Oyamel Photos

Nopalitos

Ceviche el Peto

Alondigas Enchipotladas Con Queso Doble Crema

Swiss Chard

Cayo de Hacha Con Pipian de Chile Pasilla

Viva Las Raspas

Oyamel Review

Oyamel
401 7^th Street NW

Washington, DC 20004

Corner of 7^th & D Streets

202.628.1005

www.oyamel.com

Oyamel Cocina Mexicana is a wonderful little spot in Washington DC, located near Chinatown.  The front of the restaurant is almost exclusively glass. The top and the bottom, and outline of the doorway are done in a dark, glossy black with orange accents. Through the front window can be seen purple brightly colored seating. The inside of this restaurant is so lively and eclectic, warm and inviting, and has so many things to draw ones attention.  It makes you happy just to be there. There appear to be three different sections of this restaurant in which to sit. There are two bars, one to the left and one a level down. The seating involves heavy wooden tables and chairs in alternating colors of red and orange on the first level and the second levels as well as seating involving booths, benches and chairs along the windows and along the walls. When we arrived, we were led to the right and down two stairs to the “lower” section and seated at a table next to booths outlining the windows. The atmosphere was casual and friendly, the noise level not too loud and not too low. There are ethereal butterfly sculptures hanging from the ceiling overhead. The color scheme of the restaurant involves orange and peach walls and ceilings in some places and behind the bar on the lower level a tiled wall in alternating shades of blue, while the main bar on the first level is brightly colored. Then there are some walls with murals drawn onto them, some with writing and others with masks on the wall and other artwork placed throughout.  This is a wonderful place to go for almost any reason as far as we are concerned. Take your friends there, your family members, coworkers, acquaintances, go there on a first or heck fiftieth date, go alone... just get there. Parking is what it is, this IS DC folks, you already know what I mean. Be prepared to park in a garage nearby and to pay for the privilege. No worries. Any hassle you must undergo, either traffic or parking wise is worth it. This is a restaurant that is everything another restaurant we went to wanted to be (see review for Willow here in Baltimore... ugh!). The service was very good as well. Our waitress was attentive without hovering and was very knowledgeable about the menu. Overall, we give this spot ♪♪♪ and a half note.

Ceviche el peto 

This dish consisted of Hawaiian ono (A delightful fishy fish), fresh hearts of palm, baby cucumber, passion fruit, vanilla and rose. Can you say, heaven on a plate? Hmm...hmmm..hmmmm. The vanilla, rose and passion fruit perfectly complemented the fishyness of the Ono. Jalapeño slices and oranges gave a  kick of heat and of sweet. Pumpkin seeds added earthiness. Sea salt enhanced the flavors tenfold as sea salt tends to do. I have dreamt about this dish since. I am sure Melissa will agree...Yup I agree :)

Nopalitos

This salad consisted of baby cactus with tomatoes, in a lime dressing. This dish was actually extremely tasty. Melissa and I agreed on this point. It was flavorful, refreshing and light; a very well conceptualized and executed effort. However, where the problem comes in is with the texture, you have to be ok with the texture to enjoy it, which I most definitely was NOT and Melissa was. If you have ever eaten cactus before, you already know where I am going with this. If you have ever tried okra, you do too. If you have not tried either of these things, well let's just say it is...well... how do we put this....it is... slimy!

Albondigas enchipotladas con queso doble crema

This dish consisted of meatballs in a chipotle sauce with crumbled double cream cheese and cilantro.

The dish had a smoky tomato-y flavor. Cilantro gave a slight flavor of licorice to the dish. Almost no filler was used in making the meatballs so they fell apart a bit too easily. We thought they could have used some egg or something to keep them together a little better. The chipotle gave the right amount of heat to complement the heartiness of the beef and the cheese give a slight overall richness.

Swiss chard 

This dish consisted of some cooked chard and some raw chard which gave it a multi-layered texture and nuts and raisins, which added a sweetness and savoryness. This dish was sweet, tart, savory happiness as long as you stayed on top. Unfortunately it was accompanied by an Apricot puree that had a consistency like paste at bottom. It was too thick, too gooey and too sweet.

Cayo de hacha con pipian de chile pasilla

This dish consisted of two ginormous scallops seared to perfection with a pasilla chile and pumpkin seed sauce, orange segments, pumpkin seed oil and toasted pumpkin seeds. The pumpkin seed sauce and pumpkin seed oil gave the dish a rich, smokey, charred, slightly bitter taste. The pumpkin seed sauce was more the consistency of a puree. The toasted pumpkin seeds were a fabulous touch. Can we just say that this chef seems to have perfected the art of pairing orange slices with seafood. The orange slices complemented the sweetness of the scallops and cut the spiciness of the chile. It was wonderful.

Viva las raspas

This desert consisted of a coconut vanilla bean panna-cotta made with condensed milk and lime zest, which was very tasty, but was unfortunately paired with a hibiscus-raspberry granite, aka granita. The granite/granita (flavored, shaved ice) was made with mezcal vida (which we realized a bit too late was another mexican liquor akin to tequila), and which entirely ruined the dish... or maybe it was the hibiscus flavor that did it, but either way, it was too strong and too bitter... and we would not try it again. We did suggest to our server that the granita was too strong, too bitter and perhaps needed to be toned down quite a bit...lol.. a suggestion for which she thanked us and indicated she would let the chef know. So, who knows? :)