La' Shukran
Middle Eastern restaurant · Capital City Market
Alley Entrance, 417 Morse St NE 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20002
Highlights
Levantine bar & bistro with vibrant cocktails, Levantine wines & arak
Levantine bar & bistro with vibrant cocktails, Levantine wines & arak
"La’ Shukran is its own self-contained world, a place to go when you want to forget you’re in DC and lose yourself in a Levantine salon with exceptional small plates, and the feeling that at any moment a dance party could break out and not end until dawn. Plates of hummus with beef tongue or escargot dot most tables, and an entire menu of cocktails made with arak are churned out from behind the bar. The Arab funk music is loud but never overpowering, and provides the perfect soundtrack for a hang with old friends, or a date night cozied up underneath a shelf of decorative (we think) hookahs. Come as a walk-in, either early in the evening or after 8:00, and try your luck for a spot on the pillow-filled rooftop, where you can have cocktails and small plates from a reduced menu. For the full dinner menu and an indoor table, look for tables up to 30 days in advance." - omnia saed, madeline weinfield, jonathan smith, mekita rivas, allison robicelli, omnia saed, kym backer
"Award-winning chef Michael Rafidi’s trendy Levantine hot spot in the Union Market district just debuted its 40-seat terrace for the season. Walk-ins can look forward to vibrant cocktails, anise-flavored arak, or wine alongside a menu featuring everything from hummus to sweet treats." - Vinciane Ngomsi
"This sexy late-night spot in one of Union Market’s grittier alleys sits up a long flight of stairs in a former warehouse. The moody dining room smells like a hundred spicey, woodsy, (and expensive) candles, and makes for a swanky and impressive third date. But we like keeping it a little more casual on the roof deck, with low textile-covered banquets with plenty of throw blankets and some heaters. Order an arak-based cocktail, and a few small plates like cheese falafel topped with trout roe and Levantine fries with a spicy aioli. Come here after a movie at the Angelika, when a conversation over drinks is the requisite nightcap." - madeline weinfield
"The chef behind Albi and Yellow has a new spot in Union Market, La’ Shukran, with a retro-modern bar, bistro, and rooftop terrace. The Levantine-inspired menu includes bites like oysters in arak butter, sesame baguette with labne, and steak au poivre kebabs. Reservations open Mondays at 10am." - omnia saed
"From award-winning chef Michael Rafidi, this vibrant and cozy confluence of bar and bistro is found through a back alley entrance that leads up a set of dizzying black and white stairs alongside recorded noises and music that recall the Levant. Levantine wines and many cocktails made with arak, a popular Middle Eastern distilled spirit with cooling notes of anise and licorice, star on the beverage menu. One of Rafidi’s signature apps is smoky escargot steeped in butter made with arak, alongside other more seasonal dishes. You can also enjoy a full meal at the moody bar, with mains like head-on prawns with harissa tzatziki and hot quail aside tahini ranch. During the day, check out Rafidi’s famous za’atar, pistachio, and sumac-filled bakery that sits below the alleyway hangout, Yellow." - Emily Venezky
