Casa Teresa

D.C.’s 38 Best Restaurants | Eater DC

"Spanish chef Rubén García’s flagship restaurant and tapas bar brought a lively new destination for live-fire cooking to the Square, downtown’s ambitious new food market spearheaded by García and fellow José Andrés Group veteran Richie Brandenburg. Casa Teresa, García’s first solo venture, revives ancestral recipes of the culinary matriarchs he grew up around in Terrassa, Spain, and celebrates the time-honored cooking traditions of Basque Country and Catalonia through family-style feasts — think whole fish, local veggies, and pass-the-plate meats — all theatrically grilled over open flames and oak charcoal from a kitchen within diners’ view. The terracotta-toned dining room carves out space for a bar centered around gins, vermouth, and Spanish wines, plus an intimate “Teresa’s Table” that encourages chatty chef-guest interactions over tastings. A Saturday brunch full of vermouth and family recipes entered the fold this spring. Must-try dish: The How to Pa Amb Tomáquet is a fun dish that supplies diners with the crispy cristal bread, sliced tomatoes, and high-quality olive oil to build their own pan con tomate, plus a fun illustration card showing you how it’s done." - Tierney Plumb