Takeateasy

I have to leave a review for such amazing service we received last night at this place. We walked in just after midnight on a Saturday and was kindly greeted and sat down. The late night menu is awesome, though there is not much of a light option (but who wants something light at midnight after drinking anyway?) our server was amazing. Completely attentive, did not rush us, and very patient (as I’m sure we were pretty obnoxious at some points). The food was awesome. Overall, an great experience, thanks again guys for hitting the spot. Will come back!

Kitchen is open until 5 am. There’s 4 stars right there.
The food is good, happy hour lasts until 10 (at least today) and they totally accommodate you if you want to bring a group for something after work.
There are real humans running a bar like real people would run a bar. They deserve your business IMO.

This place is a choke show…
Literally the first time Unilocal has let me down and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s because the ratings are inflated by friends of the mobsters running the place. These guys just kept popping out of trap doors all over the place. Here’s a little summary:
— warm welcome = list of what wasn’t currently available, amounting to about half the menu
— glass of wine = filthy glass
— catch a game on the tv = hold up, I think one of the non-​patron mobsters was watching this
— meatball sandwich (one of the only things actually available) = tasted like a Hot Pocket
Not sure if it was an off night or this place truly is a joke. Either way I wouldn’t take the chance.

We went here after the clubs closed onSaturday– open til 5am! The food was amazing– I had a Reuben that was so tender and sour like it should be and my bf got the chivito, which was like a gourmet cheese steak kinda thing (I’m not a cheese steak connoisseur, so don’t get yr knickers in a twist if that’s not 100% accurate)
Would gladly make this the after party on a regular basis!

I called at 10:15 Friday night, 10÷05÷13, for a reservation Saturday night before a show at the Lisner. «We look forward to serving you and really hope you enjoy our restaurant.» Couldn’t have been nicer. We arrived for dinner on Saturday to find the door locked, the restaurant dark, and the chairs upside down on the tables. Anyone know what happened?
Thank God Rumors was right around the corner. Had a great meal there instead.

Takeateasy is one of those restaurants I’ve seen grow in the past few months. The two brothers who opened this tiny downtown DC restaurant have an different view when it comes to South American cuisine. When they initially opened up, I heard about how these guys started this restaurant from scratch.
When you’re in the hospitality industry, somehow you always know about other places and you always end up knowing someone who knows the owner or the Chef. Months ago, I was introduced to these two brothers via a friend who kept talking about Takeateasy all the time so finally I decided to try out this place. At first when you walk in, you’ll notice that’s its kind of dark, and there’s no hostess, so it’s important that you walk all the way inside so they can notice you! I usually sit at the bar. It gives me an opportunity to be little social with the bartenders!
The drinks are amazing and the food is top notch. But the one thing that has stood out to me, was the Calamari. It’s the best calamari in town. And believe me when I say it’s the best. So tender, so soft and literally it melts in your mouth. The dipping sauce? Ketchup and mayonnaise mixed together and that’s it! Simple but delicious. The breading that’s used for the calamari, is made from beer batter, which for some crazy reason it goes so well with the ketchup and mayonnaise sauce. Takeateasy offers a variety of options on their menu, such as tapas, sandwiches and entrees which I’ve tried them all. They’re all good but I’ve had better. On Fridays and Saturdays, they are open till late hours of the night and close around 3am!
Be sure to check out takeateasy while you’re in the downtown area. It’s definitely worth the visit!

Not sure how this place has 4 stars!
Service was horrible. We got in at around 7:30 on a Monday night, with no other patrons inside. Our waiter was watching a soccer game at the bar and reluctantly got up after we asked him where we should sit. Throughout the dinner he was very inattentive.
Menu and happy hour specials were really confusing. For example, during happy hour, tapas are $ 5… but when we asked to make sure, the waiter told us that a few of them were still regular price (shouldn’t there be a note on the menu?). We wanted to order sangria, and we saw that on Tuesdays, the drink special was Sangria for $ 5. No mention of the normal price. Guess what? On Mondays sangria is also $ 5.
We had planned to have dinner there, but after the poor service and confusing menu we decided to just order a drink, the falafel and the ham croquetas. The sangria was sweet, but good. The croquetas weren’t bad. The falafel was terrible.
Overall, I did not enjoy this place. I would definitely not go back and do not recommend it. After we paid our bill, we headed two blocks over to the very delicious Malaysia Kopitiam and had a wonderful dinner.

