Updated Jan. 27
Sick of the snow? Dress up or dress casual and book a table at your favorite DowntownDC restaurant. Or, better yet, take a chance on something new and get a great deal on a meal.
It’s time again for the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington’s (RAMW) Winter Restaurant Week, that stretch of late January where diners can get a three-course lunch for $22 or a three-course dinner for $35 at around 250 D.C., Virginia and Maryland restaurants. This year, 54 DowntownDC restaurants are participating.
Soon-to-be-open restaurant BOE, located at 777 9th St. NW, The establishment is the one new DowntownDC restaurant that is slated to join Restaurant Week this year. BOE is a reimagining of Oya, which closed in September.
“This is an opportunity for chefs to put their best foot forward,” said Kathy Hollinger, president and CEO of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, which stages Restaurant Week each January and August. Hollinger added that many restaurateurs use Restaurant Week to build a return clientele and word-of-mouth that brings in new diners in subsequent months.
“Restaurant Week gets people out in a way that does not hurt diners’ wallets,” Hollinger said.
Restaurant Week is one of the nation’s oldest, largest and far-flung celebrations of the prix fixe menu, celebrated this year from Jan. 25 now through Feb. 3. This week-long event has been extended due to the snowstorm, so book your table today!
D.C. Restaurant Week began in the winter of 2002 and summer Restaurant Week was added in 2004. D.C. and New York City were the first two major cities to offer restaurant weeks, but now, cities of all sizes across the country follow the moderately priced prix fixe formula.
Technology has played as much of a role as food in the evolution of Restaurant Week with the advent of mobile apps to find restaurants and review menus beforehand. This year, restaurants began posting menus online six weeks prior to Restaurant Week.
For news and updates on Winter Restaurant Week, follow @RAMWdc on Twitter and use #RWDMV and #DineOut #EatUp. Visit www.ramwdc.org/restaurantweek today to find a restaurant, study menus, make reservations through OpenTable, arrange and pay for parking via Parking Panda and to purchase gift cards.