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Imperfecto Washington DC Modern Mediterranean West End — 23rd Street dining room
James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic Finalist#28 in Washington DCFirst DateBirthday

Imperfecto

Enrique Limardo's West End Mediterranean — a James Beard Best Chef Mid-Atlantic finalist running a serious wood-fire kitchen across Spanish, Italian, Greek and Levantine traditions, with one of DC's most-architecturally-deliberate dining rooms.

Photo via Imperfecto · Google
9Food
9Ambience
7.5Value

The Room

Enrique Limardo opened Imperfecto in West End in 2021 — a Venezuelan-born chef-driven Mediterranean dining room dedicated to drawing from Spain, Italy, Greece and the Levant across a single fine-dining carte. The James Beard Foundation has shortlisted Limardo for Best Chef Mid-Atlantic.

The dining room is intentionally cinematic: a soaring two-storey design, hand-painted Mediterranean folk art, a central bar that anchors the space, a wood-burning oven visible from most tables. Eater DC named Imperfecto one of the year's best new restaurants in 2022.

The Food

The wood-fired programme is the menu's centre. The Spanish-Greek-Levantine small plates, the wood-grilled lamb shoulder, the seasonal-rotating Mediterranean preparations, and the chef's tasting handle the menu's spine.

Wine programme runs heavily Mediterranean. Cocktails are aperitivi-led. Service is informed and warm.

Best Occasion Fit

First Date: The bar at Imperfecto is one of West End's most-reliable first-date seats.

Close a Deal: Imperfecto is the West End deal-dinner alternative to a chain steakhouse for a deal that requires architectural spectacle.

Birthday: Birthdays at Imperfecto are theatrical without being theatrical — the architecture and the wood-fire programme do the work.

What Guests Say

Reilly CapitalClose a Deal

Hosted a closing dinner at Imperfecto's back banquette. The Mediterranean menu, the architecture, the wine pairing.

9 / 10
Marisa T.Birthday

Booked Imperfecto for my fortieth at the corner table. The wood-fire programme, the Spanish-Greek menu.

9 / 10

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