The Early Word on Baby Wale

Tom Power's first restaurant, Corduroy, has a passionate fan base. The chef's proponents were eager to see what he'd do with a large, more casual operation. That comes in the form of Baby Wale, which opened just over two weeks ago in Shaw. Here's what the first Yelpers, bloogers and others had to say about the restaurant.

The Reasonable Portions News: Baby Wale is currently earning 3 Stars on Yelp, with 13 reviews in. Here's one from user Chase. M. "Everything we ordered arrived on-time and was cooked perfectly. The charred tomato soup is amaaaaazzzing. The soft shell crab sandwich was a little strange. Things were priced reasonably and served in good sized portions. The atmosphere is great. We will likely return!' [Yelp]

The Fail Wale News: Another Yelper, You W., has some harsh words. "Baby Wale = #FAIL. This place should be called Adult Wail...because I, for one, feel like wailing after this terrible meal. I ordered the spring rolls (which had scary hot dog-like innards) and tried to order the lobster roll (they were fresh out at 9:30 PM on a Saturday). I opted next for the soft shell crab sandwich...it tasted fine but the crab was minuscule and the accompanying salad was bland and pointless. I was hoping the cookie assortment dessert would at least cap the experience in a positive way: NO. The cookies are nothing special...stick with the Keebler elves. You can buy an entire pack for the price of two of these crummy cookies." [Yelp]

The Immature Menu News: Yelper Ashley H. is not into the menu, which she calls "extremely limited and unimaginative. It reads like a 6 year olds dream. Pepperoni pizza! hot dogs! Grilled cheese! The hope is that they do these items really well but that is not the reality.  The flavor profile is also for 6 year olds. Really boring, unartistic, poorly-executed food." [Yelp]

The Go-Go News: Yelper Justin N. appreciates the restaurant's go-go influenced theme. "Stopped here for drinks after dinner at Corduroy with the GF.  FINALLY A BAR THAT REPS DC'S TRUE GO-GO ROOTS!  For those of you who don't know, Go-Go is a type of music that started in DC. Unfortunately, DC is so transient that most people won't pick up on what they are doing here, but it is AWESOME!  They play old school go-go and have posters from past shows. Highly recommend checking this place out." [Yelp]

The Affordable News: The Georgetown Voice publishes an early review. "For patrons looking for a more diverse dinner, the Filipino-style spring rolls came highly recommended. The dishes themselves are delicious, but certainly leave you wanting as they come in relatively small servings. Refreshingly, the prices fit the portions as everything—save the "Big Stuff"—is under $20. The deals are not unintentional, our server disclosed. Baby Wale shares a South wall with Corduroy, Power's other restaurant and Wale's older, more mature brother. Appealing to younger crowd, Baby Wale takes Corduroy's class and adds some youthful energy." [GV]

The 'Imminently Instagrammable' News: Brightest Young Things is high on the restaurant's design. "The space, which was just an empty shell behind an old storefront attached to Corduroy, has been designed by EDIT Lab @ StreetSense, who are also responsible for everything from U Street Music Hall to Red Hen to Daikaya's look and everything inside feels both instantly comfortable and imminently instagrammable." [BYT]

The Chicken Shoutout: UrbanDaddy offers this advice. "Don't make a reservation. Just walk in with a date. Order a roast chicken for two, because a) it's good, and b) it takes 45 minutes. Which is plenty of time to sample the duck pupusas and cocktails like chili-infused margaritas and hibiscus mojitos." [UD]

The Mozzarella News: DailyCandy's take: "Unwind at chef Tom Power's two-level industrial-chic bar. Corduroy's little sister is brightened by an airy chandelier, vintage go-go posters, and Day-Glo ads for wine by the glass. Try charred tomato soup, lobster rolls, and roast chicken for two. Don't miss the mozzarella porcupine (cheese wrapped in shredded phyllo then deep fried)." [DC]

The Simple Salad Nod: On Foursquare, Norm S. urges visitors to "Try the tomato and arugula salad. It's simple, fresh, and incredibly delicious." [FS]

The Casual News: Guest of a Guest describes Baby wale as a "gorgeously casual and funky place, making it the perfect spot to break the ice. Don't expect any hifalutin food here; amazingly prepared pupusas and lobster rolls await under the tree chandelier: [GoaG]

The Still Good the Next Day News: On Don Rockwell, reviewer Lackadaisi says, "That soft shell crab sandwich is the bomb. And if you ever end up with leftover pizza, it is an amazing cold middle-of-the-night snack, so good it makes insomnia enjoyable. And the bar!! I love it!" [DR]

The Solid Fries News: Also on Don Rockwell, Adam23 says "The fries that came with the hotdog were perfect - They are the shoestring variety but were hot, perfectly crisp, not greasy, lightly salted and topped with some herbs.  I could eat bowls of them." [DR]
· All Previous Baby Wale Coverage [-EDC-]