Cuisine: In chef Tony Conte’s hands, slices of raw kampachi morph into a riff on a pastrami sandwich, Parmesan gets paired with pineapple, and gingerbread turns into a sauce. Recipes for disaster? Maybe for a lesser cook, but Conte—a protégé of Jean-Georges Vongerichten—consistently pulls off such surprises with stunning results.
Mood: The restaurant’s proximity to the White House means there’s usually a politico power scene (“Hey there, Rahm”) at lunch. At night the pretty, pale-green dining room feels warmer and more serene.
Best for: A quiet date; an easier-on-the-budget meal that still feels like a splurge (entrées hover in the $20s); a spur-of-the-moment dinner, for which reservations are usually more plentiful than at lunch.
Best dishes: Foamy, light, lavishly rich Parmesan custard; decadent foie gras brûlée over a circle of brioche; the area’s best beet salad, with horseradish and cubes of passionfruit gelée; cucumber soup; creamy burrata cheese with apple; butter-poached lobster over curried rice; striped bass with heirloom peppers and littleneck clams; braised short ribs.
Insider tips: Request a table in the main dining room—the area off to the side feels far from the action.
Service: •••
Open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, Saturday for dinner. Expensive.
See all of 2010's 100 Best Restaurants
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
