Urban Butcher

Most impressive restaurant I’ve been to in Maryland since moving back to the DMV (for real). The lavender margarita is as good as everyone says it is (tastes like lounging in a flower bed in the sun). The steak was great, and appearance-​wise, the Brussels sprouts in the tiny Le Creuset type dish were ADORABLE.
Soooo, I actually got the meat sweats while I was here. No joke. I shared steak and also got the steak tartare. I got really hot and had to go outside for a while (crying laughing emoji face). It wasn’t too funny at the time, but this place is so good that it gave me MEAT SWEATS y’all.

Urban Butcher has become one of the go-​to spots when my fiancé and I want a nice meal and don’t want to leave Silver Spring. After about three dinner visits with mixed groups ranging in size of four people and nine people, a few brunches with friends, and an additional four visits for just the two of us, I can say UB has some delicious entrees, some excellent appetizers and great drink options (seriously, how can I replace my blood with the lavender margaritas!!!). Between my entrees and sampling other’s dishes I can say I haven’t had a truly bad meal. The reviews on here where people are complaining about the quality of food has me wondering where these reviewers are frequenting as I would love to sample the establishments they think have better tasting food. Apparently, I’m missing out.
However, there are some rough spots with a trip to UB, which depending on your personality can either be little irritations or major turnoffs. It tends to get loud and quite crowded, with seating a little too cramped for my tastes. On a related note, the place definitely has a hip, vibrant feel, especially on Friday evenings and it feels a bit too energetic, especially if you just want a meal and conversation with your loved one (s). Another complaint I noticed is while I love cold weather so the chilled air of the dining room doesn’t bother me, but many of the ladies I’ve had join us for meals have complained about the temperature. One complaint which has became more apparent as their reputation has spread is they are becoming a bit snooty. Staff can be a bit unfriendly and at times make you feel like they want you to hurry up and leave so they can seat a new group of costumers. Finally, their prices can be shocking. We live in Silver Spring and we love our little city, but these prices feel more like we’re in Georgetown or a similar more established, upscale area eating at a fine dining establishment, not a local spot which has more of a casual, hip feel.
Despite the few complaints, and the relative ease in which you can spend more than you planned, everyone we have joined at UB for a meal has returned at least once and will probably do so again. Give a shot and I suspect you’ll be quite pleased.

This review is for happy hour only.
The ambiance: A very unique, modern industrial place. The name of the restaurant speaks for itself. I love that you can see the piggies hanging in the back and the chefs doing their art behind the grill. You can literally walk up to the kitchen and choose your cut of steak. Pretty darn awesome. There are some private tables in a separate room, but the main dining area is open and airy. During the warmer months, they open the window wall to the bar so you can seat outside at the bar (there are also seats outside at the front of the restaurant). Even if you sitting inside, you get a nice breeze, which is really nice.
The service: Semi-​attentive. I had to wave down waiters to order food and drinks. Meh.
The food/​drinks:
–The lavender margarita is to die for — great balance of flavors. They don’t jip you on the alcohol either because it’s happy hour. During happy hour, you can get an entire pitcher for $ 25. Pricey, but not bad! You can get about 5 – 6 drinks from the pitcher. The hibiscus mojito was okay… it didn’t blow me away.
–Daily sandwich board. Yas. I’ve had their roast beef sammy and turkey pastrami sammy. Delicious! The cuts of meat were juicy and full of flavor. My fav is the turkey pastrami. $ 9 for the sammy? Meh.
–Fries. If you order a side of fries with your sammy, it’s +$ 3. On it’s own, it’s $ 5. Aside the price, I love the cut of the fries and the fact that they’re crispy. Plus they serve it with ketchup and mayo. Whaaaaaaa. Yes, mayo.
Overall: I would like to conclude that as an avid happy hour go-​er, I like to judge on price. I mean, it’s happy hour right? Discounted food and drinks. Is this a bang for your buck sorta place? No. I mean, you can get beef «empanadas» aka ONE empanada for $ 5. I cross checked it with their regular menu… you can get TWO empanadas for $ 10. Aka they’re the same price. Do they serve good food and drinks? Yes. Solid food, delicious drinks. I think this is a great place for a first date — one person trying to impress the other. If you’re trying to ball on a budget, which is my motto in life, let’s just say you can’t come here errday.

Nice trendy atmosphere. Lot’s of meats to choose from. Good selection of drinks (we just missed the happy hour) Friendly service.
I would go back but stick to the appetizers. Overall, everything is too salty. I don’t think you need to add salt to a perfectly delicious salad.