I just stopped here for lunch based on other Unilocal reviews. I loved it. I ordered the papas champignon and a tapas dish with lump crab meat that sounded good. The waiter returned to apologize that they didn’t have the right ingredients for the crab dish, so I ordered some smoked salmon and capers instead. Wow, the french fries might be the best in DC. Crispy on the outside and delicious throughout. The salmon also perfect.
To top it all off, the chef made me a tapas plate of whole, heads-​on, jumbo shrimp in a garlic butter sauce that was wonderful. This was because my original order wasn’t available I guess. Very gracious.
I didn’t intend to eat that much for dinner, but everything was great, and the service was fabulous. I didn’t go five stars only because I rarely do. It would take something extraordinary for me to do that, but I will definitely return here soon.

My friend and I came here and shared the fries with mushroom sauce and the Mediterranean salad. Both were really tasty. The salad came with falafel and hummus. The fries, were OMG sooo delicious. The actual fried potato was divine — maybe they fry in peanut oil, or do the two fry technique. Whatever it is, it has that delicious fried flavor and the outside is crisp and the inside is tender. These are the dark brown, artisanal style fry. And the cream sauce on top was super delicious too, although my complaint was that it was truly salty. The cook was definitely way too heavy handed with the salt. I almost couldn’t eat it, but the fry itself was so delicious I actually kept right on eating. I would have thought it was the perfect dish if the salt was cut back to maybe half the quantity.
Came by at 1:30 PM for lunch and no one was in. I hope the place does better. The fries here definitely rock what I’ve eaten at Fast Gourmet.

Only got a couple of items here. The crab empenada was my favorite. Not your typical empanada. but that’s okay, still pretty tasty. I’m indifferent about the shrimp, smoked salmon and potato salad wrapped in ham. Prob should have gotten a sandwich, but I just wanted a small snack until the WC qualifiers started… Next time!
Waitress was helpful in recommendations.

The food here is great, and it won’t take long to arrive at your table. The place is small, which adds some intimacy to it. Conveniently located if you work in the area or take the train, eh if you drive everywhere you probably wont want to deal with parking here in the afternoon/​evening. Be sure you can find it, I walked past it twice. The service was eh… I’ll be nice and say OK. I still can’t figure out how in a place that holds 25 people max, obviously not swamped, could not have great service. My table was 3 feet from the bar, the closest to it, but it took 8 minutes to get a beer, which wasn’t great (DC brau fault not Takeateasy), then I was charged for the wrong beer (how? It’s only 2 on tap?), and then took me 15 minutes to get my change back once I paid. I would love to try more food here, but I’ll probably not return.

Wohoh! Takeateasy! The best tongue I’ve ever had! The croquetas de bacalao were not bad either! Great happy hour specials with drinks and reduced price tapas and attentive service. I can’t wait to try the entrees and dessert.
NTR: tongue was veal Lengua A La Vinagreta, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, parsley, garlic confit

Lunch here was my favorite meal from my weekend at DC. The fact that I was ravenous and this place was down the block from my hotel certainly helps its case, but the meal was just super-​satisfying. I had a sandwich which I believe the menu refers to as «Churrasco de Atun». A huge cut of seared sushi-​grade Ahi tuna on a baguette. It was really delicious and I want another one right now.
My girlfriend had one of their specials which was a handmade ravioli. It was also excellent.

I usually ignore sandwich places. But when I saw that this one was opened by the Fast Gourmet guys – a place I’d wanted to try – I knew I’d have to stop in.
I ordered the chivito sandwich. Unfortunately, I wasn’t blown away. For almost $ 20 ($ 15, plus tax and tip), I’d like a really impressive sandwich. The chivito wasn’t; the flavors were good, but salty to the point that it covered up what were probably quality ingredients. I did love the fries, though. They were crisp on the outside, creamy on the inside, and well-​seasoned.
At $ 10-​$ 12 for the sandwich and fries, this’d get a five-​star review. But at $ 15, it’s just too much. However, I will be back to try the Reuben and the hamburger, both of which are cheaper, and the happy hour specials are enticing. I also like the space, in part because of the comfortable and interesting décor, and in part because it’s not at all crowded yet. If/​when it becomes popular, that could change, but as it stands now, Takeateasy looks like a welcome destination for both lunch and after-​work events.

