Please welcome the newest DCist food contributor, Adam Bailey

DCist has fond memories of chalkboards, small tables, and walls covered with primary colors from our kindergarten days decades ago. What would conjure those feelings again, so many years later? A classroom? Maybe a carton of milk and a midday nap? No; Pesce, one of D.C.’s best deals for great fish. While the ingredients for the food here may be elementary, the final results are definitely post-graduate.

Appropriately, we chose the Dupont Circle bistro for a colleague’s going-back-to-school lunch. We were greeted with a big chalkboard propped up at the end of our table in lieu of a traditional menu, some light chatter from the leisure-lunching class around us, and some really ugly décor. Ignore this if you can, and focus on your food. It is, after all, why you’re there.

Chef Tom Meyer and his daily-changing blackboard, complete with fluorescent chalk, manage to provide a real slate of options, focusing on what’s fresh and using ingredients in season. We chose tuna tartare with a tangy tapenade, rice-crusted calamari, and grilled octopus to start. The octopus was cooked just right, maintaining its texture without being rubbery, the tuna was silky smooth, and the calamari gave us a good dose of fry-love without being too heavy.

Entrées were equally good. We shared scallops, rockfish, softshell crab, whole red snapper, and cod between six of us. While all were tasty, the scallops were the star of the group, accompanied by an herbed orzo, watercress and spectacular yellow tomato vinaigrette. The cod followed a close second, surprisingly flavorful yet not fried. Dessert, if chosen correctly, is gold-star worthy as well. Steer clear of the chocolate and go straight for the poached pear with caramel and pistachios or the sorbet — the grapefruit and blood orange varieties were particularly refreshing.

Most of Pesce’s appetizers hovered around $10 bucks, and our lunch entrées were each less than $20. For the quality of food, it’s definitely worth the price. Dress is casual, and there may be a wait at dinner time.

Pesce
2016 P. St. NW.
Phone: 202-466-3474
Metro: Dupont Circle