Cafe Atlantico
Category: Latin American [Edit]
Neighborhood: Penn Quarter405 8th Street NW
(between N D St & N E St)
Washington, DC 20004 (202) 393-0812
- Nearest Transit:
Archives-Navy Mem'l (Green, Yellow)
Gallery Pl-Chinatown (Red, Green, Yellow)
Federal Triangle (Blue, Orange)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Mon-Thu 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sun 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat 5:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.
Sun 5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street, Valet
- Attire: Dressy
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: No
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
59 Reviews for Cafe Atlantico
Have had a couple really special meals here.
The food is different and fun. Not as satisfying as you might expect from the prices, but really a fun meal.
Latin Dim Sum is lovely Dim Sum. After eating about 10 mini courses, I must say this place is good. After eating just about everything, I have to say that the one thing I would definately go back for is the carne asada. The steak was perfectly cooked- tender and juicy but not 'raw' looking. Slightly pink and lightly covered with a fabulous beef broth and spice sauce. (Marinade?) I am also a fan of the watermelon and tomato skewers- though I wish I got more that one tiny skewer (see my picture). I guess it's a 'tasting' so I really should not be surprised that I only get one. Our tasting was $25 per person, and I guess for what we got it was worth it.
There was a lot of duck on our menu, and I'm not a huge fan of duck. This may have caused me to give less than 5 stars- also the waiters forgot our huitalacoche quesadillas (Very good! Try them!) which are made of Mexican "truffle" mushrooms and cheese. Pan dulce was also a fabulous thing. Like soft french toast and a creamy center. Nice way to end the meal. Cocktails are too pricy for what you get in MHO. $11 for a tiny glass of limes and a thimble of drink. Tasty, but I should have just had the water. All in all a good place to go. We came with a group of 25 (reservations of course) and they accomodated us with no problems. Right around the corner from the Navy Memorial metro stop.
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The Latin Dim Sum brunch rocked our world this weekend. We had no problems getting a last minute reservation on a Saturday afternoon. BF had gotten a gift card to Think Food Group and we had been waiting for an opportunity to share it with friends who would appreciate it. They appreciated it.
The 4 of us got the chef's tasting menu, and the table-side guac to start us off. The guac was totally unnecessary, and really there was nothing super special about the recipe. But clearly, they have magic avocados, because it was gooood.
The tasting menu was incredible -- we got 2-3 dishes at a time, a bite or two each, constantly for about 30 minutes. We stopped for a breather and tried to recount our steps. There was the watermelon cherry tomato skewer, then the mango-anchovy ravioli, oysters, tuna ceviche, pineapple unagi, conch fritter.... and then came the foie gras cappuccino and a potato vanilla mousse with caviar (which tasted just like a marshmallow!). After the breather, the bigger dishes came out: duck confit and cigale. They finished things off with a pan dulce, which I managed to shovel in spite of being totally stuffed because it was like a french toast dream.
14 dishes: we never knew what was coming and were pleasantly surprised each time. Service was great, and the space was nice - lots of natural light.
While it's not a place I can afford to frequent without a gift card or parents in town, I cannot wait to get back here somehow.
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I was in town for a few days in May and was really looking forward to trying Cafe Atlantico. I had read a lot about Jose Andres and wanted to see (and eat) for myself. Initially, I tried for a seat at the minibar, but since I didn't get my act together and call for a reservation earlier (like last year), it wasn't happening.
Happily, Cafe Atlantico was just fantastic! I love when chefs get creative with their food, but sometimes creativity doesn't always mean success. This place was a winner on both accounts. The food was imaginative and whimsical, but packed a serious flavor wallop.
As a starter, I ordered the seared foie gras with corn 4 ways. Now normally, the taste of foie gras makes me roll my eyes back with pleasure, but in this dish, as amazing as the foie gras was, it was the corn that was the real star. Four unbelievable ways to prepare corn - each with flavor and texture that really grabs you! My main course was the "deconstructed" feijoada. I must admit, the idea of the word "deconstructed" on a menu makes me giggle (with delight), and this dish did not disappoint.
