Memorial Day marks the unofficial start to summer, and D.C.’s die-hard brunch set—and those of you who don’t feel like cleaning your grill—have plenty of options to choose from. Among the highlights are free beer for veterans at Valor Brewpub, a Southeast Asian menu at Doi Moi, and boozy, unlimited brunches at Ambar and Buena Vida Clarendon.
Ambar
528 8th Street SE
Swing by Ambar’s brunch from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for unlimited small plates and endless cocktails. The Memorial Day meal, priced at $39 a person (excluding tax and gratuity), offers a diverse selection, including an almond & walnut-crusted fried chicken sandwich, prosciutto eggs benedict, and a poached pear waffle. Cocktails include mango peach, mixed berry, and traditional mimosas. If unlimited drinks aren’t your jam, savor unlimited food instead for $30 a person. Note: the entire table has to order the unlimited brunch.
America Eats Tavern
3139 M St. NW
Starting at 10 a.m., this brunch menu is all about comfort food: chicken and waffles bathed in apple butter and sorghum syrup, shrimp and grits, barbecued pork ribs, and brisket chili hash with potatoes, smoked brisket chili, and an egg sunny side up. Items are available a la carte.
Buena Vida Clarendon
2900 Wilson Blvd.
Hit up the Mexican restaurant between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Memorial Day for its Brunch Experience, which brings you all-you-can-eat salads, sliders, house specials, benedicts, omelets, and sweets for $34 a person. For an extra $10, you can add a selection of starters to your experience. Some of the featured items include the tuna-stuffed avocado, short rib hash, chicken enchiladas, and lamb chorizo and egg. Thirsty? Drink specials include several 25-cent cocktails.
Doi Moi
1800 14th Street NW
Birds Eye, the daytime café inside Doi Moi, has got you covered from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with its Southeast Asian-inspired breakfast cuisine. The lineup of a la carte items includes dragon fruit and papaya bowls, a doi nut (donuts) filled with Thai iced tea or Vietnamese iced coffee flavors, and their chickpea tofu egg sandwiches with tamarind sauce and pickled veggies.
Frenchy’s Naturel
1337 11th St. NW
Load up on the rebooted restaurant’s signature a la carte brunch items like the croque madame with brioche, smoked ham, gruyère mornay sauce and egg; or the hanger steak and eggs, served with home fries, anchoïade (an oil-based anchovy dip), Spanish peppers and eggs over easy. Brunch runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. here, plenty of time for you to indulge.
Jaleo
multiple locations
Starting at 10 a.m. in D.C. and 11 a.m. in Bethesda and Crystal City, Jaleo’s serving up Spanish brunch with plates that include pan de cristal con tomate, which are toasted slices of bread brushed with fresh tomato; flauta de tortilla de patatas, a sandwich with tomato and Spanish omelette; and Benedicto Ibérico, with fried egg on toasted brioche with the celebrated Jamón Ibérico de Bellota ham and Ibérico hollandaise.
The Pig
1320 14th St. NW
There are a couple of ways to stuff your face at The Pig for brunch between 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. There’s a prix-fixe option with one starter, one entrée or sandwich, and one dessert or cocktail—all for $27. Alternatively, you can order one of the restaurant’s breakfast meat boards for the table. Pick three meats for $20 or five for $32. Options include three types of bacon, andouille sausage, pork and lamb sausage, and bierwurst.
Slate Wine Bar + Bistro
2404 Wisconsin Ave. NW
This bistro near Woodley Park is offering a menu of American brunch basics from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Your selections include churros and bacon-wrapped dates for starters, and French toast, beef short rib with polenta cake and poached egg, and an eggs benedict served with serrano ham and chard for entrees. You can sip unlimited Bloody Marys and mimosas for $15 or sangria for $20 a person.
Valor Brewpub
723 8th Street SE
Veterans receive a free beer here all day long Monday at this Barrack’s Row pub—just show proof of your military service and you’re good to go. For everyone else, $1 from every Valor beer you buy Memorial Day weekend at the veteran-centered pub goes to Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, which supports people grieving the loss of a veteran. If you’re hungry, the pub’s serving lunch and brunch that day from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
