The Reserve

Sad to see that this place was closed. Went here for a birthday gathering. The bouncers and coat check girls were beyond friendly and won me over immediately. Music was good, overall pleasant experience.

I’ve walked by this place many times. Everything about it screamed that they take themselves way too seriously. Then foodgal saw a Living Social certificate, so we decided that this was our opportunity to see for ourselves — on principle I would never agree to their non-​discounted price points.
So yesterday was finally the day. I went to the web site…“Under Construction” and only an email address… no phone number. I googled them and called the number listed by google (202−628−8900) and the message said this number no longer taking calls. Walked over there at 8 pm and it was closed. No sign.
Today I found a different number on the Living Social certificate. Called it and at least got a voicemail message saying it was The Reserve. Didn’t leave a message.
Are they closed for good? I will change the star rating if they are ever open again and the place merits more than one star.
Hope we can get our money back from Living Social.

I thought the food was really over priced for how forgettable it was. Maybe it’s more fun as a club/​bar later in the night but i’d pass on the dinner.

the décor was lovely, the food smelled great, and the drink specials were awesome.
the crowd was way too loud and apparently reservations are required to dine here… that was a sad surprise. so we had some drinks here and dined elsewhere

I’d been to The Reserve on a number of occasions for parties and special events. This time I went to use my What’s the Deal voucher for dinner with a friend.
We arrived for our 7:30 reservation around 7:10, and went to the upstairs bar while we waited. We came back downstairs to find there was only one «table» available which was really a sagging couch and an Ikea table. My friend and I ordered a salad and 4 tapas. I was a little concerned because our waitress didn’t write anything down and had to clarify what we ordered twice.
We ended up getting the greens salad for starters, it was ok. It was basically a garden salad with a bunch of green beans on it. Next our waitress brought out the Shrimp on garlic sauce (why it’s not called shrimp in or and garlic sauce is beyond me) and the taquena w/​guacamole. Both of those were very good and I’d highly recommend them. After that we had the chicken sliders and a side of fries. The chicken was pretty bland but the sauce and pineapple salsa saved it, the fries were crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside just the way I like them.
After that course we just sat and waited for our final course the shrimp penne pasta (which is apparently one of their signature dishes) and is larger than your traditional tapa. While we waited, the other waitress working on the main level finally brought out the water we’d asked our waitress for since before we’d even ordered our meal. The other waitress took up our plates and asked us how was everything. I told her good but we still had another course.
Finally our waitress came back and was like oh you have something else? I politely said yes and reminded her about the shrimp penne pasta with no mushrooms (the dish I had to repeat twice to make sure she didn’t put mushrooms on). Needless to say, she’d forgotten to put in the order but blamed it on being delivered to another table, yeah ok. I said whatever and that I’d just take it to go.
Overall, The Reserve has a nice vibe to it. The food is pretty good. If our waitress wasn’t so scatterbrained the rating would have been a solid 4 stars.
Honestly, I doubt I’ll be going back anytime soon, unless it’s for drinks and more of those tasty taquenas.

Please, I mean PLEASE do not waste your time coming to this waste of space. I will admit that the promoters do SUCH a good job of promoting this place; I swear everyone I know seems to be promoting for this place, that’s why I actually thought it would be good… boy was I wrong…
The number one thing I noticed about this club was the lack of signage, that means that you have probably walked past this place and not have even noticed, who does that!!!
Next, the music and the crowd are horrendous. The music is just terrible, I swear they were playing like 90s bachata music and there was nothing but tacky-​dressed latinos/​latinas down there dancing. The upstairs part isn’t much better although they play hip-​hop music. The drinks looked weak and it looked like there were a whole bunch of Park-​rejects there who looked like they bought their dresses from Rainbow.
Trust me, if you come to this place, you WILL be disappointed, no matter how many of your promoter friends on FB try to get you to go. No me gusta!

I came here with some coworkers earlier this week for a quick drink.
It was completely empty when we arrived, and there were a fw people sitting at the bar. Given it was 5:30pm, and most likely this place is more popular after 9pm for the dancing rather than the dining.
Still, we managed to have a decent glass of red wine– and even got a nice cheese platter on the house.
Still three stars, though.

