The Shaw Bijou bar. (Photo by Kevin Carroll)
The Shaw Bijou (1544 19th St. NW) has taken it’s fair share of criticism for its expensive fine-dining menu. The $185 tasting menu (not including drinks, tax, or tip) certainly excludes a wide swath of diners, and reservations remain widely available.
But the young restaurant has already made some changes and is now offering more modestly priced (but still not cheap) options for diners who’ve don’t have the time or money to devote to the flagship Shaw Bijou experience.
It starts with the restaurant’s new a la carte bar menu, which starts at 5:30 p.m. and goes until midnight. Reservations for the 13-seat bar can are taken day-of by calling the restaurant between 1 p.m and 5 p.m (or by email), according to Olivia Chang, the restaurant’s special operations manager. There will also be limited walk-ins, but it all depends on the flow of the restaurant’s dinner guests, who each start the meal with a cocktail in the bar.
The menu will rotate frequently depending on the whims of the kitchen and chef Kwame Onwuachi.
“We write the menus for the late-night bar the day of,” Chang says. “We’re listening to what the audience wants.”
Chang told DCist that most dishes are around $14 and up, with a popular item thus far being the roasted lamb head and msemen bread ($34). There’s also an off-menu caviar service available.
When it opened, the Shaw Bijou also advertised a members-only club, and that’s still in the cards, though Chang said details are still being ironed out. The bar service is not a replacement for that concept.
The restaurant doesn’t have a concrete timeline for ending the a la carte menu, so sooner than later is the best time to visit if you’re interested.
The Shaw Bijou is also planning two (relatively) more affordable menus for New Year’s Eve. A $150 five-course tasting lunch will be served from 12 p.m. until 6 p.m and feature more clThat price includes tax and tip but not drinks. Later in the evening, the restaurant will throw a more festive bash featuring some of Onwuachi’s favorite dishes from the year, including his Philly Wing Fry sandwiches. The $150 ticket includes cocktails, wine, a champagne toast, and hors d’oeuvres until 2 a.m.
And while both the walk-in bar and lower-priced New Year’s Eve offerings signal a bit of a departure from the daily offerings, Chang said that reservations remain strong and this is simply a part of their desire to try new things and use the space in creative ways.
This post has been updated to reflect changes to the New Year’s Eve menu.
