Best Hot Spot Restaurants in Penn Quarter

Had the branzino, wonderful dish. Server and management very attentive to food allergies.

This was a tremendous meal, and a can't-miss restaurant when visiting Washington D.C. It was my wife and I, and we shared six plates: hummus, falafel, rice pilaf/barley, fried eggplant, brussels sprouts and (essentially) french fries. We were uncomfortably full when leaving, and this ran us a whopping $72 dollars before tip. Obviously if we had gotten drinks or wine, the price would have gone up considerably, but I can't imagine this kind of quality food in a metro area for $36/person in 2024. Plus endless homemade pita that was a cross between pita and naan was provided -- crazy delicious. The french fries had a house-made mushroom salt with a yogurt dipping sauce. The serving size on those were substantial, but basically they were just outstanding french fries. In terms of going for authentic Mediterranean food, we could have swapped this out for something else, but that was probably more our fault than theirs just having something a little more neutral on the menu for less-adventurous eaters. The other five items were all significantly above average, with my favorite being the sprouts and my wife favoring the barley/pilaf. Also, the speed with which we got through our meal was noteworthy -- one hour as they rotated through plates one at a time. It was a well-oiled machine.

I had the lobster roll and truffle fries meal which was one of the best I’ve had in the city. The meal was sooooo deelish!!!! I’ve been to DH for Howard U HoCo parties but have never been for brunch. I’ll definitely be back!!! I may consider this place for my annual bday brunch.

Getting our table was a bit chaotic. There isn’t much room to wait by the hostess stand. And I would have preferred a table further from the front doors, but everything from then on out was aces. Service was friendly and professional. The fried chicken and waffles were delicious. The maple bourbon syrup makes the dish. Will definitely return!

Juliana was our server and she was wonderful! We tried all the new stews, so delicious and very different from each other. The music today was banging good, kind of retro-really fun. If there was a couch in a book, we would not have left.