Range

Range is one of the area’s best restaurants, focusing on the culinary experience and making guests feel comfortable. It is a perfect contradiction — the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, but is at the same time very trendy and sleek. It’s perfect for many occasions: a romantic date, a business meeting, or a nice meal with friends. It is this versatility that makes it stand out among other restaurants that take their food as seriously.
The menu is diverse and changes enough to make return dining interesting. You might find recognizable dishes, but each item will have Bryan Voltaggio’s culinary spin.
Sunday brunch is fantastic, the drinks are generous and very tasty. Mack is a terrific server in particular, incredibly knowledgeable about the menu and nice to talk to.
You really can’t go wrong at Range. Whether you are visiting DC as a guest, or a local, this perfect contradiction is a gem.

The pepperoni pizza was yum and that’s saying a lot from this Jersey girl pizza snob. The ambiance was nice, but the service was off. The servers were very nice, but inattentive and for me, service is everything. Forgot water, forgot limes, forgot to take away menus… too much weed?

Very upscale place in the Chevy chase pavilion. Great atmosphere with the wood fire smell greeting you as you walk in. The cheese tasting tray ($ 25) was very good but as usual needed more bruschetta. The Mac and cheese was bland (especially after the flavor of the cheese tray). The pizza was the best deal ($ 14) with plenty to eat. My wife had scallops and loved them. They have a great selection of wine to chose from. And the service is what you expect from this class of Resturant. After eating at capital grill across the street we would be more likely to go there but when staying at Embassy suites this is more convenient.

Yesterday, I celebrated my 33^rd birthday. Normally, I prefer to let my birthday pass unnoticed; however, my best girlfriend insisted that we put together a small gathering. We picked Range and asked a small group of friends to meet us at the bar for cocktails and snacks at 5:30pm. Unfortunately, the bar was full by that point in time.
The restaurant staff went above and beyond in accommodating us. While we did not have a reservation for a busy Friday night, they placed us in a semi-​private dining area. They updated the image on a big screen television wishing me a «happy birthday» by name, and genuinely made us feel like part of the family.
While I live in the neighborhood and make my way to Range every couple of weeks, this really seals the deal for me. Our wait staff, led by Mac, really set the standard for quality service. They were attentive, informative, and personable without being overly intrusive. The food was delicious and the birthday cocktail K/​Catherine whipped up for the entire group to enjoy was amazing – «the mango marvel» as I call it (rum, fresh mango, orange juice, coconut cream, almond something or the other, bitters and crushed ice (?)). The dessert cart was a sight to behold. I’m sure there are pictures of it floating out there on Facebook.
Range, thank you so much for making this a special day for me. While I didn’t plan on celebrating my birthday, you made it one to remember!

Strange to find a high end restaurant inside a quasi shopping mall, especially right outside of an Embassy Suites which was the nicest I ever stayed at.
Nice bartender suggested the goat cheese pasta which was fantastic. Perfect portion size with a great meat sauce. Wine was great for price point as well. Wished I was staying longer, would have most definitely returned!

Second week in a row trying Range’s special cuts. Last week top sirloin with ramps and chanterelle. This week pig’s head extravaganza! The pigs head was so juicy and the skin crisped to perfection. It was served with kimchi pickles, dipping sauce and flat bread which was a good accompaniment to the fatty pork meat. We started with a healthy beet salad with powdered goat cheese so we could go all out with the porky goodness. And we did! We saved some room for wood grilled asparagus and Mac n cheese. Topped it all off with strawberry rhubarb crisp. Not too sweet and topped with vanilla ice cream. Really hit the spot after a wonderful meal. The restaurant is super kid friendly which is nice for such a good tasting place. Can’t wait to try what the upcoming special selections will be!

