Amparo Fondita
2002 P St., NW
Christian Irabien’s five-month old Mexican restaurant fast became a hotspot in Dupont Circle (it’s already landed on our latest 100 Best Restaurants list). Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 3 PM, relax with horchata cold brew and a breakfast burrito or huevos rancheros made with the kitchen’s excellent tortillas.
Balos
1940 N St., NW
The airy, Crete-inspired fine-dining room in Dupont Circle recently launched its weekend brunch. The menu includes an array of raw bar delicacies, whole fish, dips, and salads, plus dishes like a feta-and-spinach omelet, steak and eggs with Greek fries, and classic shakshuka.
The Grove
7747 Tuckerman Lane, Potomac
Another new Mediterranean arrival, this Cabin John dining room serves up pancakes with balsamic berries, Benedicts on crunchy crystal bread, and duck confit laden with poached eggs. To drink: a Bloody Mary garnished with a skewer of pork belly, anchovy, and pickled veggies, or hot chocolate with rum.
Pastis
1323 Fourth St., NE
The scene-y New York transplant near Union Market, a joint effort between Stephen Starr and Keith McNally, does brunch Saturday and Sunday. Pastries, seafood towers, and its famed steak sandwich are interspersed with straightforward buttermilk pancakes, quiche Lorraine, and eggs Benedict.
St. James
2017 14th St., NW
Jeanine Prime’s chic Caribbean dining room has been around for a few years, but just added a weekend mid-day menu (Saturday from noon to 4 PM, Sunday from noon to 3 PM) with choices like banana beignets, coconut French toast, and fried chicken with plantain waffles. There are lunchier dishes, too, such as smoked brisket on housemade buns and curried goat or braised oxtails over rice. Mimosas are a mere $6, but we have our eye on the River Lime cocktail, a mix of coconut rum, coconut water, lime juice, and club soda.
Surreal
2117 Crystal Dr., Arlington
Enrique Limardo’s mod diner near Amazon HQ2 serves breakfast daily and brunch on weekends. During the latter, waffles are served with housemade marmalade, there’s a mash-up of shakshuka and queso fundido, and you can design your own omelets with ingredients like lemony asparagus and roasted tomatoes.
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.
