Buffalo & Bergen - Cleveland Park
Restaurant · Cleveland Park
3501 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Highlights
NY-style bagels, breakfast, pizza, and cocktails with a bright atrium vibe.
NY-style bagels, breakfast, pizza, and cocktails with a bright atrium vibe.
"An expansion by NY native Gina Chersevani adds lots of pizza and buttery danishes, with a baker’s emphasis on rye flour to craft an array of creative carbohydrates. A standout hot pocket is stuffed with imported mortadella, stracciatella, honey, arugula, EVOO, pistachios, Parmesan, and lemon; the operator (with husband Neil Dundee) also offers an off-menu selection of rare Italian varietals by the bottle. A rectangular-shaped “Grandma Pizza” — Chersevani’s childhood favorite from Long Island — is planned to arrive soon." - Tierney Plumb
"Buffalo & Bergen has opened its third location in Cleveland Park, joining outposts in Capitol Hill and Union Market. The NYC-style bagel and sandwich shop serves all-day breakfast, pastrami sandwiches, tuna melts, and specialty coffee. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists." - Omnia Saed
"The chain's third and biggest location debuted in Cleveland Park at 3501 Connecticut Avenue NW. Known for New York-style bagels made with dough sourced and shipped daily from Queens, breakfast fare, and big bloody marys, the operation is a go-to spot for morning fuel among local art and hospitality crews and maintains other outposts in Union Market and Capitol Hill. Long Island-born restaurateur Gina Chersevani recalls a personal connection to the neighborhood: “I learned how to rollerblade on Ordway, which was a very bad idea,” she says. “I still have the scar on my leg that’s now 25 years old.” The new outpost introduces a cute little bodega section selling seasonal flowers and rotating local products, and the bathroom’s surprise scratch-and-sniff wallpaper reveals a blood-orange scent. Chersevani encourages customers to bring their own ivy and other greenery to hang from an empty metal bar suspended from the ceiling; the minimalist interior, executed by D.C.-based designer Warren Weixler, nods to New York diner palettes of sage green and pink, and Kelly Towles’s paintings of anthropomorphic breakfast food add a whimsical touch. Menu staples include the bagel egg sandwich and knish, while Cleveland Park–specific options include a “Barbie pink cold smoked lox bagel sandwich smeared with beet and horseradish cream cheese and topped with pickled pink onions,” a California-style steak burrito, and an appropriately named Silvie’s Big Bun, which is “a braised brisket sandwich stacked high with jalapeño slaw, lime crema, and a whole cheese pupusa for a messy, but must-try meal.” There’s even a sink in the dining room for cleaning up after eating the dish. Drinks, overseen by longtime collaborator Frank Jones and influenced by Italian cafes, range from all-day teas and coffees to vibrant cocktails, beer, and wine; there are also classic fountain drinks and creative lattes in taro lavender and matcha lychee. All syrups for sodas and cocktails are made on-site with simple ingredients and no artificial flavors, and brunch libations include the bloody mary with lox bagel while evening offerings feature a refreshing grapefruit tequila soda paloma with a salted rim and the beloved espresso martini. Hours currently feature breakfast from 7:30 a.m. to close (ending at 3 p.m. for now), with daily service extending until 11 p.m. starting February 17. The evening program will expand in spring with the Carb Bar—inspired by co-owner Neil Dundee’s pandemic-era obsession with perfecting the perfect pie—which will serve Long Island–style thin, rectangular slices, plus an outdoor patio and a souped-up vintage Piaggio Ape truck that will operate as an outdoor bar. Chersevani, who earned the first-ever RAMMY for Best Beverage/Mixology Program and competed on Guy’s Grocery Games’ summer tournament in 2021, frames the project as a return to community and in-person interaction: “I grew up watching my father make pizza,” she says, noting her father was a chef, and “It’s full circle to see my children watch their dad making pizza.” She urges people to reconnect: “Get out of your COVID-19 world,” she says. “Come meet somebody that’s your neighbor.”" - Nicole Schaller
"Gina Chersevani’s third D.C. installment of her famed all-day diner brings the upper Northwest strip debut dishes like morning danishes stuffed with seasonal fillings. A savory “Carb Bar” with seats overlooking the bakery station sends out high-brow spins on Hot Pockets, pizzas, and other homages to her Chersevani’s Italian heritage. Buffalo & Bergen continues to bring down dough from NY’s A&S Bagels, which is proofed and baked on-site to build its beloved sandwiches. Caffeinated drinks fueled by Annapolis-based Ceremony Coffee joins classic egg creams, floats, sodas, and cocktails churned out from a vintage soda machine. Chersevani, who lives on a working farm in Frederick County, goes big on local and seasonal ingredients at the follow-up to her Buffalo & Bergens in Capitol Hill and Union Market. The newest edition, framed with expansive windows, leafy plants, and a green-heavy color palate, resembles a bright atrium and sports an expansive patio out front." - Tierney Plumb
"Gina Chersevani’s third D.C. installment of her famed all-day diner brings the upper Northwest strip debut dishes like morning danishes stuffed with seasonal fillings." - Tierney Plumb
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