I’ve been to this place a couple of times. Where do I begin? It’s a pretty space but in a mall and I think it’s just lost it’s pizzazz. I really would have been content drinking some cocktails at the bar where the service was nice and easy-​going. Once I got to dinning area is where it went down hill. Oysters are great but the food runner doesn’t tell you the different types of oysters. When the busboy was clearing the finished oyster tray it accidentally falls and oysters shells, juice, accompaniments juices went everywhere. I know things happen but I felt like being in a nice establishment I might have got an apology for oysters juice flying all over me. The octopus salad, so yummy but just one large tentacle of octopus? I was so hungry after the salad, oysters and one of their $ 5 bakery rolls so luckily the short ribs with mashed potato was substantial enough to keep me and date satisfied. The brussels sprouts with the fish sauce was probably the best thing ordered. The dessert cart. That’s a nice touch I feel like a kid again picking out my favorite sweets The coconut macaroon though a little dry. I really want to like this place, it is pretty and they’re some yummy dishes but after my last experience I have little reason to return.

Definitely not what I expected as part of a mall on the outskirts of DC. Started with a cocktail called «pillow talk» which I can only describe as omg, omg, omg. Not only pretty but so delish! My husband and I shared the pork rinds, Bronzino, Brussels sprouts and broccoli rappini… Beyond my expectations and so good. I can be a bit of a food snob, and this place did not disappoint!

I went on New Years Eve, so that should be taken into consideration, but I found the price-​to-​quality (of total experience) ratio rather poor. That is not to say the food is bad — it was generally pretty good, but it (like the service and atmosphere) lacked a certain polish that one really deserves for the prices. For example, the main course at NYE was a simple whole grilled bronzino (not bad but not hard to do), and it sat on top of a sea of bland beans. And this, like half the other choices, entailed a supplement, like a lot of items on the menu. The black pasta appetizer was pretty good, but involved another supplement. The oysters and white wine (Chenin blanc) were quite acceptable, but the champagne and dessert lackluster. My BIGGEST COMPLAINT — it is in a mall with noxious blinking neon lights from some store. Anyway, I won’t go back.

What the heck happened Range?! This was one of my favorite places, and hence the reason I came here for VDAY2016. They offered a $ 75 tasting menu for the night with four courses. You could order a la carte as well off a small menu, but there wasn’t much to speak of on there, especially since I know what they usually offer. My boyfriend and I both got the tasting menu. Now, we did have a 9pm reservation here, due to other responsibilities during the day. Yet, there was no warning of being out of anything before ordering. They were out of three different things on the tasting menu — seriously?! They didn’t even offer us a drink to make up for it anything. I ordered (1) bibb salad (I wanted the Kale Caesar originally) (2) rigatoni (I wanted the Lobster Fettucine originally) (3) Arctic Char (4) Parfait. My boyfriend ordered (1) Young Greens Salad (2) Cioppini (he wanted the Short Ribs originally) (3) Scallops (4) Chocolate Dessert. Besides them being out of three different things, the service was terribly SLOW. They even had people come out trying to give our food to another table — they had to ask US. And this was after the place was cleared out because our reservation was so late — what is the excuse then? On top of it all — the food we did get wasn’t spectacular as I had remembered. It was all just OK, nothing special. The artic char could have had crispier skin, the desserts were just boring and uninspired. The hearts of palm (the one reason it kinda sounded ok) in my bibb salad was pickled or something and didn’t even taste like hearts of palm. I’m just really sad to not like this place so much anymore.

Service is incredibly slow and the food average at best. Beautiful décor. My goat cheese pizza was too goat-​cheesy. The prix fix menu was not deep enough for my tastes. The best part of the meal was the kale Caesar salad. What does that say?
I am not going to rush back here.

We’ve dined at noon several times here and enjoyed the service, ambiance, and food. Saturday night, February 6, with reservation 6 of us had dinner. The food was mediocre for everyone: lousy, dry, and meager pork chop, awful char, so-​so pizza, and so on. Fancy but small, weak, and expensive cocktails.
But the service was TERRIBLE. Four errors (forgot the pizza, forgot the mashed potatoes, and so on). Testy waitress who bristled when we complained of anything. At the table next to us, a couple simply got up and left. After 3 hours, we had eaten and had dessert – forget the coffee by this time.
Upon exit, there was no one at the door to say good night. Never again. Restaurant week is no excuse: either you can handle it or not. Too many great places in the DC area to repeat a bad one. Caveat emptor!

