The Early Word on Victor Albisu's Del Campo

Victor Albisu has been causing a lot of anticipation this spring. His Falls Church restaurant Taco Bamba is still on the way. But fans of the chef have been at least temporarily satiated by Del Campo, his ode to South American grilled meat housed within the former PS7's space. What's the verdict on the food? Here's what the first critics, bloggers, Yelpers and more have to say about Del Campo.

The Terrific Bread News: CityEats offers this tip to Del Campo diners: "Don't skip the bread service — the warm country bread is cooked in a cast iron skillet and served with smoked olive oil." [CE]

The So Much Grilled Meat News: UrbanDaddy writes, "If you've ever looked at an entire table of food and said, 'Someone should really grill all of this,' then this is the place for you, what with charred peas, burnt tomatoes, blistered greens and cocktails with grilled citrus all appearing on the menu." [UD]

The Great Potential News: Don Rockwell user lotus125 says, "The space is very pleasant -- warm decor, nice soundtrack, and a faint smell of the grill. The cocktails were very good. The food has great potential. Almost everything on the menu has components that have touched the grill (including crudos and salads). I love smokey flavors, so this was quite pleasing." [DR]

The Fire Everywhere News: DCist previews the space and writes about how not just the meat is grilled at Del Campo. "Salmon arrived just barely grilled, with its remaning rawness accented by crispy pork rinds. Seared, burnt, charred, and other fiery adjectives appear throughout Albisu's South American menu. Cheese is charbroiled. Several of the drinks require fire—juice from grilled lemons, grapefruits, and limes and an applewood smoked simple syrup." [DCist]

The Twitter News: @rickholgate says, "Great drinks & appetizers tonight at @DelCampoDC - can't wait to get back for a full meal by Chef @VictorAlbisu. You need to check it out!" [Twitter]

The Plebeian Cocktail News: Del Campo is earning three stars on Yelp right now with 12 reviews in. One is from user F.J., who writes "The staff couldn't be bothered with us. We drinking their hilariously expensive, yet plebian $14  cocktails, we were ordering lots of their 16 dollar appetizers, and I had to actually walk back and find someone after our server vanished for 25 minutes. The replacement was just as dismissive. It was like it was all they could do to take our money." [Yelp] 

The Best Bread Ever News: Another Yelp review from Mark F. states "Del Campo is one of the most exciting places in D.C. It just opened this week, so there are some things they are perfecting, but the food is so unique and delicious. The crudos are great, followed by the bread (best bread I've ever had), and the meats.....don't even get me started. Go there and try everything. This place is going to  be hard to get into soon."

The Kinky Service News: User Marmar T. has some service issues with Del Campo. "For dinner, we went a week into its opening, and there were obviously a lot of service kinks that had not been worked out. The food took over an hour; they forgot the sauces with the meat (which was sort of the point of this place, being S. American); they did not check on us until we had finished eating; and finally the coffees came about 20 minutes after we finished desert and while we were paying the bill. That is a lot of kinks." [Yelp]

The Olive Oil Worth Bathing In News: Yumi B. says "The ceviches are amazing and are beautifully composed. Short ribs are AMAZING! Don't miss those, or the rib eye, or the empanadas. The smoked olive oil is a highlight there too. So addictive you'll want to bathe in it." [Yelp]

The Not So Vegetarian News: Thrillist shares news of the Chivito sandwich, which "layers said sirloin with ham, mortadella, provolone, and fried egg. This is what they call, in Buenos Aires, 'the vegetarian option'." [Thrillist]

The Facebook Shoutout: Facebook user Michael says "Fabulous meal! Fabulous restaurant! Congratulations to the entire Del Campo team!" [FB]
· All Previous Coverage of Del Campo [-EDC-]