Good news for deal-seekers: a bunch of DC-area eateries extended Winter Restaurant Week (and a $22 brunch is a decent bargain at a lot of them). These are our top picks.
All-Purpose Capitol Riverfront
79 Potomac Ave., SE
This is the popular pizzeria’s first Restaurant Week (at the newer waterfront location only, sorry Shaw regulars). There’re plenty of choices for antipasti and pizza. For brunch, try everything-spiced smoked salmon crostini or polenta muffins before digging into an egg-topped pie with prosciutto (no diets allowed here). Dessert is simple: brownie or gelato.
Bindaas
2000 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj‘s Indian street food spot Foggy Bottom is extending Restaurant Week brunch, with dishes like masala omelettes in addition to lunch items.
Casolare
2505 Wisconsin Ave., NW
The Jewish-Italian brunch at this Glover Park eatery is worth exploring—especially if you like carbs, which pastry chef Alex Levin excels at. The Restaurant Week brunch choices include a basket of his confections (hazelnut-chocolate rugelach, warm Nutella bombolini) and entrees like challah French toast. Or for some protein: lox, eggs, and onions.
Central
1001 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
The hearty brasserie brunch includes Central classics like the goat cheese Caesar and Michel’s chocolate bar alongside dishes like shrimp n’ grits and eggs Benedict. Add bottomless drinks for $15.
Espita Mezcaleria
1250 Ninth St., NW
Shaw’s Oaxacan spot dishes up your choice of a small plate and then three tacos or an entree (huevos rancheros, churros French toast) and dessert. There’re decent deals on drinks, too, including your pick of $17 bottomless cocktails like micheladas and 90/10 mimosas (90 percent bubbles, ten percent juice).
Kyirisan
1924 Eighth St., NW
Chef Tim Ma doesn’t skimp on good ingredients or creativity for Restaurant Week brunch—think lobster eggs Benedict or pulled chicken congee with homemade kimchi. The meal includes warm pastries to start and a choice of side. Make it a date with a bottle of cava and two juices for an extra $30.
Momofuku CCDC
1090 I St., NW
New chef Tae Strain helped transform DC’s Momofuku into a restaurant we crave. The Restaurant Week brunch menu looks deliciously savory and includes some of our favorites: warm, pita-like bing bread with salted chili pimento cheese; smashed cucumber salad; and branzino ssam.
The Riggsby
1731 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Drinks can drive up the cost of a Restaurant Week brunch, so if you’re craving a mimosa or bloody, head to Michael Schlow‘s supper club-esque restaurant. Any course can be substituted for a brunch cocktail. Some of our favorite dishes make a Restaurant Week appearance, including the deviled eggs, chopped salad, and burger.
Supra
1205 11th St., NW
If “boat shaped cheese bread” sounds like the makings of a good brunch try this Georgian restaurant’s khachapuri. The lineup leans savory, starting with an appetizer sampler, choice of soups and salads, and an entree.
Scotts DC
927 F St., NW
Penn Quarter’s polished new British restaurant turns out classics like fish and chips with mushy peas or sticky toffee pudding. Make it a two-cocktail meal for an additional $22, with options from the “heritage” menu such as planter’s punch or a sidecar.
Woodward Table
1426 H St., NW
This southern-leaning restaurant near the White House offers a big selection for Restaurant Week brunch. We’d be pretty happy with a meal of chef Jeffrey Buben‘s Low Country she-crab soup and the famous “chick chick” fried chicken-and-bacon sandwich.
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.
