Tallula Restaurant

How I heard of this place: Our friends Brian & Mary recommended it when we first moved to Arlington and were having a difficult time finding food that is not franchised or part of larger, corporate food mongers. They suggested Tallula as a place to get local, seasonal and organic fare at a spot where the menu changes with the season. We were sold!
Type of cuisine: «…Tallula has been recognized as the archetype for incomparable modern American cooking, stellar wine and informed service in Arlington, Virginia. Each night, the kitchen at Tallula creates a seamless culinary adventure based on the finest seasonal, farm-​driven ingredients against a backdrop of nearly 400 unique wines, 60 of which are avaialble by the glass. Comfortable, smart, unpretentious and fun, Tallula is a neighborhood gem to come back to time and time again.» An additional note for anyone who loves a deal: «Tallula was conceived as a comfortable, causal neighborhood place featuring excellent, interesting food and wines at reasonable prices. To illustrate this notion, we’ve created a nifty little program that we believe captures both essence of this restaurant and spirit of the times: The Neighborhood Nosh. Select three courses from our Dinner menu for only $ 35. Available all night on Sunday and Monday. Also available from 5:30 to 6:30pm every Tuesday through Thursday. So come out, take a well-​deserved break on a school night and enjoy a delectable meal at a decent price.»
Ambiance: The large, neon signs outside spell «EAT», and adjacent, «Tallula» in a friendly, cursive font. Enter the single-​story brick building with storefront windows leading into a dark space, and you have found yourself in an amazingly detailed and ecclectic setting, a treat for the eyes and the stomach. The golden chiffon drapes at the windows, romantically set half-​way up the windows, similar to the red, velvet curtains at a movie theater. Above the windows, colorful bottles make for thestained glass look in the small, rectangular windows leading up to the intricately tiled, plum ceiling. The walls are dazzling, deep purple with a uniform pattern of lavendar flowers painted atop. Gold-​framed holes in the wall, in varying rectangular and square shapes and sizes, Mediterranean blue-​tiled interiors are lined with goblet-​style glasses holding candles. The metal ducts overhead are hardly noticable with the detailed Mideval style lights overhead, resembling candle chandeliers. One rounded booth gives slightly larger parties a space of their own, while other diners feel the intimacy at the limited table and chair seating options throughout the small dining area. The amber tinge of mood lighting is captured at all times of day, including this brunch experience.
What I ordered: One hot tea ($ 4), three cups of coffee ($ 4 each) and waters all around, our table of five was suddenly awake and ready to peruse our menus. Our new friends Hillah and Aaron enjoyed the Belgian Waffle ($ 9) with elderberry compote, whipped cream and maple syrup and the Three Eggs Any Style ($ 10) served with red bliss home fries, bacon, scrapple or sausage and toast. They introduced us to Tori, who also partook of the Three Eggs Any Style. I followed suit, sharing the scrambled eggs and bacon with my husband. He selected the Pancake Short Stack ($ 9), caramelized apple, candied pecans and maple syrup as his contribution to our shared plates.
On a return visit, Sunday, 24 March 2013: We returned, at the suggestion of some good friends from Germantown, Maryland, for a brunch of champions! I started with a simple latte, three sugars in the raw, and continued with the Three Eggs Any Style ($ 11) served with one large tater tot, thick-​cut bacon and toast. One of our friends ordered the same. His wife chose the Shrimp & Grits ($ 14) served in a smoked chorizo tomato sauce. For their three-​year-​old son, the Silver Dollar Pancakes ($ 5) with apple syrup. My husband started with the Mixed Green Salad ($ 7), a side of tater tots ($ 4) and the Sobrasada Sausage Omelet ($ 8).
What I loved: The home fries and the rich, bold coffee.
Why I loved it: A fun neighborhood atmosphere, taking me back to our Seattle days, where the entire family could enjoy a meal together, or one might bring a first date. Our server was friendly and patient, calm and had a beautiful, radio voice to boot!
Cost: Average ($ 9-​$ 15 per brunch entrée)

Couldn’t be any sadder to see this great date night spot close this month. The food is always inventive, fresh, and delicious. Served without pretension in a great walkable neighborhood. Looking forward to a return farewell trip.