My dining partner had the unagi (with pineapple!) and beef cheeks and reported a two thumbs up for both choices.
I can't wait until I'm in town again to come back. Next time, I'll plan ahead for the minibar.
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I'd give Cafe Atlantico 4 stars for their dinner menu and 1.5 stars for their "dim sum" lunch menu.
We had dinner at Cafe Atlantico and were quite blown away by the quality of the food and the superb execution of the dishes. The pork chop came out nicely seared outside but juicy and moist inside. Loved the scallops with squid ink oil. The scallops were tender not chewy - the way they should be. The beef cheeks were scrumptious.
The gucamole was really nice - it looked simple enough when the waiter made it tableside but I just could not get the same taste when I tried to make it at home!
Definitely come for dinner.
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Dim Sum
After experiencing great cooking from their dinner menu, we were sooooo let down when we turned up for brunch on a Saturday. This is after raving to our friends how good the food was here - they came along only to be disappointed. We felt kinda bad and ended up paying for the meal! lol
I would not recommend trying the dim sum if you were really hungry. They come in tasting portions and there is never enough to eat (I suppose that's the point - to make you order more?) The duck confit, mango-anchovy ravioli, tuna ceviche, conch fritters were nice. I liked the mango-anchovy ravioli - the play between the saltiness of the anchovy and the sweet tang of the mango was great. One bite of the conch fritter with the liquid centre made you wished that you could have a full meal serving of it! Then there were the "others" - the fried egg with Veracruz sauce was just that - a fried egg on top of tomato (?) based sauce. The rest of the menu was quite unmemorable frankly.
For the amount you would end up paying if you were hungry, I would suggest taking your money elsewhere. The food really is not that great - a lot of pretense with very little else.
We really wanted to try the "mini-bar" but after our disappointing dim sum brunch, I am just afraid it might be more of the same. I would really be miffed if that were the case after shelling out over a $100 for the meal!
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I wanted to show my sister a unique and wonderful Washington restaurant (she owns several fantastic restaurants in Phoenix) and chose Cafe Atlantico for their dim sum brunch. The menu looked interesting and promising, but I am sorry to report that it was a huge mistake. The tasting dishes were too salty and lacked flavor. It was one of the worst food experiences I had ever had and I was so sad that I had chosen this restaurant.as an example of the fun ethnic restaurants in our area. Luckily, during her stay we had many other wonderful experiences ( Simply Home, 2 Amys, Green Papaya, etc.) And, to top off the unfortunate meal, our bill was $110 not including tip. We tried very hard not to let the experience ruin our day. Luckily, as sisters, we always have a good time.
In a nutshell, we'll be looking for a reason to come back to this restaurant again, and soon.
Neither my wife nor I had been to Cafe Atlantico, despite the fact that my wife worked one block away for three years and regularly went to Teaism for lunch, which is across the street. So, the other night when we decided it was time to go out to dinner for the first time in awhile, we finally decided to give Atlantico a try. Both of us came away very happy with our experience and perplexed that we hadn't made the effort to stop by before.
For appetizers, we had the green gazpacho and the "organized" Caesar salad - and both were very well done. The soup had a very nice spice to it that the average gazpacho always seemed to lack (at least to me), and the salad was essentially the lettuce and dressing wrapped and cut into sushi-type rolls, with quail on the side. The salad is not cheap and there isn't a lot of food there, but for the sheer novelty I was happy that I tried it.
For the main course, my wife had the feijao tropeiro, which is essentially a plate with rice, black beans, chicken, and greens all cooked separately but which all work well together when mixed. The chicken was done perfectly and it was a dish that did a good job of leaving you feeling like you had a hearty meal without feeling overstuffed. I had the beef cheeks with sweetbreads, which was just delicious. The sweet potato puree that covered the bottom of the dish complemented the meat and sweetbreads very well without tasting too sweet to suit the dish. I feel that I have to say that although I don't frequently have sweetbreads, they have never tasted better to me than at Cafe Atlantico.
