Dive Into International Seafood at Union Market’s New Tarì Trattoria | Eater DC

"Opened June 19 on the ground floor of the Gantry apartments in Union Market, this fish-obsessed Italian trattoria from Francesco Amodeo (founder of Don Ciccio & Figli) offers a short, tightly curated menu focused on dry-aged and whole fish served semi-raw, cooked down into rich broths, or reduced into concentrated sauces. The compact menu (three appetizers, three pastas, three mains, three desserts) highlights staples that will always appear in some form—kingfish, hiramasa (yellowtail amberjack), and turbot—plus stargazers when available, and features showstoppers such as a seven-fish calamarata pasta finished tableside with an octopus, langoustine, and cuttlefish sauce and a black-spotted seabream tartare with a smoky concentrated anchovy sauce. Fish are sourced globally (Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, North Africa and the mid-Atlantic), dry-aged and completely processed in-house with about 95% utilization, and the kitchen pursues rarer varieties like scorpion fish, sea robins, and red mullets rather than common branzino, salmon, or rockfish. Thoughtful touches include a scarpetta bread service using Pluma Bakery sourdough with sugar-drenched fennel and olive oils, desserts such as a lemon sponge cake and a dried eggplant-and-chocolate ganache confection, and cocktails that showcase Amodeo’s Don Ciccio & Figli liqueurs alongside classic spritzes and Negronis. The restaurant announces itself with a bold black-and-white sign, expanded patio seating and outdoor speakers playing non-Italian music, seats about 32 inside and 40 outside, displays fresh fish in dry-aging coolers and an ice-cooled bar case to entice adventurous orders, and is open for dinner Wednesday through Saturday from 5 to 10 p.m. (reservations via Resy)." - Emily Venezky