The Joys of Winter Restaurant Week
A whopping 273 dining establishments are participating in the DMV's Winter Restaurant Week, which runs through Sunday, Jan. 22.
Since the start of the pandemic, the popular Restaurant Week promotion, organized twice each year by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, has averaged just over 200 restaurants from around the region participating in the program.
This year? A whopping 273 dining establishments have signed up for Winter Restaurant Week, which kicks off on Monday, Jan. 16, and runs through Sunday, Jan. 22.
Participating restaurants offer multi-course brunch and lunch options for $25 per person (not including tax, tip, or service fees) and multi-course dinner menus priced at either $40 or $55 per person, based on the restaurant’s average price points for on-premise dining.
An increasing number of participants have added the popular pandemic-born option of RW-To-Go dinner meals, carryout selections priced at either $70 or $100 for two, $140 or $200 for four. Still more establishments add cocktail pairings to the promotional mix
“Restaurant Week was created as an economic driver, encouraging loyal diners, newcomers, and visitors to our area to support our restaurants during a slower time for the industry,” says Shawn Townsend, the association’s newly hired president and CEO.
“It has since evolved into a turnkey promotion offering something for everyone with expanded offerings, different ways to dine out or stay in, and the addition of creative beverage pairings.”
As ever, the diverse and dispersed roster of restaurants participating in the Winter 2023 cycle runs the gamut from fast-casual spots to fine-dining destinations, including 25 establishments new to the program.
Newcomers include the 14th Street location of Mi Vida, Shaw’s cozy Italian spot Quattro Osteria, the modern brasserie Le Clou on the edge of NoMa, Jackie American Bistro, the finer offshoot of Dacha Beer Garden located in Navy Yard, three locations of Wiseguy Pizza, two new Virginia outposts of the deservedly expanding Big Buns Damn Good Burgers chain, Penn Quarter’s fried chicken eatery Yardbird, and the longtime Woodley Park fine-dining fixture New Heights.
The list of participating restaurants also includes China Chilcano by José Andrés, Crazy Aunt Helen’s on Capitol Hill, 17th Street’s Floriana, Gatsby in the Navy Yard, Alexandria’s Bastille Brasserie and Evening Star Cafe, Belga Cafe in Barrack’s Row, 14th Street’s Birch & Barley, the Ivy City Smokehouse, Kaliwa on the Wharf, Lyle’s in Dupont Circle, Perry’s Restaurant in Adams Morgan, Pisco y Nazca Ceviche Gastrobar in Dupont, Shilling Canning Company in Navy Yard, and Taqueria Xochi on U Street.
Not to mention the litany with multiple entries, from the many dual outposts (two All-Purpose Pizzerias, Ambars, Cheestiques, Rusticos, Salt Lines) to those with three (North Italias, Sfoglinas) and four (Morton’s The Steakhouses, Founding Farmers), to the Matchbox chain’s 10 area locations.
Winter Restaurant Week is Monday, Jan. 16, through Sunday, Jan. 22. Visit www.rwdmv.com for a list and searchable database of participating restaurants.
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