Finally, we had the white chocolate mousse for dessert...as with everything else we tried, it managed to be satisfying without overly filling, and really rounded out one of the best restaurant meals I've had in the last couple of years.
PS: for those that have small children, I'm not sure if the indoor restaurant area would suit, but we did spot a couple with a young child (maybe a year old) sitting outdoors, and it seemed to be a good arrangement.
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Latin Dim Sum? Ok I was thinking that sounded a bit odd. But I love Dim Sum, and I love tapas style food......so what the heck,
The food was definitely a little different. You dont know what you are going to get from a portion standpoint. Some seemed tiny, others huge. Overall I thought the food was very good, but not exceptional.
Things to try: Cous Cous, Conch Fritters, Duck Confit, Fried eggs with mashed black beans and pork
Things to avoid (too small) : Tuna ceviche, foie gras and corn soup
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Wednesday, July 2, 2008 was my first time at the Cafe. I made reservations for 2 at 5pm. The evening started out on a positive note. My guest located a metered street parking space that was less than 50 yards from the place and on top of that the meter was broken--it read FAILED. My guest and I arrived 10 minutes early so we sat at the bar and ordered 2 Magic Mojitos. I followed her lead. I like the hard stuff, but she wanted something that sounded 'pretty'. It was tasty, but I could have really gone for a Dirty Martini. The host seated us at a great window table upstairs just close enough to the Minibar. The waiter, though a little smug, was nice and attentive. We ordered from the pre-theater menu. My guest wanted to taste everything so I had to order the items she only want to taste so she could eat her food but also eat from my plate. (The guys out there know what I mean.) I really enjoyed everything, but the soup of the day was the big winner. It was a White Gazpacho made with macadamias nuts. This soup was so spot on with the glass of Viognier wine. The overall experience was great. We sat in the Cafe for almost 2 hours talking, eating, and watching the magic happen over at the Minibar. I would recommend this place, but if it is your first time you should go in the middle of the week. I have heard the weekends are a madhouse. Do the weekend thing after a few mid-week visits.
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Went here for the weekend brunch/tasting a few months ago. Some of the small plates were delic and some were just weird. We tried the normal tasting and also the vegetarian. One dish was a shot of melted and butter and some crumbs on top. Another memorable one was the beans with a scrambled egg on top. The grilled corn was really good. All in all the weird sticks out in my mind more than the good.
Grilled octopus w/ squid ink ($14): good
Scallops w/ crispy rice in coconut ($14): good
Coconut Panna Cotta topped w/ a lime gelee ($10): very good
Braised beef cheeks ($27): eh
Okay, to elaborate. The beef itself was cooked perfectly but I was not a huge fan of the puree that it came in. But overall, a good showing from Atlantico. Nice having a view of minibar too, and checking out the courses.
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A pretty big disappointment.
AVOID: I had heard great things about this place, and went for the chef's tasting menu Latin Dim Sum, but I couldn't stop feeling like I had spent way too much money ($35 a person).
Some of the dishes that came out were interesting, some were downright tasty, but the bulk of them were this mess of edible foam plus some odd idea that probably sounds better as a concept than as a product.
On top of that, the service was horrendous - the waitress kept sending dishes with the busboys and they'd bring it to the table and not explain at all what it was or even what it contained. I feel like at a place like this that's obsessed with techniques and combinations, presentation is important, and they fell down hard on this aspect.
I'm still willing to give it a try for some other dishes off their a la carte menu, but I'm done with the Latin Dim Sum brunch forever.
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So this place is good. Pretty damn good. However, what do I look like, a lobbyist? No. I don't want to get all woe-is-me/ "only poor places are cool", which is incredibly annoying, however, all I'm saying is that we need a stars / dollar signs ratio going on (*/$).
Cafe Atlantico, although a great restaurant, I don't think would rank that high if it were subjected to the cruelty of this ratio (value). As someone once said, "all truth lies in the statistics." Ok, no one ever said that. thank god.
