RAMW’s Summer Restaurant Week is a couple weeks away—it runs from Monday, August 24 through Sunday, August 30—and now’s the time to make reservations for those $25-$35 lunches and brunches and $40 to $65 dinners. This year, there’s a nice slate of newcomers (all open a year or less) taking part in the semi-annual promotion.
Bazaar Meat
1100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
This spring, the Bazaar—José Andrés’s surrealist small plates restaurant in the Waldorf-Astoria—transitioned to his more meat-focused concept, which can also be found in Chicago, New York, and Vegas.
The RW deal: A $35 weekend brunch features a yogurt parfait with granola and berries; an omelet with fillings like manchego and butifarra sausage; and a waffle with whipped mascarpone and bananas. A tempting add-on for $15: a fried-egg-topped smash burger.
Brasero Atlantico
1066 Wisconsin Ave., NW
This Buenos Aires export, which opened last fall, was the first in a mini-wave of Georgetown steakhouses. We’ve had the best luck here with dishes that evoke the place’s Argentinian roots, whether panqueques or fire-licked ribeyes.
The RW deal: The $65 dinner menu is concise, with empanadas, fish or steak with chimichurri, and flan. The ribeye carries an $18 upcharge, and you can add an extra pasta course for $12.
Canton Disco
1025 First St., SE
The chef at this Navy Yard restaurant is Timothy Yu, whose family ran Wheaton dim sum institution Hollywood East for decades. Here, you’ll find his updated takes on Cantonese classics, plus skin-contact wines and melon highballs.
The RW deal: There are two dinner options. For $40, you’ll get a choice of two small plates, an entree—including black pepper wagyu and ginger/scallion cod—and a dessert. For $80, two diners can share a duck set entree, with roasted breast, bao buns, and duck lo mein, plus the same bookends.
Catahoula
79 Potomac Ave., SE
DC didn’t have much in the way of Cajun/Creole restaurants until this Navy Yard brasserie came along. Bonus: it sits right on the river and has lots of outdoor space.
The RW deal: The same $55 four-course menu can be had for lunch and dinner. It kicks off with either a cheddar/jalapeno biscuit or an order of corn “guppies” (think hush puppies). Next, you’ve got a good range of classic NOLA choices, from gumbo to crab remoulade to dirty rice to debris po’boys. Dessert is beignets, chicory creme brûlée, or chocolate mousse. There’s also a $110-for-two option, with an oyster sampler, gumbo, and a Viet-Cajun crawfish boil, plus dessert.
The Grace
1539 Seventh St., NW
Spiffed-up comfort food is the thing at this two-story Shaw bar in the old Passenger space. Chef Courtney Evans adds Afro-Southern touches to many of her dishes.
The RW deal: Dinner here—three courses for $40—is one of the more affordable options this Restaurant Week, and there’s also a $35 three-course brunch menu. Both offer a bunch of choices, including grilled oysters with suya spice and collard butter; mango/coconut shrimp with peppercorn aioli; club and Cuban sandwiches; and roast chicken with sauce choron. For dessert, there’s peach bread pudding. The menus are extended through September 6.
Ingle Korean Steakhouse
1926 14th St., NW
Tysons’ luxe K-BBQ destination got a 14th Street sibling late last year. It spotlights lesser-seen cuts of American wagyu, and servers handle the tabletop grilling.
The RW deal: Ingle’s dinner prix fixe is typically $84—its similarly formatted Restaurant Week version is $65. Each pair of diners chooses a single side and appetizer, and shares four cuts of beef. Everyone chooses their own savory dish (spicy seafood noodle soup, beef-fried rice, chilled buckwheat noodles, and more) plus a dessert or an espresso or tea drink.
Kayu
1633 17th St., NW
Paolo Dungca’s mod-Filipino dining room found a cozy new home in Dupont last summer, and promptly landed on our 100 Very Best Restaurants list.
The RW deal: Kayu is starting Restaurant Week early. A $65 dinner menu will run from Wednesday, August 11 and through the end of the month. I’m a big fan of the place’s chorizo-filled ube bao, and other intriguing options include blue-crab noodles with salsa macha; mushroom dumplings with curry butter; and sourdough bomboloni with cheddar and truffle cream. There are a couple upcharges: $14 for a pork chop with peach barbecue sauce, and $16 for a wagyu striploin.
Malabar
4465 Connecticut Ave., NW
In January, the Van Ness American restaurant Rosedale transitioned into Malabar, a coastal Indian spot with an emphasis on seafood. Rasika chef Vikram Sunderam oversees the menu.
The RW deal: A $45 three-course dinner menu—available now through the end of the month—has plenty of choices, including a lump crab pepper fry; gingery shrimp moilee; mini masala dosas; salmon with pickled lemon; and lamb roganjosh.
Rosselli
1199 H St., NW
Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj—also behind Malabar—closed his Penn Quarter Italian restaurant Modena last summer. After a chic renovation, the space debuted as the more elegant Rosselli in April.
The RW deal: There are two dinner options—$55 and $65. They share the same appetizer choices (crudo, lemony arancini) and desserts, but the more affordable menu is centered around pasta, while the other offers steak, salmon, risotto, and chicken. A $35 lunch menu features pasta and panini.
Rye Bunny
1827 Adams Mill Rd., NW
Miss Tail Up Goat? Rye Bunny, with the same owners in the same space, is just as wonderful. The counter-service comfort food spot doesn’t take reservations and will likely be mobbed, but nowhere makes standing in line more pleasant.
The RW deal: The $55 dinner menu features three savory courses, plus an optional dessert add-on. Some of my favorite dishes are on there, including crispy montasio cheese frico with smoked-trout roe and creme fraiche; anchovy toast; pork croquettes with aioli; and fried chicken with sumac and honey.
Uchi
1700 M St., NW
This sleek, usually-packed Austin transplant has a sprawling menu of Japanese share plates and sushi, with fish imported from Japan’s Toyosu seafood market and plenty of swanky options like caviar, toro, and A5 wagyu. If you’re a fan of the nearby Shoto, you’ll probably love it here.
The RW deal: The $65 five-course menu features a salad, crudo (including the signature yellowtail with chili), nigiri, a hot dish (grilled escolar or pork belly), and dessert. That said, I’d rather visit at the daily happy hour (4 to 6 PM), when $120 buys you a nine-course menu for two, and there’s an array of $6 cocktails, wine, and sake.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