I suggested Takeateasy for a business meeting during the happier hours of the day.
Two things I was hoping for:
1) Solid happy hour specials
2) Room to breathe and a moderate noise level
I’m happy to report that both of these basic needs were satisfied.
The restaurant is right next to Vidalia and although I parked directly across the street, the storefront blended in so much that I almost missed it. I literally got out of my car, did a 360, tried to pretend awkwardly that I wasn’y looking for something, fronted like I left something in my car, re-​looked up the address, got back out of the car and voila, there it was. When I walked in, I was pleased but surprised to only see a few people seated and absolutely no one at the bar.
The space was clean, fresh and casual — laid back atmosphere. The bartender/​server was so friendly, informative and patient checking in on us just enough. Very attentive, but not at all annoying. We just felt as though we were very well taken care of.
They have some great happy hour specials including $ 4 – 5 wines, beer and margaritas. We went with the sangria and did not regret that decision one bit. Served in a wine glass (nice stemware) the sangria was perfectly sweet (not too sweet) and had beautifully, diced fruit pieces that were so cute and petite. So refreshing. Just thinking about it makes me want some more — right now!
I was also excited to learn that the chef here used to be at Fast Gourmet, so the infamous Chivito sandwich was on the menu. (Which meant of course, I had to try it.) I’m not sure what was off, but I didn’t think that the particular sandwich I ordered was better than the ones at Fast Gourmet. (Although I really wanted to!) Overall, it seemed as though it was not as thick, perhaps less of each topping and the bread wasn’t that warm. I didn’t really taste olives, but red peppers were definitely prominent.
But I really like the place and the folks that work there!
Oh and it’s open super late on Fridays and Saturdays, so if you need a place to go after the bar or club, this would be the perfect place to grab a bite and chill out.

**3.25 stars**
Late night eclectic food in DC? YES, please! Super happy that DC is finally expanding its horizon with late night food that does not involve kebabs (nothing against them, I love kebabs) and copious amounts of smoke from shisha that is common in most kebab places!
This place has a hip fun yet relaxed feel to it. The servers are nice and the food is ok. If I were to rate the place purely for food, I would have given it a solid 3 stars — here is why —
We started off with the app special — brie crostini with caramelized onions, which was delish! Loved every bite of it!
Next we had the gamabas, where the shrimp was fresh and succulent, but way was smothered in chilli oil — not a fan!
The next dish was my very pretty looking codfish with couscous. The couscous while really well done and fresh with the salad, was lacking some major flavor! All I tasted was the pasta — no sign of any herbs or flavor of any kind, which made me a little mad. My fish also lacked any sort of flavor. Cod while easy to cook, requires help to build some good flavors! For the price it was, not sure if it was worth it for me at all!
My friend had the eggplant sandwich with fries. Fries were real yummy (similar to the ones I have come to love at Fast Gourmet), but the sandwich totally lacked the blast of flavor I had been expecting! It was oily and on the bland side! Eggplant is an easy veggie, there is so many ways to make it shine, sigh! Such a disappointment!
Anyways, the ambience is awesome, the people running the place are really nice and I am hoping they will eventually figure out their kinks and make this place more awesome!!! The place is on the pricier side, and it will be an uphill task to justify the prices given the flavors of the food so far!
Looking forward to some drunk night late food here soon!

