José Andrés Is Turning His Restaurant Lab Into a Holiday Party Zone

Fans of the Pepe sandwich pop-up that moved into Penn Quarter (701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW) this summer have until Friday, November 10, to enjoy the patatas bravas chips and lemony soft serve restaurateur José Andrés was experimenting with there. After that, it’s becoming a holiday event space fed by the hospitality giant’s entire family of restaurants.

Starting November 10 the test kitchen will begin booking private parties (maximum capacity is 40 people) featuring dishes such as yogurt-topped lamb gyros from Mediterranean-themed Zaytinya and custardy suspiro Limena from cuisine-meshing China Chilcano. Consumers can also add sangria from Spanish standby Jaleo, as well as select offerings from other properties including tapas-friendly The Bazaar as well as seafood-centric Fish.

A spokeswoman tells Eater that customers will be offered a variety of popular dishes. “Based on the type of occasion, there will be different levels of menus that guests can choose from,” she says.

Customers can begin making reservations — via TFLevents@thinkfoodgroup.com, or the company’s website — Friday, November 10, for bookings running from Friday, November 17, through December.

Once the partying is over, it’s back to work cultivating the next hot restaurant idea. “A new, yet-to-be-announced concept will take Pepe's place in early 2018,” the company spokeswoman says.