more than that. That said, the rooftop atmosphere is nice. It’s got a nice bar, good and friendly bartenders and drinks that are strong. I think they are trying to build this place up but it will take a lot of promoting seeing as it’s A) on U Street and B) right across from Lost Society. I’d go again.

Prior to this visit, I hadn’t been here in over a year. There was some terrible French toast involved. I gave it another chance because 1920dc was in charge of its happy hour yesterday. We were surprised to find that as the place filled up, 99% of the crowd was composed of women (maybe because of a special fashion event occurring in the same space?), which definitely wasn’t the case at the old 1920 spot. Although disappointed, we got our happy hour on anyway. The strawberry lemonade and vodka cocktails were decent, and the calamari was perfectly spiced (a little too perfectly spiced and shaped to have been prepped in-​house, but I may be wrong) and tender. The spice on a friend’s shrimp app was out of control (and the chef left some of the legs on…), but I appreciated the effort.
The service was lackadaisical – the bartenders’ minds were totally somewhere else. They brought out the wrong hummus dish for one of my friends, but were cool enough to tell us to keep it, and corrected the order. The strange hummus dish was bruschetta with a city of hummus, olives, peppers, feta and perhaps some other randomness thrown on top. It tasted fine, but it was awkward/​messy to eat because of the height of the toppings.
The DJ played hip-​hop tracks similar to what you’d hear at the former spot, so at least that was on point.

The chicken and waffle are amazing — the best I’ve had anywhere… But from the dirtiest restaurant. I keep going back for the chicken and waffles but it’s getting harder and harder as I notice more filth each time I go. They don’t even pretend to clean. There’s always something floating in the water; 2 inch layer of dust on window sills; and gangs of flies. I’m disgusted every time… But the chicken really is that good.
Also, the hipsters/​gentrifiers have found the spot making it MUCH less appealing. Warning to those who haven’t been in a while.

Went for brunch — made a reservation weeks in advance for our group of 6. They only serve brunch on the rooftop so I think it is hit or miss without a reservation. Bloody’s and Mimosas are good and cheap! Service was great. I had chicken and waffles and it was great, but probably the best thing out of everything that was ordered. Big portions for the omelets although the egg white omelet was lacking any flavor.
Great music.
Only negative was that the bathroom was really gross…
But I’ll be going back — especially for a $ 3 blood mary and lovely service!

Brunch:
Beautiful décor, I love the sunlight beaming through the windows. A lovely bright environment to share with friends and family while drinking on $ 3 Mimosas.
The food is good as well. Reasonably price with great portions. Delicious food. The meals are very simple and traditional brunch meals and at times, that’s what you need after a crazy night. My stomach isn’t trying to be impressed right now, it just wants some fulling tasty simple brunch food. Tabaq offers that.
Nightlife: The best rum punches ever! I went on a Saturday for a Reggae/​Soca party and they had a $ 7 rum punch special. .. out of this world, even better than patty boom boom’s punch!

I came here for Saturday brunch, wasn’t very busy. Quick service.
Pros: $ 3 mimosas, you can’t beat that! Also the rooftop terrace is really nice. I would imagine it’s pretty packed when the weather is warmer.
Cons: The food itself. I got the Shrimp & Crabmeat omelette. I would give the food 2 stars. The omelette was watery, with too much eggs and not enough stuffings. Also the potatoes that came with it was soggy, not crispy like it should be.
I would probably come here again for the rooftop and mimosas but was very disappointed in the food!

A ROACH… A BIG OLE’ ROACH crawled across the bar after my friend and I ate at Tabaq tonight.
Nope not one of those black waterbug cockroaches you see outside in the summertime, but the ugly brown roaches that come around when something is dirty and filthy!!!
I’m not sure if the cockroach monarchy/​government works the same as bumblebees… but this roach was the QUEEN, or Chris Christie of the cockroach government!!! It was huge!
Even worse, the bartender didn’t just pick up the roach with a napkin… but smashed the roach with guts and all splattering right smack in front of us at the bar.
Instead of comping our entire meal, only two drinks were taken off our bill. (Altogether my friend and I only had 3 drinks.)
Did a manager come out and apologize? NOPE! And one bartender was casual and calm about it as if it happens all the time.
Gosh, I wish I would have taken a picture… but I was too shocked. Ahh help me, my skin is crawling right now! I’m suffering from cockroach PTSD!
I will never EVER EVER go to Tabaq again or recommend anyone else to go there!
Keep in mind that for every one roach there are 275 more! And this roach I saw looked like cockroach octomom!!!