I’ve been to Tallula’s twice and both times have been excellent. The wait staff are prompt, on one occasion I sat at the bar and the bar staff did a great job pairing my wines with the food I ordered.
Chef Rubba frequently updates the menu, so the ribeye dish and scallop dish I had aren’t on the current menu but they were both flavorful and beautifully composed. The portion sizes of the proteins were good but could be better in terms of the amount of food provided for the accompanying sides.
The one thing I cannot get enough of are Tallula’s desserts! There isn’t anything I wouldn’t recommend. I’ve even gone so far as to order desserts for pick up after work. Who says S’mores Brownie Terrine can’t be dinner on a Wednesday night?

Went for dinner and was worried by the empty dining room. The food was generally quite good and with some interesting options. They brought out rosemary focaccia which tasted a bit like biscuits and was stale.
Appetizers and entrees were both great. The corn fritters were awesome. Prices were the high end of reasonable.
The restaurant might have been empty because it was Sunday night. We live in the area and have never seen it busy. Everyone agreed it was a welcome change from the Arlington restaurant scene. I’d definitely go back.

The worst brunch ever. Ive passed this place a million times and decided that I should stop by for brunch. I had ordered pancakes… simple enough. It tasted like baking powder and was so tough and thick… disgusting! I was expecting light and fluffy. My date wanted to try something different and had japenese french toast. The texture was horrible and tasted just as bad. I’ve vowed never to come back. I would hope that the chef would have tasted what he cooked. I wish I could’ve gave no stars. Very dissatisfied!

Tallula is a really nice place to get a pretty unique meal.
It’s a beautifully designed space but can get loud being adjacent to the bar which has an active scene.
The menu changes seasonally and uses fresh seasonal vegetables. As of Spring ’14 ramps are heavily featured and delicious. The fried ramp snack is fantastic.
Also this season, all the signature cocktails are named after characters and lines of dialogue from the movie Shawshank Redemption. The drinks are spectacular as well.

When I lived in Arlington I came here often, but just last night was back in the area on some unhappy business and decided a visit would cheer me up. I did the tasting menu and was impressed — either they’ve upped their game or I’d forgotten how delicious and innovative the food was. The meal was fully as good as more expensive and less accessible restaurants in the D.C. area.
I noted minor fails on a couple of parts, which probably should only bring it down half a star, but I don’t want to give out a 5-​star frivolously. FIrst, I remember more wines by the glass, and was confused by the options they did have, like a tempranillo from California but not one from Spain. WIth that said the wine steward was incredibly helpful and they still have half glasses for half price, so I was able to sample a lot of the choices on the revised list. Second, while my husband made sure there was a glass in my hand within moments of stepping in the door it took awhile for our waiter to show up to take our order. It was sparsely populated in there at 8pm on a weekday, so I’m not sure why there was a 10+ minute delay. Next door EatBar was quite lively, so maybe he was also waiting tables there? Once we had ordered, we were perfectly cared for by the whole staff, so it was of no real consequence besides the fact that I was starving.
I will likely make a point to come when they make changes to the tasting menu. I felt like it was a great deal and definitely fun to put together our own wine pairings.

I was hoping to speak with management before I posted this review, but it’s really hard to get through to the restaurant.
I want to like Tallula, but they make it almost impossible. The service is not very good and the food is hit or miss. When it’s good (tuna crudo, monkfish and clams) it’s very good, when it’s bad (steak ordered medium, arriving black and blue, radishes that still had dirt on the stems), it’s awful.
And just because it is billed as a «snack» (as it was explained to us when we questioned the quantity/​price of the radishes), doesn’t mean charging 5 $ for 5 really tiny (and dirty) radishes, is right. Besides, there was enough butter on the plate for 25 radishes. We would have rather had a few more radishes, and a little less butter (although the butter was very good). And they were neither breakfast radishes nor french radishes — unless they were picked very very early and had not been allowed to grow to their full potential and flavor. Or perhaps the bulk of the radish was cut off. In any case, seriously?
At the end of the day, Tallula is just not worth the money. Over $ 130 for two people (two glasses of wine each — and it is a good pour and a nice wine list) for food that was not spectacular.
And to see six staffers chatting in the open-​kitchen, while we were not even asked how everything was, or offered dessert or coffee, is disappointing.
Tallula — you could be really special if you just tried a little bit harder.

