Gail and I went to this restaurant on a Tuesday night. It is literally at the corner of Norfolk Avenue and Cordell.
The restaurant is relatively small, seating only 30 people inside at a bar and a series of 2 and 4 tops that can be rearranged to accommodate larger parties. There are a number of sidewalk tables which did not appear to be in use the night we were there. (See the message at the bottom of this page.)
We had a 6:30 p.m. reservation at which time it was relatively quiet. By the time we left some 2 hours later when the restaurant had filled up and it was quite loud. Gail and I agreed that landing an early evening reservation makes the most sense.
The kitchen is visible at the end of the restaurant through a figured glass wall so it is easy to watch the final prep of each dish if you happen to be sitting near the wall and facing into the kitchen as I was.
Gail started with Roasted Japanese Eggplant – lemon yogurt, fresno peppers, mint, pistachios. I started with Charred Broccolini – almond puree, lemon curd.
We then ordered Cauliflower Steak – smoked date and cauliflower purees, pickled cauliflower.
We shared these three dishes.
For main courses Gail selected Scallops- Israeli couscous, parsnip puree, compressed apples and I picked Chicken Forgione – broccolini, potato, charred lemon, chicken jus. The chicken was a bit over cooked.
I wanted dessert (Gail did have a bite or two). I chose Vanilla pot de crème with raspberry puree.
The service was quite attentive.
Gail suggested that one could have an entire dinner ordering from what are described on the menu as “Smalls” and “Shares” skipping the dishes that are in the section of the menu called “Mains.”
There are two unmarked unisex restrooms. They are located behind a curtain just past the end of the bar and next to the kitchen.
As you enter the restroom there is a square white ceramic washbasin with a small pine tree in a pot on the corner. Immediately next to the tree is a white ceramic commode with a basket filled with white towels on the top of the shelf at the top of the commode. The toilet paper is attached to a small table in the corner. Below is a wastebasket for the towels. The walls to waist level are covered with rectangular white ceramic tiles topped by a six inch panel of very tiny square tiles. The balance of the walls are painted black. The floor is covered with six sided white tiles.
At the bottom of the menu is the following legend which I have never seen before:
Please note: Due to the size of our restaurant all parties are allotted 2 hours from the time of their reservation. This will allow us to be ready to serve our next guest at the time of their reservation.
Duck Duck Goose
7929 Norfolk Avenue
Bethesda MD 20814
301-312-8837
info@ddgbethesda.com
Lunch: Tuesday-Thursday 11 a.m. -3:00 p.m.
Dinner: Monday-Thursday 4:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Friday-Saturday – 4:30 pm – 11:00 p.m.
Sunday – 4:30 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.