Great food, Great service, slightly hit or miss.
This is one of my favorite places in the area, only real downside to it is the food it hit or miss.
Order lots of appetizers (pastrami can be amazing) and stay away from the entrees (they are good but not worth the money a lot of the time)

Came here for my Mom’s Bday because she loves steak as much as I do. I figure, its got butcher in the name it should be pretty good. The décor is kind of a mix between rustic bar and meat locker. I like it but the concrete floors means it gets pretty loud even if there aren’t a ton of people inside.
The staff is super friendly and gave really good recommendations. (The girl with the accent is damn cute also…)
Solid alcohol list, we had the Rose and it was really good. Heavy pour which anyone can appreciate.
We both had the steak with fries. I know hanger steak isn’t the best cut but it is still a good choice overall in my opinion. They do under cook slightly (which she explained) so next time I go back I will ask for medium well because my medium was quite red in the middle. I am not a fan of that because the meat is just chewier and that isn’t my cup of tea.
I found the flavor to be well rounded but a tad salty for me. The fries were good, nothing amazing but a nice touch. I would have preferred a wine sauce with peppercorns but I am picky.
It isn’t for the light of wallet but I really want to go back and do a charcuterie board.

Waited 15 min without ever being approached by a waiter. No one asked us if we’d like anything to drink or eat. And they sat us in an empty section right next to the open outside with a chilly breeze hitting us. We couldn’t even ask to be moved. We left to go somewhere else bc we seemed to be ignored
I guess we will try again another time. Shame because it was on my birthday and I’ve wanted to go here for a very long time.

2 mild complaints about this place.
First, there is no variety on their happy hour menu.
This goes for the cocktails and food. This wouldn’t be a tragedy if everything was excellent.
But I’ve gotten their meat cellar board over a half dozen times now, and there are two or three underwhelming (read: bland) cheese/​charcuterie items that never change. Boring.
Second, they have bizarre bread issues.
Depending on whom you ask, you get an unannounced $ 4 charge on your bill for an extra piece of bread. Nowhere on the menu is there a warning. More importantly, the server won’t say anything.
Finally, even if you’re willing to pay more, if you want your sandwich on a different bread that they have in stock (because they’d run out of the regular bread), they won’t switch it, even though it is obviously possible.
Besides these small kinks, I really like the place.

An all day weekend happy hour with a good selection pretty much gets my vote.
Came here to meet up with some friends on a Sunday. Upon entering, we were greeted by a warm host and promptly sat at the bar once we realized there was a weekend happy hour. I ordered a boulevardier which was prepared by an inexperienced bartender. Luckily this was rectified when a reorder and the main guy who is usually there on the weekends. We also tried the hibiscus mojito which we also enjoyed.
We started out with the happy hour meat board, followed by the foie gras, lamb tartare, and the beef empanada. The happy hour meat board came with our choice of salami, cheese, cured meat, and pâté which was all fantastic considering the price was only $ 15. The lamb tartare was served with their house made pita bread and hummus, which had a nice slightly burnt flavor that went well with the tartare. However, what really was our favorite was their foie gras. For $ 18, you get a huge portion of foie gras with their truffle and fig spread, which we enjoyed.
I will definitely be back to try their dinner and brunch entrees next time. However, as a happy hour spot Urban Butcher is one of my favorites. Will be back.

What can I say? I love the bar.
Lavender Margaritas are to die for. They are so good that I have named our happy hour club Bring on the Lavender Margaritas. During HH you can get a pitcher of this margarita for $ 25. Yes and please.
In warmer months their back bar is their outdoor bar seating. Sure, it takes up a lot of the sidewalk, but Ripley is a road less traveled and outdoor bar seating is wonderful.
Food is fabulous. I love the beef empanadas. They are so flavorful and have a Latin flair. My fiancé absolutely loves the ahi ceviche. In his words, it is fresh and full of flavor.
Sunday Brunch here is awesome. I love the steak frites, my fiancé loves the trout scramble. Couple it with all day happy hour at the bar and it is wonderful.
Other nice things include the fries and blackboard sandwiches. In time I’ll eat more things.
With regard to the bar, I previously commented that the registers were actually on the bar. No longer, in fact they have not for a very long time. Also, I previously said the beer selection was bad. This is absolutely no longer the case. There are quite a few local and nonlocal craft brews of different styles. It’s nice.
This place is a gem. I highly recommend a visit.

