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Break up the work day with a new midday meal
With more 9-to-5 workers back at the office, a crop of D.C. restaurants just debuted 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.
Read MoreHead to the stylish new food hall in Riverdale, Maryland for top-tier sushi (Horu Sushi), hot fried chicken sandwiches from a Top Chef winner (Sonny & Sons), and hit Korean dishes from a NYC-based chef (Mökbar). Le Fantome Food Hall opened last month with three dedicated dine-in stalls, a full-service bar, and seasonal patio. A ghost kitchen incubator offers familiar favorites from D.C.’s Fishscale in Shaw and Union Market’s Laoban Dumplings, along with Indian street foods and comforting Nigerian cuisine. Lunch time is flexible here; hours start at 7 a.m. and run until as late as 11 p.m.
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The snazzy Ritz-Carlton restaurant in Tysons Corner unveiled an updated space and new chef this fall. The bistro is now led by executive chef Daniele Trivero, who draws menu inspiration from his native Italy and experience working in Singapore, Thailand, Toronto, and St. Thomas. Options include beetroot and avocado tartare, tacos, Virginia beef burger, and more. Lunch is served Monday to Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Dupont Circle Hotel’s stylish, lobby-level restaurant just rebooted lunch for the first time since the pandemic started. Saddle up to a coral-colored banquette or sit outside on the lush terrace to enjoy creamy corn bisque, a superfood salad, falafel, or steak frites.
Midtown Center’s New Orleans-themed restaurant from chef Kristen Essig and the Long Shot Hospitality team starts serving weekday lunch on Tuesday, September 27. The opening menu will include both a la carte offerings as well as a “Midtown Lunch” menu with two courses for $32 or three courses for $40. Opt for a catfish parmesan po’boy (provolone, marinara, broccoli rabe), Gulf shrimp banh mi, muffaletta sandwich, collard green Caesar, and more. Add poached shrimp or fried oysters for $10 more. Reservations are available via OpenTable.
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Chef-owner Amy Brandwein brought her essential all-day Italian cafe Piccolina to its full potential last month, reopening with twice as many seats, more wood-fired capabilities, and seasonal spritzes. The growth spurt allows Piccolina to carve out room for a dedicated grab-and-go counter and introduce more salads and grains at lunch, appetizers, and rotating specials like osteria-style mains built with local meats and fresh fish. Options also include pizza, all-day omelettes, and panini. Order online for pickup and delivery.
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The soaring, “glam Italian” restaurant that debuted in the Capitol Crossing development last fall finally added lunch in August. Its gold-plated Marra Forni oven sends out a new Americana pizza topped with dry-aged pepperoni. Other midday highlights include bucatini cacio e pepe, meatball pizzas, calamari fritti, farro salad, and mound of gnocchi topped with lamb ragu, fennel, and peas. Prawns, salmon, chicken, and hanger steak from the grill can be added atop salads for extra. Ballers can opt for a whole Maine lobster prepared with fontina, bechamel, and breadcrumbs ($95), or a dry-aged 32-ounce bistecca alla Fiorentina ($135). Lunch is served weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Find the full lunch menu here.
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After a long lunchtime hiatus, the gorgeous Penn Quarter restaurant just revived the midday meal this week. Celebrity chef Edward Lee whips up a Southern menu filled with crispy catfish sandwiches, chicken and waffles, house-smoked steaks, and fresh salads. Lunch runs 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. A newly extended happy hour — from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. — means $5 deals on drafts, cornbread cakes, and hush puppies are active during weekday lunch (11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
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Busy in Ballston? Swing by the Salt Line for its new takeout lunch (11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Offerings include clam chowder, grilled cucumber salad, lobster rolls, crispy fish sandwiches, and more.
The year-old Indian restaurant in Old Town added lunch this month. Chef Ajay Kumar, who also runs Karma Modern Indian in Penn Quarter, brings Alexandria a daytime menu full of tandoori cauliflower, turnip chicken, and chingri shrimp curry stewed in coconut milk with lemon rice. For vegetarians, there’s paneer lajawab featuring stuffed paneer cubes in a tomato and onion sauce.
