dining restaurant of this group with a woman heading the
kitchen, chef de cuisine Jennifer Castaneda-Jones, 29.
Signature dishes: Lobster bisque en croute, boudin blanc,
mussels with tomato fondue.
Basic cost: Four courses $110, five courses $130, six courses
$150.
Telling details: As a server pulls out a chair for a diner, he tells
her, “Take a deep breath and relax.” Guests get to create their own
tasting menu from among 17 selections. Live piano music Friday
and Saturday.
Nit: Is it because I’m seated in the rear dining room that my
glass of wine arrives while I’m halfway into my main course?
Changes due to the pandemic: No more valet parking; open
only five nights a week.
Best for: Business dinners, wine enthusiasts and older diners
looking for a classic formal dining experience.2401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202-296-1166. marcelsdc.com. Open for
indoor dining and takeout Wednesday through Sunda y. Sound check: 67
decibels/Conversation is eas y. Accessibility: Two sets of double doors
precede the host stand; restrooms are wheelchair-accessible.MÉTIER
Métier is where I send people who want some ceremony with their
meal, just not a three-ring circus. Guests step off an elevator that
gives them the impression they’re headed to China (it’s comically
slow) and glide into a room that’s Old World-romantic, with well-
spaced tables, a candlelit chandelier (and beyond, one of the
dreamiest private spaces in town). A picture window frames the
kitchen talent, headed up by chef and co-owner Eric Ziebold, who
hopes diners see the scene as “a brigade of people cooking just for
you.”
Definitely, the cooking is personal and approachable — no
need to Google much. Sweet potatoes you know. But have you ever
had them served inside cannelloni, alongside a bar of not-too-
sweet coconut pudding and finished with a bright froth of carrot-
turmeric vinaigrette? Baby lamb is familiar, too, but staged with
surprises, including a crisp eggplant-olive “beignet” whose only
flaw is not being more than a single heady bite. Sauces are erasedmore than the other indulgences on the list. You will also have
moved rooms for dessert, little of which you can finish because ...
well, all the greatness before it.
The hospitality at this sibling to Bresca is world-class. Expect
lots of face time with the gregarious chef and great attention to
detail. The left-handed diner next to me was won over by Jônt
knowing where to place his utensils.
Signature dishes: Live scallop, Dungeness crab with
koshiibuki rice, dry-aged duck (breast, sausage and bone broth).
Basic cost: $305 for 16 courses.
Telling details: A h ospitality director Googles guests to get
information that might enhance their experience; farewell treats
might include restaurant-made cat and dog snacks.
Nits: Too many courses. Well before the multiple desserts,
diners might be seen waving a white flag, er, napkin. Also, the
louder-than-necessary soundtrack includes music whose lyrics
can be offensive.
Best for: Food warriors who want to check off Michelin-
starred restaurants.1904 14th St. NW. 202-773-9989. jontdc.com. Open for indoor dining
Wednesday through Sunday. Sound check: 80 decibels/Must speak with
raised voice. Accessibility: Wheelchair users can access the restaurant
via an elevator and dine in the pastry parlor; ADA-compliant restrooms.MARCEL’S BY ROBERT WIEDMAIER
The grand dame of the class is named for owner Robert
Wiedmaier’s son, soon to be 23, just like the French-inspired,
champagne-hued restaurant in the West End. My maiden review
of Marcel’s reads much like today’s. A meal passes leisurely and
luxuriously with the help of servers better dressed than you are,
gifts from the kitchen that include crisp escargots with parsley
pesto, thick linens across the tables and lulling background music
(think Spanish guitar).
Proud decision-makers are in luck; diners are free to compose
their own tasting menu from a long list of choices. Calling to me in
winter are smoked squab breast with roasted chanterelles and
venison paired with red cabbage and roasted squash, dishes that
highlight the kitchen’s classic saucing. Marcel’s is the lone finerestaurant via a side entrance; a r amp can be requested to access the
ADA-compliant restrooms.IMPERFECTO
Up front, this dashing restaurant from the prolific Enrique
Limardo lets you know it’s not perfect, only striving to be.
