Asian-inspired fare at Restaurant Eve

In early January, my friend Becca suggested we go after seeing a Washingtonian article. And, of course, I said yes without a second thought.

My thoughts after reading this: HOLY COW! YES! WHEN ARE WE GOING!

I was excited for this meal because 1) I'm going to an awesome dinner with friends, 2) I've wanted to try this restaurant for a long time, and 3) they're serving up Filipino food! An under represented ethnic cuisine in my opinion. (Side note: I'm Filipino, so naturally, I'm biased)

Now, since I'm posting this in February, I realize that the Filipino-inspired menu is no longer available. But, I still think it would be worth the while to share the experience and foods we were able to enjoy.  No lie, I want to go back sometime to have the Irish-inspired meal Restaurant Eve is known for.

The meal is Prix Fixe - no having to think about the various dishes, the chef has already thought of it for you. The only decision we really had to make was what are going to drink with the meal.

While we could have gone with the drink pairings that was offered with the menu, we as group decided to go for a red wine for the night. This Californian Cabernet Sauvignon had a medium body with a dark berry flavor that started crisps and a light to medium tannic finish. It's a nice wine, and one that I would be willing to get if I come across it again.


Before our dinner starts, we had an amuse-bouche duck liver mousse on a brioche crouton, a gruyere puff, and a deviled quail egg. While these wonderful little tastes were not Filipino, much less Asian in their cuisine, they were delicious! No lie, the table wanted more of these, but alas we only got one of each!

Appetizers. 

I don't think I've ever been at a dinner where there were two round of appetizers. Unlike the main course, which was served family style, both rounds of appetizers were served individually.

First up, a Thai broth with yogurt and raisins. The soup was smooth and slightly briny. Despite the color and opaqueness of the broth it wasn't a thick creamy broth, which was a nice surprise. The yogurt and raisins provided a nice tart and sweet compliment to the salty broth.

The second appetizer was a surf and turf duet - pork belly with a side of egg and rice, and Japanese white fish sashimi with radishes. The pork belly and egg were probably the only things in the entire meal that reminded me of Filipino food, more specifically Filipino breakfast. I loved the lightness of the sashimi and radishes. The duet also came with a spicy vinaigrette that went well with both the pork and the fish.

Main course - family style 

There were a number of dishes that came out and I wasn't able to remember exactly what they were. The descriptions are all from memory, so they might not be as accurate. There was a tofu stew that had some good spice to it, prawns (with heads on!) and scallops in a curry sauce, a clam version of a Brunswick stew (hub's description), a beef stew dish, and spicy sautéed mushrooms. There were also a quartet of sauces, most spicy that could be paired with each of the entrees. I believe I've admitted to my "spice wuss-ness" before, and opted not to try them. The spice adventurous among us, however, really enjoyed them.

All-in-all, the flavors were wonderful. Some were mellow in spice and others were a bit of surprise on how spicy they would be. I think my favorite was the shrimp and scallops in curry, I really enjoyed how the sweetness of the shell fish paired with the mild spice of the curry.

Dessert Coconut ice cream with sticky rice. It reminded me of the Thai dessert sticky rice and mango, just without the mango. The coconut ice cream was a hit with the few in our group were were less than thrilled with the flavors of coconut and (if my memory serves me well) hint of licorice (fennel or anise?).  

I should note that the meal was described to be an "Irish man's take on Filipino cuisine;" however, it was more an "Irish man's take on Asian cuisine." Filipino cuisine is more known for the sour and salty notes instead of spicy. To that point I was a little bit disappointed. The meal I would say had more Thai influence, and there were also Korean and Japanese nods throughout the meal too. That note aside, the meal at Restaurant Eve was excellent in terms of food and service. I really enjoyed this meal. It's always fun to see and taste a chef's take on a cuisine that is not his/her own.