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Break up the work day with a new midday meal
With more 9-to-5 workers continuing to return to the office, a crop of D.C. restaurants just unleashed or rebooted lunchtime menus to cater to comeback crowds.
Leave the boring brown-bagged lunch at home — or escape the remote grind — to feast on one of these new midday meals around town this spring.
Read MoreDowntown Silver Spring’s surf-and-turf stalwart recently rolled out weekday mix-and-match menus, with two lunch items for $13. Choose from Angus steak chili with kidney beans, Vermont cheddar, sour cream, and jalapenos; New England clam chowder; a BLT; and tuna melt. Available Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Chevy Chase’s new coastal American eatery from the team behind Nina May debuts weekday lunch on Tuesday, March 14 (noon to 3 p.m.). A “Few Things To Share” like a velvety sunchoke veloute and lamb-stuffed pitas are followed by mains like grilled chicken paillard, salmon burger, and mushroom risotto. And for $29, choose two courses (soup or salad and a main) and one nonalcoholic beverage like a cucumber mint cooler, pineapple mint fresca, and iced oat milk latte. Select wines and cocktails are available at lunch, too.
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Chef Alfredo Solis just brought more coastal Mexican cuisine to Union Market district with the quiet addition of his all-day Mezcalero in the back of La Cosecha. This edition stands out from its Virginia and Northwest counterparts with more Latin dishes influenced by the chef’s upbringing. Starting at 11 a.m. daily, sit and sway for fresh ceviches, charbroiled oysters that speak to his time at a New Orleans-themed restaurant, and more.
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Lunch service just entered the fold at chef Nick Stefanelli’s months-old French eatery inside Noma’s Morrow Hotel. The fine-dining affair includes seafood towers stacked with lobster, oysters, shrimp; French onion soup; pates built with pork and bacon terrine, port-braised prunes, watercress, and brioche toast; and steak frites. Reservations are available through OpenTable.
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Award-winning chef Enrique Limardo (Seven Reasons, Joy, Imperfecto) just rolled out a West End “power lunch” deal at the Ritz-Carlton’s lobby-level Quadrant that showcases contemporary French, Latin, and American flavors. On weekdays, opt for a two- or three-course menu ($35-$45) with favorites like its truffle Caesar salad, an all-beef burger, and apple cobbler.
Lunch at Conrad hotel’s essential seafood restaurant isn’t new, but its weekday “rush hour” tasting menu is. From 11:30 a.m. all the way to 3:30 p.m., choose from a Caesar salad, braised short rib, carrot cake, and more from chef Ria Montes (three courses for $50). And stick around for a new happy hour at its glitzy bar (4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.) for discounts on beer, wine, cider, and light bites like roasted oysters, hush puppies, and crispy pig ears.
D.C. carbs king Bullfrog Bagels opened an outpost in Foggy Bottom’s Western Market food hall this month. Swing by daily until 3 p.m. to fuel up on a hearty bagelwich loaded with brisket, smoked salmon and avocado, or pastrami. On Friday, March 17, its bagels are going green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
The stylish Penn Quarter restaurant just revamped breakfast and lunch service within its zen “Glass House”—a 1,400-square-foot pavilion with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the interior courtyard. Dirty Habit favorites join new dishes like the Maize Runner, a toasted arepa with pork adobo and sweet plantain and a fish sando made with panko-crusted mahi mahi, apple kimchi, and yuzu aioli. Newly appointed beverage director JR Rena also came up with a new lineup of fruity and refreshing iced teas. View full menu here.
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Lunch returned to Penn Quarter’s Peruvian favorite in March (11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.), with three menus to pick from. A three-course “Lunch in Lima” ($28) includes yucca, shishito peppers, and desserts like ponderaciones de kiwicha (a crispy spiral cookie, chocolate ice cream, banana, Algarrobina ice cream). A selection of donburi rice bowls topped with proteins (tuna, salmon, and stir-fry chicken) can be augmented with puffed quinoa, avocado, and fried egg. Or order pick-up or delivery here.
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Looking for a breezy midday meal all set to Capitol views? The rooftop restaurant atop the AC hotel debuted weekday lunch service in February (11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday). New lunchtime dishes from chef Angela Rose bring soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees, and sides to the table. Highlights include blackened chicken Caesar, a decadent crab cake salad, carne asada panini, rockfish and chips, black bean soup, and steak frites.
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Chef Kevin Tien kicked off 2023 with a first-ever daily lunch spread at the Wharf’s modern Vietnamese restaurant. Served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., highlights include piping hot pho with homemade noodles, gumbo ramen, chili wontons, ginger scallion fried rice, congee, chicken wings fried and grilled in garlic-ginger fish caramel, “Vietnam x Nashville” hot fried Maryland blue catfish dipped in chili oil and seasoned with curry spices and hot honey. For dessert, try a gorgeous glass of lychee-layered tropical che or brioche doughnuts filled with Cafe Du Monde coffee pastry cream.
