Casa Teresa

Came here for RR so caveat that things might have been less than usual because of that.I was really excited to see so many vegetarian options on the menu and that it seemed like they had good reviews. As others have noted there is no shortage of Spanish food, but finding a good tortilla is hard to come by. I was greeted upon entry and it seemed like quite a busy place with plenty people coming and going both from 19th and from the International Square entrance. It is exciting to see this place busting again after years of construction. I was initially seated in a booth, but they moved us when I realized we were right in the direct sun and it was at an angle where it would be in your face the whole meal.Got the bread and tomatoes as an app and the bread was hard, like they put it in the toaster a little too long. The flaky sea salt was a nice touch and the three pieces of cheese they gave you felt a little cheap honestly. The cheese was also warm and felt like they prepped it out.The entrees were pretty bad. My tortilla was cold and you could tell it was sitting there for a while. Such small portions, even for a tapas place and did not have any flavor. Honestly the TJs Spanish tortilla might be better than this.My friend had the steak and fries and even though she ordered it medium rare she said it was so tough. The fries were so thin and had so much oil that they were completely limp.The churros were pretty disappointing and had no flavor. The chocolate was a nice touch, but also bad.We ran out of water more than a few times during service, but did appreciate them coming to crumb the table and change out the plates. Want them to do better, but would not stop by if I were in the area again.

I have to say that we had a wonderful experience at Casa Teresa. Walking into the restaurant in DC was like walking in a restaurant in Barcelona. Hands down everything from the food, to the ambiance, and to the service were on point. Although we stopped by Casa Teresa for a late lunch, we were pleasantly surprised that the restaurant was participating in DC Restaurant Week. So hey, more bang for your buck (or dólar). For Restaurant Week, the lunch "special" for $35 will give you a choice an appetizer (five options), an entree (four options), and a dessert of churros con chocolate. As a "table", we went with an order of pan tomate and croquetas. For my main course, I went with the pork cut, and my partner went with the daily fish. Both dishes were absolutely delicious. For some, the pork cut might be too fatty, but I like a little (maybe too much) fat on my pork cuts, so it worked out great for me. The fish was perfectly prepared in our opinion. I'm kicking myself because I forgot to ask what the catch was. While both dishes were delicious, I kind of wish that I went with the fish instead of the pork cut. One thing that I really enjoyed about the food: while it was seasoned, it was not OVERLY seasoned. Sometimes, I find that many restaurants in the area season their food way too much. For me, I like when seasoning enhances a dish not drown out the flavor of the meat or seafood. We both thought the churros were beautifully prepared. However, we also thought the chocolate was a bit burnt. Aside from that very minor issue, I had not problems with the food, and I hope to have a chance to try out more things on the menu in the future. Also, Our server (the bartender) was absolutely wonderful and super friendly. He did a great job explaining various aspects of the menu (e.g., the regular menu vs Restaurant Week's menu) and made plenty of recommendations regarding the cocktails. We never had to wait more than five minutes for him to check in on us. This was quite important because he definitely made sure that our cocktail and beer glasses were full. ;) Speaking of cocktails, I was really excited that the restaurant carries Nordes gin, which is one of my favorite gins. Although we stopped kind of randomly dropped by, it was definitely an excellent choice.

The first time I was at Casa Teresa was a couple of years ago and I liked it. I spent a good chunk of the year in Spain, and was thrilled to take my friend out for lunch at a Spanish- inspired eatery during my latest stay in DC. What a disappointment! To be fair, I liked the service. We got a nice table even though we didn't have a reservation during very busy lunch our, especially as it turned out, when they were offering a DC Restaurant Week menu. All servers were very nice, friendly, efficient. I would give solid 4 stars for the service. We ordered from the Restaurant Week menu. $35 per person ( plus tax and tip) and if you want paring vines then $25 pp extra, everyone at the table must order from the Restaurant Week menu. For $35, you get a small appetizer- 4 thinly sliced pieces of Spanish semi soft cheese and a plate with olive oil, 2 small tomatoes cut in half, toasts, and a little bit of sea salt. You are supposed to pour a little bit of oil on the toast, then rub the half tomato on it, and finish it by sprinkling it with sea salt. It is very common in Spain with one big difference - the tomatoes used to make these tostados con tomate: there is a special type for it in Spain, they have thicker skin and are quite meaty so that when you rub them you end up with a layer of crushed tomato flash, not a toast soaking in tomato juice. For appetizers I would give 2 stars out of 5. For the main course my friend chose steak. The sever didn't ask how she wanted it, it arrived to the table very medium rare ( closer to rare). It was a lucky coincidence that my friend happened to prefer medium rare. The fries that came with it were..... I got a heart burn just looking at them. Overall, the steak was ok but nothing special ( 3 out of 5). I ordered "grilled fish, catch of the day" and it was a total disaster. It came very nicely presented, skin up. However, when I tried to take the skin off, I couldn't, it was firmly attached to the flesh..... because inside, the fish was raw. I brought it to the attention of the server, he tried to explain that this is how it should be, I insisted that the fish was partially raw ( only slightly grilled on the service but raw inside), he said not a problem, will replace. It took some time ( I was happy, thinking that at least this time the chef is not rushing in to grill it properly) but it was even worse the second time. I couldn't eat it and gave up. If I wanted sashimi, I would not have come to a Spanish restaurant. I did plenty of reviews of restaurants in Spain ( you can check my reviews on Spain), including the ones serving the seafood, I am quite familiar with this type of fish and it is not served half raw inside Spain. The desert was unimpressive. We were not offered a choice of coffee or tea when we asked for desert.I left 25% tip and give 4 stars for the service only because the serving staff was apologetic, tried their best, and took the price of my order from the menu. I would have given 5 stars if we were asked how we preferred the stake at the time of the order and if we were offered coffee/tea to accompany the desert. For food ( and this entire Restaurant Week experience- 1 star). I must say that I was surprised that after the second rejection of the fish dish the chef didn't bother to come to the table. Neither I was offered to order any other dish on the menu ( for which I would have gladly paid full price). Would I recommend this place? I don't know. Definitely not for the Restaurant Week menu, not worth the money. For a dining a la cart experience - maybe , I really like the attentiveness of the floor staff