Yet to dine here is to revel in all sorts of delicious details: some
of the most sophisticated cocktails from one of the best bars in the
city, servers who know the menu so well they give the impression
they’re cooking your meal, interesting dishes that bridge the
Mediterranean with Latin America — and the chance to eat the
way you want. A la carte? As a tasting menu? Up to you.
Signature dishes: Moussaka cigar, foie gras with plantain
brioche, braised lamb terrine.
Basic cost: Chef’s tasting menu $150, a la carte entrees $38 to
$95.
Telling detail: Limardo quizzes servers on his recipes, asking
them to explain dishes as if he were the diner.
Nit: A s ide of noise can accompany dinner.
Change since pandemic: Checks are accompanied by cards
explaining the restaurant’s 5 percent fair-wage fee.
Best for: Showing naysayers that Washington has sexy, first-
rate places to dine.1124 23rd St. NW. 202-964-1012. imperfectodc.com. Open for indoor and
outdoor dining Tuesday through Sunday, plus brunch weekends. Sound
check: 80 decibels/Must speak with raised voice. Accessibility: Heavy
glass doors precede the foyer; restrooms are ADA-compliant.JÔNT
Chef Ryan Ratino wants diners to feel as if they’re at a dinner
party at Jônt, and that they do, starting with personalized place
cards and “some bubbles, perhaps?” once you’re shown to your
stool at a counter overlooking a gleaming kitchen and a (quiet)
army of chefs in whites.
Three or more hours later — Jônt is a journey — you will have
dispatched a full ounce of caviar, foie gras, Wagyu steak, king crab
and a line-caught Japanese fish, akamutsu, that Ratino says costsFIOLA
The city’s best high-end Italian restaurant lets you know from the
start how important ingredients and the land are to its mission,
when a server proffers canapes — eggplant mousse, a divine goat
cheese and mushroom tart — arranged on a cushion of hay atop
its tray, or more recently, a pedestal. Chancellors Rock Farm
outside Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park is the source for
much of Fiola’s herbs, produce, beef and pork.
Fear not if you’re led to the back dining room, its walls colorful
with Warhol-esque paintings of celebrities. You get the same
expert service, pools of space and sumptuous cooking as up front.
The pastas soar; fresh pappardelle shaped into a crown, filled with
Italian cheeses, circled with mushroom broth and tiled with Alba
truffles is among the glories. Always thinking ahead, the
restaurant created by maestro Fabio Trabocchi and led by
executive chef Antonio Mermolia sends diners off with something
for breakfast, maybe apple cider coffee cake. “So you remember us
tomorrow,” says an attendant. As if we could forget a magical
night in Italy.
Signature dishes: Spirulina spaghetti with clams and oysters,
seasonal mushrooms with leek flan and cacio e pepe bread,
charcoal-grilled Japanese A5 “farmer” steak with black truffles.
Basic cost: $225 for eight courses.
Telling details: One of the most formal dining experiences in
town comes with plenty of light moments. A mezcal drink called
“A Foggy Day,” meant to evoke morning on a farm, arrives in what
looks like a little smoke-infused greenhouse. And when a dessert
in the shape of Italy is presented, Fiola’s Sicilian general manager
points to where he’s from on the confection and says “that’s the
best part.”
Nits: My reservation went AWOL, but we were nevertheless
accommodated. Fiola might disappoint wine collectors with its
policy of no corkage (i.e., no wine can be brought in from outside).
Change due to the pandemic: Lunch service suspended.
Best for: Reveling in the tasteful food, service and ambiance of
one of the best chefs in the business.
601 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. 202-525-1402. fioladc.com. Open for indoor
dining Tuesday (as of Dec. 14) through Saturday. Sound check: 68
decibels/Conversation is ea sy. Accessibility: Wheelchair users access the
From left: Chef Eric
Ziebold at Métier; the
Coast to Coast
cocktail at
Imperfecto; duck with
cabbage at Marcel’s;uni-topped plankton-
flavored rice a t
Xiquet; tiramisu in the
shape of Italy at Fiola;
chef Ryan Ratino’s
Jônt.32 DECEMBER 12, 2021 PHOTOS FROM LEFT: DEB LINDSEY; SCOTT SUCHMAN; LAURA CHASE DE FORMIGNY; KYLEY MCGEENEY/XIQUET; BETH KENNEDY/FIOLA; REY LOPEZ/JÔNT