Absinthe cocktails. Pork belly bao buns. Three styles of Asian fried chicken. These are just a few of the things you’ll find at Mama Rouge when the French- and Southeast Asian-inspired eatery debuts on the Georgetown waterfront October 14. We got an exclusive look inside the new eatery.
Husband-and-wife owners Aulie Bunyarataphan and Mel Oursinsiri operated Bangkok Joe’s in the space for 12 years before closing to revamp the design and concept. While Joe’s specialized in Thai food—as do their other ventures, Arlington’s T.H.A.I. and Tom Yum District—Mama Rouge draws from a mix of European and Asian traditions.
The drink list mixes Sriracha Bloody Marys with sparkling Calvados cocktails. More melding appears on the lunch and dinner menu in dishes such as orange-Sriracha fried chicken with soy butter, or a ham-and-cheese bánh mì. Other items fall into classic camps, such as French daily specials of steak au poivre and duck a l’orange, or crispy pork spring rolls alongside bowls of Vietnamese pho. A concise brunch menu offers crepes, pastry baskets, and savory scallion-crab pancakes. While prices aren’t pocket change, they’re gentle overall for a Georgetown waterfront restaurant.
The 100-seat dining room and bar also received a complete makeover, courtesy of Collective Architecture with VSAG. Vibrants blues and reds mix with more traditional French light fixtures and banquette seating. Come warm weather, you can sip boozy punch on a 30-seat outdoor patio.
Eager to try it out? Reservations are accepted beginning on October 6.
Mama Rouge. 3000 K St., NW; 202-333-4422. Opening hours: Monday through Wednesday 11:30 to 10:30, Thursday 11:30 to 11, Friday 11:30 to midnight, Saturday 11 to midnight, Sunday 11 to 10:30. Brunch served Saturday and Sunday 11 to 2:30. Find Anna Spiegel on Twitter at @annaspiegs.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
