Revamped Dupont Circle Hotel Unveils a Global Restaurant With Moroccan Lamb Shanks

After a recent multi-million dollar renovation to transform its bar, restaurant, and lobby areas, the glitzy Dupont Circle Hotel will finally reveal its main dining event tonight.

The newly named Pembroke restaurant — formerly Cafe Dupont— inside the Doyle Collection property is scheduled to start dinner service in a 127-seat space complete with mid-century modern furniture and retro artwork.

Chef Marlon Rambaran, an alum of scene-y spots like Fontainebleau Miami Beach and the Meatpacking District’s Bagatelle, is sourcing products from local farms and purveyors.

His dishes have a global bent, with inspiration coming from Morocco, France, Italy, Spain, and Ireland as an ode to the Irish family-owned luxury hotel brand. There’s a lamb shank tagine with couscous, almonds and dried fruit; lobster bisque finished with cognac; and grilled octopus with chickpeas. The entree section includes Irish whiskey-glazed short ribs with pureed parsnips.

Vegetarian fans will find toasted farro, quinoa, crispy brussel sprouts, and gluten-free pastas and salads on the menu.

Dupont Circle Hotel/official photo

For wine, there are 70 bottles and almost 30 glasses of sparkling, white, red and rose.

The all-day operation kicks off breakfast service at 6 a.m. with pancakes, French toast, waffles, sweet and savory breakfast bowls, and steel-cut Irish oatmeal. Its 78-person seasonal terrace, overlooking bustling and traffic-plagued Dupont Circle, will come alive again come spring.

Last year, the hotel tapped a luxury hospitality player from Manhattan as the general manager. Joel Freyberg hails from Royalton Park Avenue Hotel (formerly Gansevoort Park Avenue).

Across town, the W hotel’s restaurant and sibling whiskey bar are getting a huge upgrade under a $50 million renovation.