RSS FeedQ: When Is A Chef’s Table Not A Chef’s Table?
A: When the chef doesn’t visit your table? Or maybe half of the table has its back to the kitchen? Or perhaps when you’re ordering off the same menu as the rest of the restaurant?
We’d been hearing some rumblings that the chef’s table at Brasserie Beck left much to be desired. Beck’s one of our favorite restaurants so we wanted to see for ourselves if the complaints had merit. Gathering together a collection of friends, we made our chef’s table reservations hoping those complaining were wrong.
Unfortunately our experience mimicked that of the chatters on ChowHound; so much so I’m not sure it’s worth recounting our entire evening when it is so similar to the ones on that discussion. Eating at Beck’s chef’s table boils down to:
- Sitting at a table where half of the seats have their back to the kitchen;
- Placing your food order (if you’re doing one of the tasting menus) at least 4 days before you arrive. Or ordering off the same menu as the rest of the restaurant;
- Having a waiter who is working other tables, not dedicated to your table;
- Never being visited by any of the chefs or cooks;
The above description (and the ChowHound discussion) no doubt makes it sound like a very unpleasant experience. That, however, isn’t the case at all. If you are able to put it out of your mind that this is advertised as a chef’s table, something it clearly is not, you still have a great time. It’s still the same great Beck’s food, and even better, the same great Beck’s beer. The beer sommelier still makes great recommendations, and the cost is still very reasonable for all the food & drink.
Bottom line, I’d do it again if I had a group of 8-10 people looking for a fun night out where we could be loud and not worry about bothering anyone else. But I would consider it getting a semi-private table, not eating at a chef’s table.
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Comments
My party had the pleasure of sitting at the chef’s table at BB without knowing it was even the chef’s table. We didn’t have reservations and were a group of 8. By chance, the chef’s table was the only table available that night and we were seated. If I hadn’t read about reviews of BB’s chef’s table, I wouldn’t have even known the difference.
The Source (downstairs lounge) on a busy Friday is also terrible for sound. In part, I think it’s due to the loud music which encourages people to talk even louder.
Tom Sietsema’s article on noise was dead on: it is outrageous to pay the prices we pay to eat at restaurants in this neighborhood and not be able to enjoy any kind of conversation. There have been mornings when I’ve awakened with a hoarse voice from shouting at dinner the night before. I think it’s especially unfortunate that Rasika, which has such wonderful food and is such a beautiful space, was measured (in the online video) as having a noise decibel level higher than city street traffic. And that the owner of Rasika was quoted in Tom’s article as saying that he wants the place to be noisy is really depressing.
I don’t think that ambient noise is necessarily bad. It depends on the occasion. Washingtonian magazine ran an article some years back that talked about ambient noise in restaurants, but not in a bad way. This noise was put in the context as a feature.
There are times when my wife and I want to go to dinner at a place this is not quiet. Other times, we want a quieter, more intimate experience.
A restaurant with a din in the room can be exciting and make you feel like you’re in a happening place. We learn which restaurants are more quiet and which are more noisy, then select them based on our mood and the experience that we’re seeking. Is it a romantic evening? A “woo hoo” kind of occasion? A business dinner? These dictate the place for us.
Eating out is not just about enjoying the food or quiet conversation.
The most galling thing about Beck’s “chef’s table that isn’t” is the fact that the restaurant advertises it on its menus. I had the pleasure of dining at the chef’s table and had the same experience as Columbo: no contact from the chef, spotty service and half the table enjoying a view of the sidewalk rather than the kitchen staff (lucky devils). If the restaurant is going to go out of its way to encourage people to reserve the chef’s table (and deal with the reservationist) then the chef and his kitchen staff should treat it like a true chef’s table (talk to them, serve unigue dishes, give them an idea of how the kitchen is run). As it is now, it’s a pointless pain in the rear. In fact, the experience has soured me on the restaurant all together. And with a new Belgian restaurant/bar opening every other day in D.C., I don’t know why I should bother going back to Beck.
Sounds like the Beck people just don’t care. If you want a good “chef’s table” experience, try the Laboratorio Galileo when it reopens – http://www.robertodonna.com/restaurants/laboratorio/index.php
As for the noise level in restaurants, some “fine restaurants” seem to be more like rowdy pubs than real restaurants, which is fine – & I like rowdy pubs at times, but don’t charge me $25 for a main course – an $8 burger is more like it. The same goes for dressing for dinner – we’ve dumbed down the whole culture so much that people simply don’t realize that there are places that should be noisy & boisterous & casual, but there are other places that should be elegant & more formal – & the prices should match the ambiance. just my humble opinion.
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Tom Sietsema wrote an article today highlighting one of my pet peeves in restaurants: ambient noise. online, there is a video that illustrates the differences among a few PQ notables. Beck has super food and drink but the three times I’ve been there to eat or have a drink, it has been loud. there are lots of hard reflective surfaces in Beck’s interior that encourage noise to fly around.
an ideal restaurant has both quiet and boisterous spaces for diners. a few examples:
– I like the Taberna del Alabardero (18th Street between H and Eye) because you can hear someone across the table from you on a Saturday night. great for a date!
– I will only eat at DC Coast if I can get one of the tables up in the rafters on the upper level instead of on the main floor. it is that noisy on the main floor.
– Zaytinya tends to be loud too which is great if you want the excitement it may add to the experience. I’ll go here for food early on weekdays only or for the bar on weekends only.
– Indebleu is subdued but lively upstairs where you eat and loud downstairs where the nightclub/bar is…this is perfect in my view. food is good and the DJ on Friday nights is good.
I don’t want to eat at the library but I don’t want to shout or send smoke signals to have a conversation either.
am looking forward to checking out a few chef’s tables this year so thanks for the write up.