Image: Display on the Tray
Last Updated: September 2022
Current Status: All three locations are open for dine-in and take-out and delivery. With indoor and outdoor seating at all locations.
Overview:
Sometimes in life, it is best not to overthink things. If you want to open a Peruvian-style chicken spot and a whiskey bar, then you put them in the same building, and you don’t try to mix the two together. Just put the chicken spot out front and the bar in the back. And you call it by the obvious name Cubillas, after the star Peruvian footballer who led the national team to the great victory over Scotland, the spiritual home of whisk(e)y, in 1978. Just kidding, the name of the place is Chicken + Whiskey.
With apologies to Scotland and Kentucky, the chicken is the star here. The recipe was developed by Enrique Limardo (who would later open 7 Reasons up the street). Twelve hours of brining followed by roasting in an oak-wood-charcoal, Peruvian rotisserie oven. We find it hard to resist the Yuca fries, but other side options also hold up well, such as the slaw, arroz chaufa, and beans. Tom really liked the cassava breaded chicken filet on the sandwich. There are a handful of Arepa options as well.
The bar in the back (or side-by-side in Navy Yard) offers a lot of whiskey choices and pared-down food menu. The rule since opening has been you can bring your whiskey to the chicken out front, but don’t bring your tray of chicken in the back.
Whether for a group or solo, at the beginning of the night or sometime later, Chicken + Whiskey does its job well.
Summary:
Cuisine: South American
Locations:
14th Street: 1738 14th St NW, Washington DC
Navy Yard: 70 N Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
Columbia, MD: 10300 Little Patuxent Pkwy Columbia, MD 21044, Ste 3035
Website: http://www.chickenandwhiskey.com/
Reservations: Walk-in
Other Critics/Voices:
Washington Post: Tom’s positive First Bite in 2017.
Washingtonian: Preview of original location in 2017.