For years, the District has been building a reputation as a steakhouse city, though this has not always been a compliment.
The term could conjure images of power lunches, corporate dining rooms and predictable plates of creamed spinach, shrimp cocktails and oversized cuts of beef.
But three new restaurants are giving the classic steakhouse a sharper, more playful edge.
At Bully, Bazaar Meat and Ox & Olive, local chefs and owners are reimagining the format through Spanish flavors, tableside theatrics, high-end sourcing and a little humor.
Diners can expect dishes like cotton candy foie gras, steak tartare “eclairs” and a carrot cake with googly eyes.
Here’s what to know about each of D.C.’s newest steakhouses.
José Andrés’ renamed and refocused Bazaar Meat turns dinner into a performance
In March, José Andrés opened the country’s fourth Bazaar Meat in the former Bazaar space inside the Waldorf Astoria at 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. While Bazaar was a Spanish tapas experience, Bazaar Meat is more straightforward as a steakhouse concept — and more theatrical.
These are dishes and experiences “you don’t have anywhere else,” Valentina Cardenas, head chef at Bazaar Meat, told WTOP.
“You have the runners come to your table, interact with you (and) make the dishes right next to you,” said Cardenas.
The menu includes ossetra caviar-topped cones, cotton candy foie gras with crispy corn nuts and a nine- to 11-pound Spanish suckling pig, which requires 24 hours’ notice and a budget that can handle the $620 it will add to the bill — or $180 for a quarter-sized portion.
While meat is the main attraction at Bazaar Meat, Cardenas recommended not sleeping on the vegetable dishes.
Highlights include the roasted leeks with a truffle vinaigrette, hazelnut praline, and goat cheese, and the beefsteak tomato tartare, which uses dehydrated tomatoes to create a flavor and texture similar to raw meat. This dish is paired with balsamic vinegar, olive oil and romaine leaves on the side.
Other unique dishes include the A5 “Philly Cheesesteak,” which is served on air bread filled with manchego espuma (or foam) and topped with Wagyu beef.
For those who’d prefer to dish on the beef, Cardenas said there is a section of the menu dedicated to Wagyu from Japan, but there are also cuts from Australia and the United States.
Ryan Ratino’s steakhouse mixes serious sourcing with playful, nostalgic touches at Ox & Olive
Chef Ryan Ratino always wanted to open a steakhouse. The Ohio native said he grew up in a “beef landscape,” so steak feels like home for him.
“I think everyone loves steak, right? So the idea of just having like a steakhouse that feels good, good vibe, good energy, but also very comfortable, and then that same intention that we would put into the cooking of our other restaurants, we do that here as well,” said Ratino.
Ox & Olive, his Georgetown steakhouse, opened in May at 3201 Cherry Hill Lane NW.
For Ratino, who is also known for Michelin-starred restaurants Jônt and Bresca, “ingredient-driven” American steakhouse comfort, not pretension, is the goal.
On the menu, there is no pork or chicken, only seafood and beef, plus vegetable sides like onion rings with a sour cream ranch, a wedge salad with beef bacon, Parmesan, an egg and green goddess dressing, as well as whipped potato with cultured butter and the option to load it with beef jam, comté cheese and chive.
Ratino said he wanted to bring fun and nostalgic moments to every dining experience with starters like dry-aged beef mini hot dogs on milk bread rolls with dijonnaise, relish and pickled onion. The steak tartare “eclairs” is similar to an Italian beef sandwich, with giardiniera, aged provolone and a beef fat and mustard emulsion.
Ratino also serves what he describes as “the most fun carrot cake you’ve ever seen.” The cake, flavored with cream cheese mousse, pineapple and pecan praline, is carrot-shaped and coated with a bright orange cocoa butter glaze. The finishing touch Bugs Bunny-inspired eyes.
“And then we added the little, like, Bugs Bunny eyes to it, and it’s just like really fun and playful. Reminds me of being a kid, but still hits the notes of like delicious satiating carrot cake,” Ratino said.
On the meats found here, Ratino said the restaurant sources a wide variety of options from “about 16” farms, including Wagyu beef crossbred with Angus or Hereford cattle, and Jersey beef.
“Every time you come, you can try a different breed of cow or a cross breed of cow, or if you’re with a group of three or four people, you can have like two different two different breeds in the same dining experience while there’s still like 10 more in the ager for the next time you’re here,” he said.
He also welcomes the recent D.C. steakhouse expansion.
“I think it’s been known as a steakhouse town for a long time, maybe more like with more institutional steakhouses, like larger corporate chains versus small independent steakhouses like Ox & Olive,” Ratino said.
“The more the D.C. culinary scene continues to thrive and grow, the easier it is to get ingredients here, the better it is to source and kind of just help enhance the culinary landscape,” he said.
Pepe Moncayo brings a Spaniard’s eye to his steakhouse at Bully Spanish Steakhouse
Serving customers since December in the St. Gregory Hotel at 2033 M St. NW, Bully is all about Spanish flavors and classic dishes.
Don’t expect creamed spinach or shrimp cocktail here. Paellas, gazpacho and pan con tomato and other tapas take the place of traditional steakhouse sides, served alongside fire-grilled meats seasoned with pimentón, a gourmet culinary salt with paprika.
The menu features locally sourced beef dishes like the chuletón, a 14-ounce rib-eye with a pimentón rub, and costillas glaseadas, Ibérico pork ribs served with a sherry almond glaze.
There are also several chicken and seafood dishes, and don’t miss out on the carpaccio with sliced aged beef, paprika oil, hazelnuts and Idiazabal cheese, a firm cheese made from sheep’s milk. The menu also highlights the various paella options, each priced at $15 during happy hour.
Bully’s executive chef and owner Pepe Moncayo, previously known for the recently closed Cranes restaurant, said he wanted to create a “steakhouse from the eyes of a Spaniard.”
When he moved to D.C. in 2018, “steakhouses got a bad reputation of bad quality, for the masses, not interesting, cut with the same mold,” Moncayo, who is from Barcelona, told WTOP.
Now, he said, “We are not the same chefs in town, and we have a different view, a different take. … I think it’s time to actually give it the value that it deserves.”
