Minibar in Washington

My husband has been hyping up Minibar since we met. He first ate there about ten years ago and no matter how many Michelin restaurants we dine at, he continues to say Minibar is at the top of his list ( right below the Inn at Little Washington). Needless to say I was very excited to go for our anniversary. The experience was a very good one and the food was also very good. Or at least just as good as other two star places that we have dined at. The two bites at the beginning as well as the cauliflower dish stuck out on our heads the most as being excellent bites. We did upgrade one of our meals with the truffle add on. To be honest, we felt that the truffles did not add much to these specific dishes ( in one of the dishes we could not even taste them). There was also one thing that happened which really brought my opinion of the night at this restaurant down a level. Normally I wouldn’t care, but when you spend this much money at a restaurant you expect over the top service and attention to details. There is only one restroom in Minibar. When you approach the door, a staff member opens it for you. I made my way over to the restroom not realizing that someone was already in there so one of the chefs asked if I’d like to be escorted to their other restroom. She walked me out of mini bar into bar mini and dropped me at the bar mini restroom which already had a line of three people waiting outside and then she left . I felt like I had been removed from this magical, warm, elegant tasting menu experience and put in line for the bathroom with everyone else. I did not want to wait to be the fourth person in line and miss part of my meal so I went back and sat down. I think it would make the experience much more elevated to just let the guest know someone is in the restroom and that you will come get them when it opens up, instead of leading them out of the restaurant. Again, normally I am not at alll above waiting in line for a bathroom, but in this specific scenario it was a bit off putting and brought my experience down a notch.

Minibar and Barmini, back-to-back on consecutive nights, turned out to be a great decision. The cocktail program was impeccably calibrated across the board. One drink in particular was a genuine head-scratcher in the best sense, foregrounding raw garlic. It wasn't the most hedonically pleasing pour, but it was brilliantly conceived and memorable--an intellectual cocktail that still made sense in context. The rest were sheer pleasure, balanced to the millimeter. Both experiences delivered the mix of pageantry, surprise, and concentrated flavor that José Andrés is known for. Service choreography is tight without feeling stiff, and the pacing keeps the meal buoyant. By the end we were full and satisfied. If I could tune one thing, I would have welcomed another protein course somewhere in the middle; the latter part of the progression skewed a bit fat-forward, especially with the chawanmushi near the close, and our stomachs testified to that the next day. Even so, this remains about as good a Michelin-level experience as you'll find in D.C., and better than many in larger markets. The wine pairing was spot-on and the cocktails were superb, from classical structures to more experimental builds. José Andrés continues to impress. If you're on the fence, go. You won't be disappointed.