There’s a mural in Kwame Onwuachi’s new restaurant Kith and Kin that pays tribute to the chefs who have shaped him. Painted quotes by French chef Fernand Point, the Culinary Institute of America’s Bruce Mattel, and New Orleans’ Queen of Creole Cuisine Leah Chase allow guests to see the words Onwuachi cooks by.
But what sticks out most to the Top Chef alum is a quote from his mother, Jewel Robinson. It reads, “You’re only as good as your last plate.”
Onwuachi’s first D.C. restaurant, the much-hyped Shaw Bijou and its posh $185 tasting menu, shuttered earlier this year after a two-and-a-half month stint. Now, the chef has returned with a less lofty approach to remind the District why his plates are not to be forgotten.
Kith and Kin opened last week at The Wharf and features Afro-Caribbean cuisine at its finest. DCist got a taste of the menu, which pulls inspiration from Onwuachi’s African, Caribbean, and Southern roots, as well as his childhood in the Bronx and Nigeria. The name is a nod to the Old English “family and friends,” a phrase Onwuachi says “embodies the style of the food I want to put forth. It culminates from friends and family telling me how I should cook all the time.”
The food has all the bold flavors, experimentation, and fine-dining touches Onwuachi (who has worked for New York restaurants like Eleven Madison Park and Per Se) is known for, but at a lower price tag. A line up of plates fit for sharing start at $9 and run up to $29 for main dishes. The highest price—for a family-style tasting platter with dry-age ribeye and foie gras cornbread stuffing—maxes out at $65.
But don’t think that means Kith and Kin sacrifices quality, glitz, or presentation. Located on the first floor of the InterContinental hotel, the restaurant has high ceilings, granite fixtures and plush seating, and a wall of windows for clear views of the water that, in warmer months, will open up for a patio feel.
Onwuachi describes the dishes—marinated meats, seafood, handmade breads, and Caribbean flavors—as his “culture on a plate.”
His personal favorite pick is the peel-and-eat shrimp, steeped in bell pepper, white wine, butter, and his mother’s house spices. The chocolate rum cake is one he grew up eating in the Bronx, and is paired here with a carrot caramel ice cream inspired by the carrot juice and condensed milk his aunt used to serve.
The green curried goat is not to be missed, braised in a creamy sauce with cilantro, parsley, and chili, and served with warm roti flatbread. Other highlights are the Brussels sprouts doused in charred lime, tomato soubise, and chili honey, and the chicken wings glazed with palm sugar for meat so tender it falls off the bone.
Appetizer platters are three-tiered and handsomely served on beds of ice or hot coals. The “meet and cheese” platter comes with lace-thin bread, quince thyme jam, and three kinds of goat cheese. A vegetable platter with jerk broccoli is accompanied by avocado mousse, which the chef recommends using “as a vessel for everything.”
Lead bartender Zachary Hoffman, who also collaborated with Onwuachi at The Shaw Bijou, crafted a menu heavy on rum—including aged, white, dark, and agricole made with cane juice. Cocktails ($16 to $19) play off the regional flavors of the food, featuring Creole bitters, jerk spice, lime-honey marmalade, passion fruit, or ice cubes made from mango tea.
Punches ($15) get better as they meld together. They’re dusted with nutmeg or hint at notes of rose, honey syrup, and hibiscus tea. Yellow chartreuse and absinthe sit in perfume bottles and are sprayed on crafted cocktails for an aromatic effect.
Breakfast will be more traditional. There will be pancakes with whipped Ethiopian honey cream, jerk bacon, and crab with honey hollandaise. Weekend brunch plans are also in the works.
Whatever the meal, it’s a dining experience well on its way to matching the stunning views and a chef who never fails to surprise.
“You can’t go to many restaurants where you can have curried goat, amazing cocktails, and overlook the water,” Onwuachi says. “Opening a restaurant like this is a risk, but this is me. I wasn’t done in D.C.”
Kith and Kin is located at 801 Wharf St. SW. Hours are as follows: Breakfast is Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Lunch is Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner hours are Sunday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. The lounge is open Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to midnight and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.