So much potential. Such a mess.
I really want to like Tabaq. I keep trying to make it happen. But like ‘Fetch’ it’s just not gonna happen.
I’m always planning group dinners there, going for drinks, trying to make a nice night out for out of town friends. It never works. But I keep going cause of that damn glass enclosed rooftop.
First. Those stairs. Please. Install an elevator. For the love of god.
Second. Reservations. They have a huge venue but of course people only want to be seated on the top floor. So they take these reservations and then my party of 6 and I are waiting 45 minutes for a table. Yeah the manager is treating us to a shots to make up for it, but really, we just want to sit at our table…
Third. The service. The servers tend to be… inexperienced. Last time, a person at my table hadn’t gotten her meal yet so she asked the waiter about it. He just shrugged. Shrugged. I can’t.
Fourth. The food. It’s actually good. No real complaints. It’s just not as satisfying when you’ve waited so long to get it.
The manager at Tabaq is charming. So of course you end up not being that mad about all the failures you’ve just experienced. But coming here is a chore more than it is relaxing. Sure you’ll get things comped from the bill and you’ll get a few free drinks to make up for everything that went wrong, but sometimes you just wanna pay full price and eat your damn food.
I’ll probably give you a few more chances Tabaq, maybe one day you’ll deliver.

The brunch specials seem phenomenal. If I lived closer, I would definitely pop in on a Sunday afternoon. That said, I had dinner here on a Friday evening before going out on U St. This is a nice start. The hummus and thin crust pizza hit the spot. Interesting mix between middle eastern choices with pizza as well, but I’m a fan of both, so I liked it. They have some good drinks, too. The drink menu isn’t that large, but the Elliot Ness porter is one I haven’t seen much out here — a nice touch.
The negs: You will have to climb a mountain of stairs. It is VERY dark, which is fine for the ambiance but not for when you need more water!
However, the rooftop is a nice touch. The view isn’t spectacular, but how many rooftops in this town have a great view? At least here, you can see the Capitol off in the distance. Plus, if you time it right and arrive during sunset, it’ll be a nice backdrop to dinner. Just don’t expect something breathtaking like I did after some of these reviews!
There was some event going on in the area below, as well. Seems like a nice place to go with a group for some drinks if you want to class up the occasion.

The popular «Bitches Who Brunch» blog gives the brunch at U Street’s Tabaq a grade of «A.»
I definitely agree.
This review is for the Saturday and Sunday brunch.
I recently hosted an event – a brunch/​baby shower for about 25 guests – in the second-​floor art room at Tabaq and I cannot rave enough about the management and staff at this place! They made organizing my event breezy and were awesomely helpful and service-​oriented on the day of the brunch. Most brunchers enjoy the meal on the restaurant’s famous covered rooftop terrace, but Tabaq has several spaces for entertaining and the hip, laid back, eclectic-​ish art gallery matched my event wonderfully.
Brunch and drink orders for my group, who were seated very sporadically, were taken promptly and the food delivered quickly.
And oh, the food. I got to see and taste a good number of the brunch offerings up close and personal and have concluded that for the value, this brunch is top-​notch.
The menu is super diverse which is a MUST for a brunch menu. Here, you can choose from about 5 styles of eggs benedict… to chicken and waffles or steak and eggs… to an Angus burger or salmon burger… to Belgian waffles… to a plethora of omelettes and veggie options.
I had the Tabaq breakfast, which at the price of about $ 12, far exceeded my expectations and was so much food I could not finish: Smoked bacon/​Pork sausage/​Lamb sausage, sauteed rosemary potatoes, sauteed peppers, salad, an English muffin and two eggs any style (they did mine hard-​boiled). See here:
. THIS plate was… everything brunch should be!
Highly recommended! Great-​tasting food, great venue, no crazy long lines (that I saw) and very easy on the wallet= WIN.
Happy brunching!