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Lunch on Tuesday, July 8th. I arrived early and was directed to the bar where the bartender was more than willing to make me an iced coffee. I thought that was thoughtful. Our table was on the second floor, where the waitstand and the path to the next floor meet. Amazingly, we were undisturbed by booth. I credit it to the dexterity of the sevice people. We had the Guacamole prepared fresh tableside. Such a big deal, made tableside! It was good, not great. My main course was the Huitlacoche Quesadilla Mexican "truffle" and mushroom quesadilla, sun dried tomato oil, guacamole and pebre. It was very good...and interesting enough the guacamole tasted exactly like the guac that was made earlier tableside! My lunch companion had the Duck Pupusas which she said was very good. Everyone from the host, to the bartender to the waitstaff were attentive and just plain nice. Service was great. I will go back.
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40 Reviews!!! I usually don't like to review places with this many reviews since there's usually nothing I can add, but since I was with my lovely friend, I thought I would savor the memory..:) Thanks friend for eating with me..:)
OK, we had reservations here at 1 PM on a Sunday afternoon. I was really excited to go due to all the high marks on Yelp and their intriguing "Latino Dim Sum" posted on their website. It sounded delicious. The place was pretty crowded as we were seated on the 2nd floor. They have 3 floors, or maybe it's closer to 2 1/2 floors. Nonetheless, we went up one flight of stairs.
We were seated in a little corner. I'm not a big guy, but this was a tight fit. I could nearly eat off my neighbor's plate without trying, so to say the least, it was TIGHT. Having been to other Chinese Dim Sum places, I was expecting them to roll around little carts filled with delicious little Latino/Chinese mixes....NOT! It was basically items a la carte. To be honest, it really reminded me of tapas. Not sure why they just don't call it that cuz there was nothing "dim sum" about it.
Overall, I had a really nice time hanging out with my friend. The service was pleasant and the restaurant was nice (other than the tightness). But the food was mediocore, therefore this is closer to a 3.5 stars than a full-blown 4...:)
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This place was another Restaurant Week favorite. What's not to like; the ambiance was very open, the food was amazing! I mean who would've thought to mix Latin cuisine with Chinese Dim Sum and voila, you have a unique niche in the restaurant business. It's like Chinese Tapas if you will. It's been so long ago that I forgot what I ate but I'd definitely come back again to relive it. This restaurant did not disappoint me at all.
Dined here in the fall of '07. Had the Feijao Tropeiro (deconstructed version of the Brazilian classic: black beans and pork, white rice, farofa, oranges and sauted collard greens with garlic). Chose the pork belly confit and it was done to perfection.
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This place is pretty darn good, I must say. Recently had holiday dinner with GVBF here and enjoyed every minute. We sort of ended up doing our own "small plates" tasting dinner, but it was all quite wonderful. Oh, and that passion fruit martini - perfect blend of spicy and sweet. Loved it!
So, we started by splitting an order of tableside guac. I think this was my favorite of all the tableside guacs out there. We asked for it spicy and I'll be darned, the guy made it spicy. It was delicious. The only drawback with the guac was that the tortillas they served with it were not good. They were over heated to the point of crispy edges and I dare say they might have been store bought (like Pepito brand or something). That didn't, however, stop us from devouring the guac.
Next, we each had the soup of the day, which was a spicy tomato and zucchini number. It was blended together to absolute perfection and served with a dollop of greek yogurt. I think this was my favorite part of the evening and wished that this soup was on the menu at all times. It was so good, we both contemplated licking our bowls!
Next up, the salad. We each had the arugula and jicama salad. What a beautiful presentation! The jicama was thinly sliced and then wrapped around the arugula, almost like a sushi roll, and sliced. Served with corn, gorgonzola cheese and a wonderful vinaigrette dressing. Divine!
