Tail Up Goat — Restaurant in Washington

If I can describe my experience at Tail Up goat with one word, it would be "underwhelming." While the service was courteous and friendly, which I appreciate a lot, the food was not in par with their accolades, since it was consistently under-seasoned and needing some acidity, which made 2 savory dishes completely flat and uninteresting, while there were issues with our fish and eventually our dessert.

We started with the fresh shell beans which I enjoyed. There were tender and flavorful, the cheese was sharp enough to compliment the beans without overpowering them and I appreciated the melon vinaigrette. Being from the region whose cuisine this restaurant represents, I need to add that beans are always served with some citrusy and the vinaigrette for this dish was excessively sweet, lacking in acidity.

Next came the fairytale eggplant, which I enjoyed. A bit more garlic would make this connection between Mediterranean /middle eastern dishes with eggplant, like imam baildi for example, and this dish that has Thai influences, as we were told. The crispy pig ears were crispy and the flavor complex playing with heat and sweetness which at points completely overpowered the eggplant.

The farro flour sourdough dish was a miss. Tzatziki in Greek cooking is served cold to compliment dishes like fried zucchini for example. There the combination of this cold and refreshing yogurt spread with the deep-fried eggplant or zucchini creates a balance. It balances the temperature out-cold tzatziki, hot, deep-fried zucchini-and it adds a creamy texture to something crunchy, which is the zucchini coating. In this plate the tzatziki was added on the toasted sourdough, which made the tzatziki hot, forcing it to lose its refreshing aspect. While the grilled melon was tasty, when combined with the room-temperature cucumber, that was completely under-seasoned, it made this dish lacking taste and character. In Mediterranean cuisine, melon and watermelon can be served with a strong, briny cheese to create balance. Since the tzatziki was flat, and warm, the cucumber also flat and the melon sweet, this dish needed sodium and acidity. Other thoughts: more herbs, or an aromatic oil, a briny cheese or a good quality goat cheese instead of tzatziki, balsamic vinegar, or a strawberry vinegar, depending the direction you want to take it.

Our main dish was the seared tilefish. The skin was not crispy but soggy. The fish was not left to rest aside long enough and it created a pool of juices on top of the skordalia, which was tasty and interesting, but barely enough and not much of a skordalia (I mean, "skordalia" in Greek comes from the word "skordo" which means "garlic." It is traditionally very garlicky, and while Tail Up Goat in DC caters to an international audience, a bit more garlic wouldn't hurt to add to the dish the flavor it is supposed to have). The cucumber + jimmy nardello peppers were, again, down in salt and acidity, flat, almost tasteless.

And now the disaster. The Paris-Brest was soggy throughout. I prefer my pate a choux filled with creme patissier, and the mousse in this dish wasn't bad. BUT something tells me that either the choux was old, or the choux was filled hours in advance, to the point that when our dessert arrived, it was extremely soggy. Why don't you simply cut the choux in half before you serve this, add creme patissier then and there, and then bring the dessert crunchy and tasty to the customer? Use the mousse for something else, really.

For a fine dining restaurant this wasn't an expensive experience, so I am not actively mad. But I am sad. This is a Michelin star restaurant, they MUST do better. Why did a soggy paris-breast arrived at my table? No one saw the pool of fish juices all over my skordalia before it was served to me? But more importantly, this place needs more character, more flavor intensity. In a certain sense, the way they make their almost garlic-free tzatziki and skordalia describes best this restaurant : Tail Up Goat is "inoffensive"

Would I go there again?...

We have been frequenting this place for years. Sadly, after our last experience, we will not be returning. A family member had given me a $250 gift certificate for my birthday because she knew it was my favorite restaurant. Even with this, I still had to pay $120, meaning that the total bill came to close to $400.

For such an expensive meal for two people, neither of whom ordered any alcohol, you expect to be wowed. So far from this being the case, the food was tasteless and unimpressive at best. It certainly lacked creativity. The asparagus were actually terribly cooked. The dessert tasted like sherbet my grandmother used to serve me in those large pint containers as a kid. The monkfish was bland and lacked flavor. Nothing remarkable about any of the other dishes either.

As for the wait staff, they appeared to me as unenthused as I was about the meal. Our waiter had zero charisma, seemed sullen and evasive, and the other staff seemed borderline unhappy.

When food is not very good, I would imagine that customers are not terribly pleased, especially when the meal is expensive, and there are a paucity of choices. This may in turn, one might reasonably expect, translate into a more fraught dynamic between customers and servers. Pure speculation on my part, but whatever the reason might be, the fact remains that neither the food nor the service warranted the price nor the Michelin star.

Overall, I should note that this restaurant seems to have been on a downward trajectory for some time, although it did not become fully apparent to me and my husband until my most recent visit. When we first began frequenting Tail Up Goat years ago, it had a myriad of choices, and the menu was a la carte. This virtually guaranteed that even if you had to spend a little bit more, you did not go home hungry. Furthermore, the a la carte menu changed daily, an impressive feat that was doubtlessly difficult to sustain but nevertheless commanded the high prices they charged. When the restaurant switched to a prix fix menu, it was disappointing, but you still had choices, meaning that for your second course (to give an example) you could still select from one of multiple options. The food also still remained good, with the exception of one night we frequented when the food was not as impressive as other times. Now, however, all choice has been eliminated, although they do have vegetarian, non-dairy, pescatarian, and regular menus (upon request). The food is also now, as I mentioned above, not worth the price tag.

I would be interested to know if they have a new chef or ownership, although I should say it won’t really make a difference. Short of a dramatic transformation that makes front page news, I won’t be returning. We will sadly need to find a different haunt to frequent for...

A jaw-droppingly delicious meal with the best service I've ever received and the most delightful ambiance. My top-tier Tail Up Goat experience began before I even stepped foot into the restaurant -- I love that they ask for dietary restrictions on the reservation and then actually live up to their commitment to provide equally delicious and unique alternatives for those whom can't select from their standard set menu. And even for those who can, they'll create a customized menu marking all the items that they can order with / without modifications to meet their needs (example shown in the photos below), which is so incredibly sweet and thoughtful. This system also just helps make everyone's life easier because I don't have to ask about each item's ingredients or about what can and can't be done to accommodate my needs.

And once you settle on a menu that works for your dietary needs, you really can't go wrong with any of the selections! Every single item on their menu is executed to perfection and the only regrets you could possibly have are from not being able to sample the entire menu. The menu rotates regularly, but I was absolutely in love with each of the dishes that I ordered and would definitely recommend each and every one of them if they're available -- the yellowfin tuna crudo was super light and refreshing and a great way to start the meal, the seared scallops were the perfect texture and paired magically with the earthy black eyed peas and tart, super-fresh green tomato chow chow. As far as third courses go, the server offered a strong recommendation for the seared monkfish and it absolutely did not disappoint. The monkfish itself was deliciously flaky and juicy, and the pureed corn was super fresh and shockingly creamy despite being made of just corn. And the coconut panna cotta was the perfect way to end the meal.

While the food was incredible, what really made my experience at Tail Up Goat shine was the amazing service. Alongside being super aware and accommodating of dietary restrictions, our server was super friendly, welcoming, and knowledgeable. She immediately made us feel at home, despite sitting in a super fancy restaurant, and was willing and able to answer all of our questions about the food, various ingredients, and beverage pairings. They also had a sommelier come out and support us with selecting our wine pairing. Tail Up Goat's overall commitment to ensuring that each of their guests has the best experience possible is amazingly evident in their service, every dish or drink they bring to the table, and each moment that I spent in the restaurant. I truly cannot recommend this...