Came here for Sunday brunch and loved my dining experience!
Décor: Thumbs up on the oversized plushy soft chairs that definitely helps straighten your posture.
Bloody Mary: Crushed black pepper with a definite SPICY KICK. Loved it. Probably one of my top 5 favorite Bloody Mary experiences.
Duck Confit: Comes in a cute black skillet blanketed with a sunny side up egg. The duck is seasoned so perfectly. Just a smidgen on the salty side but it counterbalances with the cubed sweet potato chucks. I absolutely enjoyed and consumed every single component of that duck confit. UGH. Just thinking about it makes me want to go back. Except I cannot eat alone. Somebody go with me. NOW. JK. Kinda. UGHHHH. So quacking delicious!
Go to Tallula if you want duck confit. Do it. Now.

We had a great time here with another couple. We had to wait for them to arrive and the staff was extremely patient and friendly while we waited. The space is inviting. They have an extensive wine list and a great selection of cheeses. Everyone enjoyed their dinner and we shared a dessert that was amazing.
We had been meaning to go here for awhile and definitely were not disappointed.

When we came in, I had high hopes. The decorum is gorgeous. The space is softly lit with high backed cushioned booths and tables in the center. Downhill from there.
The waitress started off nice and then slowly started ignoring us. It was strange at first. And then rude. She forgot a few things and must have thought her tip would suffer. (Which it didn’t anyway, I might add.) We were celebrating a birthday, so I was really disappointed with the poor service. It wasn’t even a crowded night.
As for the food, we started with an appetizer of which I can’t remember the name. It was bland and not very good. I got the steak with mash and my boyfriend ordered the roasted chicken breast. Worst steak of my life; hence, the one star. It was so chewy, I couldn’t swallow a single bite. I tried several times to flag someone down to complain, but after several attempts, I gave up. I was starving at this point so I ate the sides, which were sparse and not bad tasting at all. My boyfriends chicken was quite good actually.
The real problem here are the portion sizes. The inedible steak was maybe 5 ounces and $ 26 a plate! The chicken was about the same size and price. My boyfriend ended up eating the wretched steak since he was left pretty hungry.
Overall, the restaurant is aspiring to be a high-​end but fails in service and steak.

I came here for a work dinner with clients and coworkers and we had a good time. I suppose they’re famous for their wines but I’m not a wine drinker so I can’t evaluate that aspect of the restaurant. I am a food eater though, and I found their food quite good. It’s pretty much New American, and Tallula is not very daring when it comes to food. I had the trout — it was fine but completely forgettable. I heard good things about their twice braised pork shoulder from others at my table.
The dessert tasting thing we got was lovely though. I especially liked their rendition of a Snickers bar!

The search for a «favorite neighborhood joint» continues. Tallula isn’t bad – the food was pretty good in a very home-​made way. But it lacked the extra punch and refinement that you would expect from a restaurant that charges $ 22 for a bowl of pasta.
The most promising part of the meal was the warm, crusty bread that was an excellent start to our dinner. The pork shoulder that followed started out very well, with the side that we started on being extremely tender. As we made our way towards the more charred side, however, the meat got increasingly tough and stringy. The lamb ragout had a very light flavor and tasted pretty good, but it felt more like a dish that I would compliment my neighbor for rather than a dish made by a professional chef. The lamb was largely lost in the pasta.
Overall, Tallula did enough to satisfy our hunger and I left feeling like we had a good meal. But considering that it cost us over $ 50 for two dishes that were just OK (no drinks, no appetizer or dessert), I think I’d probably rather settle for a less-​good meal at a more reasonable price.

