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The Curious Grape: Restaurant Reviews

2900 S. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22206
(703) 671-8700
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Ranked #7 of 410 restaurants in Arlington
Price range: $30 - $30
Cuisines: American
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Restaurant details
Dining options: Breakfast/Brunch, Reservations
Dining style: Casual Elegant
Transit: The Curious Grape is located directly opposite the Shirlington bus terminal on South Quincy Street in Arlington, Virginia.
Description: The Curious Grape Wine, Dine & Shop is an all-new expansion of the popular Curious Grape wine store formerly located in Arlington's Shirlington neighborhood. Located right around the corner from the old shop, the new destination is like a playground for wine and food lovers, adding a cafe with great coffee and house-made pastries, a 40-seat private event room, and a full-service restaurant. Focused on facilitating tasting and pairing, the restaurant features seasonal, wine-focused fare, a cheese bar turning out custom-made cheese plates, and a unique menu design that leads guests to perfect wine pairings for each dish. Menu items available in full or half portions, half-size desserts, and wines available by the glass or half glass are all designed to encourage exploration. Enjoy!
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32 reviews from our community

90% Recommend
    22
    7
    1
    2
    0
Rating summary
    Food
    Service
    Value
    Atmosphere
Date Rating
There are newer reviews for The Curious Grape
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Basye, Virginia
Senior Contributor
38 reviews 38 reviews
30 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 21 cities Reviews in 21 cities
15 helpful votes 15 helpful votes
“Neighborhood Gem”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 16, 2013

The Village of Shirlington has many fine restaurants, and the Curious Grape fits right in. Any restaurant that can get me to eat Brussels sprouts has something going for it. Being able to scale food and wine portions is quite helpful and economical. The kitchen is maturing, the wait staff is helpful and well trained, wine offerings are extensive, and the atmosphere is welcoming. Nice combination. The owners will probably stop by your table to check on things and are quite receptive to any comments/questions you offer. The Curious Grape has serious competition from its neighboring venues, but seems to be settling in to its own personality.

  • Visited March 2013
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 4 of 5 stars Food
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Ask Valkyrie01 about The Curious Grape
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Alexandria, VA
Senior Reviewer
10 reviews 10 reviews
4 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 7 cities Reviews in 7 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Neighborhood wine bar”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed March 12, 2013

We live up the hill and go to this place pretty regularly. The wine list is rotating and has wines by the half and full glass in case you don't want to commit. They also have a pretty good selection of beers on tap, so they cater to all tastes. The food here is fantastic and seasonal. We've had dinner and brunch, as well as many snacks. Great cheeses too. My only complaint is that it's a little expensive. We tend to stop by for a wine and cheese because it's a bit pricey to eat there all the time. They have been getting packed lately, so reservations might be worth it on the weekend evenings.

  • Visited March 2013
    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 4 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
Was this review helpful? Yes 1
Ask witsylany about The Curious Grape
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Arlington, Virginia
1 review
1 helpful vote 1 helpful vote
“Service is abysmal”
2 of 5 stars Reviewed March 9, 2013

We dined here on Saturday night, party of 4. We had a reservation for 7:00pm and arrived about 7 minutes early. Although there were plenty of tables available, we were told that we could not be seated until exactly 7:00pm, which was very strange and no one seemed to be able explain why this was so. After we were seated, it was explained that this place used to be a wine store only, but that it was converted to a restaurant so that they could pair good food with good wine. Nice concept, but it was ill-conceived. The problem is that, because the kitchen was an afterthought, it is EXTREMELY SMALL for the number of tables in the restaurant. This is a major problem because the kitchen absolutely can not keep up with the number of tables on a busy Saturday night. For example, it took nearly 45 minutes to get our appetizers. Then, it took an additional 1.5 hours to get our entrees. 1.5 hours!!!!!!!!! This is not an exaggeration. The kitchen was completely overwhelmed and when we glanced around the restaurant absolutely no one had food on their tables and everyone looked starved. I can't stress how TERRIBLY SLOW the kitchen is. That said, the food is quite good and our server was very nice and knowledgeable and apologized profusely for the slow service. It wasn't his fault - we realized that. We will NOT go back here until they improve their kitchen. We have NEVER experienced wait times like this after patronizing restaurants in the DC area for over 13 years. Will not return.

  • Visited March 2013
    • 2 of 5 stars Value
    • 4 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 1 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Food
Was this review helpful? Yes 1
Ask James S about The Curious Grape
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Contributor
18 reviews 18 reviews
17 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 5 cities Reviews in 5 cities
3 helpful votes 3 helpful votes
“Simmer Down”
3 of 5 stars Reviewed March 3, 2013 via mobile

Decent food in a wine shop. Carlyle Grand down the block is far superior. Average. Currently overrated.

    • 3 of 5 stars Value
    • 2 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 3 of 5 stars Service
    • 3 of 5 stars Food
Was this review helpful? Yes 1
See 9 more reviews by ThegoodDr7 for Arlington
Ask ThegoodDr7 about The Curious Grape
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Alexandria, Virginia
Top Contributor
59 reviews 59 reviews
32 restaurant reviews
Reviews in 25 cities Reviews in 25 cities
17 helpful votes 17 helpful votes
“A distinctive restaurant”
5 of 5 stars Reviewed February 17, 2013

Another fine restaurant in the Shirlington area, but this is one off the main drag of shops/restaurants. Ranked #7 on Northern Virginia Magazine's 50 Best Restaurants, and it definitely lives up to its reputation. Quality of the food and presentation of their food is amazing. The wait staff very friendly and is knowledgeable with pairing up the best wine with your meal. Also, the staff doesn't rush out your food and rush out with your check, but allows you to enjoy your time socializing over great food/drinks. This place is highly recommended!

  • Visited February 2013
    • 4 of 5 stars Value
    • 5 of 5 stars Atmosphere
    • 5 of 5 stars Service
    • 5 of 5 stars Food
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See 5 more reviews by T W for Arlington
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

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