Walking into the retro-chic Lyle’s in the north end of Dupont is like stepping back in time to the early 20th century. With a svelte art deco sensibility, the main dining room is presided over by a massive skylight with ivory white balloon-shaped light fixtures hovering beneath it. There’s a cluster of plush banquettes in the center with white marble tables ribboned with grey, and more tables along the dark wood walls. Guests have a peek into the open kitchen at the back.
Though it opened in early April, Lyle’s has been in the works for over a year – delayed by the pandemic, of course – serving as a cornerstone to the recently debuted Lyle hotel in north Dupont.
The kitchen is under the eye of executive chef Nick Sharpe, a veteran of Michael Mina’s restaurant group – including the chef’s eponymous restaurant at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and the now-shuttered Pabu in Baltimore – and a stint heading up Birch & Barley.
The vision for the food is to make it “simple and approachable,” Sharpe says. “We were thinking what we wanted to eat, but also what Dupont wanted to eat. What’s here, and how are we going to be different without being esoteric?”
The first two sections of the menu are devoted to appetizers, both shareable and more personal-sized ($10-$15). In the former category: pea fritters made in the style of falafel balls, arriving with a Southern minded dip combining Duke’s mayonnaise and pepper jelly. Hot smoked trout farm-raised in the Hudson Valley – possessing such a bright orange hue you’d be excused if you mistook it for salmon – is garnished with creamy cucumber salad, pickled red onion rings, and dainty dill sprigs. For a more personal starter, there are a couple of salads, sweet corn soup bearing succotash, and house-made ravioli plump with goat cheese and asparagus.
Entrees offer more variety ($15-$35). Crispy fried chicken has a shell that shatters when you bite into it, thanks to a double frying method Sharpe learned at Pabu. The golden crust is glossed with hot honey for a hit of heat. The dish is filled out with a chow-chow like mixture of pickled vegetables – cauliflower, green tomatoes, cabbage, and more – and toothsome roasted sunchokes.
Colorado lamb loin is another highlight. The artfully composed features tender ricotta gnudi, meatballs, fava beans, and Swiss chard. A lamb jus brings the whole presentation together.
There’s more house-made pasta in the form of the egg pasta chitarra, presented in a beehive twist. “I don’t like when people say this dish was inspired by this other dish,” Sharpe says, “but this is basically an Amatriciana.”
The pecorino-boosted tomato sauce that accompanies the chitarra traditionally involves guanciale, but the version here is vegetarian, so smoked mushrooms sub in for the pork. Ask for an extra basket of bread, so you can sop up every last bit of the sauce hiding a hint of heat from Calabrian chilies.
When it came to the dessert menu ($9-$11), Sharpe knew including a chocolate cake was a “no brainer.” This pleasing rendition is laced with hazelnuts and topped with a cloud of marshmallow fluff. There’s tender gluten-free banana bread dotted with chocolate chips. Request it served warm — or a la mode. The kitchen boasts a soft-serve ice cream machine that serves up rotating flavors.
Like the kitchen, the bar hews to tradition with a list of creatively conjured classic cocktails ($14) – including an apricot accented sour, a cacao-forward Manhattan, and a Bee’s Knees sweetened with lavender honey. Perfect for the Roaring Twenties or the Twenty Twenties.
Lyle’s is located at 1731 New Hampshire Ave. NW. Open Monday-Thursday 7 a.m.-10 a.m. and 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Friday 7 a.m.-10 a.m. and 5 p.m.-11 p.m., Saturday 7:30 a.m.-10 a.m. and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 p.m.-11 p.m., and Sunday 7:30 a.m.-10 a.m. and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 p.m.-10 p.m.