Restaurant Week Review 1.30.2016
It was my first time and first location in checking out RW and at this spot it was certainly worth it. This spot is located in the building facing the intersection of Western and Wisconsin Avenue — when you enter the building it is one level up. However, if you took the metro as you exit the long escalator, take the right entrance to the plaza (through the double-​glass doors) and then go up 2 levels. I discovered this on my way out.
I went with a few friends and had made a reservation through Open Table. We got there early on a Saturday afternoon and were seated at the exact time of our reservation. Around this time, the restaurant was not crowded, but it did get that way later as the evening progressed (not packed, but certainly full).
Since we did dinner, we got the 3 course menu for $ 35 with an option to add a supplement for $ 15 extra. For my First course, I decided to get their Butternut Squash Soup (popcorn and white chocolate). I didn’t taste a popcorn flavor, but I must say that their soup was so delicious and creamy. It was the perfect temperature and it tasted really good that I wanted more. I think this was my first time eating butternut squash soup and I loved it and will probably try it at other spots too.
For the Second course, I opted to try one of their supplements on the RW menu (+$ 15) and got their Pastrami Cured Salmon (fregola, pickled mustard seed, toasted farro). I know… those extra things that was part of the dish, I had no idea what they were, but our waitress gave a very good description of each item as to why I decided to order it — can’t say that I remember what she said, but this much I will tell you… you should order it. It was very delicious… warm and cold tasting and the non-​sauce item tasted like toasted mini corn. Make sure when you try it, you have to cut a slice of the pastrami, grab some of the sauce and the little seeds/​fregola/​farro as well, in order to get the full taste… Yum!
For the Main course, I got the Pork Chop (cranberry beans, mustard greens, pickled mustard seeds). It was a bit dry for me even though it tasted good. I felt it could be a bit more juicy — not sure I would order it again.
For Dessert, I went with the Parfait (apple sorbet, sponge cake, vanilla panna cotta). The sponge cake was just bits and pieces of it… not a whole lot and the panna cotta was the size of a butter stick. It was okay, except for the apple sorbet which didn’t taste like it complemented the rest of the dish. My first choice was initially the Chocolate (vanilla sherbert, salted caramel, chocolate cremeux) and the only reason why I didn’t get it is because I am not big on chocolate. Of course both of my friends got that and after tasting theirs, I wanted to give mine back and eat theirs instead. Overall, I am glad I got a chance to enjoy RW and this restaurant as well as if it wasn’t for RW, I probably would have never made it here.

Bryan Voltaggio brings remarkable fine dining to his restaurant Range. This east meets west décor is represented in the modern teak and glass interior. The wait staff is on their toes from the moment you walk in the door. I always had water in my glass and I never used a utensil more than once. We visited Range during Restaurant Week and had a variety of options to chose from. For the first course, my friends had the butternut squash soup. They said it was rich, creamy, and delicious. I opted for the kale Caesar salad. It was light, refreshing, and the dressing was amazing. «All hale Julius Caesar! «or at least his name sake on this salad dressing.
Next, Gail ordered the pastrami salmon. Yes, you heard me correctly, and was definitely my second favorite menu item. It tasted just like a piece of pastrami and it was a healthy substitute. I have no idea how they do it, but you have to try it. I do know that they cure their meats on the premises.
For our main meal, Emma and I got the Bronzino, a whole fish served with a smear of Avocado cream, a dab of salsa relish and a side of kimchi. The fish was fresh, crispy, and well cooked. My only note, is beware of bones. There were many of them and I spent a great deal of time trying to get to the fish through a maze of bones.
Gail got the pork chop and thought it was good. But, alas the Best Part is yet to come. Dessert! Dessert! Like sweet angels trumpeting to my ears. The chocolate, caramel, and pistachio ice cream is Fabulous! Awesome! Memorable! Not to be missed, it is creamy rich chocolate flavor, served on a bed of sweet warm caramel sauce, and refreshing pistachio ice cream, that cools your tongue. It is a symphony of flavors that you do not want to end!
Thanks to Allie and the other wait staff for outstanding service. Also, to chef Jeremy, the head chef at range for great dinner service. You may need to break open your piggy bank to eat here, but it is a dining experience that you won’t soon forget.

