The Bazaar by José Andrés – Washington DC
Long-awaited DC location of the modernist fine dining experience pioneered in Beverly Hills
When José Andrés originally opened The Bazaar at the SLS Beverly Hills hotel in 2009, his potent combination of culinary excellence, showmanship, and Philippe Starck-designed dining spaces delivered incredible experiences, reimagining fine dining with avant garde, el Bulli-style creativity as the main attraction. The legendary partnership between Andrés and SLS, a luxury boutique hotel brand, spawned an equally impressive South Beach, Florida sequel with its own menu in 2012, then Bazaar Meat in Las Vegas two years later.
After dissolving their business relationship with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, which would have seen a Bazaar open at the Trump International Hotel in Washington DC, Andrés’s team resurrected the concept when the hotel became a Waldorf Astoria. Now open in the former BLT Prime steakhouse space, DC’s version of The Bazaar largely adopts the prior Beverly Hills menu while bringing back items from Andrés’ earlier DC restaurants (Café Atlántico, America Eats Tavern), including conch fritters and modernist Buffalo wings.
You can still experience classic Bazaar thrills such as the tableside liquid nitrogen-frozen Nitro Caiparinha, Cotton Candy Foie Gras, and Ferran Adria spherified liquid olives, as well as gold-tipped caviar cones, “air bread” Philly Cheesesteaks, tinned mussels, onion soup served like espresso, and dragonfruit ceviche. Save room for unique desserts including an artistic carrot cake, a hazelnut polverón cake topped with caviar and gold leaf, and a delicious deconstructed key lime pie.
Though the setting (inside the historic Old Post Office, which partially survived its conversion into Trump’s tacky space) has none of the hip, sexy vibes found in other Bazaars, Andrés’ team delivers excellent service worthy of the brand. This open-air version of The Bazaar paved the way for a similar concept, Bazaar Mar in Las Vegas’s Crystals shopping center, which floats ceilingless dining rooms inside a mall setting – a major environmental difference with the typically closed-off and dark prior Bazaars.
Stats
Price: $$$-$$$$
Service: Table
Open Since: 2023
Addresses
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
202.868.5088
Instagram: @bazaarbyjose