Spork and Knife

I’ll come right out and say it…my overall impression was, “Good, but not worth the money”

 TenPenh has always been on my list of restaurants, and one I have not crossed off, in over two years of living in DC.  For one, it combines Asian food (a favorite of mine) with seafood (yet another favorite).  It is also associated with Ceiba, Acadiana, and DC Coast…well known and successful restaurants around the district. 

TP has also made my list of suspect restaurants.  Conflicting reports all over the foodie boards have made me weary of the TenPenh dining experience, and though I repeatedly act bull headed and convince myself that the naysayers on the boards might be wrong…once again I should have listened. 

Upon entering the restaurant, red flags went off all over the place.  The host at the front  very briskly informed me that our table would be ready momentarily.  Now I know there is nothing wrong with this statement, but I am a firm believer that it’s not necessarily what you say, but the tone in how you say things, and his tone did not convey…the welcome, and enjoy yourself message I was looking for, but rather, “restaurant week, and your presence at RW are a burden to me.”

My next red flag may be inflammatory to some, but when I walk into a restaurant and see patrons in ratty tennis shoes and stained jeans, the flight part of my genetic code takes over.  Yes, I realize it’s restaurant week, and people other than the usual crowd might be in attendance, but I have found that those who value a good dining experience take the extra time to put on a clean pair of pants.  I could go on a rant about what has happened to today’s dining culture, but I’ll save that for another post.

On to the food:

A plus side to TenPenh, they allow you to choose from a large portion of their menu.  The appetizers were limited, but contained the popular spring rolls, chicken roti and spicy calamari salad among others. 

I opted for the “Wok Seared Spicy Calamari Salad” which in laymen’s terms could be refered to as calamari thrown over a bed of greens and doused with a vinagerette.  In other words, while there was nothing wrong with the salad, I did not finish it wanting more. 

My choice of entree, where i was able to pick from the entire menu, was the  Sambal Halibut with King Crab, three bean salad, and a green curry vinagerette.  The fish was good, but not for the price. 

The cycle repeated itself for dessert, where i had a coconut and rum panna cotta.  In my eyes, you really can’t go wrong with rum and coconut, but it was nothing to write home about. 

Overall, the food was good, but since their normal priced entrees range from $15-$29 I expected more.  The same quality of food can be found at countless other restaurants around the city at a lower cost.   

A final note about the service: Friendly, but a little shakey.

Per my usual MO, I will return to give TenPenh a fair shake, but as far as restaurant week picks, I say skip this one.

TenPenh

1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW

Washington, D.C. 20004

202-393-4500

http://www.tenpenh.com/main.htm