Dinner bills can quickly add up during Restaurant Week. Brunch is often a better option, with menus costing $25 to $35. Here’s where we’d go on the weekend of August 17 and 18:
1250 Ninth Street, NW; 79 Potomac Ave., SE
Mike Friedman’s popular pizzerias in Shaw and Navy Yard offer a range of options on their $25 two-course brunch menus. Enjoy appetizers like coffee cake with mascarpone or a Caesar salad, then try a breakfast sandwich, baked eggs with spinach and goat cheese, or premium Jersey-style pizzas like the Buona (pepperoni and spicy honey). For $19, you can add unlimited mimosas, bellinis, or spritzes.
920 Blagden Alley, NW
Located above sister restaurant Causa (our No. 1 pick on this year’s 100 Very Best Restaurants list), this chic, plant-based destination for pisco cocktails and Peruvian small plates offers a $35 brunch menu that includes a snack (e.g., lomo saltado empanadas), an anticucho skewer, and a sandwich or main dish like pork shoulder with fried egg or pan con chicharron.
11820 Trade St., North Bethesda
The Pike & Rose branch of this old-fashioned Italian-American spot offers a $25 brunch, and you can choose a share plate and an entree from the regular menu. Some favorites: chicken parm sliders with vodka sauce, semolina-crusted calamari, Greek and Caesar salad, and eggs Florentine.
1331 Fourth Street, SE
At this reliably good, globetrotting Navy Yard restaurant, the $35 three-course brunch menu offers an eclectic mix of options, from grilled lemongrass beef to spicy pork ragu with penne to a simple Gruyère omelet. For dessert, there’s a peach-nectarine shortcake that’s worthy of our name.
901 Fourth St., NW
This boisterous dining room in the Mount Vernon Triangle offers Sicilian cuisine, courtesy of Matt Adler, executive chef of Caruso’s Grocery. The three-course, $25 brunch offers “something light” (smoked salmon with chili cream, caprese salad) and “something hearty” (truffle prosciutto omelet, ricotta pancakes). Finish with house-baked pastries filled with custard and jam or a round of bomboloni.
1100 15th Street, NW
Crab cakes aren’t often found on Restaurant Week menus, but that’s exactly what you’ll find (in Benedict form) at this pretty Louisiana-inspired dining room, which offers a three-course brunch for $35. Other options: a peach kolache, shrimp and sausage gumbo, a tasso, egg and cheese sandwich, and Bananas Foster semifreddo.
791 Wharf St., SW
Fabio Trabocchi’s normally pricey waterfront gem on the Wharf always offers a real bargain during restaurant week. For $35 (the same price as valet parking!) you can get three courses, including jamon croquetas, a stone fruit salad, Serrano ham Benedict or churros.
1255 Union St., NE
Stephen Starr’s Mexico City-inspired Union Market dining room is offering a three-course brunch for $35. Choose from dishes like huevos rancheros, eggs with chorizo sauce, tortilla soup and tamarind sorbet. Want to try the viral Wolf Spritzer cocktail? It’s part of a three-drink pairing for $30 (there’s also a mezcal pairing for the same price).
1250 H St., NE
Paolo Dungca’s popular Filipino restaurant is split between a cafe downstairs and a dining room upstairs. The more casual area offers a $25 brunch menu with an entree (such as calamansi ricotta toast or rice bowls with garlic and sausage), a soft drink and a pastry.
1734 N St., NW
Visit one of the city’s most beautiful historic restaurants and secure a spot on the patio for the $25 three-course brunch. Choose from Mediterranean classics like loukoumades (Greek doughnuts), watermelon feta salad, a caprese sandwich and chocolate budino.
8045 Leesburg Pike, Vienna
Not up for the $50 all-you-can-eat brunch at this Persian restaurant in Tysons? Try the three-course Restaurant Week menu for $35 instead. Options include lamb toshka (described as an “Armenian quesadilla”), French toast with apple and barberry compote, a Persian tomato or spinach omelet, and homemade doughnuts.
5471 Wisconsin Ave., Chevy Chase
This playful and leafy dining room in Friendship Heights offers a three-course meal for $35 with dishes like “happy pancakes” with jam and maple syrup, sourdough avocado toast with quail egg, guava cheesecake waffles and an ube soft serve. Bonus: There’s a dog-friendly patio.
2911 District Ave., Fairfax
Rose Previte’s swinging dining room in the Mosaic District fills up quickly, but delivery and pickup are available. For $35, diners get coffee or tea, plus a spread (minty labne or “olive goodness?” Tough call), two small plates (shakshuka, a lamb and beef kebab with eggs), and a round of doughnuts.
200 Massachusetts Ave., NW
This glamorous Italian restaurant tops our Restaurant Week list with its three-course brunch and lunch for $35. Try one of the best Caesars in town, a panzanella salad, grilled salmon with oregano-scented labne, bucatini cacio e pepe, or soft serve ice cream with strawberries and basil.
1133 11th Street, NW
The Solis siblings’ Mexican Dining Room in Shaw always offers a generous selection of RW dishes, and this year is no different. The $25 three-course menu features 20 entrees to choose from, from birria tacos to jerk chicken to chilaquiles. Micheladas, mimosas and other cocktails cost an affordable $11.
1337 11th Street, NW
For $35 per person, you get a four-course family-style brunch featuring seasonal, locally sourced ingredients—and the Shaw restaurant’s famous roasted chicken. Also on the menu: braised short rib Benedict, a heirloom tomato salad, and hash browns with smoked salmon and pickled shallots.
5534 Connecticut Ave., NW
Fans of limitless drinks should head to Nina May’s sister spot Chevy Chase, where $17 gets you unlimited margaritas, white sangria, mimosas and more. The $35 brunch special lets you choose three courses from the regular menu, including ricotta-stuffed squash blossoms, orange chicken and waffles, oysters with tequila/chili butter and key lime pie.
11960 Democracy Dr., Reston
There’s plenty to choose from at this long-established seafood restaurant in Reston Town Center, and a three-course meal is available for $35. The menu ranges from sushi rolls to shrimp and grits to red curry shrimp to almandine snapper.
1323 Fourth St., NE
Our favorite dish at the New York brasserie’s bustling Union Market branch is spaghetti al limone with bottarga—and you’ll find it on the $35 three-course brunch menu. The burger, scallop crudo and lemon tart are pretty tasty, too.
1612 14th Street, NW
Jeff Black’s Louisiana-style dining room is one of our favorite places for brunch. $35 gets you three courses from the regular menu. Our order: smoky clam chowder, eggs pontchartrain with crab, crawfish and cayenne hollandaise, the green chile burger, the shrimp po’boy and the boozy pecan pie.
1027 Seventh Street, NW
This airy French cafe in Shaw, from the folks behind Dabney, serves its (brunch-like) lunch menu on weekends for $35. Selections include yogurt parfait, chilled corn chowder with pepper relish, mushroom quiche and French toast.
360 Water St., SE
The Navy Yard’s chic locavore-style dining room offers pastries, cocktails and a $35 entree. Start with a sticky bun or an apple hand pie, then move on to mains like roast chicken with mince pie or a croque madame. For drinks, choose from a mimosa, bellini or a strawberry, basil and vodka cocktail.
Senior Food Editor/Critic
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian End of 2003. Before that she was editorial assistant at Weekly entertainment and cook in New York restaurant kitchens. She is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
