What to Order at D.C.’s Minetta Tavern

Welcome to Eater D.C.’s newest installment of Scene Report, a brand new column wherein Eater captures the vibe of a notable Washington restaurant at a particular second in time.

New York’s Minetta Tavern, a fixture since 1937, has been a power-spot favourite in Greenwich Village since Keith McNally’s storied takeover in 2008. All eyes had been on McNally when he determined to make an unassuming alley in D.C.’s Union Market space the house of the restaurant’s second location final December — with the addition of a champagne-soaked and caviar-serving lounge, Lucy Mercer, situated an elevator experience or staircase climb upstairs. Right here’s a dispatch from the scenes at each, beginning at 6:30 p.m. on a latest Friday night.

The vibe: Stroll into the bar downstairs, and followers of the New York unique will really feel virtually eerily at dwelling on the new location. Positive, there are fewer pink curtains draped across the entrance home windows to maintain the chilly out, and there’s truly room to inch previous the crowds alongside the bar, however the common impact could be very comparable (and the menu takes greater than a majority of its cues from the unique, too). Although solely open slightly over the month, it’s clear the restaurant is already cultivating a following of regulars and VIPs; a bar supervisor launched himself to the proprietor of a Japanese restaurant ready on the bar; “welcome again” is an everyday greeting to these displaying up on the hostess stand. Early on within the night, costume was very typical D.C. — not a ton of shade (shoutout to the person with the dramatic orange coat and attention-grabbing bag proving the exception to the rule), loads of sweaters and obvious straight-from-work apparel, although a couple of glimmers of character shone by means of, from zebra-striped heels to fuzzy teal boots.

Corry Arnold

Greatest seats in the home: The entrance bar is a superb spot to be part of the excitement — it may be trickier on a weekend evening to get a seat, and generally at peak hours, drinkers are standing behind patrons. However seats opened up a number of instances all through Friday night, and several other had been open proper at 6:30 p.m. Ordering on the bar is inspired, even for extra elaborate dinners (a previous go to noticed 4 completely different orders of the restaurant’s epic bone marrow dish make it to the bar), and bartenders will give as a lot consideration and suggestions for wine and cocktail orders as they might to a desk. Friday evening’s bar crowd noticed one diner stress-free with a e-book and a burger, two chatty colleagues wrapping their dialog up with a chocolate souffle (“that’s uncontrolled; that’s an excessive amount of,” they mentioned of the dish), and several other {couples} catching up on the week’s occasions. The three distinguished cubicles on the entrance of the restaurant are prime for people-watching, housing everybody from a pair on a clumsy first date to a household with a toddler in a excessive chair centered on Thomas the Tank Engine (McNally himself will also be noticed on the middle sales space when on the town; Friday night, he was upstairs). Within the again eating room, the semi-circular half cubicles give an incredible view of the motion, however generally is a tight squeeze for each dishes on the plate and people bigger than a dimension two sharing house.

Corry Arnold

What to order: Appetizers typically shine: French onion soup is strictly what you need it to be, bone marrow is supremely wealthy and generously portioned; each tartares (tuna and steak) are stellar. The coq a vin is the star of the entrees; the burgers have a following for a purpose, however had been underseasoned on a latest go to. The Grand Marnier souffle is a showstopper, however when our get together professed a choice for savory dishes, we discovered ourselves intrigued by a confession from our waitress, who has paired the dessert menu madeleines with appetizer foie gras earlier than, even when it earned her some side-eye. Subsequent time.

Go upstairs: It’s important to make the journey upstairs at the least as soon as to go to what has been rapidly nicknamed the “mistress bar,” Lucy Mercer (who was reportedly FDR’s mistress). Whether or not you come once more will possible be dictated by how nicely your pockets can deal with (otherwise you personally can abdomen the thought of) $32 cocktails. Although many individuals had wandered upstairs from dinner on Friday night, the gang additionally confirmed some individuals who had made it their vacation spot (with dressier style to match: extra animal print, spider-webbing sequined leggings, and so on.). A fire crackles within the nook; the room is outfitted in plush pink velvet, portraits of politicians (and, naturally, their mistresses), tassels, plush cushions, and pillows. Put together to attend for these expensive drinks — our wait didn’t really feel unmanageable, however associates we bumped into upstairs mentioned theirs had taken round 40 minutes. The ambiance is all very civilized, however with hints of a celebration — when Infamous B.I.G. got here on, the music acquired instantly turned up, and several other patrons, to not point out one enthusiastic cocktail waitress, couldn’t cease themselves from dancing.

Corry Arnold