Food

Where to Get Brunch on MLK Day Around DC

Start your Monday with drag shows, bottomless specials, and more.

French toast at Ambar. Photograph by Ardent Vibe.

About Brunch Around DC

All our brunch suggestions in one handy location.

Looking to end your long weekend with brunch? These DC area restaurants will serve up bottomless mimosas, breakfast burgers, and other indulgences this Monday, when Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Day converge.

Ambar

523 Eighth St., SE; 1547 Seventh St., NW; and 2901 Wilson Blvd., Arlington

Breakfast at Ambar. Photograph by Ardent Vibe.
Breakfast at Ambar. Photograph by Ardent Vibe.

Balkan restaurant Ambar’s three locations—in Shaw, Capitol Hill, and Clarendon—will offer their all-you-can-eat Balkan brunch on Monday (starting at $36.99 per person). Happy hour drinks, like $8 old fashioneds and glasses of red sangria, will also be available during brunchtime.

Boundary Stone

116 Rhode Island Ave., NW

Fried chicken and French toast at Boundary Stone in Bloomingdale. Photograph courtesy of Boundary Stone.

Get to this Bloomingdale pub before 10:07 a.m. to take advantage of its MLK brunch deal: 90 minutes of mix-and-match, bottomless brunch cocktails with the purchase of an entrée like chicken and French toast or a sausage eggs Benedict.

Carmine’s

425 Seventh St., NW

Carmine’s has more than 750 seats across 20,000 square feet. Photograph courtesy Carmine’s.

The Penn Quarter offshoot of the New York Italian spot will open bright and early at 7 AM on Monday, and will offer a breakfast buffet and grab-and-go options. Buffet tickets are $29.95 per person, and the bar will open at 8 AM. Carmine’s plans to stream the inauguration on its six televisions.

Shaw’s Tavern

520 Florida Ave., NW

Shaw’s Tavern. Photograph via Shaw’s Tavern.

For a full-fledged drag brunch, hosted by DC-based queen Mama Naytch and complete with a $24 bottomless mimosa deal, take a seat at Shaw’s Tavern between 11:30 AM and 12:30 PM. The menu features Southern faves like hush puppies, country-fried steak, and biscuits and gravy.

dLeña

476 K St., NW

dLeña serves unlimited brunch dishes and drinks. Photo courtesy of the restaurant.

Modern Mexican restaurant dLeña will extend its bottomless brunch special to Monday (10 AM to 3 PM). Load up on dishes like mahi mahi ceviche, huevos rancheros, and a carnitas skillet with salsa macha. All-you-can-eat brunch is $49 per person; bottomless drinks are $20 more.

Mi Vida

98 District Sq., SW; 1901 14 St., NW; and 575 Seventh St., NW

Mi Vida’s 14th Street location. Photograph by Washingtonian staff.

Chef Roberto Santibañez’s Mexican restaurant, with locations in the Wharf, 14th Street corridor, and Penn Quarter, will serve up its “Fiesta de Bebidas” bottomless brunch. Starting at $31 per person (prices vary by location), the promotion lets you down as many Latin-inspired brunch cocktails as you want with the purchase of a main dish.

Nina May

1337 11th St., NW

The Terence Espresso Martini at Nina May. Photograph courtesy Nina May.

If you want the chef to make all of the tough ordering calls, get seated at locavore restaurant Nina May for its shareable “Chef’s Choice” prix fixe ($39 per person). You can also order a la carte dishes like roasted-cherry toast with lardo, or an omelet with parmesan and ricotta.

Paraíso

1101 Pennsylvania Ave., SE

Brunch dishes at Paraíso. Photo courtesy of Anne Kim.

This Capitol Hill Mexican spot will serve its brunch menu, with twists on classics like avocado toast with huarache and octopus; tres leches French toast; and eggs Benedict atop house-made sopes. For $20, add bottomless cocktails.

Pearl Dive Oyster Palace

1612 14th St., NW

Egg-topped grits and grillades at Pearl Dive. Photo courtesy of Pearl Dive.
Egg-topped grits and grillades at Pearl Dive. Photo courtesy of Pearl Dive.

This Logan Circle seafood restaurant will offer its a la carte brunch menu. Our food critic is a fan of the eggs ponchartrain, shrimp po’boy, and green-chili-topped cheeseburger.

Unconventional Diner

1207 Ninth St., NW

Pancakes at Unconventional Diner. Photograph by Lia-Alexi Manfredi.

This eclectic Shaw eatery serves brunch daily, and Monday is no different. Look out for newcomers to the menu like Thai and Greek salads and Cajun-style shrimp and grits.

Jane Godiner
Editorial Fellow