For our "meal," we split the portobello mushroom, which was topped with black beans, cheese, corn and a lovely beet sauce. I was so full at this point, that the meal was really lost on me and that is too bad. It was SO tasty, but I just couldn't eat another bite. Very generous portion, I might add, and they were kind enough to split it into two plates so we each had our own lovely presentation.
The Cafe Atlantico waitstaff were excellent. Our server was super friendly and knowledgable, and didn't bat an eye when we asked to have one item at a time. Also didn't bat an eye when we asked to split our dinner entree. Each "course" came out separately and timed perfectly. The fellow that cleared our almost-clean plates after each course was so polite and asked if we had enjoyed that particular course. Really top notch.
Overall, we were very pleased with our holiday dinner selection. Wonderful food, excellent service, and a fun atmosphere. I would definitely return to Cafe Atlantico and highly recommend it to anyone looking for something a little different, yet very yummy.
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Yum! The fresh made guacamole was tasty, is eaten with corn tortillas (not chips) and you can even tune the spicyness. The bass veracruz was tasty, it was nice and flaky and came with capers, tomatoes. The flank steak was equally tasty and tender. Definitely save room for dessert, the Coco en dos formas was fantastic: a great mix of coconut mousse, custard, and mangos.
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Finally got a chance to try Cafe Atlantico last weekend which a bunch of my coworkers.
short review, it was overrated.
long review, keep on reading:
We started off with the tableside guac, which was cool-looking but way too onion-y for my taste. The taste of the raw onion overpowered the guac. It was disappointing. Also, note that medium spicy is really really spicy, so for those who can't handle the heat, take note! And it came with the worst tasting flour tortillas ever. Blech.
Had the tuna tartare next, which was basically diced raw tuna in a coconut milk / lime emulsion, covered in what seemed like slices of half of an avocado, and topped with bits of corn nuts. yes that oh so delicious snack popular in the late 80's / early 90's. overall , the taste and texture was off. I love tuna tartare usually but this was very mediocre. My coworkers thought so as well.
My main course was the flank steak. This was actually very very tasty. Good char and flavor, but chewy, so if you're into soft tender meat look elsewhere. Tasty, salty and balanced by this creamy mashed potato like stuff, but it wasn't potato...not sure what is is actually. some kind of root that was pureed with creamm. mmm mm good. surprised that the entree was this good after the disappointing starts to the meal.
dessert was the chocolate cake with the banana foam. the banana foam was disgusting. the cake was about a 1.5" across...very very tiny, but rich. the slices of banana were sour as well, as if they dipped them in lemon juice to keep them from browning, but of course that makes em taste horrible. i would not recommend this dessert, which is sad, b/c i normally love anything with banana in dessert form!
drinks were not much better. tried drinking two of the house special cocktails but did not finish either. I had the cotton candy mojito which literally tasted like lemon theraflu...but with an overwhelming sweetness. it was just gross. and the raspberry martini with smoke essence...which was recommended by the waitress but tasted like ass. finally settled on a red stripe beer which was solid.
service was friendly, but very slow.
atmosphere was very nice...good mood lighting. would be a decent place for a date.
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I wanted to give 2.5 stars because I'd say half the food that we got was good, the other half - we weren't sure what to think.
A couple of friends were visiting from out of town, so eager to impress them with the culinary delights of my new stomping ground, I decided to bring them to Cafe Atlantico on a lovely Saturday morning to try out the "Latin Dim Sum". We tried the Chef's Tasting Menu which comes with about 14 small dishes. In order to order the Chef's Tasting Menu, everyone in the party has to opt in. So opt in, we did.
For $34.95 per person, we were ready to be fed! Although some of the dishes were delicious, I have to say that overall we were disappointed. For $34.95 for brunch, we expected that at least 75% of the dishes served would blow us away...Maybe their dinner selections are better?
Needless to say, my friends from NYC were not that impressed:(
If you're still dying to try out Cafe Atlantico for brunch, my suggestion is to order the dim sum dishes separately. That way, you can politely ask your server, which dishes are the perennial customer favorites? Individual dishes range from $2-$7.
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I heard great reviews of this place but it was just ok.
