the tulip bistro and bar

one of the best dinners i can remember in a long time. it was an anniversary celebration and couldn't have been better. started off with grilled oysters. average sized but delicious! (and i'm not an oyster fan!) french onionsoupwas well flavored and good as well. i had jalapeno stuffed pacific shrimp wrapped in bacon (normally an appetizer) but just right as my main course. also tried chicken provencal fresh thyme infused pappardelle tossed in a rosemary yogurt cream, kalamata olives, roasted bell peppers, tomatoes, with a buttermilk pan fried chicken breast over the top. was elegant but not over-done. an excellent choice! we ended with twin brulee.  one chocolate and one regular creme brulee. great eating adventure.

my boyfriend and i just got home from a fabulous date night at the tulip tonight. our reservation (highly recommended) was through open table and went smoothly. it was very busy this evening but even with all the action going on we still enjoyed the experiance. we each ordered a specialty cocktail which we both really liked. we split a cup of thesoupof the day, a creamy asparagus bisque that was delicious! i had the chef ravioli and he the fish and chips. we both found our meals extremely satisfying and filling. our server was so genuinely welcoming and warm along with the other staff. we will definitely return!

wonderful evening. we went there dec 20th for our anniversary. the service was outstanding, the food was amazing (the she crabsoupwas tied with the best i've tasted on the east coast. only nutters crab bisque located in newark delaware compares). i made reservations on line and added special instructions asking the chef for a surprise desert and he came through wonderfully! we will be back again and i highly recommend the tulip bistro!!

ok, but really slow. we met shawn who brought us a nice bottle of wine, the bread and salads came out fairly quickly, and then everything stopped. i don't know whether the kitchen was having trouble, or the server, but our main entrees didn't appear for almost an hour (and two of us did not get salads or eat the bread.) shawn finally told us right before our food was brought to the table that our order was up next. the steak entree was good, as were the mussels. the chicken on the grilled chicken sandwich was tough, and the fried oysters were ok. no dessert, it was late.


-----19 jun, 2010-----

tasty addition to chevy chase. this restaurant opened at the end of april, 2010, and is in the old ap roots location on romany road. spencer van den dool, chef at the black tulip in midway, which closed last year, is now the chef at the tulip bistro and bar. the building has not changed much on the outside or inside. we were a party of 6, and we all had different entrees. the most innovative dish was the caesar salad. it was whole romaine lettuce leaves with cherry tomatoes and chopped egg inside, then rolled lengthwise and "wrapped" with three red onion slices. two rolled anchovies were on the side, as was a parmesan cheese 'crisp', with crusty croutons on the top! tomato bisque was thesoupdu jour and was very rich and yummy. the she crabsoupwas also enjoyed. red snapper came with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus. the potatoes were broiled to give them a brownish, crunchy crust and were delicious. i had the fish and chips - light breading on the plump fish, and nicely fried potatoes!
check this place out and support your locally-owned businesses!
read the following review from our local paper:
http://www.bizlex.com/articles-c-2010-04-27-92342.113117_the_restaurateur_tulip_grows_from_roots_on_romany.html

our experience was nearly perfect. we went on a saturday night. i ordered the baked fruit bri and crabsoupand the shrimp linguini. all were amazing but thesoupwas perfect. i dont drink and te waiter got the bartender to mix me some juices for free. it was a nice extra touch. go here if you have some money, because tulip is just as good as any other restaurant in lex.

decent food, great service. we made reservations for 8 people, which had to be approved my the manager first. we thought this was strange, but after seeing the restaurant we understand that it is not big enough to hold multiple large parties in one evening. i very much appreciated the fact that they did not crowd us in where there was no room and then offer bad service because they had too many large parties that evening. so many other places do this and i applaud this restaurant for making sure they could handle our larger party first.

for food, we had potato croquettes as an appetizer and they were very tasty. a couple of people had the she crabsoupand said it was delicious. the warm goat cheese salad was very tasty too. for dinner, i had the fish and chips, which was ok but not the best i've had. four people had pork chops and they were very uneven across the table from cooked very well to very overcooked (read charred) and dry. we also seemed to get our entrees one at a time with about 5-10 minutes between entree. however, the manager did come out and apologize for the delay without anyone from the table complaining about it or asking to see the manager first. i was impressed that she recognized the issue and handled it without someone having to point that out first. we sampled the bailey's milk shake and it was quite yummy. the soup, salad, appetizers and dessert were the highlights.

all-in-all, the food was decent and i will go back and try it again. you have to expect a few bumps along the way with a new restaurant and i think they are working out the kinks and will get those issues resolved soon.