CTE Restaurant

On Wednesday, March 23, 2016, I had lunch at the CTE Restaurant, 819 South Braddock Street. This small place at the corner of Handley Boulevard and Braddock has its own parking lot out front with four patron’s spaces, plus a space next to the building which the owner uses for his vehicle.

CTE is closed on Sunday; it’s open Monday-Thursday, 11:00 AM-8:00 PM; Friday, 11:00 AM-9:30 PM; and Saturday, 12:00 PM-9:30 PM. The telephone number is 540-773-5198, and takeout is available. Its Web address is www.cterestaurant.com, and includes a menu with pictures of various dishes.

CTE opened on Monday, September 22, 2014 and I first visited it for dinner a few days later, giving it a review with only a three-star rating and a short life expectancy of six months. Today’s visit was to see if it deserved a new evaluation in recognition of its staying power.

A small patio with wooden flooring is along the front of the building, and has three iron table and chair sets seating two apiece. The entrance is at the left front of the building and opens into the smaller of its two rooms. The room’s corner location has windows on the front and left side. Seating here is with two half-booths and a table. A TV screen is here, and the single restroom is in the back.

The larger room on the right has the small open kitchen along the back wall and you may watch the chef; a counter for the cashier is in front of the kitchen. Two booths are here in the front, next to the window, and a booth and a half booth are next to the counter. Decorations include pictures of menu items, along with Oriental scenes.

The Asian Fusion Cuisine includes Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Thai dishes. The menu folder has a cover page and five menu pages. Categories listed are Beverages, Sweet Drinks, Appetizers, Kid’s Menu, Soups, CTE Special, Japanese, Vegetarian, Chef’s Special Rolls, Salads, Nigiri and Sashimi, Sushi Combo Meal, Desserts, and Seasonal Hot Pot for Two. It’s very much the same as the menu for my original visit.

I wanted only a light lunch, and ordered a bowl of Miso Soup (Tofu, Seaweed, Mushrooms, Green Onions, and Broth) and Tempura Shrimp (2) from the Appetizer Menu. I didn’t think to ask for tea, and just had water for my beverage. The soup was served in a medium-sized square bowl, quite hot, with cubes of tofu, etc. Although the shrimp were served as finger food on a square platter, with a small dish of sweet tempura sauce, I had to ask for a napkin.

CTE’s current seating arrangement with booths is far superior to the original awkward arrangement of cluttered tables I noted on my first visit. My new rating is four stars; I thought the server could have been more helpful.

My spouse and I are huge foodies of Asian fare and CTE does not disappoint. It's not the average Chinese Food take-out joint in refreshing way...the flavors are authentic with an emphasis on healthy ingredients (no MSG, low-sodium, etc) -- made important by the owners whose own young daughters eat there everyday.

Been here for at least 6 visits and sushi has been fresh every time.

Kids' meals are nicely-portioned and our kids chow down. Every one is happy. After circling around Winchester trying to decide what to eat, everyone votes for CTE.

Their menu has expanded with each visit, must be due to adapting to customer faves -- the chef can cook all sorts of asian fare apparently. Looking forward to trying more dishes!

On Friday, September 26, I had dinner at the CTE Restaurant, 819 South Braddock Street, then Winchester's newest eatery. This small place at the corner of Handley Boulevard and Braddock has its own parking lot with four patron's spaces, plus a space which the owner uses for his vehicle.

CTE is closed on Sunday; it's open Monday-Thursday, 11:00 AM-9:00 PM; Friday, 11:00 AM-9:30 PM; and Saturday, 12:00 PM-9:30 PM. The telephone number is 540-773-5198, and carryout is available.

The restaurant opened on Monday, September 22, and this was my first opportunity to try out its Oriental cuisine. A small patio with wooden flooring is along the front of the building, and has three iron table and chair sets seating two apiece.

The entrance is at the left front of the building and opens into the smaller of its two rooms, with four rectangular tables seating four with chairs having plastic bucket seats. Because of the room's corner location, there are windows on the front and left side. A coffee server is here and a TV screen, and a single restroom is in the back.

All of these tables were occupied and I went to the larger room on the right. The small kitchen was along the back wall, a counter was in front of it for the cashier, and four small tables with four chairs each were jammed together in the remainder of the space.

There was very little maneuvering room, and I took the one empty table after the neighboring patrons moved their tables and chairs to allow me to sit down. I didn't find the chair's bucket seat at all comfortable.

The five-page menu lists Lunch Specials that include Sushi, Soups, Salads, and CTE Specials. Other categories are Beverages, Sweet Drinks, Appetizers; Kid's Menu; Japanese, listing Maki and Chef's Special Rolls.

Also, conventional Oriental entrees; Nigiri and Sashimi; Sushi Combo Meal; Asian Corner, with more entrees, and Desserts. Countries represented are mainly Japan, but include China, Thailand, Korea, and Vietnam.

An unusual offering starting at $29.99 for two people is called a Seasonal Hot Pot, and is a soup, half spicy and half chicken broth with mixed vegetables, sliced chicken, lamb, beef, tilapia, salmon, tuna, yellow tail, scallop, shrimp, egg, mushroom, rice noodles, scallions, and cilantro.

I ordered a Tempura Soft Shell Crab Roll containing lettuce and rice, wrapped in seaweed, from the Japanese Maki menu, along with a pot of hot tea. My serving was six rounds from the Maki roll, but only two had a piece of soft shell crab.

There was a little dab of a green mixture on the dish, which may have been ginger; it was about ten times spicier than horseradish, and I used it very sparingly. No other sauce was swerved with the Maki, and I didn't use the soy sauce on the table.

I was disappointed with my serving, but I can't blame the restaurant because the dish I ordered was my first try at any type of Sushi. I should have selected one of the more conventional Oriental entrees, where I have had more experience.

For that reason I owe the place a return visit to better judge the menu's offerings. Nevertheless, the ambience is marred by the effort to provide as much seating as possible, and the chair style is not comfortable.

This is a Chinese family operation; the owner and chef prefers to be called Nick. The cashier is his wife, and she told me that they had worked in restaurants in Fairfax for a number of years before coming to Winchester to establish their own business. The letters "CTE" stand for "Come to Eat", and are also the initials of the first names of the family's three daughters.

This location last housed The Brooklyn Chef, and I had a very good hot pastrami sandwich there back in November. Unfortunately, it lasted less than six or seven months. Before that, it was another Oriental place called the Wok Zone.

Other occupants of the building were an ice cream parlor called the Dairy Cream Corner, an audio-visual outfit, and once, upon a long time ago, a candle store back when that was an active fad.

In my judgment, the building is too small for a viable food operation, and is handicapped by the limited parking lot, along with no nearby public parking. Also, CTE may be trying to offer too many selections with limited facilities to prepare them. I give it no more than six months.