Monday, December 19, 2005

Phish Tea Review in City Paper

This week's City Paper had a very good review of H Street's Phish Tea. The writer praised not only the food, but also the service. This is particularly notable because most of the grumbling I've heard about Phish Tea has involved service/organizational issues. I wanted to link to the review, but it appears not to be online yet (I guess the City Paper's restaurant database has a different online schedule that the rest of the paper). At any rate, here are a few earlier (not as favorable) City Paper reviews of Phish Tea. This was not the first positive review that Phish Tea has gotten, & I hope that it won't be the last. But before Phish Tea truly makes it to the top of local residents' lists, the service/organizational issues really do need to go.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I stopped by for the first time this past Friday at around 6-6:30. It was still quiet, with perhaps 2-3 couples at tables or the bar. It's a comfortable place to hang out when its not busy - the music was funky but not too loud and the decor has a lot of dark, rich colors. I thought the staff was friendly and attentive - I chatted a bit with a couple of them - but then again it wasn't that busy. I was a little surprised at how few beers they had, and none on tap (at least, I don't remember seeing a tap), although a Red Stripe will always do in a pinch. I had the firecracker shrimp appetizer, which was delicious. What's not to like about spicy shrimp wrapped in bacon? Apparently they have peotry readings later in the evenings on Fridays, but that was after I left.

Anyway, I'm very glad they they are in business and I hope they are a sign of thigs to come.

Anonymous said...

I was really glad to see Phish Tea open up and made a point of taking a big group there right after they opened. We ordered one of everything-- the menu was pretty limited-- and the standout dish was the curried fish. It was a generous halibut filet in a flavourful sauce.

About 2 weeks later, I took my in-laws there and we all ordered the curried fish to take and eat back at home.

What they gave us was not the halibut filet, but what looked like a little sunfish (whole, with scales and head) you might catch at summer camp (and throw back).

I haven't completely given up on PT, and I hope the continue to do well. But the lack of consistency has kept me from going back for dinner there for the last year or two. Maybe they have gotten it together by now?