Granville Moore

Granville Moore opened in the summer of 2007. Upon arriving one would never notice where the place is.....no signage showing the name except for a very small plaque on the entrance that says Dr. Granville Moore. The location itself has some history to the neighborhood; Dr. Moore was a local physician who would perform pro-bono work for the locals who were less fortunate.
According to the bartenders at Granville, some locals who patron the restaurant would share stories of the doctor. Though not the first, Granville was probably the first popular full service restaurant in the H Street, NE corridor. The H Street corridor has been going through a revitalization in the last 7yrs or so. I moved in to that neighborhood in the summer of 2004, with my then wife. Back then there were no places to go to except for several Wings, fast food and fish fry places. Until Suddenly the summer of 2005 when things turned around when a few bars opened that included Argonaut, Palace of Wonders followed by the Red and The Black, H Street Martini Lounge to name a few. Granville Moore now resides on the same block with the Pug, Martini Lounge, Red and the Black, Palace of Wonders and Sticky Rice. Quite a change from a couple of years ago.
Granville Moore is one of several Gastropubs that has been popping up around DC as of late that included Commonwealth, Elephant and Castle, Bar Pilar, H Street Country Club, etc. Although, BricksKeller probably started the trend before it was a trend and has been around as long as I have been in DC......25yrs.
Anyway, when entering you wouldn't know that Granville is more than just a divey looking bar. There are, maybe, 5 tables of 4 on the first floor against the wall to the left and a bar that seats maybe 10-12 to the right. The decor is mostly wooden and forgettable and the ambience is dark. Further back, a stairwell is located to the upstairs bar and dining area. There is also a patio for outside seating in the back that, kinda, faces the alley.
The decor and ambience may be forgettable, but the food and beverage offering is not. When looking at the menu one would think that this is another Belgian restaurant; it offers 8 kinds of mussel preparations that included ones made with a belgian beer, pomme frites hot sandwiches and steak and frites.
The menu may be small but very well executed. The Mussels are very well prepared; I prefer the classic white wine and garlic, although the morrocan mussel prepared with belgian beer and lamb sausage is excellent.
I've also had their scallops wrapped in bacon in a bed of squash puree; a very good combination of seafood savory and autumn-like creamy and sweet. The pomme frites (Belgian fries) are homemade....at least last I was there. The potatoes are cut and blanched in house and 8 different dipping sauce is made that included: chipotle mayo, homemade hot sauce, curry mayo and mornay sauce (tomatoes in Hollandaise sauce). The beer selection is plentiful for a small restaurant, mostly Belgian selections. They also have a decent high end single batch bourbon selection such as Elmer T. Lee, Elijah Craig and Bulleit.
Granville Moore provides reasonably priced offerings posing as a neighborhood watering hole when it's actually a great Gastropub with more than just a typical local grill menu. Unfortunately, perhaps fortunately for them, they're only open for dinner only Monday - Sunday.
This one's a can't miss, hope they thrive for years to come.