Food

Jônt

Washingtonian 100 Very Best Restaurants 2024 - #19

Photograph courtesy of Jônt.
#19
14th Street corridor
American, Japanese
The most unique and thrilling tasting menu of the year—at $375 a pop, also the most expensive in DC—can be found at Ryan Ratino’s minimalist perch. You’ve seen truffle and caviar supplements, but what about $40 extra for a slice of crown melon? The painstakingly grown muskmelon—a current darling of Japan’s luxury-fruit scene—arrives simply on a bed of ice and, yes, will ruin future break-fast fruits for you. Ratino’s strength is showcasing such prized ingredients in cleverly satisfying ways, whether a snack of ankimo (sweet, creamy monkfish liver) with apple or a cut of sawara, a mackerel, in buttermilk sauce verdant with herbs. You’ll leave with the Y2K hip-hop soundtrack bouncing in your head and wake up to our favorite restaurant party favor yet: a matcha/oat-milk latte that tastes like melted mint ice cream.
Price
Very Expensive
Cuisine
American, Japanese
Address
1904 14th St NW Washington, DC 20009