Photo by Hayden Pronto-Hussey
The food was OK, but the bathroom was legendary—and it is no more.
Georgetown Asian fusion mainstay Mie N Yu tweeted last night that it was closing its doors after a decade in the heart of the neighborhood. On its website, the restaurant gave no details as to why it decided to close:
It’s hard to believe we’re closing our doors after almost 10 years on M Street. We’ve enjoyed sharing our unique food and beverage flavors with visitors near and far, and the whole Mie N Yu family has so greatly appreciated your support over the years. Thank you for dining with us, for welcoming us into your organizations, for spending a few extra moments with us at the bar. We’ll certainly miss being a part of Georgetown’s vibrant community.
Among the losses will be the restaurant’s bathroom, which features bamboo fountains and textured bamboo doors and wall paneling, allowing diners to briefly escape to something that feels more like a grotto in a South Asian cove. In 2009, the Express ranked it as the city’s best public bathroom, calling it “the Studio 54 of D.C.’s toilets.”
The bathroom was so nice that it recently made the top 10 list for a nationwide contest. Even if it does get the most votes by October 26, though, now no one will be able to celebrate it.
Martin Austermuhle