Image: Chicken – battered and lacquered (From original location menu).
Last Updated: May 2025
Overview:
Moon Rabbit is one of D.C.’s treasures. The kind of place that is individual in vision yet creates a community of those that come in contact with it. The setting is warm with touches of home sprinkled throughout. The food is primarily Vietnamese, but it is done through the prism of Chef Kevin Tien’s youth in Louisiana. It is expansive in its flavor yet remains balanced. Elements play off each other and equal more than the parts alone.
At each stop in Tien’s D.C. sojourn the crudos have stood out with the ability to add punch to a subtle piece of fish while retaining the core flavor. The plate descriptions barely hint at what the end product will be. Rice cakes is a large circle sprinkled with dried and fried vegetables with bright red koji-soy vinegarette washing around the edges. The beef wagyu is wrapped in bright green perilla leaves. One take on boudin was squid stuffed grilled squid, filled with sausage of pork, chicken livers, Chinese sausage, and jasmine rice, underlined with squid-ink charred eggplant puree. The slab of squash in a creamy curry sauce is punctuated with pickled apple (?) pieces.
For all the ways in which this restaurant plays with the conventional, there is one cliché that applies: leave room for dessert, which we grant may be difficult. Pastry chef Susan Bae rose from someone noted in reviews to the highest of accolades. If Tien is about finding balance, Bae seems to be about creating tension with ingredients that layer on top of each other and play against each other in every imaginable way – sweet, tart; crispy, creamy; cold; warm. Then she will add something to take that built up tension and add an element that pops it, as it dissolves into harmonious whole. Crispy chocolate streusel plays against the tartness of a frozen coconut disc, bridged by creamy pandan panna cotta, then popped by the umami slivers of seaweed. Magic. As if to throw down the gauntlet and avoid any false advertising, the choices are named after the most “challenging” ingredient even when it is not the primary one, with the current lineup being: curry (sponge cake), tofu (cheesecake), durian (mousse), seaweed, and mushroom (chocolate mousse).
The wine list is a mix of old world and new. It is not long, but the choices are interesting and include a skin contact wine from Virginia, a sparkling from England, and a Tempranillo blend from California. The cocktail program matches the pastry team for creativity.
Service is friendly and sharp, well-versed in the menu and sweeping the floor to drop and retrieve plates. One type of community is the team Tien built and in many cases held on to from the Wharf location. Without a big investor, they converted the space from the dark clubby feel of the prior tenant into a series of large warm rooms accented by mementoes from his “basement.” The team continues to push, with bar manager Thi Nguyen leading a new cocktail bar, and Bae running a stand alone shop in a Chinatown market soon.
Other Guidance: It is located at street level and the Post notes, “No barriers to entry; ADA-compliant restroom.” It is a nice place, but no need to dress up unless you want to. Both GF and Vegetarians can do well. Tien is one of the leaders of Chefs Stopping AAPI Hate, click through to find out more and see how to support the effort.
Summary:
Cuisine: Other Asian (Vietnamese)
Neighborhood: Chinatown/City Center
Address: 927 F St NW, Washington, DC 20004
Website: https://www.moonrabbitdc.com/
Reservations: Opentable
Other Critics/Voices:
Washington Post: Tom includes new spot in a roundup, heaping praise.
Tom’s initial take on Wharf – It’s good to be eating Kevin Tien’s cooking again.
Washingtonian: #4 on Top 100 2025.
Rick Eats DC: Best of List July 2024
Michelin: Listed.
Wharf Era Pictures:
