Hot November D.C. restaurant openings
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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.
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.