Minimum Age: 21+?
Cost: $ 20
Crowd: African American, 20’s-30’s
Dress Code: Fashionable
Music: Hip-​hop, R&B
Date Attended: 09÷18÷10, Saturday
The venue offers valet service for those that are looking for the convenience of not having to find their own parking, which is hard to find around this area. We drove around for a good while (20 – 30 minutes), always missing a spot by 2 seconds, but were eventually able to find one.
Fortunately we were here for a birthday party so didn’t have to pay a cover. There are 3 floors here with the top one reserved for the party. Security checkpoint wasn’t the greatest as I noticed random people coming up to the party.
The place gets pretty packed as it’s not that big of a place. Second floor was ridiculously crowded.
Drink prices are typical of DC. A shot was $ 12 each and a redbull vodka $ 14.
Pros: Nothing really stood out to me.
Cons: Typical DC drink prices.

The manager was zipping around like a crazy man with his cell phone attached to his face. He pumped into me and my friends several times and never said excuse me. Yes, it was a crowded happy hour sponsored by WTD. Yes, they were giving out free drinks for an hour and it was very VERY crowded; BUT to run out of glasses, stat 20 min late but still end «on time», and only have one waitress working for half of that time… unacceptable. My friends and I grabbed one more drink after the crowd died down to test teh ambiance and cocktail skills (paying for this drink) and were shocked by the price and lack of skills in the cocktails. The outside lounge area in front of the restaurant was cramped and on a busy street making it not so «swank»! We decided not to stay for snacks!
For it’s location (middle of no where), lack of organization and price… I will not be returning!

I just finished paying $ 7 for a bottle of Coors Light during Lunch. The cheeseburger was $ 11, but the $ 7 bottle of Coors Light during Lunch threw me off.
The bartender was really cool, which is the sole reason why this place even gets two stars, but $ 7 bottle of Coors Light during lunch? Seriously? It looks like this is a lounge-​like type of place where you go to hit on women with ugly feet, but not a place to pay $ 7 for a bottle of Coors Light during lunch.
The only reason I think I’ll be back is because they participate in the Rewards Network.

I went to the reserve last night as a part of an event that was sponsored by WTD. Open bar from 6−7pm. Can you mess that up? Apparently, so.
The event started 15ish minutes late and a crowd of 70ish people were getting served by 1 bartender for the first 15 minutes.
Really???
To top things off, open bar closed EXACTLY at 7PM. Now isn’t that unfair considering that they started at 6:15pm…
Aight it was free… but for a venue like this and poor planning like this I cannot imagine what it would feel like to pay for bottled service at this place.
To get 2 stars from a reviewer after giving free drinks just about sums up everything about this place.

NEVER, EVER GO HERE FOR BOTTLE SERVICE!
I went here, sight unseen for my birthday on Saturday because I heard it was the new hot spot. I had some extra money, so I wanted to get a table since it was my birthday and I wanted someplace that I could dance and have a good time with my friends.
I arrive and they have no record of a conversation I had with the owner requesting a table. Nor did anyone bother to check the follow up email I sent as a confirmation. The owner has to be called over and verifies that he did in fact speak with me and I have on table on a the second floor.
The owner personally walked me up to the second floor before it was open and I was underwhelmed. On the phone he told me I could have 10 people at my table so I assumed the furniture could accommodate that; boy was I wrong. I was seated in a mangled leather love seat with a huge gash in the back and black tape covering half of it. Not nearly enough room for the the 10 guests I invited!
Since half of my group was not drinking for one reason or another, I wasn’t sure if I could meet the $ 700 minimum which I told the owner on the phone. He assured me that if I used over $ 500 that I could pay the rest in gratuity. That story changed when I got there, I had to spend the whole $ 700. I paid $ 700 plus the mandatory 20% gratuity for a total of $ 840.
I guess all of this would have been ok if the bottle service offered any service at all. I got a bottle of warm Ciroc Red Berry which I had to open myself, and pore myself. When I ordered another bottle of Red Berry I was told they didn’t have anymore. WTF? I just paid you $ 840 and you don’t even have the liquor that I want in stock? So basically I was forced into drink Ciroc Coco. The waitress haphazardly brought my bottle of Moet Rose over to me shaking it so much, the cork exploded as soon as I took off the cap. It almost hit my friend!
Then the waitress proceeded to dance in front of the fan intended to cool of my section. She didn’t do her job at all… I had to request more cup, more champagne glasses, water, lemons, limes, Red Bull, Juices. All the stuff that comes with a table and bottle service. I had to request more ice, because it was SO HOT, the ice turned to water every hour. There ended up being water on the floor from constantly taking the bottles in and out of the water. When I asked the waitress to get someone to clean it up she responded by saying «It’s not my fault», no it is not your fault it is your job! I ended up slipping on the water and cutting my thumb and scraping my head. What a birthday!
To top it off, I couldn’t even request my favorite song! It was the entire theme around my birthday look. But after speaking with the waitress, the manager, and the promoter not one person could even put in damn song request for me!
They will never have to worry about me spending another penny in is crapper of an establishment. The lackluster décor could have been easily made up in a high level of service but just was not. Perhaps if I was a regular party goer, I could have had a good time but for the amount of money I paid, I’m highly upset in hindsight. Pissed off actually.
I did dance my ass off and got drunk out of my mind. But I could have done that for $ 40, even $ 140 and not $ 840.

