Where to Get Brunch During DC’s Summer Restaurant Week - Washingtonian (2024)

Restaurant Week tabs can quickly shoot up when it comes to dinner. Often, there are better deals to be had at brunch, where menus are $25 and $35. Here’s where we’d go over the weekend of August 17 and 18:

All-Purpose

1250 Ninth St., NW; 79 Potomac Ave., SE

Mike Friedman’s beloved pizzerias in Shaw and Navy Yard are offering a bunch of options on their $25 two-course brunch menus. Get your fill of starters like coffee cake with mascarpone or a Caesar salad, then go for a breakfast sandwich, baked eggs with spinach and goat cheese, or top-notch Jersey-style pizzas like the Buona (pepperoni and spicy honey). Add on bottomless mimosas, Bellinis or spritzes for $19.

Amazonia

920 Blagden Alley, NW

This chic, plant-filled destination for Pisco cocktails and Peruvian small plates sits atop sister restaurant Causa (our #1 pick on this year’s 100 Very Best Restaurants list). It’s offering a $35 brunch menu, which includes a snack (say, lomo saltado empanadas), an anticucho skewer, and a sandwich or main dish, like pork shoulder with a fried egg or pan con chicharron.

Caruso’s Grocery

11820 Trade St., North Bethesda

The Pike & Rose location of this old-school Italian-American spot is doing a $25 brunch, and you can select a share plate and entree from the regular menu. A few faves: chicken parm sliders with vodka sauce; semolina-crusted calamari; Greek and Caesar salads; and eggs Florentine. ‘

Chloe

1331 Fourth St., SE

At this reliably good, globetrotting Navy Yard restaurant the $35 three-course brunch menu offers an eclectic mix of options, from grilled lemongrass beef to spicy pork ragu with penne to a simple gruyere omelet. For dessert, the peach-and-nectarine shortcake has our name on it.

Cucina Morini

901 Fourth St., NW

This rollicking Mount Vernon Triangle dining room highlights Sicilian fare, courtesy of Caruso’s Grocery chef Matt Adler. At its $25 three-course brunch, you get “something light” (smoked salmon with chili crema; Caprese salad) and “something hearty” (truffled prosciutto omelet; ricotta pancakes). Finish with house-baked custard- and jam-filled pastries or a round of bomboloni.

Dauphine’s

1100 15th St., NW

You don’t tend to see crabcakes on many Restaurant Week menus, but that’s what you’ll find (in Benedict form) at this pretty Louisiana-inspired dining room’s $35 three course brunch. Other choices: a peach kolache, shrimp-and-sausage gumbo, a Tasso, egg, and cheese sandwich, and bananas Foster semifreddo.

Del Mar

791 Wharf St., SW

Fabio Trabocchi’s typically pricey waterfront jewel at the Wharf always offers a true deal for Restaurant Week. For $35 (The same price as its valet parking!) you get three courses that might include jamon croquetas, a stone-fruit salad, Serrano ham Benedict, or churros.

El Presidente

1255 Union St., NE

Stephen Starr’s Mexico-City-inspired Union Market dining room is doing a $35 three-course brunch. Choose among dishes like huevos rancheros, chorizo end eggs, tortilla soup, and tamarind sorbet. Want to try the viral Wolf Spritzer cocktail? It’s part of a $30 three-drink pairing (there’s also a mezcal pairing for the same price).

Hiraya

1250 H St., NE

Paolo Dungca’s hit Filipino restaurant is split into a downstairs cafe and upstairs dining room. In the more casual area, a $25 brunch menu features an entree (such as calamansi/ricotta toast or garlicky, sausage-topped rice bowls), a non-alcoholic drink, and a pastry.

Iron Gate

1734 N St., NW

Head to one of the loveliest historic restaurant spaces in the city and grab a spot on the patio for its $25 three-course brunch. Choose from Mediterranean classics like loukoumades (Greek doughnuts), watermelon-and-feta salad, a Caprese sandwich, and chocolate budino.