It’s definitely not the best value restaurant in Silver Spring. It has a rustic atmosphere but little too much of a cafeteria /​chipotle feel to it. Aged steaks are really over priced per lbs, I feel like I would rather go to a good steak house for those the prices. Steak from what I’m told are good but not great.
But their small plates are delicious. Pastrami and the meatballs are winners in my book. I would recommend it for happy hour and do small plates so you can sample a few different items vs ordering a minimum 20oz steak. Check out their happy house special on their website and make sure to get a side of bacon to snack on ;)

The Urban Butcher is exactly what it’s called: an urban butcher. The atmosphere is modern industrial-​chic, with very few private tables and lots of community tables with stools. Nestled in the rear are a butcher shop that sells freshly cut meat and a sausage aging chamber where they make their own sausages and pates.
We ordered a pitcher of the very unique and refreshing lavender margarita and a charcuterie platter. The charcuterie was made well, but the toast points were slightly burnt. Overall, though, the service was good, the portions were ample and the ambiance made the experience delightful. I will be back!

Really great food, love the «whole animal» idea and dishes are really well executed.
Staff is great and the ambiance fits the profile very well. Proportions are good for the price.
The one thing I don’t like is that sometimes they sacrifice taste for esthetic. Case and point: the burnt toast, it looks fabulous on the plate but it tastes like burnt toast.

It’s called Urban Butcher. They have delicious cuts of steak laid out for you to choose from. So why are people ordering muscles? They have a custom smoke house in the restaurant for Pete’s sake. #petpeeve Anyway I digress. I had a 25 Oz Tbone. Cooked medium rare of course. It was seasoned well and it was very good. I like a little more char but the danger is over cooking. Definitely a must go but please order meat.

If there was ever a restaurant Eden where you can hang out with coworkers, friends, boo, dog, family, hot rando, stuffed animal, or all of the above and have the best booze AND food… THIS WOULD SERIOUSLY BE IT.
Urban Butcher is a one-​of-​a-​kind restaurant experience. They have several tables outdoors for nice days, but if those are taken, don’t fret, because the bar is a hybrid of indoors and outdoors seating. If you’re bringing fido, you can walk straight up the the bar from the outside and claim your throne. They make exquisite cocktails that will knock your socks off. If those aren’t your tip of the hat, you can find a great variety of beers, wines, and liquors. These bartenders know how to make their drinks the right way! Personally, I love my happy hours and dinners here so you can find me in the bar area about 2 – 3 times a week with my best friend since it’s a block away from my office.
But there’s more.
They cure, salt, and flavor their own meats and source locally. Meaning that slab of deliciousness on your plate was treated with as much love and care as it will soon treat your palate. You can also buy their meats at the refrigerator next to the kitchen to bring home more for later (you gluttonous creature, you!).
Their kitchen and prep area is exposed like a saucy piratess. You can see the sweat off brows of cooks as they season, sear, roast, slice their meats and vegetables.
They have an AMAZING master chef who’s passion shines like a beacon of buttery light throughout the restaurant. He is often found walking around to make sure you’re enjoying your experience.
Here’s my recommendations:
1) Charcuterie: wonderful to share and comes with their amazing seared bread
2) sandwiches: do not, I repeat, do not miss these during happy hour. They are seriously the best sandwiches I’ve ever had. I recommend the smoked turkey.
3) Drinks: lavender margarita and G+T. Pretty much anything. The lav has the perfect amount of sweet and tangy, not too floral so, gentlemen, you can have cheers with us, too. I love the salt+lav rimmed glasses.
4) Meat: get the lamb shank! It is roasted — not stewed and marinated perfectly. It is accompanied by a beautiful bouquet of seasonal root vegetables. The presentation is beautiful and the flavor will seriously blow your mind.
There’s no question this is my favorite restaurant of all time. From the service, food, and environment. This is my kind of heaven.

I came here after a big meal, so I only ordered 2 items. A cocktail and a cheese board. Sunday at urban butcher is all day happy hour!!! Their cheese board was really good but ill need to come back and try their steak to give it a good review. The cocktail i tried was the hibiscus mojito. Some of their cocktails are premade, it certainly saves time, and provides consistency in taste to drinks, but i still prefer mine to be mixed in front of me.