I think range has a great amount to offer. The menu is great and I think the food is delicious. In my opinion the service was not very good and waiters were not fast to help at all. The food was also over priced.

Finally got to try Range. Been wanting to go to all of Bryan Voltaggio’s restaurants… So far two down! I came with one other person and I think we ordered way too much food.
Started with a charcuterie: pistachio garlic sausage, Grayson, and Monocacy ash cheese
Cheddar cornbread muffins– the bacon marmalade it comes with is amazing!
Half dozen Oysters
Entrees:
Mushroom wood fire pizza
Hand cut fries
Fried brussel sprouts
Everything was really good. The service was fantastic! Also the dessert cart was my favorite!

Range has been my favorite restaurant for the past few years now. I’ve had birthday dinners, casual lunches at the bar and special occasion dinners there. I’ve always loved how flavorful and creative their dishes are, and I LOVE tapas style dining. In the past I would give them 5 stars, today’s experience unfortunately, deserves two stars.
While I have always had awesome experiences at Range, others have complained to me about the service or the food which I never thought possible. Today proved otherwise (insert crying emoji). I called ahead of time to make a reservation and asked for a 4:30pm reservations, when I got my confirmation call they had me scheduled as 5:30pm (should I have seen this coming?) Every dish that was brought to our table was cold the moment it was set down. My FAVORITE kale caesar salad was now mixed with romaine lettuce and did not have the same pizzazz as it did every other time I’ve had it… and I’ve had one every single time I’ve dined with Range. The goat cheese gnocchi was great, but cold. Even the hanger steak came out cold, who wants to eat cold steak? Our pizza was essentially dough covered in tomato sauce with occasional polka dots of cheese. I may have just been butthurt my favorite dining experience was unraveling before my eyes, but even the music playing wasn’t as good as it used to be! It used to always be a mix of alternative rock, hip hop and indie, today it was one country song after the other. What happened?!
On a lighter note, the manager was great. He had everything we were unhappy with sent back to the kitchen and remade and he even brought us some extra sides to make up for it. He told us there is a new chef in the kitchen. Whoever the old chef is needs to come back ASAP! Range needs you!
— Vbites

Oh Bryan Voltaggio, what has become of you? My boyfriend won a $ 500 gift card to any of the Voltaggio restaurants so since Range was the closest we wanted to check it out first. We arrived at the Chevy Chase pavilion on a Saturday around 6. Am I stoked to be eating in a mall pavilion? Not really. Not really a sexy choice, Voltaggio. They have some sort of an awkward side entrance that is not apparent, so when we walked in, apparently we walked into the back closed entrance and they redirected us out, all the way to the side/​front entrance. Very bizarre and unnecessary if you ask me (and I know you did).
Once seated, we looked around a noticed a varied crowd; lots of kids running around peppered with some senior citizens and lots of folks casually dressed. The waitstaff is dressed in some sort of denim/​country cowpoke look. What am I missing here? THIS is supposed to be a nice restaurant? I don’t understand the theme. Eventually the place picked up around 730pm, a more mature, dressed up crowd. Thank you.
Our waiter eventually came out, friendly enough, a little awkward and not very forthcoming with questions we would ask. They have a strong cocktail game, I will say that. We ordered a cheese & charcuterie board. I specifically asked for feedback on my choices and our server confirmed everything was great. One of the charcuterie choices was an item called lardo and upon my quick Google search I saw the word «salami» and thought it would be a great choice. What came out was possibly one of the most vile, disgusting things I have ever tasted in my life. And I don’t like talking about food like that, but it literally tasted like a spoonful of Crisco. Why is this on the menu, Voltaggio?! More importantly, why wouldn’t our server advise against it when we were asking for feedback! She saw we didn’t finish it and she asks, «not a fan?» and we told her no and she said, «yeah most people aren’t». So why didn’t you tell us that?! Big waste.
I ordered the hanger steak and my bf ordered the NY strip, so we decided to get a bottle of red. The sommelier who came out was excellent and accessible, not pretentious at all, and led us to a complex but smooth red to accommodate both of our differing palettes. 5 stars to the excellent wine team here. We also ordered sides of the mashed potatoes for my bf (yawn) and Brussels, which were great and sautéed in a delicious sauce. Our steaks on the other hand were another story. I’m not quite sure how to describe them. I don’t know who Voltaggio puts in charge of selecting what farm to get their meat from, but that person must be fired. The steaks were practically inedible, as you cut into them, they had like a meat wall in each bite. Chewy. Artificial tasting. My bf’s NY strip had a VEIN in it! For $ 40…A VEIN! The sauce mine was in was incredible, but the steaks were a disaster. It’s almost like there are 2 different people in charge of sauces/​sides and another one in charge of meat selection. I’ve never consumed a more terrible steak.
I have read that Range hired a new head chef the week we left. I also know that Voltaggio is opening up ANOTHER restaurant in National Harbor, making that his 6^th restaurant. It would seem to be there is some major brand saturation happening here. I think he needs to focus less on his celebrity and more on who he is putting in charge of his restaurants. What a shame. This isn’t a careless review, I made sure to put thought into the overall rating, but sadly, it is a 2 star restaurant. Maybe Volt will be a better experience for us.

