The nation’s capital is getting another Boqueria. The Spanish tapas bar and restaurant created by restaurateur Yann de Rochefort is located in Penn Quarter at 777 9th Street NW, and will being service tomorrow, March 6. This marks the second Boqueria location in the DC area; its Dupont Circle location has been open since 2012. There are also four additional locations in New York City.
Crafted by Executive Chef Marc Vidal and Chef de Cuisine George Rodrigues, features the menu at the new location includes Boqueria’s signature shareable Spanish tapas, made from carefully sourced ingredients. Among time-honored favorites like pulpo a la plancha, pan con tomate, and paella; the menu also offers rotating market dishes that honor both seasonal and local ingredients. A rotisserie for spit-roasting whole meats will be an integral part of the restaurant’s expansive open kitchen, complete with chef’s counter seating. The rotisserie will turn out succulent dishes such as Pollo Rustido (whole chicken spit-roasted and served with seasonal vegetables, honoring the Catalan tradition of communal Sunday meals), Codillo de Cerdo (slow roasted pork shank and stewed apricots), Costillas Matanza (braised baby back ribs finished with a Pedro Ximénez glaze), and other evolving specials.
The new location will also offer large-format dishes meant for amiable sharing among friends, including a Paella Feast fit to serve as many as 50 guests and featuring deluxe ingredients like head-on red shrimp, mussels, and clams, cooked in stock made from white wine, brandy and Maine lobster. The communal traditions of Spain will also be celebrated with a traditional Cochinillo Dinner, a family-style spread featuring a whole suckling pig, artisanal meat and cheese platters, signature Boqueria tapas, and seasonal sides.
Dinner entering the restaurant will be greeted by chefs behind an impressive 30-seat marble island bar, preparing artisanal cheese boards, platters of hand-sliced Jamón Ibérico, and pan con tomate. Catering to the post-work and cocktail crowd, the extensive bar area will offer chef Vidal’s new Bar and Pintxos Menu, featuring small snacks like Mejillones en Escabeche (Pickled Mussels with Kennebec potato chips and marinated olives) and Gambas a la Sal (Salt-baked head on shrimp).
A new brunch menu is being introduced along with the opening. It includes Brunch Paella: a riff on the classic featuring bomba rice, shrimp, pork belly, piquillo peppers, kale and organic farm eggs, Rotisserie Chicken: served with fried eggs and roasted root vegetables, and Churro Waffles: cinnamon sugar-dusted waffles with wild strawberries and blueberries, whipped butter and maple syrup. Guests can enjoy brunch a la carte or as a “Brunch Feast” with free-flowing mimosas and sangría.
To complement the food, there is a rotating list of Boqueria’s beloved seasonal and traditional sangrías, an all-Spanish wine list featuring wine flight experiences designed to carry you through Spain, signature cocktails, classic vermouths, and aperitivos from Beverage Director Kieran Chavez. For those looking for thoughtfully crafted non-alcoholic cocktails, Chavez has also created a menu of innovative zero-proof drinks using the unique, non-alcoholic distilled spirit Seedlip.
Boqueria Penn Quarter will be open seven days a week serving lunch and dinner during the week and brunch and dinner on the weekend.