We sat on the 2nd level which didn't seem to be as "fun" as the 1st level. Ordered the tableside guacamole which was great but didn't come with enough chips which was kind of bizarre.
For my entree, I ordered striped bass with a sauce of tomatoes, olives, onions, capers, and fresh lime with avocado. It was good but nothing to mention to friends.
I think their pre-theater prix fixe menu does sound delicious and a good deal. 3 courses for $30 where my entree alone was $27. I would definitely try to make it back there for that deal if I am in the area. Or the latin dim sum which sounds fantastic! Check out their website for all of the fabulous options!
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Come for the guacamole, stay to stare at the waiters.
Cafe Atlantico is an amazing restaurant and, in my view, one of the best in Washington. I take all out of town visitors here, and it's never disappointed. Plenty has been said about it already, so briefly:
-- The guacamole is excellent and will bring you back again and again. The tortillas that come with the guac are also wonderful (particularly if you get them fresh and warm).
-- The wine list is fantastic, and the bar makes a mean caipirinha and pisco sour.
-- Try the salmon or flank steak, both are terrific.
-- Unfortunately, the generally gorgeous waitstaff is not available for dessert.
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Our group got the table next to Minibar, so we gawked at their parade of wacky dishes. We were especially curious about what looked like a liquid nitrogen martini. (We weren't allowed to order it though; it was exclusively for elite Minibarflies).
The oddest thing we ordered was "lime air." Seriously, we ate lime-flavored bubbles. It reminded me of dishwashing (not in a good way).
Atlantico's guac was decent, but not nearly as good as Rosa Mexicano's: A big problem is that Atlantico serves their guac with bland white flour tortillas instead of crispy corn tortilla chips.
However, I really enjoyed my entree: portobello mushroom roasted with a salty "latin cheese," plus roasted beets and "beet oil." This entree was huge and extremely rich; I could only finish half.
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Cotton Candy Mojito. Glass with Cotton Candy and the Mojito is poured right over it. and cotton candy simply melts away. How cute! That's exactly how I feel about Cafe Altantico, How Cute!
I'd been wanting to go to Cafe Atlantico for a while but found the opportuntiy when my best friend came into town from NYC. Where can I take an NYC person to impress them? Cafe Atlantico!
We ordered tons of tapas and there were no duds in the group. I think Saturday for bunch is the best time to go to this place since it's pretty empty. No need to wait for a night time reservation.
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OK, so its Washington's Mecca for Molecular Cuisine. Granted I have not eaten at the MiniBar.
When I firs ate here ~3 years ago, I was blown away. The food was a five and service a solid 3.5
I went this past weekend with my family and the food was only OK. Granted it was a Sunday night, so probably the typical line cooks were expediting everything, but it simply wasn't up to snuff.
I had the conch fritters, which instead of molten interiors had mildly warm interiors.
I followed with their interpretation of feojada with pork belly. The greens were great, the corn meal added interesting texture, the balck beans were well seasoned, the rice was standard and the pork belly, not worth its name. It was poorly rendered and lacked any crispy luscious quality. Why else would we eat slabs of pork fat except for luscious/crispy issues that are un-reproducible any where else in the world of food.
Up for the wine list, attentive and patient service.
Down for the food, at least on this recent trip.
Worth revisiting, Yes. Latin Din Sum may be the best way to experience this restaurant. Alternatively, if you're feeling spendy try the MiniBar, perhaps the best place to try Molecular cuisine between the Fat Duck and Alinea.
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Unfortunately most places in Washington, DC are just "expense account restaurants." They all tend to offer the same menu. But this place is different.
It's a great bar to sit and have dinner. It's rarely very busy. The key here is the dessert. Panna Cotta and mango soup are both great. Also, the cuban sandwich at lunch might be the best food that they have. Too bad that they won't serve it at dinner.
