Wow. We came here on a random weekday in the late evening (around 8P) and this place was still popping. After a short wait in line for the counter ordering (during which we were served a delicious sparkling botanical soda, which my 2 year old downed, and a root beer), we ended up at the counter, where we put in for multiple courses of dishes. The dishes were then plated out into a tasting menu type experience for when we were ushered to our seats. The dishes not to miss: - Anchovy Toast. Weird, right? For some reason, this had a delicious flavor. - Chilled Asparagus: Our 2 year old ate almost all of these. The hazelnut sauce was killer. - Beets and Berries: I don't know what we're doing wrong with beets at home, but for some reason restaurants always cook beets so much better than we do. This pairing was spectacular. - Focaccia: We almost skipped this but grabbed it since it was highly recommended - definitely worth it. It came with some form of whipped cheese for the night instead of butter. We also got the Fried Chicken and the Wild Greens Ravioli. The ravioli were a little mild compared with the other stand-out flavors of the night, so if you're looking for a dish to skip, that's the one. The friend chicken was huge and tasty but the above-listed dishes were much more memorable. Wouldn't hesitate to take the metro ride from downtown again to repeat this experience. read more

Probably not the popular opinion, but it needs to be said for those who walked out a little hungry, a little broke, and a lot underwhelmed. First, the concept? Great. You wait in line while they take your drink order so you can sip a cocktail or wine before ordering -- smart move, especially with the line wrapped around the block. The service was genuinely excellent, and the food came out in under 20 minutes, clearly fitting the "get people in and out" model of the space. What's missing is the food itself. My husband ordered the fried chicken and said the breading completely overpowered everything else. The beet salad was fresh and bright, but very small - very much in the Tail Up Goat universe of portioning. As for my entrée, the miso mushrooms were... fine. Not bad, just not memorable enough to justify the hype or, frankly, the price point. Spending nearly $30 on a mushroom dish that feels average is a tough sell. So yes, stop by if you're curious and want to experience the buzz around the place. Just don't go in expecting a meal that blows you away. read more

I went with a group of friends to try Rye Bunny, and sadly it was a very disappointing experience. The set-up: You cannot make reservations and it is partially counter service. All guests must order all of their savory food immediately at the counter. However, after doing so they have a waiter and put in drink or dessert orders with a waiter. Why have a separate line that complicates the process and puts so much pressure on the party to decide in seconds everything they will want that night? We all found the model baffling and, in the case of a friend with a mobility issue, frustrating. The interior: Beautiful, spacious, and well-decorated. There are a few larger tables (we were at one that seated 6), but for the most part it's better suited to small parties. The staff: kind and helpful, albeit definitely stressed about getting us to decide what we wanted to order as quickly as possible upon entering. It felt like a poor set-up for everyone involved, both staff and diners, especially since dishes came out at a fairly desultory pace after that and the wait staff were around constantly and could have easily taken additional orders at the table. Really, why not just do full table service? I can't think of a single upside to the current model for anyone. Wait staff were attentive and so positive! The drinks: my friend's cocktail was insultingly small. The picture attached is the full, untouched drink. None of us had ever seen a stingier portion for such an expensive drink. They frankly need to fix this - it started the meal off on a horrible note as we all looked at it being brought out and wondered what we were in for. Unfortunately, that feeling turned out to be accurate. The food: The savory food tasted good, though it sadly wasn't outstanding or memorable, but the portion sizes were minuscule for the price. We were told the portion size increased as you went further down the menu, but that ended up not being true - particularly for vegetarians, this menu is not designed to have an larger plates; the only thing that goes up is the price. We enjoyed the cheesy potato pancake and the beets (but really, six tiny slices of beet on a plate for $19? Less than a single mouthful? These are not expensive ingredients). The wild greens ravioli was good but definitely missing something (a squeeze of lemon? Anything to make it less one-note), and again it was five (5) tiny pieces of ravioli for $28. The maitake mushroom was the worst offender of the night: $30 for one teeny bunch of maitake that you could have bought at the grocery store for $3. It was fine but again, not outstanding or memorable, and at that price and miniature size for the only vegetarian "large plate" it needed to be. The fried chicken tasted very good and had fantastic sauces, but for $29 there is simply no reason it couldn't have come with rice or bread or literally any starch to fill out the dish, which as it was was a tiny serving of chicken with nothing to complete it. Rice costs virtually nothing. Why serve unsatisfying dishes like this? However, we loved the flavors of the chicken, so there was that one redeeming feature. The only bad food was the dessert. I'd seen early raves about the chocolate cloud cake and I honestly don't know what they ate, but it can't have been what we were served. It was objectively bad: the angel food cake was dry and had an unfortunate texture. It did not pair at all well with the sauce. The whipped cream tasted good, which is the only good thing I have to say about this cake. People at our table wondered if it hadn't maybe been baked earlier in the week and left to sit out for days to get stale. The creme brulee was overbaked and had, again, an unpleasant texture. All 6 of us were shocked at how bad the desserts were from a technical standpoint: they were significantly worse than even the quality of cakes you'd get at a grocery store. I forced myself to eat everything because it cost so much. I can't believe the people making them have eaten them, unless we were given the two flops of the night. I wish restaurants would think about last impressions when they put out a poor dessert menu like this, but then I'd hope they'd think about poor first impressions when they make cocktails like the one my friend was served. Our visit started on a bad note with the cocktail and confusing hybrid counter service model, went through a rollercoaster of decent-to-good food at high prices with the tiny portions, and then ended with some of the worst desserts I've been served in a restaurant. This shocked me because I'd been to and loved Tail Up Goat, and I would have said their desserts were the standout. This restaurant was billed as a more casual, affordable version of Tail Up Goat, but it's equally expensive with much worse quality with a baffling and needlessly stressful counter-service model. Service and atmosphere are wonderful. I hope they improve everything else. read more