I’m not sure where the low reviews come from — we had a wonderful experience. We sat at the chefs bar — great spot to check out the action of the wood fired grill and the raw bar prep.
We were greeted warmly and offered a complimentary wood grilled oyster that was out of this world tasty. So good we ordered a round for an appetizer. Our salads were fresh and delicious — gorgeous presentation on the beets.
I had the hangar steak and my husband had the mushroom white pizza — both tasty and satisfying out of the wood grill.
An unexpected star was the brussel sprouts with fish sauce and crispy lime zest. Tart and tangy and just perfectly roasted. Mmmmm.
I will definitely be back when I’m up in this area.

Awkward! Food 4, service 1 – 2, atmosphere 1 – 2, wine list 4. The manager saved this rating by his attentiveness, but restaurant needs some help with seating and service. First, ditch the benches. They don’t work, too far from tables, hard to eat from position and tables too big. We watched with amusement all the people that sat down and then asked to be moved. Servers are very pleasant, but food service is out of sync. Got bread for apps after all gone with main courses and got main course while still eating apps. Lady serving desert had blue hermetic glove on, STRANGE.
summary… Food and wine nice… Rest I hope they can work it out.

Fried bussel sprouts too salty good texture
Kale caesar great but too much dressing
Oyster and shiitake mushroom excellent texture and temperature but too salty and overkill on buttery
Cheddar jalapeño biscuit with jam very good
Fried potato with lemon basically fries too salty
Pizza with mozzarella and basil bland needed garlic or spices in the tomato base or topping
Kimchi linguini extremely salty dont taste kimchi and scallop was brined in salt
Overall: Not worth the money will not go back. Worth two out of five stars With a C–

Bottom Line: Blahhhh. As fans of the Volt bros I’ve returned to Range several times hoping to be impressed but instead I’ve repeatedly been let down. Given the space and the absurd number of employees I feel like a puzzle piece every time I visit. I typically don’t have a hard time trying to figure out what I want to eat but Range routinely makes me scratch my head and question why I came back.
Pros: Honestly, the best thing Range has to offer is service. The staff is seriously awesome — attentive, friendly, and very accommodating. That’s where all awesomeness stops.
Cons: The menu changes too frequently as others have said. Regardless of the changes it’s always too eclectic and expensive given the portions and quality. Take lunch for example. I don’t know anyone in DC who wants pates, sausage, and/​or cheese for lunch, especially high rolling clients I used to consider taking there (I realized Texas moguls don’t exactly want a cauliflower steak sandwich!) That leaves you with very few options consisting of sandwiches, pizza and like 2 pastas. Great cheese tasting option but at $ 19 for lunch it’s simply too much to pay for scrap sized cheese you’re presumably sharing with others.
Pizza: Lunch pizza prices range (ha! pun intended!) from $ 14-​$ 17 which is absurd. I’m the queen of DMV pizza and know there are so many better deals out there when it comes to pizza lunch specials. Nor do they have (for lunch and dinner) the option of creating your own pizzas. You’re stuck with their 5 – 6 options at a ridiculous price.
My advice to Bryan: stick to what you know and what made you a success in the first place. When the chef eggs are in too many baskets you’re spread too thin and quickly forget your longtime dedicated customers who loved your food even before you were on tv. Sadly, after several visits, I feel Range demonstrates this lesson perfectly in my opinion.