Its disappointing when a restaurant is trying to do too much and can’t seem to get it together. Today, my co-​workers and I went to lunch at The Reserve near McPherson Square. We chose this place because we wanted a sit down lunch that wasn’t going to cost us more than $ 15 or so. The Reserve had a pretty good lunch menu with sandwiches and salads costing from $ 8 to $ 15.
Once we entered the restaurant, I knew this was not going to be a relaxing lunch. The restaurant is dim, there were lounge couches and tables pushed to the side, there were two big screen TVs that had ESPN playing, and the music was techno music that was turned up too loud. This is not the kind of lunch atmosphere I was looking for. My understanding is that the restaurant turns into a club at night. The décor makes sense for a club, not lunch.
Strangely enough, the food was pretty good. This review gets a star for food and a star for a nice waiter (even though he wasn’t that great at making sure our drinks were full.) I had the prosciutto, mozzarella, tomato, and pesto panini. The bread was tasty and not too greasy (as most paninis are), the mozzerella was fresh tasting, the sandwich as a whole was satisfying. The french fries that accompanied the sandwich were also pretty good. All of this for $ 9. Not bad for a sit down restaurant if only the restaurant created the right lunch mood.
Here are a couple of observations that I would suggest to the restaurant:
1. Only have an open kitchen if the kitchen is clean and organized and your wait staff actually look like real cooks or chefs. Nothing is more unappetizing than seeing plain clothed people cook in an unorganized kitchen.
2. The hostess should not be serving drinks if she doesn’t know what she is doing. A pretty girl in a short black dress doesn’t do anything for a lunch crowd if she is fumbling around with full glasses of water. Also, anyone who works in a restaurant shouldn’t have hair long enough to dip into the food and drinks when they are carrying them to our table.
3. People need to be able to see their food. From my understanding, the Reserve turns into a club at night. Thats fine but if you are serving a lunch menu, some simple steps will make the experience a lot better. Turn up the lights and change your dark red table cloths to white table cloths. This will lighten up the restaurant and make eating there more appealing.
4. The music needs to be turned down and should be relaxing during the day. Again, a lunch crowd is much different then a clubbing night crowd. Plus, the restaurant is surrounded by businesses that are looking for a good lunch place to talk business. They can’t talk over thumping techno music.
5. TVs in the dining room make restaurants look tacky.
6. If there is a hostess table outside, someone should be there. If its too hot for someone to be outside, bring the table in.
The consensus of the lunch party was that we liked the food but the atmosphere was so unappealing that we would never go back to eat there again. I think this restaurant has the potential to be a great lunch and dinner spot if they can get their act together.

Helloooo… (Echo echo)
Anyone in here??? (echo echo)
Hmmm… better go somewhere else.
That was basically my experience for friday night. I know for a fact that on saturday people come here but on friday nights this spot is just not happening. I think they need a better promoter or something. There were literally 5 – 7 people in here when i was here. I stayed for an hour or so waiting to see if people would be come and gave up and left (at 11:30 — 11:45ish).
Positives was that the music wasnt bad and the staff was friendly. People were dressed nicely and before I arrived i saw a large group of people leave who were dressed smartly in slacks and the like. Inside is relatively attractive if not a bit dark with all the wood.
My recommendation would be if you plan on coming on friday, you should probably stick to the happy hour/​dinner which seemed like it had more people.

