Chef Ryan Ratino is the acclaimed force behind the two-MICHELIN-starred Jônt and one-MICHELIN-starred Bresca in Washington, D.C. He was awarded the 2023 MICHELIN Guide Washington, D.C. Young Chef Award and is...
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I love a good counter style fine dining experience. Jont did not let me down at all! Welcoming host team. Clean bathroom. Great music. Lively vibe without being too much. Service team made great recommendations but did not push me to purchase anything. As a vegetarian I loved their accommodations. Already planning our next dining event.
What to say about Jônt? The dishes are truly refined and avant garde, and the service top notch. And there were moments of real innovation where I saw or tasted things I had never tried before. But a few service blemishes as well as one dish where the fish was not cooked right unfortunately took the luster off an otherwise beautiful meal.
Some highlights:
The course started off with various bites which were mostly palate pleasing, with a highlight being the truly memorizing caviar dish. However one of the early bites was rather salty, which ended up being a theme for the evening.
The fish was cooked in a Japanese method where hot oil was poured over the scales, making it a delightful crisp. However, this was the biggest faux pas for us as the meat itself had not been properly removed of the chewy strands of connective tissue which one would have expected.
The quail dish was absolutely beautiful, both for the eyes and taste. Truly perfection.
And the other main, the antelope from Texas, well that was a bit of a surprise in terms of both what it was and how it was cooked so that there was not a single hint of gaminess.
I almost forgot about the truffle risotto. They were generous, truly far too generous with the truffle if that is possible. But this is a good thing and we both really enjoyed that one.
Finally to dessert, the theme of the evening was strawberries and they created a reconstituted strawberry that I've seen only achieved elsewhere by Ryu-gin, another very well respected Michelin star restaurant.
As for the drink pairings, they were well done and completed the course. But nothing particularly stood out for me. My wife had the same pairing from Iwa 5 with assemblage 3, 4, and 5. I think #5 stood out in particular but it was a one time splurge. I probably would not get that again for personal use at home.
One final note, as others have mentioned, the choice of music is quite ... Interesting. And can be intense at moments where you're just trying to enjoy the food. So that part is definitely true as others have said.
Overall a fine evening courtesy of a wonderful staff. One that was refined but had a few little bits that could be improved upon.
5
We of course expected Jônt to be amazing - not just because it was from the team of our old haunt Bresca but the well deserved stars. Incredible dishes and wine pairings one after another. Very knowledgeable crew that kept showing up with little touches to take the evening over the top. The exec chef is 🔥 and all of the team prepared everything to perfection. Definitely the best restaurant in the district. The reviews on the music are strange - we were boppin all night and had no problem with sound level at all.
4
Came here for my 35th birthday. Surprisingly I wasn't really blown away with the meal. It wasn't bad by any means but something was off.
Wasn't a big fan of the way they "fried" the amadai's skin. It was too crunchy for my liking. The rice/crab dish was also missing something. The overall flavor just wasn't there. The scallop was really good. I saw one party they were able to get both the upgraded crab dish and the scallop dish so that was interesting. The quail was easily the best dish of the day. Very juicy. The "wagyu" was very lacking. It was a F1 Australian wagyu. Just wasn't fatty enough for me. Should just do normal A5. The sauce they used did not go well with wagyu.
For dessert, you go to another room and from there it was another 30-40 minutes. This should have been way faster. Everything was just going so slowly.
The music was also very loud. For some of the courses I couldn't even hear what the description of the dishes were.
5
Jont exceeds at creating a memorable experience! You sit at the counter and receive a lot of attention with, each dish is explained and some are presented to you prior to final cooking steps. You get to observe the entier process too, dinner and a show :) All amuse bushes were delicious.
Food itself was great and we got to try a few unique items, such as fish with scales lifted up which added a nice crunch to the dish.
Desert courses deserve a special mention, after the meal you switch to a different room to enjoy them. Presentation is beautiful of course!
You can enhance your experience with various drinks pairings or additions. We only added a special melon which was lovely. You also get a welcome drink included with experience.
Note for the music too, it seems surprising at first as it is not whay you'd expect in fine dining ambiance, however it somohow works, it adds to the modern funky vibe of the place.