Cafe Atlantico

Reviewed by Todd Kliman , Ann Limpert , Cynthia Hacinli

A playful Nuevo Latino bistro with one of the best brunches in the city.

Cafe Atlantico

405 Eighth St., NW
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: 202-393-0812

Cuisines:
Nuevo Latino, South American, Dim Sum

Opening Hours:

Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

Nearby Metro Stops:
Archives-Navy Memorial
Gallery Place-Chinatown

Price Range:
Expensive

Dress:
Upscale Casual

Noise Level:
Chatty

Reservations:
Recommended

Special Features:
Party Space, Weekend Brunch

Website:
Click here to open in new window.

Best Dishes
Foie gras soup; conch fritters; shrimp with corn puree and corn nuts; seared salmon with papaya-vanilla oil; duck confit with pinenuts; deconstructed feijoada with pork belly; tres leches cake; dessert "pina colada"; pineapple caipirinha; salt-and-lime "air" -topped margarita.

Price Details:
Lunch appetizers, $8 to $12; entrees, $10 to $14.
Dinner appetizers, $8 to $15; entrees, $19 to $26.
Pre-theater menu, $30.07.
Five-course tasting menu, $65.

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From January 2006 100 Very Best Restaurants

THE SCENE: Jose Andres solidified his reputation here by dabbling in the flavors of Nuevo Latino, but now Atlantico is the playground of his protege Katsuya Fukushima. The spiraling, three-floor dining room, a blaze of tropical colors, stays loud and crowded long into the night. 

WHAT YOU'LL LOVE: Like his mentor, Fukushima hails from the Ferran Adria school of culinary art, where deliciousness is nothing unless it's shot through with playfulness. If you're not up for the Minibar, the 30-plus-course carnival ride offered upstairs, Atlantico is a good place to give the style a whirl, with dishes like oysters with passionfruit air and deconstructed Caesar salad. Alongside are some of the best fruity drinks in the city--mojitos, mango daiquiris, rum-spiked passionfruit juice, and pisco sours--plus wine and Champagne flights. And the all-you-can-eat Latino dim sum brunch is one of the best ways to sample the style--and one of the best brunches in the area.

WHAT YOU WON'T: Some think the Adria-approved foams, airs, and injections smack of trendiness and quackery, and a few dishes--risotto with rice krispies, duck confit with a lacquer of sugar--add credence to the argument.

BEST DISHES. A lobe of foie gras with mole and sweet sauces; soft, seared salmon belly with pineapple and quinoa; seared salmon with papaya-vanilla oil; dessert piña colada; an elegant tres leches cake with candied cashews and pineapple confit.

Photograph by Allison Dinner