Happy Hour review only.
I just love places that offer HH on Saturdays. Seriously, how can it EVER go wrong?
Urban Butcher’s HH menu is simply fantastic and I loved the restaurant. The décor inside is beautiful — it is hip, chic and spacious. It could be a perfect romantic date spot or a girls night out hang out place. This place kinda reminded me of a more simple version of a popular NYC restaurant, «Quality Meats». The atmosphere is rustic yet sophisticated, and you can see all kinds of meat being cured & aged inside the store. The ambiance itself is so welcoming and comforting that I thought to myself that I would always love to come back.
We ordered a variety of dishes on the HH menu:
— A pitcher of lavender margarita was perfect to share. The drink was not too strong, but not too watery either. I love lavender drinks, but it is not common to find, so loved this delicious margarita. If you are a fan of sweet drinks, you can ask them to make it a little sweeter.
— Meatball dish was our favorite. It comes with three huge meatballs topped with melted cheese. Very juicy with slightly chewy texture, which I loved
— Hand cut fries are recommended. I am not a fan of fries, but I ate a bunch of them. You can taste that these are cut fresh and fried with good oil
— I didn’t try the beef empanadas, but our peeps said they tasted like really good beef chilli filling.
The only dish I disliked was the ham croquettes. These were not too memorable, even though these were made with hams aged for more over 2 years. It was a bit dry and mediocre.
In sum, I think it is a beautiful restaurant, and I would love to come back whenever I am in the area. Maybe we will try the steak next time.

I hadn’t heard about Urban Butcher before, so I was super duper excited to check this place out with some of my favorite peeps after an event in the area: D Urban Butcher’s vibe is super hip and super cool — I loved the open airy-​ness of the place, the steel and thick wooden communal-​like counters and tables, the exposed brick with their featured specials, and the fact that they have a butcher shop and a curing & aging cellar, right on the premise. The menu offers weekend brunch, HH, dinner, meats, and cocktails — since we came here for HH, we decided to take advantage of that menu. We started off with a pitcher of the Lavender Margarita (OOOOO — this was SO PRETTY, SO REFRESHING, and SO DELICIOUS! If you’re a lavender fan, I highly recommend! Not too crazy strong, a great combination of tartness and sweetness, this was a very lovely drink — I really enjoyed it!!!). I also tried their Hibiscus Mojito, made with rum, ginger, and mint — while I was looking for more of a pronounced hibiscus flavor that I would find in teas, this was still pretty okay (it did slightly remind me of Chinese herbal medicine — AHAHAHA: P One friend had the Boulevardier, which I didn’t sample, but the main consensus was that it was quite strong and made a punch! We shared some Hand Cut Fries (came with a dollop of ketchup and mayo; I wished these were more off-​the-​fryer and more crispy); Beef Empanadas & Chimichurri (crispy thin exterior filled with a soupy beef chili; the chili was surprisingly tasty and savory, but I just wished that it didn’t contain cilantro, as it was too overpowering for me T_​_​_​T; Ham Croquettes (these were little pods with a very light breaded exterior filled with finely-​minced pulled pork-​like texture; while it was stated that these contained aged ham, these were my least favorite as it was just not seasoned enough and there was no mashed potatoes in sight (I just dig the Japanese style so much!). My most favorite out of all the dishes were the Butcher’s Meatballs & Melted Provolone — these meatballs were sooo juicy, flavorful, and addicting, with its combination of house brisket and pork! First sous vide, these luscious mounds are already thoroughly cooked (so don’t be alarmed if you notice the pink inside!), covered in this light chunky tomato sauce, and a few slivers of melted Provolone (I wouldn’t complain if there were more cheese: P It even came with a nice chunky slice of a grilled rustic bread that was perfect to soak in the sauce! Our server was super welcoming, oh-​so-​friendly, had a great sense of humor, and checked up on us frequently: D What a cute spot in Silver Spring — I had a great time, and I’ll definitely be back: D
+Lavender Margarita: D
+Butcher’s Meatballs & Melted Provolone: D
+grilled rustic breads: D
+friendly staff! :D
+butcher, curing, and aging rooms on the premise!
+limited 2-​hour parking around the block

