Reverie
Restaurant · Georgetown ·
Seafood-centric tasting menu with Nordic, Japanese, Maryland influences
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70831866/Reverie_1_credit_Casey_Robinson.0.jpg "Reverie by Casey Robinson/Reverie")
Seafood-centric tasting menu with Nordic, Japanese, Maryland influences
"Georgetown’s only Michelin-starred tasting room, forced to go dark in August 2022 after suffering extensive fire damage, made its long-awaited return to D.C.’s dining scene in 2024. At chef Johnny Spero’s completely rebuilt Reverie, modernist meals continue to draw culinary influences from Nordic countries, Japan, and his native Maryland. Reverie 2.0’s revised look takes a dramatic turn, swapping slick subway tiles for a striking new aesthetic full of pitch-black finishes. Spero’s resurrected flagship has been hidden in a cobblestone alleyway since 2018. Come July 1, a 14- to 16-course vegetarian tasting menu takes over for two months; make reservations here. Look for debut dishes like tempura maitake and a savory mushroom fudge made with its doenjang." - Tierney Plumb
"Nearly a year after rising from the ashes in Georgetown with a seafood-centric reboot, chef Johnny Spero is introducing lamb and other game meats for the first time tonight to complement the restaurant’s sea-focused core. While “the heart of it will always be the ocean,” he says, the idea is to “bring a different kind of richness and texture to the menu.” His 16-course modernist meals continue to draw culinary influences and techniques from Nordic countries, Japan, and Spero’s native Maryland. The prix-fixe dinner has also been reduced by $10 and now runs $245 per person." - Emily Venezky
"A restaurant by Chef Johnny Spero offering a creative menu that one must experience." - Michael He
"Chef Johnny Spero’s Georgetown restaurant rose from the ashes in February with a dramatic new look after suffering extensive fire damage in 2022 — just months after earning its first Michelin star. The tasting room has made some big changes, with a new seafood-centric menu and torched wood draping the dark new dining room. Modernist meals stretching 16 courses long ($255 now, going up to $285 in January) continue to draw culinary influences and techniques from Nordic countries, Japan, and Spero’s native Maryland. Some favorite dishes rose from the ashes and are featured on the new menu, including a savory porridge of crab meat buried under Carolina Gold rice and yolky egg." - Emily Venezky
"After a devastating fire shortly after earning its first MICHELIN Star, Johnny Spero’s Georgetown restaurant returns with a completely new look by Edit Lab. The 2,200-square-foot space trades the counter for a 36-seat dining room with an option kitchen, while the tasting menu targets 14–16 courses at $250. Spero continues his naturalistic, coastal seafood vision—think Maryland crab and Spanish turbot, house ferments, light, high-acid sauces, and Japanese touches like kombu-cured scallops in a buttermilk and dill emulsion." - Kat Odell