Cranes

No New Michelin-Starred Restaurants in D.C. This Year | Eater DC

"Penn Quarter’s Spanish-Japanese restaurant lost a Michelin star in 2023." - Emily Venezky

19 Best D.C. Restaurants and Bars to Go to Near Capital One Arena, According to Eater Editors | Eater DC

"Penn Quarter’s ambitious Spanish-Japanese restaurant with a Michelin star offers a little something for everyone, from Spanish gin and tonics and fancy bento boxes for lunch to a strong sake selection behind a buzzy bar to an eight-course omakase for $128. They also do unlimited tapas on Wednesdays for $46 per person. Chef Pepe Moncayo, a Spaniard who spent a large chunk of his career cooking in Singapore, sends out an ever-changing list of tapas like patatas bravas, duck rillete gyozas, and a la carte large plates of steamed mussels in sake or paella studded with smoked eel." - Missy Frederick

14 Best Spanish Restaurants Around D.C. | Eater DC

"Cranes is the only restaurant in D.C. currently exploring the intersection between Spanish and Japanese cuisine, courtesy of chef Pepe Moncayo. That means combinations like patatas bravas with yuzu kosho ketchup, and an unagi paella accented with white ponzu, smoked eel, snap peas, and jalapeno aioli." - Tierney Plumb

"There is serious heart to be had at the centre of the city, thanks to Chef Pepe Moncayo's elegant spot, where novel ingredients are woven into the "concept" menu. What emerges is a sumptuous mash-up of dishes with Spanish and Japanese influence. Chef flexes his creativity on the omakase, and diners won't leave hungry or feeling pinched. From a sake-infused chawanmushi with pickled watermelon, ajo blanco featuring a pearly white scallop with mustard seeds, to a single oyster tempura, this team loves to take risks and challenge diners.The bar program is serious in its own right, and cocktails, like the "nod to the kurose toji" with its refreshing mix of barley shochu, green apple, and orgeat, are not to be missed." - Michelin Inspector

Chef Pepe Moncayo Takes Diners on a Tour Through Spain at Arrels - Eater DC

"Introducing all these specialty Spanish dishes while also balancing an upcoming breakfast menu and shared kitchen with the Bodega by Arrels, on the other side of the lobby, is also a challenge. The market serves quick, under-$25 lunches made in 10 minutes that “cross-utilizes ingredients” from the larger restaurant. Paella rice will be cooked up in advance and quickly fried up into a “paella fried rice” for 9-to-5 workers on the go and a Spanish twist on the classic American breakfast combines the main menu’s patatas bravas with butifarra (simple Catalan sausage also served as hot dogs at the bar), bacon, and eggs. Even the high-end tinned seafood and chips, which Moncayo painstakingly sourced from four different distributors to bring in from Spain, will be on sale at the bodega and also served at Arrel’s chill bar area. A chargrilled medium rare tuna belly with olive sauce at Arrels will be repurposed in a confit topping off a salad at the bodega. Later, that same tuna will be found in hand rolls at a rooftop bar, called ART, that’s coming in December. The small kitchen space upstairs will mostly serve up raw fish in hand rolls and other Japanese dishes that Moncayo has become known for at Cranes for the last four years. Beverage director Ferit Ozergul, who’s manned the bar at Cranes for almost three years, will be making cocktails that mix in Japanese flavors at the rooftop bar, while classic gin and tonics, plus sherry and vermouth-forward drinks to pair with the Spanish food downstairs." - Emily Venezky