PASSION FRUIT CREME BRULEE $ 7 (⁵⁄₅ NOMs)
This could be one of the most beautiful and happy looking desserts we ever had a pleasure of noming on. Perfect combination of thick melted sugar, creamy crème brûlée and beautiful sugary ball on top. Not sure if we should eat it or marvel at its beauty. Well marvel didn’t last long and we dug into it with our spoons. Its not just a pretty face, but also be one of the most tasty crème brûlée desserts. This is the kind of dish you have to enjoy slowly, savor every single bite of it. Perfect combination of light and soft with crunchy texture. Great way to end your sunday brunch adventure at one of the best restaurants in the area.
CHURROS $ 7 (⁴⁄₅ NOMs)
After eating all that heavy brunch food nothing can be lighter then deep fried dessert! So surgery and crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, they were some of the most enjoyable little sticks we put in our mouth. Just might give you that sugar boost you need to make it home before the food coma kicks in. Way too much for one person to eat and more fun to share with friends. Perfectly made for a group of friends. Only thing that could have been better is the hot chocolate, it was just too liquedy. I think the dish would have been much better if chocolate was a bit thick and gooey instead of watery. Maybe something with more Nutella consistency? Though no watery chocolate can stop us from enjoying all these churros.
HOUSE BACON OMELET $ 12 (⁴⁄₅ NOMs)
Omelets hold dear place in our hearts and tummies, one of our most favorite breakfast dishes. So we can be pretty picky. Its a pretty simple dish really with bacon, chopped tomatoes and cheddar. Yet its prepared so well that it was pure joy to nom on it. So soft and fluffy its just the right way to enjoy your Sunday Brunch. There is so much cheese in there that it could be enough for two omelets, but you know what. We are not complaining! More is the only thing that is better then just cheese. Of course they are masters of all meat things and have excellent bacon. Not to forget well seasoned home fries, so simple and yet so much deliciousness. Overall not a complex dish, but executed so well it really is perfection.
COUNTRY BREAD FRENCH TOAST $ 12 (⁵⁄₅ NOMs)
Larger then life Sunday brunch french toast. Its a french dish with the best of American style food, larger then life portion, but we won’t complain. They don’t just know how to perfectly prepare the delights of animal kingdom, but also know how to captivate your taste buds for sweetness. Forget those whimpy french toast you used to know, check out this giant full on bread french toast. One slice is the size of my giant head! Big and thick, this made for an excellent Sunday brunch dish. Its pretty heavy and dense, that just one slice can fill you up. Even though they are so thick and dense, they tasted very light and still had that softness of French Toast. Topped with some lightly braised apple on top for that extra flavor. Just love the sweet maple syrup with goat’s milk gelato. The bread just sucked up all that syrup so next time ask for extra. So refreshing and yet so filly, made us fat happy. Defiantly one of the must try dishes for Sunday brunch.
BACON-​MAPLE GELATO $ 7 (⁵⁄₅ NOMs)
BAAAACCCON!!! Bacon maple coming out of the wazoo. Can never beat a yummy dessert with bacon. Look at that awesome sugar sculpture, its just so pretty! Every spoonful will make your taste buds jump with excitement. You just might moan and people will ask «i’ll have what he is having.» So light and smooth its a perfect way to end your foodie adventure. There is a lot of gelato there, too much for one person, but perfect to share with the whole table. Those who say bacon fab is overdone haven’t tried this great dessert. So order up!
BEEFEMPANADAS $ 3 (⁵⁄₅ NOMs)
Crunchy empanada stuffed to the max with extra flavorful beef. So much meat there is no empty spot to be found. First bite and its unlike anything you’ve tasted before. Its like beef had brand new undiscovered flavor. You could really taste the gourmet restaurant quality here for a low price. This place is small share plate style, but don’t share this, be greed and eat whole one yourself!!! Served with a nice ass kicking chimichurri dipping sauce. Make sure to pour lots of it inside for an extra kick. Order only comes with one empanada, so we might just have to get a few more.
OX BRISKET $ 18 (⁵⁄₅ NOMs)
That’s not your mama’s brisket. Who needs beef when you can eat Ox. Cooked to perfection for 48 hours, its so tender it just melts in your mouth. No need for a knife, just use your fork with ease. Layer of meatiness with yummy fatness goodies. Brisket had a nice surprising sweet flavor from honey-​ginger jus. Served with very light and soft potato purée. Every ingredient picked perfectly to match and enhance entire dish. First I thought its kind of small, but its extremely filling. perfect dish to share with few friends and try other dishes.

I was looking forward to this place for quite some time, so being able to finally partake came as a pleasure. The service was excellent and our waitress very friendly. The décor was nice, bright and clean but a bit weird. There were animal skulls hanging on the walls, understandable for a butcher shop, but they played Latin music all night, which I found a bit confusing.
Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed on my first visit by the food. Granted, the sliced meats and breads looked fantastic, but I opted for the hanger cut steak, medium rare. We saw big thick cuts of meat being served «primal» style being whisked back and forth and hoped that the hanger cut would be such. It wasn’t to be so. The portion was adequate but it was pre-​cut and was undercooked. Rare. My friend ordered the same cut but medium. Hers came out medium rare. It was good, but this is probably the first I’ve seen that they undercook meats. The fries, while very crispy, were lukewarm and thus, kinda sucked.
I’ll definitely be back for another go, as I want to try their deli cuts with their thick rustic breads and maybe a big cut of beef.