The Washington Post - 13.03.2020

the washington post

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friday, march 13, 2020

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the washington post

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friday, march 13, 2020

BY ADELE CHAPIN

N

ame-dropping the owner of a buzzy restaurant will not

help you get a table at 8:30 p.m. on a Saturday night

(unless you actually know the owner, of course). But are

there any legitimate ways to increase your chances of

getting into a hot spot?

We spoke with owners and general managers of some of d.c.’s

buzziest restaurants to find out. “ there really is no secret or shortcut,”

says Joe Quinn, general manager of the perpetually packed Red Hen

in Bloomingdale. “if you want a good chance at getting a table [on

the] night of, especially on a busy night, you need to show up early.”

other suggestions were a bit more unexpected. at Kith/Kin,

home base for star chef Kwame onwuachi, capital one credit

cardholders can get access to tables at prime times via opentable,

for instance. daikaya group partner daisuke utagawa says that

managers at his restaurants talk to each other and could help a

regular at ramen shop Hatoba snag a Friday night table at the

recently opened Japanese italian pizzeria to nari, for example. “We

like regulars,” utagawa says. “We would like to help supporters as

much as possible.”

Here are some specific tips on how to get into five of d.c.’s newest,

hottest restaurants — whether you’re planning far ahead or not —

plus good, nearby alternatives in case you face a dreaded three-hour

wait list and need to bail.

Anju

1805 18th St. NW. Open daily.

anjurestaurant.com.

after heaps of critical acclaim

— including a three-star rating

from the Washington post’s tom

Sietsema and the top spot in

Washingtonian’s annual list of

the 100 best restaurants — diners

sometimes start lining up early

on weekends to get into anju in

dupont.

“it’s a little crazy all the time

now,” general manager eric chod-

kowski says. “the reservations have

been filling up 30 days in advance.”

But to stay true to the casual,

Korean pub-inspired theme, res-

ervations are for the dining room

upstairs, and everything down-

stairs in the bar area is first come,

first served. that includes a 10-

seat bar, six window seats, four

chef’s counter seats, and two

communal tables.

chodkowski recommends get-

ting in line 10 to 30 minutes before

the restaurant opens at 5 p.m. to

snag one of those b ar seats (bonus:

there’s a standout daily h appy

hour menu). alternatively, arrive

30 to 45 minutes before the main

kitchen closes (11 p.m. on Friday

and Saturday, and 10 p.m. Sunday-

thursday) to try to get a seat

downstairs. then you can order

off the regular menu and also off

the late-night menu, which has

such dishes as spicy brisket ramen

and kimchi slaw dogs.

even if you don’t a rrive early or

late, it’s worth a shot to try to get

into the downstairs area in prime

time. “if you come in and get your

name on the list, sometimes

things can go really quickly,”

chodkowski says.

If you want to book online:

anju’s Resy system opens up on

the reservation platform at noon

for tables 30 days in advance.

that’s a recent change: it previ-

ously opened up at 1 2:01 a.m., and

it booked up quickly, even at the

crack of dawn. “i wanted the

guests to not have to wake up in

the middle of the night,” chod-

kowski explains about the switch.

If you strike out: a block over on

17 th Street, you’ll find classic

lobster rolls at Hank’s oyster Bar,

or head to the impeccably de-

signed pembroke for such bistro-

style dishes as steak frites and

dover sole.

Pom Pom

828 Upshur St. NW.

Open daily. pompomdc.com.

So much has changed at 828

upshur St. in petworth since

Himitsu co-founder carlie Stein-

er flipped the 24-seat space into

pom pom. aside from a complete-

ly new menu highlighted by such

funky dishes as a pink-hued, beet-

dyed pasta with goat cheese be-

chamel, pom pom takes reserva-

tions — something Himitsu never

did.

“i think things are just really

different,” Steiner says. “5 p.m. is

really accessible for walk-ins.” to

entice early birds, she added a

weekday deal: a $16 burger and

bubbly combo that’s available

from 5 to 7 p.m.

now that the weather has

warmed up, pom pom’s patio is

open, which almost doubles the

capacity for seating. But if you

end up on the wait list, head

across the street to another Stein-

er establishment, dos Mamis,

which the post n amed as the best

new bar of 2019.

If you want to book online: pom

pom reservations can be made on

Resy up to 30 days in advance.

groups of five or more need to call

or email pom pom for reservations.

If you strike out: taqueria del

Barrio is next to dos Mamis, and a

four-minute uber ride will lead

you to 14 th Street’s cluster of

excellent Mexican restaurants,

such as the no-frills ta queria Ha-

banero, with its from-scratch sal-

sas and tortillas, and chef alfredo

Solis’s zippy new seafood-focused

anafre.

