Cuisine: This wine bar/restaurant pairs whimsical-but-not-cutesy fare with sips from around the globe. The nearly 500 wines, $6 to $20 by the glass, are also available in inexpensive tasting portions.
Mood: Although there’s plenty of goblet swirling and chatter about the subtleties of, say, the cellar’s 37 Pinot Noirs, the blond-wood restaurant doesn’t feel pretentious. One category on the wine list is “kinda sweet, sorta dry.”
Best for: Wine flights with friends; casual dates that still feel special.
Best dishes: Roasted piquillo pepper oozing goat cheese; fried oysters swabbed in bacony beurre blanc; ultra-rich mushroom fricassee; sauté of calamari with chorizo and lemon; lobster in spicy-sweet Vietnamese-style caramel sauce; roasted balsamic chicken.
Insider tips: Lunch specials abound. Tuesday through Friday there are three $6 shrimp specials plus a special of $12 for two courses chosen from the regular menu.
Service: ••½
Open Monday and Saturday for dinner, Tuesday through Friday for lunch and dinner. Expensive.
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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.