**** 3 ½ Stars for food, 2 stars for service****
I really wanted to like Tallula. I have read about Tallula and the reviews leaned more towards the positive side. I was hoping to have an experience that was similar my fellow reviewers. Unfortunately, it was not meant to be.
The boyfriend and I went to Tallula last weekend during Restaurant Week. Tallula is off the beaten path (so to speak). It’s close to Clarendon but not in Clarendon, which itself is nice. I liked that it is in a quieter part of Arlington (nestled between it’s counterpart EatBar and the surrounding neighborhoods). We walked in and were seated immediately (reservations are helpful). It’s an intimate and cozy setting, definitely a date night kind of place. We chose Tallula because they offered their full menu for Restaurant Week, which I always appreciate. This is what we ate: I had the Fried Oysters, Lamb Ragout with homemade pasta; the boyfriend had the Ricotta and Spring Garlic Fritter and the Sirloin. For dessert, we both had the Berry Float. Now the food was delicious. My compliments to the chef, he/​she did a great job of combining and balancing flavors. The presentation of our dishes was lovely. Tasteful and not too over the top. Especially with the Berry Float. It’s an interesting concoction of fresh fruit, sorbet, cheesecake ice-​cream and lime soda (which is poured table side). It sounded weird, but it was surprisingly good. The flavors worked well and when you got a spoonful of ice-​cream and sorbet… mmmm.
As I said earlier, Tallula gets 2 stars for service. Our server just seemed indifferent, did not give us any recommendations, and other than taking our order and delivering our food, we did not see our server come by our table. I don’t like the waiters that hover, but for a minute we did not know where our server had gone. I saw the managers walking around and checking in with folks at tables all around us. They didn’t stop at our table and while I am not expecting the managers to stop at every table, I did notice that they stopped by the patrons that ordered bottles of wine with their meal. Maybe it was just a fluke, or even perhaps an off night, or our server was new. Maybe things will be better the next time Tallula… just maybe…

One of the very best in NVA. Excellent wine selection. They have an extensive list of wines below $ 36 as well as offering selections by the small glass, regular glass, or small beaker (10 oz.) sizes. We had a very satisfying red blend of Portuguese grapes.
Another plus is that they essentially offer restaurant week pricing on Sundays and Mondays and until 6:30 mid-​week.
We started with fried oysters with crispy lemon (a very successful combination) and a ricotta fritter with bagna cauda. Main courses were a good sized portion of grilled scallops with zucchini and a chicken breast served with 3 eggplant tortellini, black-​eyed peas, okra, and a light gravy.
Desserts were each upside-​down cake and a lemon-​meringue pie, both served with assorted berries and sorbets. Together it was more than we could eat but enjoyed the cake the next day.
I like the setting — not too stuffy, not to casual, not too bright or too dark.

Get the pork chop, best in town. This place is a real gem, I drive by it all the time and often overlook it, but when we stop in we always have a blast! The wine list, although limited, has some really nice wines on it and the servers know thier stuff.

Definitely a great pick for a comfortable fine dining experience in Arlington. If this just isn’t your thing or you opt for something a little easier on the wallet, check out their sister restaurant, Eat Bar, literally right next door for a more casual setting with tons of great small plate options.
First time we were here I wasn’t too pleased with our table… we were two sardines stuck right between two other tables. This doesn’t make much for a private dining experience if you ask me. I didn’t want to be a pain and ask to be moved so I just sucked it up for the evening. On our most recent visit I requested a more private table prior to our reservation and they certainly delivered.
The food is always sensational. Some of the stand outs have been appetizers such as fried green tomatoes with bleu cheese stuffing and peanut crusted Virginia oysters. Based on our server’s recommendation I enjoyed the soft shell crab spaghetti… it may sound a little odd but if you are a fan of soft shell crabs this is a sure winner!
I love the ambiance of this restaurant… a perfect mood is created by their mix of warm colors, dim lighting, and clean lines. They even have an open kitchen with a few seating options.