Joon

8045 Leesburg Pike, Vienna

Not up for this Tysons Persian destination’s $50 all you can eat brunch? Check out its $35 three-course Restaurant Week menu instead. Options include lamb toshka (described as “an Armenian quesadilla”), French toast with apple/barberry compote, a Persian tomato or spinach omelet, and housemade doughnuts.

Joy by Seven Reasons

5471 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase

This playful and verdant dining room in Friendship Heights is offering a $35 three-course menu featuring dishes like “happy pancakes” with marmalade and maple syrup; sourdough avocado toast with a quail egg; guava cheesecake waffles; and an ube soft-serve sundae. Bonus: it’s got a dog-friendly patio.

Kirby Club

2911 District Ave., Fairfax

Rose Previte’s swinging Mosaic District dining room fills up fast, but there’s delivery and takeout available. For $35, diners get coffee or tea plus a spread with bread (Minty labne or “olive goodness?” Tough call), two small plates (shakshuka, a lamb-and-beef kebab with eggs), and a round of doughnuts.

L’Ardente

200 Massachusetts Ave., NW

This glam Italian dining room is high on our Restaurant Week list for its $35 three-course brunch and lunch. Go for one of the best Caesars in town, a panzanella salad, grilled salmon with oregano-scented labne, bucatini cacio e pepe, or strawberry/basil soft-serve.

Mariscos 1133

1133 11th St., NW

The Solis siblings’ coastal Mexican dining room in Shaw always offers a generous RW selection, and this year is no different. There are 20 entrees to choose from on its $25 three-course menu, from birria tacos to jerk chicken to chilaquiles. Micheladas, mimosas, and other cocktails are an affordable $11.

Nina May

1337 11th St., NW

For $35 per person, you get a four-course family-style brunch that showcases hyper-seasonal, local ingredients—and the Shaw restaurant’s famous roast chicken. Also on the menu: braised short rib Benedict, an heirloom tomato salad, and hash browns with smoked salmon and pickled shallots.

Opal

5534 Connecticut Ave., NW

Bottomless drink fans should head to Nina May’s Chevy Chase sibling, where $17 buys unlimited rounds of margaritas, white sangria, mimosas, and more. The $35 brunch offering lets you pick three courses off the regular menu. Choices include ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms, orange chicken and waffles, oysters with tequila/chili butter, and Key lime pie.

Passionfish

11960 Democracy Dr., Reston

There are a slew of choices at this long-running Reston Town Center seafood room, which is doing a $35 three-course spread. The menu veers from sushi rolls to shrimp n’ grits to red curry shrimp to snapper almandine.

Pastis

1323 Fourth St., NE

Our favorite dish at the bustling Union Market outpost of the New York brasserie is the spaghetti al limone with bottarga—and you’ll find it on the $35 three-course brunch roster. The burger, scallop crudo, and lemon tart are pretty tasty, too.

Pearl Dive

1612 14th St., NW

Jeff Black’s Louisiana-style dining room is on of our brunch go-tos. For $35, you get three courses off the regular menu. Our order: smoky clam chowder, eggs Pontchartrain with crab, crawfish, and cayenne hollandaise, the green-chili-topped burger, the shrimp po’boy, and the boozy pecan pie.

Petite Cerise

1027 Seventh St., NW

This airy French cafe in Shaw, from the folks behind the Dabney, serves its (brunch-y) $35 lunch menu over the weekend. The shortlist of choices includes yogurt parfait, chilled corn soup with pepper relish, mushroom quiche, and French toast.

Shilling Canning Company

360 Water St., SE

Navy Yard’s locavore-chic dining room offers a pastry, cocktail, and main course for $35. Start with a sticky bun or apple hand pie, then move onto entrees like fried chicken with hoe cakes or a croque madame. To drink, there’s a choice of mimosa, bellini, or a strawberry, basil, and vodka cocktail.