The official RAMW Restaurant Week promotion wrapped up on Sunday, but a number of eateries are extending their $22 lunches and $35 dinners. Here are our top picks for good deals and great cooking.
1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Chef David Deshaies mixes new dishes into Central’s restaurant week menu such as grilled branzino with tamarind-chili sauce, in addition to the classics (bistro burger, Michel’s fried chicken).
When: Lunch and dinner through Saturday, February 11.
777 I St., NW
Take your favorite carnivore to chef Victor Albisu’s South American steakhouse. Lunch is $22, while dinner brings two special menus: three-courses for $35, or a pricier $60 option with higher-end ingredients like smoked tuna tartare and wagyu bavette steak. The former seems to offer a better deal—we’d go for the ceviche and grilled short rib.
When: Lunch and dinner through Wednesday, February 8.
Kapnos, Kapnos Taverna, and Kapnos Kouzina
2201 14th St., NW 4000 Wilson Blvd., Arlington; 4900 Hampden Ln., Bethesda
A number of eateries in Mike Isabella‘s empire extend restaurant week, including Graffiato and Pepita. Of all, we’re tempted by the Greek fare at the Kapnos locations in DC, Ballston, and Bethesda, where four-courses for $35 is a good deal. Menus vary by location, but we can’t pass up the Mediterranean spreads at all.
When: Kapnos (dinner through February 8); Kouzina and Taverna (lunch and dinner through February 8).
1813 Columbia Rd., NW
New chef Jordan Llyod of Easton’s Bartlett Pear Inn offers a robust range of dishes for Restaurant Week dinner, both classic (escargot hushpuppies, wood-grilled burger) and recent additions. We have our eye on the wild striped bass with oyster veloute.
When: Dinner through Thursday, February 9.
800 Connecticut Ave., NW
The best approach for finding good deals during Restaurant Week fun is visiting a dressier restaurant, and this New American near the White House fits the bill. Chef John Melfi’s creative plates include smoked trout and potato salad with mustard greens, and a pork blade steak with caraway jus—all in a white tablecloth setting.
When: Lunch and dinner through Saturday, February 11.
775 G St., NW
Chef Austin Faussett’s Restaurant Week lunch menu looks like a great deal. For $22, diners can pick dishes such as tuna tartare—a beloved Proof classic—and one of our personal favorites: the shrimp burger (plus dessert).
When: Lunch through Sunday, February 12.
701 Ninth St., NW
José Andrés’s airy Mediterranean restaurant continues to impress after nearly 15 years—so yes, they have plenty of restaurant week experience. The lunch menu includes three mezze plates plus dessert for $22; dinner gets one extra mezze. Wash it all down with specially-priced bottles of wine.
When: Lunch and dinner through Sunday, February 12.
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.
