Where to Get Brunch, Dinner, and Happy Hour on Memorial Day - Washingtonian (2024)

All-Purpose

79 Potomac Ave., SE

The Nats Park-adjacent location of this chef-driven pizza shop will open its doors at 11 AM on Memorial Day (Monday, May 27), with its usual brunch offerings. including risotto carbonara; a breakfast sandwich with fontina, salami, and thyme dijonnaise; and of course, a variety of pizzas including the brunch-y Moderno topped with creme fraiche, bacon, and caramelized onion. For $19, add in bottomless spritzes, mimosas, and bellinis, too.

Astro Beer Hall

4001 Campbell Ave., Arlington

Chicken and waffles, a fried egg sandwich on a cheddar biscuit, Bloody Marys topped with mini doughnuts, bacon, and chicken tenders— that’s the kind of thing you can expect at this tap room’s busy Shirlington outpost on Memorial Day. Monday brunch is served from 10 AM to 3 PM.

Bidwell

1309 Fifth St., NE

This straightforward American bistro inside Union Market is open from 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM on Monday, and features bottomless mimosas ($25), Chesapeake Bay oysters, and brunch standbys like strip steak and eggs with hash and bearnaise, or cornflake-crusted French toast.

Chang Chang

1200 19th St., NW

Peter Chang’s Dupont Circle dining room highlights spicy and numbing Sichuan dishes during the week, but weekends are for Cantonese-style dim sum, which Chang Chang will also serve on Monday. Scallop shrimp toast on deep-fried brioche; Shanghainese soup dumplings; mushroom truffle dumplings; and green chili-spiked Bloody Marys are a few of your options.

El Presidente

1255 Union St., NE

Stephen Starr’s trendy, theatrical Mexican restaurant opens at 10:30 AM on Monday, so the Union Market brunch crowd can dig into breakfast burritos, Yucatan-style huevos rancheros, enchiladas, and high-caffeine carajillos first thing.

Fairfax Inn

2946 Sleepy Hollow Rd., Falls Church

This cozy, old-fashioned Falls Church diner is serving dishes from its Filipino and American menus. We like to belly up to the diner counter and order a classic breakfast of longanisa sausage or cured beef tapa with eggs and garlic rice. But the menu goes deeper into Filipino cuisine too, and nearly everything is homemade.

Hong Kong Pearl

6286 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church

This Falls Church classic serves good, old-fashioned dim sum from carts on most holidays, including Memorial Day. The Cantonese strip mall spot makes consistently satisfying har gow, egg tarts, pork buns, and sticky rice.

Le Diplomate

1601 14th St., NW

The bustling 14th Street brasserie starts Monday brunch early, at 9:30 AM, and serves a lengthy menu of egg dishes, pancakes, croque madames, pastries, and seafood towers until 3 PM. We’re fans of the buttery shrimp salad and double cheeseburger.

Marib

6981 Hechinger Dr., Springfield

Our favorite suburban Yemeni restaurant doesn’t need a holiday to be open for Monday brunch— it’s open all day every day. Traditional Yemeni breakfast fare like foul (fava bean stew), kidney bean fasolia, and motabak turnovers are on the menu, as are kebabs, shakshuka, and falafel.

Oyamel

401 Seventh St., NW

José Andrés’s handful of Penn Quarter establishments have long been Memorial Day brunch destinations. Oyamel’s Mexican brunch is particularly fun, with Guerrero-style huevos revueltos, open-faced mollete sandwiches, pozole, and chilaquiles. The three M’s—micheladas, margaritas, and mimosas—are of course available too.

Pastis

1323 Fourth St., NE

Brunch at Keith McNally and Stephen Starr’s new French spot starts at 10 AM, with highlights like a crepe with ham, comté, and egg; and steak hache, a sort of burger-meets-tartar. Plenty of egg dishes and pastries fare are here too.

Red Hen

1822 First St., NW

There’s no brunch at this Italian institution in Bloomingdale, but Memorial Day does kick off its summer aperitivo hour, with nicely priced items like roasted tomato arancini with charred green garlic aioli for $7, and a house Negroni for $8. From May 27 until late August, the happy hour runs Monday through Thursday from 5:30 PM to 6:30 PM.

Ruthie’s All Day

3411 Fifth St. S., Arlington

This friendly, sunny Arlington comfort food spot is one of the rare full-service eateries open starting at 7 AM every Monday, and you can also stop by for a more leisurely brunch on Memorial Day. Cornbread with honey butter; deviled eggs; apple-pie pancakes; brisket bennies— what’s not to like?

The Roost

1401 Pennsylvania Ave., SE

The Southeast DC food hall—close to the Potomac Avenue Metro stop—will host a Memorial Day pop-up with Hi/Fi Tex-Mex BBQ, the Alexandria-based smokehouse. Starting at noon, stop by for brisket, smoked turkey, cheesy grits, fried plantains, and $5 lagers.

The Saga

1190 22nd St., NW

Enrique Limardo’s West End hotel restaurant is open from 6:30 AM to 9 PM with just a brief afternoon break every Monday. The morning menu incorporates dishes from Limardo’s native Venezuela (fried gruyere-filled tequeños), Spain (tortilla española toast; empanada Gallega); and more.

Unconventional Diner

1207 Ninth St., NW

David Deshaies and Eric Eden’s Shaw comfort food standby serves brunch every day— including Memorial Day. Along with blueberry-lavender pancakes and sweet potato shakshuka, newer dishes include a roasted broccoli salad with miso-orange-and-honey-mustard dressing and a vegan chia colada, a coconut-milk/chia pudding with pineapple and strawberry.

Zaytinya

701 Ninth St., NW

Zaytinya’s brunch menu, including the rosé brunch prix fixe ($65 for two), will be available Monday. Chicken shakshuka, Lebanese-style French toast, and Greek yogurt topped with muscat-soaked apricots are a few of the Mediterranean dishes on offer.