Came in for dinner with a group of about 10 after a company Happy Hour event. A colleague suggested this place and mentioned that it’s one of her favorite spots. Her excitement got me excited because I love Mediterranean food… but my excitement quickly turned to annoyance followed soon-​after by impatience. Here’s the run-​down:
8:30 — Arrived
8:33 — Seated
8:35 — Drink orders were taken
8:40 — Food orders were taken
… tick, tock, tick, tock …
9:35 — Never received our food and left
Further elaboration is needed as this is one of the most awkward services I’ve ever experienced. Upon ordering, one of the people in our group asked our server to split the bills. Considering this is being requested at the beginning of the meal rather than the end, I really don’t think it’s too much to ask. She proceeded to explain that it can’t be done… but then found a way — take our cards at the beginning and open tabs. Okay, odd, but we didn’t have a problem with that as long as the bills were separated.
When food finally started coming out it was extremely SLOOOW… one-​by-​one probably close to 5 min intervals. I’ve never seen this kind of food service before. Who the heck knows why it was taking so long. It made absolutely no sense.
Because we were at the top level where there is no central air, there was a huge fan which was next to our table. I honestly didn’t mind the fan because it felt really good. HOWEVER, the fan blew out all the small candles that provided the little lighting we did have and alternative lighting was never offered or provided. The people who did receive food had trouble seeing what they were eating.
I ordered 3 small plates that I was sharing with someone else… my food never came after waiting almost an hour. I canceled my order and asked for my card back. The wait was absolutely unacceptable and I left hungry… very, very hungry.
Moral of the story — Don’t come in a group.

The stairs to the rooftop terrace left me more breathless than the view did, but it’s all relative. I still enjoyed it despite its averageness. Front part of the terrace was a good event space once the side tables were cleared out. It ain’t a party until I get shooed off the bar. Red bull vodka was heavy on the RB, and the bartender was courteous enough to leave me the rest of the can. After a bottle of Avery brown ale, I drank two Fiores: vodka, champagne, and St Germain, way too easy to drink. One of the better blends of the first two in the area.
Nibbled from Julia’s borani and stuffed dolma; the semi-​thick chips were suitable for the spinach and yogurt dip, lightly salted. The pastirma-​wrapped dates dominated the flavor of the goat cheese, but weren’t bad at all. These tapas weren’t mind-​blowing, but I’d be down to try more of the menu after eyeballing our neighbors’ plates.

It was friend and fellow Unilocaler Alycia J’s birthday this past Saturday, so we decided to have her birthday dinner on Tabaq’s rooftop. It turned out to be the perfect setting with great views and she even saw a single firework in the distance. No one else witnessed this but it was her birthday so let’s give her the benefit of the doubt.
Since Tabaq has a tapas-​style menu that’s more on the pricey side, I was prepared for small rich people portions but was happy to see that they weren’t so small and mine was actually very filling. I ordered the Salmon Shank and tried someone else’s Tabaq Chicken. Both of these are main courses, but even the small plates like the Sauteed Baby Octopus were a decent size. I really liked the food and thought it was unique, which is nice for a change.
Our 15-​person reservation was for 9 pm, but by the time everyone got there, ordered and finished eating it was almost 11 pm and waiters were carrying tables and chairs away to get ready for the late night crowd. It felt rushed towards the end as the waiter hovered around us and the music got too loud for anyone to be able to talk. We stayed just for dinner so my rating is based on that alone, but I think this is a great place to have a nice meal in a really nice atmosphere.

I arrived early for the Unilocal Elite Event — about 6:15 pm. So I had some time to kill. I hiked up to the 4^th floor lounge and sat at the bar. Very dimly lit — which made for a nice ambiance.
Christy (sp?) was my friendly bartender (I later told her she looks very much like Friends star Lisa Kudrow– she had been told that before!) — I ordered up a cup of coffee — which I believe they had to go and retrieve some floors down. They gave me a shot glass of milk for my coffee and the Splenda packet I requested. Coffee was good!
I spent some time working on my MacBook Pro at the bar — in the darkness, I ordered a glass of water, a Delirium Tremens Belgian Pale Ale, and six oysters on the half shell: 3 off the Potter Moon oysters and 3 of the Wianno oysters — priced at $ 1.00 apiece.
The beer was very strong — but Christy recommended it. She warned me it was strong. Afterward I think I found out it has something like 10% alcohol content. The bottle is kind of strange (see pix attached to review) — it’s like a ceramic, solid color.
The oysters were excellent! I slurped through them all too fast! Nice salty aspect to them. I wish I had ordered more!
Service was good and very attentive.