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Head to the stylish new food hall in Riverdale, Maryland for top-tier sushi (Horu Sushi), hot fried chicken sandwiches from a Top Chef winner (Sonny & Sons), and hit Korean dishes from a NYC-based chef (Mökbar). Le Fantome Food Hall opened last month with three dedicated dine-in stalls, a full-service bar, and seasonal patio. A ghost kitchen incubator offers familiar favorites from D.C.’s Fishscale in Shaw and Union Market’s Laoban Dumplings, along with Indian street foods and comforting Nigerian cuisine. Lunch time is flexible here; hours start at 7 a.m. and run until as late as 11 p.m.
The snazzy Ritz-Carlton restaurant in Tysons Corner unveiled an updated space and new chef this fall. The bistro is now led by executive chef Daniele Trivero, who draws menu inspiration from his native Italy and experience working in Singapore, Thailand, Toronto, and St. Thomas. Options include beetroot and avocado tartare, tacos, Virginia beef burger, and more. Lunch is served Monday to Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Dupont Circle Hotel’s stylish, lobby-level restaurant just rebooted lunch for the first time since the pandemic started. Saddle up to a coral-colored banquette or sit outside on the lush terrace to enjoy creamy corn bisque, a superfood salad, falafel, or steak frites.
Midtown Center’s New Orleans-themed restaurant from chef Kristen Essig and the Long Shot Hospitality team starts serving weekday lunch on Tuesday, September 27. The opening menu will include both a la carte offerings as well as a “Midtown Lunch” menu with two courses for $32 or three courses for $40. Opt for a catfish parmesan po’boy (provolone, marinara, broccoli rabe), Gulf shrimp banh mi, muffaletta sandwich, collard green Caesar, and more. Add poached shrimp or fried oysters for $10 more. Reservations are available via OpenTable.
Chef-owner Amy Brandwein brought her essential all-day Italian cafe Piccolina to its full potential last month, reopening with twice as many seats, more wood-fired capabilities, and seasonal spritzes. The growth spurt allows Piccolina to carve out room for a dedicated grab-and-go counter and introduce more salads and grains at lunch, appetizers, and rotating specials like osteria-style mains built with local meats and fresh fish. Options also include pizza, all-day omelettes, and panini. Order online for pickup and delivery.
The soaring, “glam Italian” restaurant that debuted in the Capitol Crossing development last fall finally added lunch in August. Its gold-plated Marra Forni oven sends out a new Americana pizza topped with dry-aged pepperoni. Other midday highlights include bucatini cacio e pepe, meatball pizzas, calamari fritti, farro salad, and mound of gnocchi topped with lamb ragu, fennel, and peas. Prawns, salmon, chicken, and hanger steak from the grill can be added atop salads for extra. Ballers can opt for a whole Maine lobster prepared with fontina, bechamel, and breadcrumbs ($95), or a dry-aged 32-ounce bistecca alla Fiorentina ($135). Lunch is served weekdays from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Find the full lunch menu here.
After a long lunchtime hiatus, the gorgeous Penn Quarter restaurant just revived the midday meal this week. Celebrity chef Edward Lee whips up a Southern menu filled with crispy catfish sandwiches, chicken and waffles, house-smoked steaks, and fresh salads. Lunch runs 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays. A newly extended happy hour — from 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. — means $5 deals on drafts, cornbread cakes, and hush puppies are active during weekday lunch (11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.).
Busy in Ballston? Swing by the Salt Line for its new takeout lunch (11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.). Offerings include clam chowder, grilled cucumber salad, lobster rolls, crispy fish sandwiches, and more.
The year-old Indian restaurant in Old Town added lunch this month. Chef Ajay Kumar, who also runs Karma Modern Indian in Penn Quarter, brings Alexandria a daytime menu full of tandoori cauliflower, turnip chicken, and chingri shrimp curry stewed in coconut milk with lemon rice. For vegetarians, there’s paneer lajawab featuring stuffed paneer cubes in a tomato and onion sauce.
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