Everyone must try the chef's tasting menu for the latino dim sum. It's amazing. 14 dishes that will make you think about flavors, textures, and presentation. We started our brunch with mango mimosas and guacamole but I would advise against ordering guacamole if you're doing the tasting menu. Some of my favorites are the duck confit with passion fruit oil, mango anchovi ravioli, coconut rice, crispy rice and ginger, and most of all the potato and vanilla mousse with American caviar. The tasting menu ended with pan dulce with cinnamon syrup and it was a perfect ending.
The only thing I wished they would have done as part of the tasting menu is to have the waiter introduce the food and talk about it more instead of having a random server doing it and rushing to give you the food.
I'll definitely be back to try what else Jose Andres have to offer.
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Cafe Atlantico is an interesting place to go. I went there for their latino dim sum brunch (supposedly 14 course.. but it's not really 14 courses if it makes any sense). their food is very creative and flavorful. I had some dishes I didn't much care for but majority of the dishes were very delicious. Service is decent and atmosphere is very chic. They also have many unique cocktails (cotton candy martini during winter) that everyone must try.
I would love to try their minibar. Tasting their little dishes made it my dream to go dine at minibar.
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I went here with my cousin and her friends to try the latin dim sum. I would highly recommend the place. Don't come to this place if your looking for the most food for your buck. It's all about the taste experience. The food is fantastic. Between the four of us, we split about 8-10 dishes. I truly enjoyed the potato vanilla mousse with american caviar and the duck confit. We ended lunch with a chocalate cake with banana creme and chocalate flan; although, it wasn't really flan, just chocalate mousse on the side. Tasty nonetheless.
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I brought my parents and brother here the other night for dinner, and Cafe Atlantico definitely didn't disappoint!
We started with cocktails at the bar: 1 vino verde (basically a pear martini), a mojito, a pisco sour, and a pineapple caiparinha. They were all really good, and they were all $10. A bit pricey, but this isn't the type of place I'd come for to just get drinks; this was definitely a special occasion for us.
We got the scallops w/ rice in coconut milk and the uni ceviche for appetizers. My mom loves uni sushi, so she really wanted to try this. The mix of the miso w/ the uni was really nice and she was thoroughly impressed. I fell in love with the scallops; it has a perfect combination of scallops with the creamy/softness of coconut milk and rice, but some crispy somethings that I fell in love with. It was cooked like a risotto, I think.
Main courses: a Malbec braised veal cheeks, the Fejao Tropeiro for dad, flank steak for the brother, and jerk chicken for the mom.
I'll just say, if we had been in the comfort of our own home, we could have literally licked the plates clean, but we settled for scraping with our forks and spoons to get every last bit we could.
My veal cheeks were so tender and beautiful I thought I'd died and went to heaven. Dad's pork from the tropeiro, the flank stead were both tender and incredibly juicy. Mom's jerk chicken was enormous and tasty too.
Dessert: the warmed chocolate cake and the coco dos formas (coconut in 2 forms). The chocolate cake was a bit small, but rich and tasty. The coconut panna cotta tasted more like cheesecake and the coconut sorbet was a bit weak on the coconut, but I think the rich intense flavor of the veal cheeks was to "blame" for it. The desserts were still incredible.
Nice waitress and attentive staff overall. I was worried the nuevo latino fusion wouldn't suit my parents, but they were incredibly impressed. A wonderful evening of great food. I'll be back here again!
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I went here on a weeknight for dinner with friends. It was my first time there and overall, the experience was good. We ordered the guacamole, which was great. The entrees were pretty good, but I was not overly impressed. I ordered the flank steak and thought that it was quite salty. My husband had a few bites and agreed. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their entrees.
It was a little hard a couple times to spot our waiter, but overall service was good, staff was friendly.
oh yeah.. and while we were in the restaurant, marisa tomei, mario batali and lydia austrian (from food network) came in and dined at the mini bar.
i would come to the restaurant again. the vibe/atmosphere is nice, laid back, and the food was pretty good. also, i liked the menu. it had some different choices that i'd be interested in trying during a next visit.