The Imperial

2001 18th St. NW. Open Monday-

Saturday. imperialdc.com.

this elegant adams Morgan

destination for French-meets-

Mid-atlantic cuisine (think:

steamed oysters and fried poulet

rouge) tries to take some of the

pain out of standing around wait-

ing for a table: Hosts can simulta-

neously quote wait times for walk-

ins and take drink orders, deliver-

ing cocktails from the bar to guests

in the waiting area, which includes

a specially designed drink ledge.

if you arrive reservation-less be-

tween 5 and 6 p.m. Monday

through Wednesday, the odds are

good you’ll snag a table, according

to operating partner Melody S tone.

But on the weekends, she suggests

that walk-ins at any hour be open

to trying the full menu in the raw

bar or the cellar level instead of the

12-table main dining room.

Stone also recommends that

you look out for a manager at the

host stand. “a manager-type per-

son will take more risks with

moving tables around, potential-

ly cutting turn times a little clos-

er,” she says. For example: She’s

willing to squeeze three guests

into a table meant for two, or give

out a table at 6 p.m. if diners will

be done by the time the 7:30 p.m.

reservation arrives. She also rec-

ommends asking how many par-

ties are ahead of you on the wait

list, instead of how long the wait

will be, so you can get a better

gauge of the situation.

If you want to book online: the

imperial’s Resy booking system

opens up at 11 a.m. for reserva-

tions 14 days in advance. Keep in

mind that its basement cocktail

den, dram & grain, which also

takes reservations via Resy,

serves many dishes from imperi-

al’s dinner menu — including foie

gras mousse and seafood towers.

If you strike out: if you don’t want

to grab a drink at the imperial’s

sister restaurant Jack Rose and

wait it out, t ables t urn f airly q uick-

ly at decadent hamburger spot,

Lucky Buns, across the street. or

walk two blocks down 18th Street

to Bar charley, which has trans-

formed itself into what is arguably

d.c.’s most chill steakhouse.

Emilie’s

1101 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Open

daily. emiliesdc.com.

Former Himitsu co-founder

and c hef Kevin tien struck out on

his own to conjure up some magic

with fermented mustard greens

and platters of fried chicken at

emilie’s. don’t be thrown off by

the fact that even a few of the bar

seats require reservations: the

restaurant saves a significant por-

tion of seating for walk-ins,

whether in the main dining room,

east dining room or lounge. “part

of that is because we do want to be

a neighborhood restaurant,” ex-

plains general manager elizabeth

Schnettler.

the easiest time to snag one of

those walk-in seats is between 5

and 6 p.m. on weekdays, accord-

ing to Schnettler. But on busy

nights, she recommends jumping

on the digital wait list for the

evening via Resy’s notify system.

if any diners cancel, Resy will

email or send a push notification

so that you can claim the avail-

able table. (note: this tip works

for any restaurant using Resy.)

if you’re going to go more

low-tech to attempt to get same-

day reservations, emilie’s lists its

phone hours online (1 p.m. until

close). “call outside of service

hours. You might get someone

who has a little more time to chat

with people,” Schnettler says.

If you want to book online: Res-

ervations at emilie’s go live 30

days in advance at 9 a.m. there is

a cancellation policy, with a $10

fee per person in case you cancel

within 24 hours of your reserva-

tion (the funds are donated to dc

central Kitchen). that wasn’t

something that Schnettler want-

ed to do, but she found people

were making multiple reserva-

tions in one day and then cancel-

ing them all at the last minute.

“We had people frustrated be-

cause they couldn’t make reserva-

tions ever, and then we would

have tons of tables sit open be-

cause people would cancel reser-

vations very last minute,” s he s aid.

If you strike out: chiko’s cheffy

fast-casual counter is around the

corner, and if you’re willing to

walk down Barracks Row, ta co

city d.c. is a fun, low-key spot for

mole poblano.

continued on next page

How to get into

D.C.’s hottest

restaurants

And some great alternatives if you can’t

deb Lindsey for the Washington Post

The s sam board, with seared galbi, seasonal greens and roasted garlic

ssamjang, at Anju, the lauded Korean pub-inspired spot in Dupont.

From the Cover

sCott suChman for the Washington Post

The Imperial designed a drink ledge in its waiting area for people

to bide their time while awaiting one of the 12 dining room tables.

sCott suChman for the Washington Post

The colorful open kitchen at Pom Pom i n Northwest Washington. The restaurant takes reservations, which can be made online up to 3 0 days in advance.

Laura Chase de formigny for the Washington Post

The dining room at Emilie’s in Southeast Washington. Some of the bar

seats require reservations, but the restaurant saves room for walk-ins.

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