Cyndy’s Bottom Line: Lost its soul.
The wine list would entice us back even when the food didn’t.
We had wonderful service from Ali.
But the wine list will not do it this time.

I’ll give it to ya straight– I was at this place twice in less than 5 days for one reason only– the milk and cookies. It sounds simple but that milk was like ecstasy in a cup. I was expecting normal milk but this milk was cool, refreshing and had some sweet/​thick textured combination all in one gulp. To add to the, like the perfect compliment, the cookies were warm. The chocolate chips were literally melting with each bite. I also order some chocolate ball on stick that was carted in front of me several times. I didn’t know what it was, but it’s a rice crispy treat covered in chocolate. Trust me it’s like no other rice crispy treat I ever had. I ate it at home the next day after my first trip and man it was the perfect end to my day. And… I am not a dessert person.
Sooo the desserts are hit but onto the rest of the experience. The venue is very cute. It was perfect for my friend’s birthday dinner. The service was very good and attentive.
The food there’s some stunners and some side liners. The cornbread with the bacon marmalade– the BOMB! Those bits of bacon are juicy, flavorful, melt in your mouth the way a pig should good! The brussel sprouts are some of the best I’ve had. The goat cheese ravioli– meh it’s a side liner. It let me down because everything was so good BUT then came the desserts and I was happier than a pig in poo.
I definitely recommend going– even if its only for dessert.

The Volt brothers are all the range, so when a friend recommended checking out Range, I was super excited. Unfortunately, the food left me underwhelmed …
The Good — The hanger steak with swiss chard and chimichurri was delicious. My friend ordered this and I found myself reaching for tastes multiple times (sorry boo!). She asked for it medium rare, and it was actually delivered as such. Other favorites were the fried brussel sprouts (the rave reviews exist for a reason), and the salmon tartare (fresh & melts in your mouth — just like it should).
The BEST part of the meal, however, was dessert — I don’t care if you’re on a diet, hate chocolate (blasphemy), or have some other excuse — you *have* to try the smores! The dark chocolate exterior covers an addictive housemade rice krispies like interior. There aren’t enough words to describe it — just get it, and thank me later — preferably by getting me a few of these to go. it was so good that we didn’t even remember to take pictures … oops.
I also have to give a shout out to our server — she was knowledgeable, full of recommendations, always attentive, but never hovering — A+ in my book.
The Bad — My market cod w/​capers & brown butter read like it would be delicious, and even looked the part, but sadly was anything but — I couldn’t even finish my portion. The fish was just flavorless, and the various components of the dish did not work together either.
Also, parking is a pain in Chevy Chase. I was lucky enough to get a spot outside this time, but this not the norm. There is a garage if you feel like shelling out the case, as well as valet options however.
The Ugly — Range is located within the mall. you will NOT see it from the street. Then, if you’re like me, you’ll wander along the street for a bit, and you’ll even try calling the restaurant for directions only to be put on hold 6 (yes, six) times by their call center. Why are we using a call center? When the call center finally transferred me to the restaurant, it went to voicemail. Can you imagine the pain this would be if you needed to amend or cancel a reservation? Psh — ain’t nobody got time for that. Also, this mall location means that while you’re in this trendy restaurant, enjoying your foodie self, your view will be of flashing ads and the bright lights of H&M — meh.
Overall, I probably won’t be back to Range… that is unless I’m in the area, and have a hankering for their desserts.