Just-​opened restaurant next to Vidalia on M St. from one of the original owners/​founders of Fast Gourmet, with similarly crazy-​late hours. They have the famous Chivito (Uruguayan sandwich) as well as some other sandwiches featured at the Fast Gourmet gas station location, but in much nicer (but casual) digs that convey tapas lounge meets Uruguayan sports bar. There is a large flat-​screen TV silently showing sports from a Spanish-​language sports channel.
We went for brunch recently on Sunday at about 3−4pm, an odd time where only a couple other Uruguayan families seemed to be there. It also happened to be happy hour time, which meant $ 4 drafts and glasses of wine — score!
The gambas al pil pil were perfectly cooked jumbo shrimp with a firm bite, in extra virgin olive oil infused with Spanish pimento and red chile pepper flakes. They were lovely with a great smoky flavor. Served whole, I enjoyed the bonus «fat» in the heads — and we also enjoyed dipping the bread from our sandwiches in the oil.
The aforementioned Chivito sandwich consisted of a few elevated changes from Fast Gourmet’s line-​up: filet mignon as the beef, pancetta vice bacon, and pickled shiitake vice cooked button mushrooms — as well as mozzarella, roasted red peppers, green olives, eggs, lettuce tomato, and aioli. It actually wasn’t as filling and gut-​busting as expected, as the toppings seemed to not be as packed on as at Fast Gourmet. I also couldn’t taste the bacon flavor from the pancetta at all; the predominant flavors seemed to be the ham, cheese, beef, roasted peppers, and egg. Still, it was tasty, though not mind-​blowing like I expected. It would still probably be awesome after a trip to the bars, though.
The Pan Tumaca sandwich came with tons of serrano ham, manchego, and garlic confit — on a hard, crusty baguette. The menu advertised it being on a much softer foccacia. While the flavors were great (especially with the additional oil from the gambas, as mentioned), the bread kind of cut up the roof of my mouth.
Despite my minor quibbles, the service was fantastic and friendly, and after all, this place had only been open a couple of weeks or so. I enjoyed spending time there, and would want to come back to try more of the small plates and appetizers, especially since I’m a night owl always in search of new places I can go.
The specials also seem to change frequently; when they first opened, I saw them advertise a black ravioli filled with crawfish that looked absolutely amazing. This time, they had worked with the Vidalia kitchen next door to develop a duck pâté on bread appetizer. Vidalia also uses Shenandoah Valley Beef Cooperative beef, and I’ve noticed that Takeateasy does too. Which is awesome, since that means they use local, environmentally friendly, humanely raised beef. I’ll be back to try the dinner plates or more of the tapas. 3.75 stars.

Loved it! This is basically all the stuff I like about Fast Gourmet but in a nicer package. Sure, eating in a gas station makes for a good story but ultimately, waiter service and a new, clean space dedicated only to being a restaurant and bar is an upgrade.
We went in on a Monday around 5 (President’s Day to be exact) and since that’s a pretty random time, it was dead inside. What can I say, sometimes we like to eat dinner alongside the elderly. Apparently it was happy hour, and our server told us that as such, most of the tapas were discounted. He recommended the corn bechamel croquettes and the papas champignon (sort of like an old school French riff on poutine or cheese fries – fries topped with a mushroom, cream, and white wine reduction sauce), so we tried them both and we loved them. Between the two I give the slight edge to the fries, which were a large portion and had an incredibly rich and flavorful mushroom sauce generously topping them. But the croquettes were also great – super crispy shell that gave way to an oozy, creamy corn inside. Yum.
For the meal we shared the Pan Tumaca sandwich, which has serrano ham, manchego, garlic confit, tomato spread, and olive oil on foccacia. I loved it, while my dining partner liked it. His gripe was that he thought the sandwich would be served hot or toasted, with the cheese melty. I would say it was served more at room temperature – not cold but nothing resembling a hot sandwich. Still, the ingredients were very high quality and I loved the interplay of flavors – the sweetness from the tomatoes, the garlic confit (!!), and the assertive meat and cheese really played nicely together. I also really appreciated the high-​quality focaccia. If you’re a sandwich lover, you know that too often the bread is an afterthought and can ruin an otherwise good sandwich. Not here – it was perfect. The sandwich also came with even more fries. So, you won’t go hungry here. Take comfort friends – this isn’t the old DC tapas standard of pay $ 50-​$ 100/​head and leave hungry.
Service was quick, friendly, and helpful. I like the atmosphere and the design of the space and I feel like the owners really put a lot of care and thought into the whole endeavor. We’ll definitely be repeat customers!

A very nice atmosphere and good sampling of food at the opening
The restaurant it’s just opening so i will write a better review In the following week
I want to try the updated chivito !! Late night Saturday
Will be my option
i add one more star cause the food its amazing

I been waiting for this place to open for months, after trying the «chivito» at their old place.
I went on the opening night and it was a great experience.
The sandwich is simply one of the best ones i’ve ever had.
Service was really fast, they were really busy so we figured it was going to take a long time, we ordered 6 chivitos and the food was on the table within less than 10 minutes.
I’m definitely coming back to try the rest of the menu!