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Rye Bunny may be the happiest restaurant in Washington, D.C. Every staff member is friendly and takes a lot of pride in what they are creating. The owners- Jill and Todd- love watching people connect over good food. In a type A city like D.C., Rye Bunny invites guests to let down their guards. It starts the moment you walk inside. It's first-come, first-served at the counter. Order your food and drinks at the counter. You're given a letter. Once a table is available, sit down and the restaurant service you're used to begins. While you wait, it's common for strangers to become friends. The menu changes often based on what's fresh and seasonal. When my friend and I popped in on a Thursday around 8pm, the menu had 12 dishes ranging from appetizer portions to heartier. To feed two normally hungry guys, we ordered the Focaccia, Radicchio Salad, Lion's Mane Mushroom, and Grilled Roseda Farms Beef Tenderloin. Once finished, our server, Max, told us about their two desserts- cardamom creme brulee and a chocolate angel food cake. We ordered both. Every dish is fresh and well executed. However, the Lion's Mane Mushroom was our favorite. The pesto and grilled ramps made the well-cooked mushroom stick out. We'll go back for it. The sauce on the tenderloin was excellent. If you love chocolate, get the chocolate angel food cake. It's light, but rich. The drink menu comes with many options from cocktails to beers to wine, including orange wine. If you want something light and refreshing, get the April Showers. Overall, Rye Bunny is a home run. We left energized. The staff's passion rubbed off on us. It's an accessible restaurant in an inviting space with decorations that make you feel like you're in your Romanian grandmother's home. Like a Romanian grandmother, they take food seriously, but not themselves. It's worth a go. read more

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glad I went once, but I probably would not come here again unless they changed their menu. They have an interesting "counter service" concept where you order at the counter, and they will serve the food at your table sort of similar to tatte. This makes service extremely fast: we were there for only one hour. The food itself was all right. I expected a little bit more for the price point. The anchovy toast and the Bolognese were great, the rockfish was sort of average, and the kale salad was also average perhaps a bit too salty though. Next time I would go for the pastas and maybe try the steak but skip the rockfish read more

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I've had Rye Bunny on my 'want to go' list since I learned this was taking over from Tail Up Goat (I still remember my RW meal there- it was so good). I happened to be in DC for the day to meet up with some people for brunch, and thought hey why not chance it for a solo dinner today. It does feature my least favorite thing about any restaurant or eaterie - A line. No reservations is such a pet peeve of mine. But whatever, I showed up at 5:30 pm on a Saturday and got in line. To this place's credit the line doesn't take long to move - but also to be fair I was there on the much earlier side of dining hours. I am not sure how long the wait is for those walking in closer to 7 or 8pm. Yes you can order drinks and wait in line. But not a very solo diner friendly situation. If you're in with friends and you're ok standing in a moving line with drinks in hand, it's fine. You basically get to the counter, order your food/ more drinks, and grab any open spot you see that works for you. Simple enough. Food does come out quickly. All the stars really are for the food. The anchovy toast was delicious. Briny and umami against the sweetness of the orange confit was wonderful. The fish I got was also really good but I did have an issue with the ramps being so stringy and fibrous. They were left whole on the dish and it was difficult to cut through and eat. I did provide that as feedback to the server because other than that the dish was great. Minor caveat- some rice would be good with a dish like that. You have a nice chermoula sauce, that would make the perfect bite with a piece of fish and a carby starch like rice. One more point deducted because I emailed them later that night about whether they found a missing item I may have lost/left behind at the restaurant requesting them to check if they found anything. Still haven't gotten a response a week later so yeah. Not good CS. More a true 3.5 than a 3. Still some kinks need to be worked out but long term will probably be very popular and successful. read more