This place is sooo adorable! I came here for brunch over the weekend and got the zucchini torte — basically just a veggie fritatta with greens on the top. It was the first time that I can say that I honestly had an egg-​concoction that can be described as «refreshing.» There was just a clean, crisp taste about it, which I definitely enjoyed. It wasn’t super flavorful per se, but it was fine… good enough to try, but not sure I would necessarily get it again.
That being said, my friends ordered a chicken and waffle dish that looked BANANAS! So good! Now THAT I am coming back for… once I am on off my diet that is. lol! For now, I can only give it a 3, but I am sure that will increase with my next visit… hopefully very soon. I love the ambiance and the display of wine around the restaurant shows me that there’s a good time to be had around this place. lol!

This is actually the second time that we’ve been to Tallula and both times were equally as good. Their wine menu is extensive and has a ton of options for every pallet and they have a really great beer selection as well.
The service has been really great both times we were there. I couldn’t honestly tell which sever was ours as about 3 different folks came by our table at various times checking up on things, but I kind of like that because it made me feel like they really try to operate as a team and have each other’s backs. That support definitely improves service and the quality of the meal.
Fair warning: This place is not a cheap date. You’d be hard pressed to spend less than $ 60 – 70 dollars for two. My wife and I each had an appetizer, I had a glass of wine, and we each had an entrée and our bill was around $ 100 for the evening.
That said, the food is worth it. It’s prepared extremely well and the composition of each plate is really well done. As you’re eating some of their dishes and you really start to look at each ingredient you start wondering how it is that the chef came up with the combination that he did. It’s pretty impressive. Highly recommend the Halibut for an entrée. It comes with pork belly, spinach, fennel & potato purée & baby clams. For an appetizer the fried oysters were awesome and the scallops were a truly intriguing dish. They change their menu fairly often, so these items may not be on there.
For something different, look to their charcuterie menu, which features a lot of really unique cheeses & pâté. The first time we ate here we had some items off of this menu as an appetizer.
Finally, on Sunday and Monday (all day) they do a 3-​course meal for $ 35, which is an outstanding value deal. They do this deal Tuesday through Thursday as well, but it’s only from 5:30 — 6:30.

I came here for Sunday brunch with a couple of girlfriends. I’ve never been here before, but since the location was central to all, the menu was inexpensive, and according to the website parking was easy to come by.
They have a mini lot to the left of the building. Believe me, it’s mini. If you are lucky enough to find an open space, by all means, park there. I didn’t really feel like looking for street parking (which they also suggested) so I parked across the street at the cleaners (also recommended by the website). It was a little weird parking there as there are a ton of «park at your own risk» signs but the hostesses assured me it was fine as long as the cleaners are closed. So just a fair warning in case you’re like me and wondering if you’ll get towed.
Once inside the place looked very busy — this was the place to be! It didn’t take long after we arrived to get seated. The décor and atmosphere were very nice. Slightly loud but not so much that you have to yell to have a conversation. More like an eclectic ambiance. The brunch menu has a lot of great options but my dining companions and I all decided to get omelets, all in our very own ways: egg whites no cheese, egg whites, regular.
For the two of us that got the egg white omelets we were pretty happy with our orders. The eggs were slightly rubbery but that could be because we went yolk-​less. The filling was really good — the gruyère and the onions really complimented each other well — however there seemed to be very little filling. Think like a teaspoon of each item listed on the menu and two measly spinach leaves. But since I’m trying to watch my weight I suppose this is okay. They did get cold fast. The home fries were amazing. Perfectly crisp yet soft on the inside.
Unfortunately our friend who got her omelet without any special requests didn’t enjoy her meal at all. There was something about the eggs and the filing that was off and also cold. The server offered to get her a new dish, which thankfully turned out much better, and she was completely nice about it. The manager even came out to apologize and check on the meal. In the end we found out that not only did our server comp my friend’s meal but she even comped the cost of an extra meal. So basically two of our meals were paid for. Totally unnecessary but thoughtful.
Service is excellent here and the dishes are pretty good. I would definitely come back to check out the other brunch options as well.