Delicious lunch. Had several of the small plates including pizza and desserts. The pizza and gnocchi were both standouts but the dessert was UHHH-​MAZZZ-​ING!!! See the pictures I posted if you have any doubt because everything tastes better than it looks in the pictures!
The service was outstanding and the staff took care of everything we asked for.

(3.5 stars)
I went to The Range during DC Restaurant Week expecting amazing things, and I left satisfied but unimpressed.
Pros
— Very simple, clean, modern and open design
— Open kitchen
— Can probably accommodate large parties
— Nice staff
— Convenient location; Close to the metro
— Simple and easy-​to-​read menu
Cons
— For the price and service, the food was underwhelming
What I got
— First course: kale caesar; second course: blackened hake sandwich; third course: chocolate (Total price $ 20.15)
— My friend got first course: heirloom beets; second course: hanger steak; third course: lemoncili (Total price $ 20.15)
What I thought
This was my first Restaurant Week experience, and I’ve heard stories of the fantastic deals all over town. I settled on lunch at The Range because of two reasons: 1) I was making last-​minute reservations and the other restaurants I’ve been hoping to try were booked for a Saturday 2pm lunch and 2) This place has decent reviews on Unilocal.
I had high expectations for The Range. It’s a well-​known restaurant in the busy Friendship Heights area. Walking in, I immediately felt fancy — the sleek décor, the open kitchen with the chefs in all white, the nice service. We sat in an area close to the kitchen in a 2-​person table. The tables felt a bit close to each other; I could hear very clearly the other 2-​person tables’ conversations. The tables were oddly long as well, so you had to speak loudly.
First course: The kale caesar was excellent. Plenty of nicely grated Parmesan cheese and crunchy greens to start my meal. My friend raved about his heirloom beets. Again, plenty of cheese and a fun pistachio vinaigrette.
Second course: The blackened hake sandwich was very tall. I couldn’t get a decent bite of the entire sandwich, so I chucked off the top bun while eating. Bland, no flavor. My friend’s shared the similar thoughts with the hanger steak. The sides (eggs and potatoes) were tasty, but the steak was fatty and «tasted cheap».
Third course: My chocolate dish was especially nice after a bland second course. Four pieces of caramel popcorn, a piece of smooth truffle-​like chocolate, and vanilla ice cream! The only negative thing about this was that the crumble had bacon bits, which they don’t write on the menu. I don’t eat bacon, and they quickly swapped it out for graham cracker. The «lemoncili» course came with a lemon pound cake with poppy seeds and fruit loop ice cream that tasted JUST like fruit loops. The lemon cake was too dense for our liking, but the ice cream was awesome.
The food was good but not fantastic. I would not come here on a normal week. The prices are too high for the quality of food.

I have to say I was thoroughly impressed with this restaurant. I participated in a restaurant week brunch, for which I ordered the butternut squash soup, the hanger steak, and the chocolate dessert. Before having those though, we ordered some focaccia bread and it was delicious, especially when topped with the accompanying olive oil/​garlic mixture. Sadly it’s not complimentary, but it’s still worth getting.
I couldn’t have been more pleased with the butternut squash soup. It was elegant in its components and its presentation, and the taste was incredibly unique. It was noticeably better than the one I experienced at 1789 a few days prior, not that theirs wasn’t good (it was), just this one had more character and was particularly more memorable. I mean, popcorn foam, white chocolate, and spiced cocoa, seriously?
The hanger steak and eggs was pretty much perfect. The steak was a nice cut of meat, the eggs were freshly prepared, the potatoes were lightly seasoned, the mushrooms weren’t overbearing, and the chimichurri sauce was incredibly tasty yet subtle enough to allow all of the items on the dish to come together smoothly. Combining some steak, egg, potato, and mushroom into a single bite with some chimichurri sauce to top it off was phenomenal.
The dessert had a nice presentation and was very good, but nothing too spectacular. It was pretty much a milk chocolate mold with some ice cream and caramel on the side. It was still enjoyable, just not as much as the the two courses before it.
Overall, a noteworthy restaurant week experience at a restaurant I wish I had discovered sooner.

