Nov 3, 2023 - Food and Drink

Hot November D.C. restaurant openings

Amparo Fondita's sopesitos masa cakes with black beans, cilantro, crema, salsa chipotle, avocado, and queso fresco.

Amparo Fondita's masa cakes with fixings. Photo courtesy of Rey Lopez

A bunch of exciting restaurants just opened in D.C. with more coming this month.

Why it matters: Businesses try to open before the holiday crush, which means lots of new places to take all your visiting friends and family.

Between the lines: There are also a ton of fun pop-ups and collabs happening right now.

Just opened: A global cast of creative restaurants from big names behind Maydan, Masseria, and Peruvian Brothers.

🌮 Amparo Fondita: Chef Christian Irabién's mod-Mexican restaurant, years in the making, is open for lunch and dinner in Dupont Circle. The Oyamel and Muchas Gracias alum is having fun with Baja-style seafood towers, big platters of grilled fish or barbacoa with homemade tortillas and fixings, and mezcal service.

  • A street food-style ghost kitchen, Tacos El Gabacho, runs all day with tacos, tortas, etc.

Medina: A sultry lounge near sister Maydan off 14th Street pours fruit and herb-spiked cocktails, martini service for two and Mediterranean wines alongside share plates big and small.

🇬🇷 Philotimo 2.0: After a short-lived run as a fancy prix-fixe, and long post-fire closure, chef Nick Stefanelli's Greek restaurant is back at Midtown Center. It's dressed down (the menu is a la carte) and livened up (there's a weekend DJ) but you can still find homemade pastas and playful dishes like "Greek breakfast" for dessert.

Peruvian Brothers: D.C.'s popular Peruvian food truck and stall opened a 100% electric-powered restaurant at Amazon HQ2. Go for comforting rotisserie chickens and sides, saltados, bowls (to stay or go), and pisco slushies.

🌺 Mercy Me: West End's South American hangout has changed hands from the Call Your Mother crew (though the bagel shop is still open) to ex-Bourbon Steak chef Robert Curtis and Brazil native Giancarlo Junyent. Go for crudos, Brazilian seafood stew, and Argentine stuffed pizza.

Limani: The sleek Greek seafood restaurant out of New York just landed at The Wharf with three indoor/outdoor levels of dining and an upscale Aegean menu.

🇺🇾 Ceibo: Brothers Juan and Manuel Olivera pay homage to their native Montevideo in Adams Morgan with a modern restaurant highlighting dishes and ingredients from Uruguay and Argentina, plus a basement lounge for sipping South American spirits and wines.

A dining room with a large window wall and communal table and chairs
Casa Teresa brings Spanish style downtown. Photo courtesy of Casa Teresa

Coming soon: Fun bars, more Mexican, fiery Spanish…

🔥 Casa Teresa: Ex-Minibar chef Rubén García's hotly anticipated live-fire Spanish restaurant opens Monday, adjoining The Square food hall downtown. Expect homestyle Catalán cooking in a rustic space. Plus, there's a super fun tapas bar in the works.

🍕Parachute Pizza: Union Market's new Sicilian pizza and oyster bar is readying to open from the Primrose team. Look for fun wines too, courtesy of somm Sebastian Zutant.

Surreal: The latest whimsical restaurant from chef Enrique Limardo (Seven Reasons, Imperfecto) opens at Amazon's HQ2. Dishes like "Flaming Hot Totopos," and "All Year Halloween Gnocchi" say it all. There's also a grab-and-go café and ice cream sundaes for dessert.

🌱 Mita: Ex-El Cielo chefs Miguel Guerra and Tatiana Mora take their South American vegan concept from La Cosecha to a restaurant space in Shaw. Seasonal ingredients meet Latin culinary traditions.

The Grove: Spanish chef Jose Lopez-Picazo is bringing some of his recent Vegas flair to Cabin John with the opening of an upscale Mediterranean restaurant blending coastal Greek, Spanish, and Italian flavors.

🍣 The Heights: The long-anticipated Chevy Chase (Md.) food hall is expected soon with eight stalls including Doki Doki Sushi from Kevin Tien, DC Dosa, and Supreme BBQ, a Tex-Mex restaurant and speakeasy.

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