Qui Qui DC
Puerto Rican restaurant · Park View ·
Puerto Rican cuisine, mofongo, empanadas, San Juan vibe
Puerto Rican cuisine, mofongo, empanadas, San Juan vibe
"From food truck to catering company to pandemic pop-up to a cozy Shaw brick-and-mortar, this Puerto Rican hit has settled into a breezy, flag-flying, Bad-Bunny-playing corner in Park View, with wraparound windows, a leafy patio, and a garage-style wall that stays open to let alluring aromas, chef-owner Ismael Mendez’s soundtrack, and occasional live music spill onto the street. Mendez—a former coder who cooked at D.C. spots like Michelin-starred Masseria—channels Old San Juan in a bigger space with staples such as arroz con pollo (long-simmered stewed chicken with rice), lechon (slow-roast pork), and pernil (traditional roast pork shoulder), plus a vegan jackfruit pernil. The fan-favorite Chuleta Kan Kan (a fried tomahawk pork chop with tostones) remains, and mofongo arrives in a traditional vessel—garlicky smashed green plantains that can be topped with shrimp, fried pork, or stewed beans; tostones are such big business the kitchen goes through more than 500 pounds of plantains each week. A larger kitchen and bar make room for local oysters with aji dulce mignonette, octopus and other ceviche, aguacate salad, beef-stuffed pastelitos, salt cod fritters, and chicken skewers doused in a deep, fruity guava barbecue sauce. Flavors and spices come from the Caribbean, but sourcing leans local (Virginia beef from Long Stone Farm and plenty of area produce), house hot sauces change with whatever peppers arrive, and beans and mofongo swap vegetable oil for pork lard to suit local tastes. Puerto Rican flags like the Grito de Lares banner frame the space, and the bar program run by D.C. vet Starla Newman partners with Frederick-based Clandestino on pitorro (including an exclusive guava–pineapple flavor) that mixes with Don Q Cristal, more guava, and lime into the piñeta, alongside fresh juices, nonalcoholic drinks, beers, Mexican Coke, sangria, and a beer-and-shot combo. Breakfast is coming soon, promising Cuban-style cafecito from a stovetop Greca, plus more pasteles, French toast, and eggs with Caribbean twists." - Evan Caplan
"Shaw’s staple for mofongo and spot-on Puerto Rican dishes since 2021 returns in Park View with a wildly different setup, moving into the former Tabla space and adding its first patio. The ground-floor digs seat 75 inside and 40 outside, bring a full bar, and open to the street via roll-up garage doors that lend a breezy, beachy vibe reminiscent of San Juan." - Tierney Plumb
"Set to reopen in Park View in mid-August, the operation closed its Shaw location with its last day of service on Sunday, June 22, where it had operated above the downstairs cocktail bar since 2021. “Once we find our footing again. I’ll let you know,” chef Ismael Mendez told Eater at the time. The move to a Northwest neighborhood will occupy the space that formerly housed Tabla (3227 Georgia Avenue NW). Named for Mendez’s childhood nickname, the 2.0 iteration will be a wildly different setup than the second-story original: a ground-floor location with its first patio, room for 40 outside and 75 inside with a full bar, roll-up garage doors framing the exterior that evoke a breezy, beachy vibe reminiscent of Puerto Rico’s coastal capital of San Juan, and light renovations including a pastel-soaked paint job with finishing touches completed this week. Praised by the Washington Post as “Puerto Rican party you don’t want to miss,” signature and best-selling items include pan sobao (bread), morcilla (blood sausage), mofongo with fried and smashed green plantains, chicharrón de pollo, costillas (ribs) slathered in barbecue sauce, and ample use of criollo spice across the menu. Prior to brick-and-mortar service, the venture began as a Maryland-based catering company and then as a roving pop-up around D.C." - Tierney Plumb
"Chef Ismael Mendez's Puerto Rican eatery QuiQui in Shaw is the closest you'll get to Puerto Rico, short of flying there." - Dobrina Zhekova
"Over in Shaw, the Puerto Rican restaurant Qui Qui took indoor dining off the table this week, pausing indoor service amid the surge." - Tierney Plumb
