Unconventional Diner
Restaurant · Mount Vernon Square
1207 9th St NW, Washington, DC 20001
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.jpg "Unconventional Diner by Simo Ahmadi")
Highlights
Creative comfort fare, award-winning brunch, and inventive cocktails.
Creative comfort fare, award-winning brunch, and inventive cocktails.
"Brunch is served until 4 p.m. every day at the award-winning modern diner full of pop art adjacent to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Chef David Deshaies serves sweet potato shakshuka, avocado toast topped with confit egg yolk, and a Caribbean twist on shrimp and grits with andouille sausage, plantains, and pineapple-habanero sauce. And UD’s glam Italian sibling L’Ardente is the place to be on weekends for polished brunch service." - Tierney Plumb
"Situated right next to the convention center since 2017, chef David Deshaies continues raise eyebrows by applying classic French technique to American-style diner food. Think a haute take on meatloaf, or mini-pot pie poppers that explode with flavor. Regardless of the day or time, there’s always something to on the menu from happy hour menu or daily brunch (9 a.m. to 4 p.m.), including popular offerings like chicken and waffles, blueberry-lavender pancakes, Cajun shrimp and grits, Lebanese fried rice, apple pie French toasts with caramelized apples and vanilla ice cream, and an everything lox bagel. For something a little more refined, head to next-door downtown siblings L’Ardente (Italian) and Love, Makoto (Japanese). Vibe check: This swanky diner with bright blue booths and an illuminated winding bar always gave playful vibes." - Tierney Plumb
"Corporate pastry chef Kaity Mitchell complements David Deshaies’s fancy diner fare with stellar sweets like a sky-high lemon meringue pie and a luscious Basque burnt cheesecake. A rainbow layer cake for World Pride is also on tap. Its “glam Italian” D.C. sibling L’Ardente is known its seasonal soft serve and tiramisu encased in a chocolate sphere." - Tierney Plumb
"If your parents are in the mood for something they can't find back home but still feels vaguely familiar, take them to Unconventional Diner in Mt. Vernon Square for brunch. This industrial-modern space is centrally located near everything in downtown DC, and serves up things like buttermilk pancakes topped with blueberry lavender sauce and mascarpone cream, and chicken and waffles with habanero butter—getting both is obviously the way to go. If you were a carrot cake family growing up, don't order the one at Unconventional unless you're prepared to shatter your childhood illusion that Mom's was the best." - omnia saed
"Price: $$ Chef and owner David Deshaies upholds the burger standards he learned from mentor Michel Richard at Central, where a prime beef burger continues to impress downtown diners. Deshaies’s version at his all-day cheeky diner in Shaw is a classic double cheeseburger with cheddar, lettuce, tomato, and caramelized onions. Add an egg or bacon for $2 more. Insider tip: There’s also a great happy hour (weekdays from noon to 6 p.m.)" - Tierney Plumb
