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.