Rye Bunny - Rock fish a la plancha - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

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The line up order is a bit long and frenetic. Not sure if more annoying for the patrons or the folks at the register taking orders and payment...they were working overtime, non stop for the 3+ hours we were there. Four of us ordered in line, another arrived about 30 mins later and told to order at the table, then no had to wait in line, but then ultimately able to order from the table (about an hour in, folks at the end of the line were given some sparkling wine so that was nice). Once the orders were in, you get to your table and then it's a normal dining experience and I'll say the servers were amazing, very accommodating. And the food was excellent. We ordered everything off the menu except kale salad. The standouts were anchovy toast, tenderloin, tagliatelle (best!!), and beets. Drinks and desserts were good but the mains were the star. Arrive early...though you will likely have to wait in line you'll get best table selection read more

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I really want this place to do well and I'm hoping I give them another try and so I can improve my 3 start rating. As a foodie and as someone that had been surrounded by unique and intense flavors (thanks to my Persian background) I have high expectations when it comes to flavor. We had 5 dishes: Frico Tradizionale, Focaccia, Roasted Parsnips, Tagliatelle with Bolognese, and the Wild Greens Ravioli. For the Frico Tradizionale, the cheese a potatoes were great but the accompaniments needed more flavor, the Focaccia itself was great but the accompaniments needed more flavor, the parsnips were good but the accompaniments needed more flavor, the tagliatelle tasted homemade which was excellent but the meat sauce needs fine tuning, and the ravioli overall was just okay. I had high hopes for the dessert (only one dessert on the menu) as it looked great but it was just okay. The service was beyond incredible. From the staff that welcomes you and explains the concept to the gentleman that takes your order at the counter and goes over the food menu to the service staff that tends to your table and offers an incredible Michelin-style service. The concept is great and it is genius how they have it set up to where you order at the counter because this way they never turn away customers. The ambiance was extremely nice and the design concept was very well put together and carefully thought out. I ate here on their 2nd day so I give them grace on execution. I will return with high hopes that I will adjust my 3 star rating to 5 stars. If you'r considering eating here definitely do it! read more

had a very nice meal here during opening week - the space is redone (bar is gone, more seating), walk in, order at the counter, then sit and get served as usual (you can also order more dishes/drinks/dessert once seated). they have a small cocktail menu, some wines btg (and bottles), and other beers/NA stuff. overall, food was good. some minor execution tweaks that will get worked out as they go, but could see the potential. good sized menu, 5 dishes between 2 people was more than enough. standouts were the fried chicken, parsnips, and anchovy toast. chocolate cake for dessert was ok. will be back to try again once they settle in a bit more. read more

Everything is A+++. Unique food, excellent service. Def a place to go back to. Beet dish, root veg dish, chicken--all must try dishes.

Dined here with friends on opening night. Tried everything, loved everything - esp the friend chicken, sardines on toast (and I'm not usually a sardine person), and broccoli. Solid cocktail menu, too. Service team nailed the pacing. And the decor was spectacular, made for a cozy vibe. read more

I really wanted to love this place - local DC owners and the ambience was top notch, but very expensive for the portion sizes. The kale salad came out on an ashtray-sized plate. For mostly being lettuce leaves, it should have been twice the size. Perry's and Martha Dear have comparable salads, and they are twice the size of the one we were served and cheaper. The Ravioli was good, but tiny portions. All the food was cooked so well and the restaurant clearly has a vision, but every dish has a salty/sweet component that is so overdone. For example, the Anchovy toast comes smothered with fruit jam so you can only taste the fruit. The fried chicken was excellent but served with some jammy situation as well. And for dessert, we had the cake, which was delicious except it was comically salted with so much flaky sea salt that it was too salty. Saltier than some of the savory dishes even. Maybe we ordered wrong, but the menu is small and pricey for what you are served and as someone who lives in DC and is used to DC prices, for the portions this place is very pricey for a restaurant that markets itself as casual. If you love dishes that have that salty-sweet component, you'll love this place, just not my type of cuisine. read more