NVM Review

By Warren Rojas

Restaurant 3 has the potential to become a real triple threat to local dining competitors, charming guests with its Southern-inspired cuisine, retro feel and generous hospitality.

The Clarendon newcomer appears to have carved out a fairly loyal following—at press time, general manager John Donnelly said the restaurant was seeing a roughly 40 percent return rate from online reservations—within just a few short months. The fashionable space virtually beckons to curious passersby, boasting dining rooms ranging from the rustic Clarendon room, which houses a mixed-stone fireplace and polished, blond hardwoods, to the art deco-themed Brunswick room (may just be the horror fan in me, but the vintage backlit bar calls to mind the haunting ballroom perch where Jack Nicholson slowly comes unspooled in “The Shining”).

Servers arrive tableside in button-up shirts, dark slacks and cream aprons, looking perfectly comfortable but still professional. Most exude plenty of enthusiasm about the modern American cuisine (overheard one silver-tongued pro assuring a nervous Yank he needed to try the signature Hoppin’ John, while another cheerily debriefed some youngsters on the attributes of the Hawaiian-style donuts), while others seem to get lost in the shuffle (a skittish lass neglected to refill one drink in particular during a three-course visit).

While staff keeps the trains running on time, chef Brian Robinson is clearly the conductor behind this speeding bullet. A self-taught chef who was mentored by D.C. chef and soul food specialist Terrell Danley and spent nearly a decade at nearby Whitlow’s (R3’s sibling restaurant), Robinson said the food is a composite of everything he’s absorbed throughout his travels.

“The menu’s been a work in progress for almost two years,” he said of the constantly evolving dining carte. His entrees are creative if not quite daring. And he tends to succeed more than he falters.

One Dixie welcome heaps seared scallops, diced tomatoes and savory cubes of tasso ham (show stealers) atop an island of Asiago-infused grits. A plate of fried oysters summons plump, cornmeal-crusted beauties accompanied by a piquant cherry-pepper tartar sauce (fabulous spice).

A Southern fried catfish platter delivers flaky fish finished with lemon-cayenne aioli (tangy zing), all resting atop Robinson’s bacony Hoppin’ John (great black-eyed peas). The 20-ounce, bone-in Texas rib-eye receives a savory rub (paprika, thyme and coffee) before hitting the grill and shares the stage with an equally hearty vegetable ragout featuring garlic, onions, button mushrooms, brawny browned spuds, chopped asparagus stems and tangy artichoke bits (well done). Seared duck summons juicy medallions draped across a savory-sweet potato hash, reiterating Robinson’s passion for well-thought out sides.

Would that the desserts received the same attention. Robinson hastily stepped in as pastry chef after their original consultant bailed shortly after opening, though he readily admitted, “sweet is just not my forte.”

Apple shortcake is boring, yielding nothing more than a thin sheet of shortcake cluttered with cold apple slices, a few pecan crumbles and some cinnamon sugar. The exotic-sounding Masalada donuts reveal cinnamon-sugar-dusted clumps of flash-fried dough served with a demitasse of java-spiked chocolate sauce (strike two).

Liquid refreshments are much more satisfying.

Their stable of craft beers ($6 a pop) includes international stunners like Red Seal Ale, Polestar Pilsner, Bell’s Lager and Celis White. The wine list features a handful of global heavies under its “Old World Wines of Interest,” while the rest of the domestic-friendly roster tops out at $165 for a 2003 Cain Five (cabernet sauvignon blend).