Opened in 2003, Minibar by José Andrés is the avant-garde restaurant of the renowned Spanish-American chef. It was the chef's first US fine-dining venture, and remains the flagship of his vast restaurant empire and a tribute to his hometown of Washington DC.
Over more than two decades, Minibar by José Andrés has evolved from a debut six-seater counter to the world-famous 12-seater restaurant it is today, once hailed by The New York Times as a “shrine to avant-garde cooking.”

The heart of Minibar

Reservations are in high demand, opening at noon on the first of each month for the following month and often selling out within 24 hours. Securing a spot remains a test of tenacity, speed, and good fortune.

Located in Penn Quarter since 2012, a discreet sign on the 9th and E Street corner marks the restaurant’s entrance. A single locked door hints at the adventure, inviting guests to leave their expectations behind. If you’ve already made it this far, you know you’re in for something extraordinary.

According to their bookings, guests are greeted and escorted through the entrance to a waiting area before being led through a curtain to the dining area. An innovative welcome cocktail, such as a vibrant green gin-infused matcha drink with a gold leaf, sets the tone for the theatrical dining experience ahead.

Under a golden suspended dome, up to a dozen guests are seated at the communal tasting counter, where the playful theater of the steely open-plan kitchen keeps them on the edge of their coveted seats.

There is no menu. A team of nearly a dozen chefs, led by head chef Sarah Ravitz, prepares up to 20 courses in front of the diners, embodying the mantra: Expect the unexpected.

The surprise is in the delivery of the Japanese-themed dishes, meticulously created with a combination of science and mastery. Dishes like wagyu and beef consommé have months of research behind them, plus a talented team of chefs to perfect and present them. From almond cups with Spanish blue cheese to feta ravioli with Turkish tomatoes, each dish is a masterpiece of avant-garde techniques, like spherification, foams, gels, smoke, and more, with unique tastes and textures to match.

On leaving, guests are given a printed take-home menu revealing the evening’s dishes, as a keepsake, plus a takeaway box filled with edible treats.

Like his Minibar restaurant, Andrés’ professional journey has been prolific, enduring, and full of surprises. Growing up near Barcelona in Spain, his early love of food was shaped by his country's food culture of fresh food cooked simply. But it was his mentorship at elBulli, under Ferran Adrià in the late 1980s which profoundly shaped his culinary style. It instilled in him a voracious passion for avant-garde techniques and molecular gastronomy, which has shaped his career.

After crossing the Atlantic in 1991, first to New York and then to Washington DC, Andrés opened Minibar in the upstairs bar of his pan-Latin eatery Cafe Atlantico in 2003, before its popularity commanded a new space, and the rest as they say, is history.

Today, Andrés is just as comfortable pushing the boundaries of the upper echelons of fine dining as he is in politics. He is now one of the world's most popular and respected chefs, revered by his peers for his success in the culinary arts and by world leaders for his humanitarian work.

Minibar has been a two-Michelin-starred restaurant since 2018 and is consistently ranked among the best restaurants in Washington DC, by publications such as the Washingtonian, Bloomberg, and The Washington Post. It is also included in the 50 Best Discovery series by The World's 50 Best Restaurants.

The Chef

José Ramón Andrés Puerta was born in Mieres, Asturias, in northern Spain. At 15 he enrolled in culinary school in Barcelona, and at 18 during his military service, he was given the job of cooking for an admiral. He then worked for three years for superstar chef Ferran Adrià at the famous avant-garde restaurant elBulli, but was eventually fired, and decided to move to the US.

Since arriving in 1991 at the age of 21, he has built an empire of over 30 restaurants in US cities including New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Miami, and Orlando, along with others in the Bahamas and Dubai.

He has also become famous for his humanitarian work, creating the non-profit organization World Central Kitchen in 2010 to provide food relief in crisis situations around the world.

Over the years, he has accumulated a remarkable array of recognitions, from culinary prizes—including a James Beard Outstanding Chef Award—and media accolades —including Chef of the Year in Bon Appetit and GQ—to a string of humanitarian awards, honorary degrees, and other recognitions, such as a place in TIME’s 100 Most Influential People and a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Restaurants

The José Andrés Group owns a large portfolio of restaurants serving different kinds of cuisine at different price points. They range from the two-Michelin-star Minibar by José Andrés in Washington DC—serving a tasting menu of around 25 small courses to just 12 diners— and the similar è by José Andrés in Las Vegas to The Bazaar by José Andrés, which has restaurants in New York City, Miami Beach, and Washington DC.

The latest incarnation of The Bazaar opened in 2022 in Washington DC in the historic Old Post Office building, an event that Andrés says had been a dream since he moved to the capital from NYC in 1993, and which was postponed for several years by his falling out with the building’s previous owner, Donald Trump.

In terms of cuisine, The Bazaar restaurants serve innovative dishes rooted in Spanish tradition and avant-garde techniques, crafted with Andrés’ signature creativity, and designed to stimulate the senses in surprising and satisfying ways, in “a carefully created theater of shared plates.” The menu in the Washington DC restaurant offers an additional twist, with references to favorite dishes of past presidents and tributes to the rich history of the nation’s capital.

Recipes and dishes

Andrés has been credited with introducing tapas to the US. Signature dishes include Beet Butterfly, which is a rosette of beet with Greek yogurt, mandarin orange, and marigold flowers; Snail Caviar: Fast & Slow, a twist on a classic Spanish pairing of conejo con caracoles, highlighting the snail caviar; and Corn BBQ & CornChata, made with crispy chicken skin, hot corn gelee, BBQ sauce, and corn milk horchata.

Besides being an award-winning chef, restaurateur, and humanitarian, Andrés is also a bestselling author, television host, podcast producer, and educator. This parallel career as a communicator began in 2005, when he starred in his own cooking show in Spain, Vamos a Cocinar and published his first book, Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America. He has since appeared on TV in Iron Chef America, Top Chef, and numerous other shows, as well as lecturing in culinary physics at Harvard University, helping develop a curriculum in Spanish cuisine for the International Culinary Center in New York, and teaching a course in how food shapes civilization at George Washington University. His 2023 book, The WCK Cookbook: Feeding Humanity, Feeding Hope, focuses on recipes associated with WCK's global relief efforts.

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