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had late reservations for a saturday night and the place was still bustling (which is generally a good sign). we were taken to their third floor dining area which had a nice view of minibar below.
started off with a caipirinha which tasted a little watered down (or maybe it had something to do with the two large cocktails i had beforehand?). the made-to-order guacamole was delicious, but i never came across an avocado i didn't like (or a cookie, but i digress). it was served with flour tortillas which was...different. i would have preferred the traditional tortilla chips.
the bass i ordered came out with the skin and tail still attached which would normally freak me out, but it was quite tasty, not fish-y, and had the perfect amount of seasoning.
our friend joined us for dessert and we ordered a chocolate cake thing (very yum) and a white chocolate mousse which was NOT mousse at all, but more of a soup (yuck!). we sent it back, and didn't feel bad about it because we had ordered a $120 bottle of wine. yes, we are pretentious a-holes like that.
the staff was attentive and attractive. i changed my reservation time and the number of people in our party and they were very accomodating. i like when people tell me "whatever you want."
I came here a few months ago and had a great experience. We started with drinks - there were yummy ones on the whole but I would skip the "special mojito" or whatever they call it. It's a deconstructed mojito with cotton candy in it - tasted like water flavored with cotton candy. Stick with the regular mojito which is yummy.
We got the guacamole which was prepared tableside so that was really neat and it tasted so good and fresh. My entree was the Cornish hen with mol and watermelon (Cornish hen wrapped in bacon, served with deconstructed mol and seared watermelon). That was really good but for $26 I was expecting it to be :) Their food is very out there in preparatio and presentation but it works.
My ultimate goal is to get reservations for the 30-course mini bar.
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Executive Chef Jose Andres has a groupie. Ok, so I don't like Zatinya, but this place and Jaleo are really wonderful. The ambiance here is so colorful and fun I spend half of my time here staring around like I have zero interest in my tables mates. I unfortunately have yet to try the latino dim sum here, but it is on my list. I ordered the Salmon con quinoa y cous-cous de coliflor, which is seared salmon with cauliflower-quinoa "cous-cous," buttery papaya, avocado mash and papaya-vanilla oil....its a mouthful to say, and I couldnt help my devour every last morsel that was on my plate, the flavors bursting like a thousand crazy latin fusion rocket ships with every bite. I really recommend the table side prepared guacamole. Rosa Mexicana does this too, but somehow it just tastes SO much better here. This place would really really really impress on a date.
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Fresh ingredients!! I love Cafe Atlantico, it has delicous flavors that exciting and satisfying to the taste buds!
Service was okay, the decor is nice but nothing special, but the food was awesome and I would def recommend it!
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We came here during Restaurant Week in 1/08. The Restaurant Week menu had a pretty wide range of choices, which was rare. For appetizer, I had "Callos de Mar con Arroz de Coco Crujiente" (scallop served with coconut and crispy rice), while for entree, I followed the Post's food reviewer Tom Sietsema's recommendation and got "Pork Chop Feijao Tropeiro" (pork chop served with collard greens, rice, black beans, forofa, and orange). Finally, for dessert, I chose "Bizcocho Templado de Chocolate con Banana" (warm chocolate cake with chocolate flan and empuma, some kind of banana foam). All three courses tasted and looked great given the stress the kitchen was under on a busy Restaurant Week night, and my dining companions concurred with their choices. I especially liked the so-called "deconstructed" entree, as each of the ingredients had a fresh, bold taste on its own, but the whole dish still came together seamlessly. The chef didn't seem to scale back any of the dishes because of Restaurant Week, and the portion sizes were generous. The only downside was that our server was kind of pushy and wanted us to order wine etc., and we understood that because we were already paying much less than regular patrons do for our food. Overall I was very impressed and would love to come here again. It's a great restaurant to bring out-of-town friends to show them the hippier and more cosmopolitan side of DC.
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if you can only go to one place this month, grab one friend/loved one and make reservations for mini-bar. have a mojito as a cocktail, but switch to cava once the food starts rolling. i can't begin to describe the experience--you have to live it.
xoxoxo
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