We decided to drop in on a Friday night.
The tapas were pretty decent… supposedly «international». We tried the sliders, the pasta, and the salmon. If you are a wine drinker, you won’t be overly impressed by the selection, but it will do. Small selection… but a good variety. I think it was about $ 10/​glass.
There were tables outside, so we decided to sit outside and enjoy the weather… and people watch too ;). But we moved inside later. There were three floors, bars on bottom and top floor… nice flat screen tvs… but it was small, small, small.
Dress code: upscale trendy. Guys wore slacks and nice shirts, some in suits… others in dressy jeans. Ladies wore mostly dresses, tights, skirts– very few in dressy jeans.
It was our first time, so we didn’t have high expectations. However… we got seated at a dirty table. It took 15 mins to get the menu. We needed an extra chair for another one of our guests… we had to get it ourselves. After we ordered, it took at least 20 mins. to get our food… (KIM these are tapas) THEN he didn’t bring silverware or napkins? One of my friends got tired of waiting, so she went inside to get the silverware herself. I could go on. The service was bad or either they didn’t have enough service staff… idk?
To me everyone working there seemed friendly… but then again we came out on a charity night raising money for ??(I forgot the name of the organization). So of course they had some peachy reps from their organization collecting cover at the door…
OH. And to top it off, as another reviewer mentioned, we got a ticket on L Street too… the parking rules change by the block. So READ the sign/​meter… then DOUBLE CHECK… then CHECK AGAIN for good measure.
We MIGHT try this place again on a weekday… but not deserving of our Friday or Sat night again.

LT and I went to The Reserve on a Thursday evening for an event that didn’t happen (Confused? So were we.), but I’m glad I finally got a chance to pop in. It’s fairly typical of a pretentious bar in a historic-​ish building, with hardwood floors, smooth wood bar, exposed brick walls (if I’m remembering correctly), and sexy confusing bathroom sinks that are more form than function and great conversation starters.
The happy hour specials were not shabby at all: $ 5 house red and white, in addition to rails and a few good foreign imports (eg, Amstel, Heinny, and Dos Equis). And they were playing VH1 Soul on the second floor, so I got to watch some of the most phenomenal music videos of my childhood, sending memories of elementary school rushing back, singing «Sweetest thing I’ve ever known…», and realizing that even in my adult years, I still don’t quite get Tupac, may he rest in peace.
Anyhoo, the crowd was sparse while we were there, so I couldn’t take much note of the patronage. But the few who were there were pretty sexy, including a Desiree Rogers doppleganger whose number I considered collecting for a friend (because I care). The bartender was Moroccan, quite nice to look at with that olive skin and dark, lush hair (Do they condition? Gorgeous hair, I tell ya! Gorgeous!)
Overall, I quite liked it a lot. I can see it getting crowded on weekends, though, since the space isn’t that big. But I still liked it quite a lot.

Although my visits to The Reserve have been few and my experience has be limited to a few glasses of wine on the second floor, I dig it. Not in the slap your grandma silly kind of way, but just enough to come back to experience more.
At my first visit, I was impressed with the bartender’s attentive nature and some of the wine specials. It was a warm and cozy and the perfect environment to quietly catch up with an old friend.
With my second visit, I was delighted that the young woman in the front was willing to help me find the person that I was looking for upon arrival to The Reserve. She really went out of her way to look out for me and that was much appreciated.
With three floors total, I’m sure this place can get pretty hectic when it transforms into a late night destination. Once I come back for a little food I will be a better judge of just what The Reserve has to offer.

I don’t know if I came here on an off night but the average clientele seemed to be 21, from new jersey and in a forever 21 cocktail dress. Lots of screaming, lots of sweat, pretty much my idea of hell. It’s to bad because it seemed like this place had potential, I think the wrong crowd just took it over to fast.
I didn’t even stay for a drink. Yikes.

so I walked in and thought… EH, it’s alright.
I came here for a friend’s bday upstairs… it was PACKED and I couldn’t breathe for a good while! The DJ definitely had A.D.D. b/​c any time I would be happy about a song I liked being on (which was often here) it would change after 2 seconds!!! grrrr so frustrating! Other than that, the drinks were strong and the prices are typical to D.C. OH! and the bouncers here are extremely nice! There was no cover, he let my friend and I go downstairs and outside and let me come back in even though he was telling everyone that you couldn’t leave upstairs to come down and re-​enter after… so…
3 hours of dancing, 7 jack&cokes, 4 caucasion guys dancing and smacking each others asses and yet sticking their tongues down girls’ throats and taking off their shirts like it is a strip club later, I decided, hey this place isn’t so bad…

I almost walked by this place when I was looking for it, yet I don’t know why, because once I did lay eyes on it, it’s quickly apparent that The Reserve sticks out like a sore thumb. And if you’re not careful with your own thumb, you may get a couple of splinters, because the great majority of the available surface area of this lounge is practically covered in wood. But I thought it was well done. Dare I say classy?
I came here for one of them there networking ee-​vents. The space is, in realtor-​speak, cozy. The servers were challenged by this coziness, as they had a pretty difficult time navigating the happy hour crowd with their hors d’oeuvres, which were mediocre like the scent of a rose out of season. Know what I mean?