The new iteration of Minibar, José Andrés’s wee palace of modern cuisine goodness, will begin serving dinner on November 2 and starts taking reservations at 10 AM Tuesday—but not over the phone. The only way to secure them is to e-mail the restaurant at the address reserve@minibarbyjoseandres.com.
The new 12-seat Minibar at 855 E Street, Northwest, will also be pricier. The tasting menu, previously set at $150, will now cost $225 per person. With seatings at 6, 6:30, 8:30, and 9, the restaurant can accommodate six people per seating, staggering things so 12 people are being served at any given time.
The Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema scored some details on decor, created in collaboration with Juli Capella, the designer behind the newly redesigned Jaleo in Penn Quarter. Writes Sietsema: “The new Minibar will be ‘more of a journey,’ said Ann McCarthy, a spokeswoman for the restaurant’s parent company, Think Food Group. Diners will start the evening with a drink in the bar, move on to a dining room with an open kitchen and end the night with something sweet in a study with a see-through fireplace—‘just as if you were in [Andrés]’s home.’”