Lively spot serving great Spanish food. Our waitress gave good drink recommendations and the food came out fast despite being busy. The restaurant week menu allowed us to try a lot. The build your own pan con tomate was a fav. A simple dish made with high quality ingredients that allowed each guest to craft their perfect bite. Capped off the meal with churros and chocolate that were just right in every way. I'd check out Casa Teresa if you'd like a wonderful night!

First time at Casa Teresa, and absolutely loved it! The restaurant has a vibrant atmosphere, and the staff is incredibly welcoming. The waitress took her time to explain the concept of the menu and offered us recommendations on a few of her favorite dishes. She did a splendid job, ensuring that there was no cross-contamination with gluten, which I truly appreciated. We decided to try a variety of items from the menu. Some of my favorites were the ensaladilla, grilled vegetables, and the grilled potatoes. My sister lived in Barcelona for about two years, couldn't stop raving about how the food reminded her of her time abroad. The octopus and steak, however, were a bit overcooked for our liking. Nonetheless, these are minor things that could easily be improved. The tarta de queso was good though I've definitely had better elsewhere. Overall, the ambiance, the friendly staff, and the delicious food make Casa Teresa a place worth trying and returning!

A delicious lunch at Casa Teresa took me back to my years living abroad. As we ordered a variety of tapas, my family and I sampled the restaurant's take on some of Spain's classic dishes, like the Ensaladilla Famosa and the Pa Amb Tomaquet. Every dish I tried was just delightful :) A special note: I didn't try their octopus due to an allergy restriction, but there were some complaints at the table about the texture being too rough.The service was excellent. Our waitress took the time to explain the menu while taking into account the dietary restrictions.The restaurant has a beautiful space with plenty of seating areas indoor and outdoor. I'm already looking forward to visiting Casa Teresa again.

I'd been in the mood for Spanish cuisine, so I was glad to find Casa Teresa, located adjacent to the The Square food hall. We had lunch reservations on a Friday, and they were not too busy. I really enjoyed the ambiance and decor--it's very pretty inside. Staff was friendly and welcoming.We opted for the lunch prix-fixe (menu masia), paired with a glass of wine. Though I did not care for everything on the prix-fixe due to personal preference, not quality, I enjoyed my meal. We each got an entree choice, and mine was the fish option, which happened to be the wahoo. My boyfriend got the flat iron steak. I'd never had wahoo, and our server compared it to mackeral. That is a completely incorrect comparison and while I thought service was good, that gave me pause. I'd compare more to monkfish, though with a less pronounced flavor. It was good, though, and so were the romesco-topped potatoes that accompanied the fish. My companion loved his steak and fries. We both were obsessed with the pan con tomato and the salad. Those were fantastic. I would drown in that olive oil for the bread. It was that good. The wines paired well with our entrees.I'm looking forward to returning to try more of the small plates and some cocktails and Casa Teresa is a welcome addition to DC.

