Cafe Panache

I met the owner of the new restaurant that's replacing 321 Ashland. The Cafe Panache is now open and I'm lookiing forward to trying it.

If anyone goes, please post a review here so everyone gets an idea of what to expect. I'll do the same when I get over there.

 

Went there for lunch yesterday. Still a nice atmosphere. Friendly staff. Lunch entrees were $8-$14, dinner entrees were $14-$26.
The sirloin cheeseburger and the pastrami sandwich were both excellent.
A nice place to go for a more relaxed, quiet sit-down lunch.

 

we need a place that is good for "date night"- I'm looking forward to giving i a try!

 

So probably not a great place to go if you have small children?

 

They have kid's selections on the menu.

 

We went to the bar for a drink tonight and there were several young kids in the restaurant. (babies in strollers, toddlers, etc.)

 

We went there last night (Friday) at 5:30, right when it opened for dinner. We had our 2 kids and figured we would try to finish before the serious dinner crowd showed up.

The decor was nice, maybe about 18-20 tables, and also a bar area with a handful of bar tables. There was a guy (boy) who promptly filled our water glasses and brought out bread and butter. The waiter took our 4-year old's order first. They have a small kid's meal menu (pizza, burger, mac n cheese, or chicken fingers - comes with drink, fruit, and dessert). My daughter's pizza came out before we even ordered.

My husband and I each had an appetizer - I had a cream of corn soup with shrimp on top of a big ravioli, and my husband had some Italian sausage appetizer. For entrees, I had the Asian pork tenderloin which came with peanut-spiced vermicelli and green beans fried with tempura batter. My husband had the filet mignon. Everything tasted good, my husband said the filet was really good.

The only bad part of the experience was that the service was a bit slow. I think there was only 2 waiters. All of our food came to the table nice and hot, so it could be that the kitchen was slower than it should be. We were there from 5:30 to a little bit after 7:00, and we did not order dessert. My kids are okay for the first hour of eating out, but then the 4-year old gets fidgety/whiny and the 1-year old refused the pacifier and started hand-signing that she wanted down (i.e. get out of the high chair and run around). By 6:30, the entrees had not arrived yet, and when they did, my husband and I had to take turns eating so that one of us could entertain the 1-year old by letting her run around the fountain outside. Luckily, it was a warm night.

Dinner cost $75 (before tip) for 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 1 kids meal, and some drinks. We will definitely go back again some day, but we will not bring the kids next time!

 

Ate there last night. Showed up a little after 8 and were seated right away. Seems a little more relaxed than the rush in say Bonefish wish is a welcome change in my opinion. Food was excellent we thought - def will go back.

 

We stopped into Cafe Panache a week ago and grabbed some menus. The owner greeted us and explained the menu to us and told us they were family friendly since most of the staff had small children.

Tonight my husband and I with our 2 year old decided to give it a try. The hostess seated us promptly. The dining room had about five other families eating dinner. We waited at our table for about fifteen minutes. The waitress appeared to finally be approaching us only to go to the table behind us to start filling water glasses and setting out bread for another incoming party who must have had reservations. We waited a bit longer only to continue to be ignored. We ended up leaving hungry.

The good news is that Del Ray has excellent food. Our waitress even gave us drinks on the house since we had to wait for a while for a table.

 

You should have reported this to the manager as you were leaving, no business wants people walking out due to poor service.

 

Had a great experience there last week. Went on the the Tues. before T-giving. Service was indeed slow, but the food was very very good.... hard to find good Italian dishes around here, and being from the NY/NJ area, I've been searching for years. I can honestly say this place has very good food, We had salads, apps, entrees and desserts - the chocolate torte was phenomenal. I recommend it. The prices are reasonable too. As soon as they get their staffing worked out, this place should be here to stay. I encourage everyone to at least try it out!

 

we had a fantastic experience Sunday- our 12th wedding anniversary dinner- they made it very special.The food AND service were outstanding- met the owner and chef/owner who were both very kind. we will definitely go again- the cuisine is really original and delicious!!! the swordfish and salmon were amazing- not to mention the desserts- get the banana cake- it is fab!!! our son was with us and he loved BOTH fish dishes as well as his mac and cheese.

don't miss this gem of a neighborhood restaurant- i'm so glad to have a quality non-chain place to go!

 

Thank you for the great comments! We are so excited to be a part of the Broadlands Community!

Don't miss out on Lunch with Santa on Saturday, December 16th from 11:00am-2:30pm. Children's menu is only $5.00. Call 703-723-1424 to make a reservation.

We look forward to seeing you!

Have a wonderful Holiday Season!!

 

Went there last week food was great service was great as well the owner and his wife really work the place. Good Luck to them.

 

My husband and I ate there several weeks ago and couldn't see any difference between Panache and 321! The decor was still the same - "ye old" Mariott-type decor, and the menu was high-priced (very) and portions very small. The food was good, but we were hoping for something more affordable. We probably won't be going back.

 

Well that's a shame. The prices are actually way lower than 321. I even mentioned to the owner he should of went higher. I still say the service and food were great. Keep up the great work Cafe Panache

 

The price of the food is is very reasonable considering the high quality of the food. I also thought the portions were in line with an upscale place.

If you want big portions and lower price try Domanis, Manhattan Pizza or San Vito.

 

A group of friends, my wife, and I visited Cafe Panache last night for the first time. Cafe Panache had a very friendly staff and the food was great. A few people had the Filet and were pleasantly surprised with the large portion. We all left knowing we made a great decision for our Christmas-time dinner gathering.

 

We took our 3 year old for Lunch with Santa and had a great time. They took photos of the children's visit with Santa and gave them to us inserted inside of a beautiful card. I didn't have my camera with me and they were nice enough to take pictures again and email them to me. We will definitely be going back and hopefully they will continue the Lunch with Santa next year. Maybe they will do the same with the Easter Bunny?? (hint hint)

 

fabulous brunch today- my 8 year old ate his WEIGHT in smoked salmon! we all cleaned our plates and left VERY satisfied! such great service and a welcoming atmosphere- glad we brought friends and shared such a nice christmas eve brunch after church.