Soko Butcher
7306 Carroll Ave., Takoma Park
Chef Brad Feickert (formerly of Volt) and Chris Brown, owner of Takoma Beverage Company and Zinnia, teamed up for this new butcher shop and deli in downtown Takoma Park. So yes, you’ll want all the morning meats starting daily at 7:30 AM (there are vegetarian items, too). Breakfast brings classics like bacon-egg-and-cheese sandwiches; cheddar biscuits with sausage gravy; breakfast burritos; and house-made pastrami and fried egg on a bagel. And that’s just to start the day—15-plus lunchtime sandwiches are also on offer.
Donisima
Get your delivery apps ready for this one—a father and son duo, both named Miguel Guerra, have teamed up for a Latin American doughnut pop-up shop and ghost kitchen near Union Market. Brioche doughnuts come in flavors like Arequipe (a.k.a. Colombian dulce de leche) topped with queso fresco streusel; guava and cheese with coconut streusel; or Rum Fashion, with rum pastry cream, orange confit, and chocolate. Orders start at 9 AM and run until 5 PM or sellout, and can be placed for pick up or delivery through UberEats, Tock, and Doordash.
Maiz64
1324 14th St., NW
Logan Circle’s modern Mexican spot on 14th Street recently launched brunch. Pastry chef Elisa Reyna makes traditional pastries like concha (Mexican sweet bread) with cardamom cream, while head chef Alam Méndez Florián riffs on brunch classics. Entrees include Oaxacan Benedictines—an oyster mushroom tamale topped with poached eggs and goat cheese sauce—and crab poblano quiche. Of course there’s plenty of tequila to drink in daytime cocktails like the Everyday Verde, a mix of tequila, cucumber, celery, and lime juice.
Smoke & Mirrors
867 New Jersey Ave., SE
The chic new indoor/outdoor rooftop bar atop Navy Yard’s just-opened AC Hotel offers brunch with an 11-story view. Diners can share plates like crab fondue, mezcal-glazed duck wings, and cast-iron-baked chocolate chip cookies while sipping cocktails like a Chilled Grey Toddy with vodka and earl grey/honey syrup. Drinks aren’t cheap (the $18 cocktail is the new $14 cocktail, apparently) but they come with a birds-eye view of the Capitol.
Planta
4910 Elm St., Bethesda
Grab your vegetable-loving crew for brunch at Bethesda’s new plant-based restaurant. Sweets like cinnamon buns are joined by meat- and egg-less versions of brunch classics like shakshuka with split pea fritters or a BLT (bagel, lettuce, tomato, avocado, egg, and chili sauce). Bottomless mimosas or margaritas go for $25 per person—and match the plant-filled, tropical vibe.
El Techo
606 Florida Ave., NW
The tropical rooftop spot in Shaw now offers a bottomless brunch on Saturday and Sunday with a new menu. The deal includes a choice of entree (birria tacos with eggs; loaded breakfast burritos) with unlimited mimosas, bloody Marys, margaritas, or Tecates ($50 for 90 minutes on Saturday, and $45 for two hours on Sunday).
Tabla
3227 Georgia Ave., NW
Try brunch with a Georgian twist at this casual Park View spot, which recently revamped their brunch menu. Look for items like shakshuka ajaruli, an oval-shaped khachapuri with Georgian-spiced tomatoes, peppers, and onions, two sunny-side-up eggs, and feta cheese. Or, ponchiki, Eastern European-style donuts filled with vanilla custard and topped with cinnamon and sugar. Also: wallet-friendly brunch cocktails such as a Georgian sunrise ($9) with tequila, orange juice, and pomegranate grenadine.
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.