Casa Teresa is located in the Square, which is the relatively new and modern food hall on 18th and K NW. My friend and I wanted to grab dinner at the Square, but there weren't many options open. We ended up going to Casa Teresa since it was on my list. Please keep in mind that Casa Teresa is not cheap. Sometimes the "$50-100" price point per person on Google is inaccurate, but it's quite accurate here.CROQUETAS DE JAMÓN - 4 EACHThe first tapa we tried, my friend and I got one each. The iberian ham definitely tasted expensive and the croqueta was nice and crunchy. Expensive bite, but it was a good one.LAS CROQUETAS DE LA DOLORS - 15Very good! If you're not afraid of the heat, I'd eat them in one bite because the creamy chicken and sauce will spill out. The outside was perfectly crunchy, and each order comes with five croquetas.CARNE A LA BRASA - 27Each order comes with five pieces of steak, each piece is the size of two comfortable bite sizes. The steak was perfectly seared, medium-rare and lightly salted. Definitely a solid piece of steak, but unfortunately, I didn't think it was worth 5.40 per piece. PATATAS AL CALíU - 10We liked the potatoes a lot. Each piece was marinated with the beef fat and roasted to give it extra flavor with the parsley and garlic. It's a pretty simple tapa, but one that we enjoyed a lot because it was well executed.SETAS A LA CATALANA - 12These were definitely not your standard mushrooms (not baby bellas, but I also don't know the proper name of them, lol) and they had a nice roasted flavor and the peanut based sauce (?) and the roasted (?) grapes topped was a nice choice. Pretty good.We paid about ~47 per person for the five things we got above. While the food was good, the pricing is outrageous (just like many DC restaurants). And we were still hungry after.

Had dinner here with a friend for restaurant week and tried a variety of dishes from their menu. The inside of the restaurant is spacious and clean. We opted for a table inside near the threshold of the open windows. The open windows create a stunning blend indoor-outdoor dining space. How to Pa Amb Tomàquet - A creative concept with really good olive oil, crunchy bread, and sweet tomatoes. The server provided instructions on how to eat this which I appreciated. While I enjoyed the flavors, I would have preferred it pre-assembled rather than deconstructed. (4/5)Escalivada Catalana - Ate this with the pa amb tomaquet. The vegetables had a nice roasted flavor but I wasn't a fan of the mushy and slimy texture of them on their own. (3/5)Vasito de Gazpacho Andaluz - Not a fan of cold soup. While I appreciated the flavors in it, it reminded me of a Bloody Mary which I also don't enjoy. (3/5)Las Croquetas de la Dolors - Good crispy exterior with a creamy interior, but nothing remarkable. (4/5)Pescado a la Llauna - The fish was flavorful and had a nice texture, though it was a little overcooked and dry on the inside. (4/5)Corte de Cerdo Ibérico - The pork was tender and had a buttery texture that paired perfectly with the pre-assembled pa amb tomaquet. (5/5)Tarta de Queso - Delicious Basque style cheesecake. Light, soft, and flavorful. Great take on one of my favorite desserts. (5/5)

KenScale: 7.75/10Visit: March 2024While there is no shortage of Spanish restaurants in the DC metro area, thanks largely to the pioneering chef and restaurateur Jose Andres, I certainly wouldn't mind checking out another newcomer that can capture the charm and vibrant energy of this nation's culinary tradition. Late last year, Ruben Garcia, a top lieutenant of chef Andres at minibar who also trained at some of the finest Spanish restaurants such as El Bulli, opened a new restaurant named after his great-grandmother. Given the chef's pedigree, I had very high expectations for Casa Teresa, which is located next to a new food hall called the Square. After visiting the restaurant, however, my wife Jun and I concluded that the food at the restaurant, while overall solid, could use a bit more work (assuming we were not ordering the best dishes from the kitchen). There was no particularly bad dish from Casa Teresa on our visit. On the other hand, Jun said there was no single showstopper that she would absolutely come back to the restaurant for. We had to start our meal with some Jamon Iberico which we oftentimes find to be not an inaccurate barometer of how good a Spanish restaurant is, and it was of course delicious but not at the same level we had tried in Spain a few years ago. Maybe the superlatives in the menu didn't help, either? The chicken and bechamel fritters (accompanied with the description "My Mom's World Famous") were slightly too rich to my palate, and the piquillo peppers (prepared "Casa Julian style") didn't quite taste as marvelous as they looked. The grilled Galician octopus with mojo verde and mojo rojo sauce was one of the bright spots in our meal and I could tell that Jun (one of the biggest and most discerning octopus fans) enjoyed it. Maybe at the risk of bringing leftovers home, we should've ordered one of the large format dishes. Instead, we settled on a moderately sized acorn-fed Iberico butcher's pork cut (with the "legendary" tag) accompanied by pa amb tomaquet (the classic tomato bread). Our server highly touted this dish, and our impression was that this was a well-prepared pork dish but didn't have quite the impact we had expected. We shared a couple of desserts, and I found the soft flan to be more successful than the Basque style cheesecake with goat cheese that I thought could've been a little moister. Getting a reservation at Casa Teresa wasn't too challenging but the stylish dining room was more or less packed in the course of our early dinner so if you want to give this place a try, booking in advance is recommended. I appreciated the diversity of wine selections sourcing wines not just from popular regions like Rioja but other lesser-known corners of the country (Spain is certainly one country I would absolutely love to learn more about in terms of its fascinating wine landscape). I took some time for me to contemplate how food the experience at Casa Teresa was since there was no stinker that I hated but ultimately I agreed with Jun's assessment that the restaurant doesn't quite have the IT factor that would entice us in the near future. When we have a larger gathering, perhaps I will use that opportunity to see if the restaurant can change our minds with other dishes, particularly from the large format section.