Monday, March 22, 2021

First look: Ordering from Ensemble in Bethesda (Photos)


Ensemble
, opening this week at 4856 Cordell Avenue in Bethesda, is breaking new ground in takeout ordering and the booming ghost kitchen concept. The takeout and delivery-focused restaurant offers menu items from Ted's Bulletin, Federalist Pig, Honeymoon Chicken and Sidekick Bakery. What the sleek but tiny space isn't designed to offer is sit-down dining, very much in keeping with current dining trends. As a bonus, it's also the only way to try Honeymoon Chicken menu items before that restaurant opens in the District. Here is a sneak peek at how the ordering process worked during a soft-opening test run this past weekend:

You can download the Ensemble app
from their website, which allows you to
select your choices by restaurant, or by
category across all 4 brands

You can also order through Door Dash,
Grubhub, Seamless, Postmates and UberEats

You can order to-go, or have
it delivered to you


Here is how a takeout order went

Head to the restaurant to pick-up order

Enter the restaurant and turn to the right



Here you will see the locker-style cabinets where
takeout orders await

Touchscreen

Open the door assigned to your meal

Here is it, bagged up and ready to go

Here's the bag

Honeymoon Chicken Basket with
Chicken Bites

Ted's Burger with double-sharp cheddar cheese,
bacon, caramelized onions, chives & a fried egg
with hand-cut fries





They have La Colombe and Snowing in Space
coffee cans among the beverages



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

That's extremely cool. Do you know of those lockers are heated? I wonder how long your order is sitting in there. I guess not that long but a heated compartment would be very neat for sure. I will say, do not order from any of the services you mentioned. Tht restaurants get killed on fees with Uber Eats, etc. Order direct from the app in this case. I suspect an idea like this to last post-pandemic.

Anonymous said...

Doesn't anybody around here know how to prepare their own food? Nearly $14 for avocado toast. All you have to do is purchase a ripe avocado, mash the pulp, squeeze on some lemon or lime juice, add seasonings (salt, pepper, maybe a dash of cayenne, and spices of your choosing), maybe some red onion. Toast a slice of bread, and spread on the avocado. Next time I will tell you how to fry a couple of eggs sunny side up.

As long as I'm on the subject of insanity, can anyone explain where these hoards of people needed to fill up all these high-rise apartments being built, and willing to pay $2000+ per month, are going to come from? What is the current occupancy rate in Bethesda? Most of the high-rises built in recent years (eg. the Bainbridge) have 'now leasing' signs posted in front or on the side of the buildings. By all indications, the existing buildings are not fully occupied. What is the theory here -- supply creates its own demand?