Downtown Silver Spring’s surf-and-turf stalwart recently rolled out weekday mix-and-match menus, with two lunch items for $13. Choose from Angus steak chili with kidney beans, Vermont cheddar, sour cream, and jalapenos; New England clam chowder; a BLT; and tuna melt. Available Tuesday to Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Chevy Chase’s new coastal American eatery from the team behind Nina May debuts weekday lunch on Tuesday, March 14 (noon to 3 p.m.). A “Few Things To Share” like a velvety sunchoke veloute and lamb-stuffed pitas are followed by mains like grilled chicken paillard, salmon burger, and mushroom risotto. And for $29, choose two courses (soup or salad and a main) and one nonalcoholic beverage like a cucumber mint cooler, pineapple mint fresca, and iced oat milk latte. Select wines and cocktails are available at lunch, too.
Chef Alfredo Solis just brought more coastal Mexican cuisine to Union Market district with the quiet addition of his all-day Mezcalero in the back of La Cosecha. This edition stands out from its Virginia and Northwest counterparts with more Latin dishes influenced by the chef’s upbringing. Starting at 11 a.m. daily, sit and sway for fresh ceviches, charbroiled oysters that speak to his time at a New Orleans-themed restaurant, and more.
Lunch service just entered the fold at chef Nick Stefanelli’s months-old French eatery inside Noma’s Morrow Hotel. The fine-dining affair includes seafood towers stacked with lobster, oysters, shrimp; French onion soup; pates built with pork and bacon terrine, port-braised prunes, watercress, and brioche toast; and steak frites. Reservations are available through OpenTable.
Award-winning chef Enrique Limardo (Seven Reasons, Joy, Imperfecto) just rolled out a West End “power lunch” deal at the Ritz-Carlton’s lobby-level Quadrant that showcases contemporary French, Latin, and American flavors. On weekdays, opt for a two- or three-course menu ($35-$45) with favorites like its truffle Caesar salad, an all-beef burger, and apple cobbler.
Lunch at Conrad hotel’s essential seafood restaurant isn’t new, but its weekday “rush hour” tasting menu is. From 11:30 a.m. all the way to 3:30 p.m., choose from a Caesar salad, braised short rib, carrot cake, and more from chef Ria Montes (three courses for $50). And stick around for a new happy hour at its glitzy bar (4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.) for discounts on beer, wine, cider, and light bites like roasted oysters, hush puppies, and crispy pig ears.
D.C. carbs king Bullfrog Bagels opened an outpost in Foggy Bottom’s Western Market food hall this month. Swing by daily until 3 p.m. to fuel up on a hearty bagelwich loaded with brisket, smoked salmon and avocado, or pastrami. On Friday, March 17, its bagels are going green in honor of St. Patrick’s Day.
The stylish Penn Quarter restaurant just revamped breakfast and lunch service within its zen “Glass House”—a 1,400-square-foot pavilion with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the interior courtyard. Dirty Habit favorites join new dishes like the Maize Runner, a toasted arepa with pork adobo and sweet plantain and a fish sando made with panko-crusted mahi mahi, apple kimchi, and yuzu aioli. Newly appointed beverage director JR Rena also came up with a new lineup of fruity and refreshing iced teas. View full menu here.
Lunch returned to Penn Quarter’s Peruvian favorite in March (11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.), with three menus to pick from. A three-course “Lunch in Lima” ($28) includes yucca, shishito peppers, and desserts like ponderaciones de kiwicha (a crispy spiral cookie, chocolate ice cream, banana, Algarrobina ice cream). A selection of donburi rice bowls topped with proteins (tuna, salmon, and stir-fry chicken) can be augmented with puffed quinoa, avocado, and fried egg. Or order pick-up or delivery here.
Looking for a breezy midday meal all set to Capitol views? The rooftop restaurant atop the AC hotel debuted weekday lunch service in February (11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday). New lunchtime dishes from chef Angela Rose bring soups, salads, sandwiches, entrees, and sides to the table. Highlights include blackened chicken Caesar, a decadent crab cake salad, carne asada panini, rockfish and chips, black bean soup, and steak frites.
Chef Kevin Tien kicked off 2023 with a first-ever daily lunch spread at the Wharf’s modern Vietnamese restaurant. Served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., highlights include piping hot pho with homemade noodles, gumbo ramen, chili wontons, ginger scallion fried rice, congee, chicken wings fried and grilled in garlic-ginger fish caramel, “Vietnam x Nashville” hot fried Maryland blue catfish dipped in chili oil and seasoned with curry spices and hot honey. For dessert, try a gorgeous glass of lychee-layered tropical che or brioche doughnuts filled with Cafe Du Monde coffee pastry cream.
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