My roommate and I visited Range for Restaurant Week last week and enjoyed our experience. Overall, I thought the place was very nice — it’s classy and perfectly situated in a shopping center (the Pavilion) in Friendship Heights. It’s also conveniently located just a couple blocks from the Friendship Heights metro station. My biggest qualm is that the restaurant is set up in such a way that its large glass windows overlook the shopping center (H&M and a few other stores) and the hotel located in the shopping center and this takes away from its overall chic atmosphere. Oh, and another qualm of mine was that their bathroom stalls (more like rooms, since it was a full door) were PITCH BLACK. Was there a light switch in there that I did not see? It was a scary experience. One not worth repeating.
But other than that, I liked the place — good service and good food.
The Restaurant Week menu was nice and you get a good variety to choose from. I personally chose:
–Appetizer: Salmon Tartare (yuzu, nori, sesame). This was delicious and more filling than it looks.
–Entrée: Salmon (with parisienne gnocchi, chanterelle, passion fruit). Not a generous portion of salmon — just a 5oz filet, but still tasty and more filling than it looks. My roommate ordered the Hanger Steak (smoked grits, swiss chard, chimichurri) and also really liked this option.
–Dessert: Lemon poundcake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. This was very delicious and filling, albeit slightly on the dry side.
I enjoyed the food and service overall and would certainly visit again for a casual-​ish occasion. Not the classiest décor ever (and not very intimate because of the fact you can oversee the shopping center and everyone can see inside and look at you), but the food was tasty and service was friendly and helpful.

I’ve had this restaurant bookmarked for quite some time so when my friend invited me to meet her, I was all in. Admittedly, my expectations were high after all, it’s Bryan Voltaggio. This Top Chef is a fellow Marylander (born & bred) so it had to be good! Range is a huge (accommodating 500 guests) meat-​centric restaurant that features an open kitchen and open design of the dining areas. It’s perfect for large and small gatherings. The light colored furniture adds to the spacious feel and there are contemporary yet simple accents throughout. The front attendants were friendly and professional.
We ordered wine and promptly ordered the iron skillet cornbread with bacon marmalade. It lacked flavor and was not particularly moist. I envisioned the bacon marmalade being more of a spread with bacon in it. Instead the marmalade was dry, just tiny balls of sweet bacon. It didn’t do much to enhance the cornbread. Next, I ordered their margherita pizza and crispy Brussels sprouts. The pizza’s crust was crispy and I could taste all the fresh ingredients used to make it. However, I fell in love with the sprouts! They were so delicious.
I found the dining experience comfortable, service was solid, and the noise level was perfect for catching up with girlfriends or date night. I’m looking forward to exploring more menu items. We had to get assistance while trying to exit the restaurant (thanks to that modern glass door) in order to check out Voltaggio’s Civil Cigar Lounge.

This visit was a solid 3.5 stars, but I’m ready to go back and taste more!!!
Range is located on the upper level of the Chevy Chase Pavillion mall. The restaurant is kinda modern but simple at the same time… and the food and drinks follow that same theme… modern yet simple, but don’t let the word «simple» confuse you. The food is very flavorful and well thought out.
We started off with the cornbread with the bacon marmalade. After hearing so much about the bacon marmalade, my expectations were high. However, I was a bit disappointed. The cornbread was a bit dry and boring and the marmalade didn’t add much flavor either. Surprising considering I think bacon is the super meat and makes everything taste better.
Next up was the spinach, pear, bleu cheese, and pecan salad. This was a hit. This mix was very familiar, but still delish.
For my entrée, I went with the hangar steak, grits, swiss chard, and chimichurri. Normally, I’m not a huge swiss chard fan, but this was awesome. Whether you took a bite of any of those elements separately or all on one fork full, you would love it all. Separately delicious, together each complimented the other.
All of the staff was very friendly and knowledgeable, offering great recommendations. The sommalier offered great wine options without breaking the bank.
Bryan Voltaggio’s new restaurant Aggio is located inside Range. I definitely want to go back and give it a go.
Another think to point out is Range is right next door to Civil Cigar Bar… also owned by Voltaggio. So, you can get a full night of good food, good wine, and a good cigar without leaving Chevy Chase Pavillion.