6 Brunch Spots Around DC to Build Your Own Drinks and Dishes

Ala

Bottomless brunch at this Dupont Levantine restaurant includes an eye-catching make-your-own-mimosa bar stocked with a rainbow of fresh juices—including watermelon and pineapple—plus aromatic syrups (think honey-­jasmine and elderflower) and fresh fruits and berries.

Alhambra

At this Mediterranean dining room at downtown DC’s St. Regis hotel, a Bloody Mary cart rolls right to your table, so you can create your own cocktail with garnishes ga­lore—olives, shrimp, fresh herbs, jalapeños—and choice of spirit.

China Chilcano

Build your own bao at José Andrés’s colorful homage to Japanese-and-­Chinese-influenced Peruvian cuisine. Ease open the puffy buns to slip in Chinese barbecue pork belly and flavorful accoutrements: pickled turnip, tamarind hoisin, and fiery rocoto-pepper sauce.

Old Hickory Steakhouse

This National Harbor steakhouse serves up a sprawling pancake platter for the table, letting you customize your own flapjacks with vanilla whipped cream, Nutella, fig jam, warm chocolate sauce, and maple syrup.

Sequoia

The Sunday brunch buffet at this Georgetown waterfront fixture features more than a dozen stations, including a Wonka-worthy chocolate fountain surrounded by dunkable ladyfingers, meringues, beignets, and marshmallows.

Stable

Gather a group of four to 12 and head to this Swiss spot to melt slabs of raclette cheese on a tabletop griddle, then slather it over new potatoes, crusty bread, and a panoply of pickles.

This article appears in the October 2023 issue of Washingtonian.