Image: Fish and Pasta
Last Updated: September 2024
Overview:
[NOTE: Estuary has a new Chef de Cuisine and appears to moving to safer ground. Eater has more on the new chef and menu.]
For a list of under-rated spots is an unlikely candidate that occupies the flagship restaurant spot in a shiny hotel that also houses the Tiffany store. Estuary opened under new leadership last year and it has built something special. Chef Ria Montes has added Asian touches, especially Filipino ones (21:00 mark), to the Mid-Atlantic focused menu.
The menu carries forward locality, sustainability, and seasonality. One of the most memorable dishes we had during a late summer visit was a melon with yogurt mint sauce with some tang from red pepper and nuts for crunch. Also hitting the seasonal notes was a vegetable tagliatelle, with individual elements allowed to stand on their own and white peppercorn worked into the dough. A dish they were willing to risk putting on the menu was pig ears, but it is now a mainstay. Mushrooms are also a favorite ingredient, whether as the primary one in a dish like the tempura fried mapo mushrooms, or surprisingly combined with peaches to top scallops. The menu still divides between flora, fauna, and watershed as with the original menu, but the dishes are either compiled into a tasting option or a la carte. There are a couple nods to hotel customers like a New York Strip, oysters, and they still carry the Old Bay fries. Those aside, you feel like each dish is considered, each addition or subtraction pondered. Nothing is mailed-in, nothing a default recipe.
Montes worked in some notable New American spots before taking over, including Blue Duck Tavern, A Rake’s Progress, as well as Albi. Her sous chef, Sean Tew, spent many years at Rooster & Owl. The work here manages to combine the creative energy with dishes tied to the American tradition – pasta, crusted fish over succotash, or a russet potato “cassarole.” Her initiative also shows up in things like a series called Miss en Place that highlights other talented women culinary in the industry.
It seems that the wine list has gotten better and more interesting since the first incarnation. The by-the-glass options are more diverse. The large bar still serves a steady stream of cocktails for those hanging out post-conference or pre-dinner.
The space is dramatic, rolling like the incoming tide through the third floor of the Conrad hotel on the north side of City Center with the tables spread out beyond the dining room and past the bar. The city sets a background through large windows that wrap around the space. The spread-out space and high ceilings create a low din. For those that ask where to go to feel like a grown up that is still fun, put this on your list.
The new team did not get the benefit of the hype machine of the original opening. Nonetheless, it is still worthy of attention. It is the kind of place that industry insiders might have on their radar more than the general foodie press – including the Post (which has yet to review since 2022) or Washingtonian (which has no coverage since 2019) or Michelin that is still referencing 2019 menu items. Their blind-spot is your opening to check it out before word of mouth catches up.
Summary
Cuisine: New or Old American
Neighborhood: Chinatown/City Center
Address: 950 New York Ave NW Washington, DC 20001 (on third floor)
Website: http://www.estuarydc.com/
Reservations: Opentable
Other Critics/Voices:
Washington Post: No coverage since re-launch. Tom gave it #7 Spring 2019 Dining Guide but only 2.0 stars when he rated it.
Washingtonian: Original Preview
Michelin: Listed (and possibly not revisited since re-opening).
EaterDC: Preview of re-opened spot.
Before Times Review:
Last Visited: December 2019
This is a serious restaurant that should be taken seriously. The PR-hype machine may fool you into thinking the new Brothers Voltaggio place is just a nice hotel spot with a celebrity-chef stamp to draw crowds. Estuary is aiming for something bigger than that. The dishes range from well-executed versions of the familiarly pleasing (crab salad on brioche roll), to the funky (lamb “pastrami”), to the sublime (Peruvian-inspired ceviche). The ingredients in the dishes are less in harmony and more in exciting tension. Far from cashing in on celebrity, the brothers seem to be staking their reputation by doing complex, compelling cooking that draws on a Chesapeake-focused palette. It had a rolling, soft opening, and, as of April 9, it is officially open. There are still hiccups – a lost order, the wine list arriving for review after the first course is served. These probably reflect the logistics of serving a huge space and should be worked out soon. Setting that aside, the service is smooth and friendly – with talent poached from some other high-end spots around town. The wine list needs filling out, it could benefit from some balance – both price points and styles. The reds by the glass start at Oregon Pinot and quickly goes to big Malbecs and Cabernets, without much that is less powerful. There are some good finds at affordable prices, but it might be just above a $1500 bottle. The space is immense, with a long, curving seating areas, both in the restaurant and bar, set against massive windows. The grandeur matches the ambitions of the kitchen. This could have easily been a steakhouse. It is our luck it is something altogether different. This is the second new place I’ve tried this year that I would not be surprised to see Michelin recognize (the other was Rooster & Owl). I imagine this place will evolve. It will be exciting to track its progress.
Rating: Worth Paying for Cab
Cuisine: New or Old American
Neighborhood: Chinatown/City Center
Address: 950 New York Ave NW Washington, DC 20001 (on third floor)
Website: http://www.estuarydc.com/
Reservations: Opentable
Other Critics/Voices:
Washington Post: Tom gave it #7 Spring 2019 Dining Guide but only 2.0 stars when he rated it.
Washingtonian: Preview
EaterDC: Preview of Space; Menu Preview
