About Del Campo
Some restaurants have a feminine air, all warm hues and soft textures. Some are decidedly masculine—dark dens where business is transacted. Del Campo is a macho preserve. The sensibility is swaggering—the leather-bound menu, the gargantuan steaks, the confident air of the staff. Heck, even the small plates are big. The name refers to the rustic culture that is to Peru and Uruguay what cowboy culture is to America: a mythos, and a culinary world unto itself. The chef, Victor Albisu, doesn’t merely pay homage to that world—he aims to thread its fireside essence through every item on the menu. The cocktails whisper of smoke, and even the desserts are torched. In between, you can count on strong, assertive flavors to stand up to the char of the grill.
Don’t miss: Hamachi ceviche; octopus-and-potato arepa;Peruvian chicken; grilled short rib; grilled bacon; coconut-caramel crepe soufflé.
See what other restaurants made our 100 Very Best Restaurants list. This article appears in our February 2016 issue of Washingtonian.
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.
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.
