The Partisan

Loved this place! Met for a first date. We sat at the bar for hours switching between delicious cocktails (Milne was something about a grey cat) bites to eat, wine, more to eat, then more cocktails. Everything was delicious. The charcuterie plate with pâté and the rotisserie/​fried chicken were my favorite. The bartenders were friendly, efficient, and unobtrusive. I can’t wait to go back again!

I came by The Partisan while walking around DC with a friend. The restaurant is attached to Red Apron, which I’ve visited before in the Mosaic District in Virginia.
Overall, it was a great experience. Although I wasn’t necessarily looking to dine-​in at The Partisan (apparently, Red Apron here only does take out?), the ambience of the restaurant (think lots of dark wood, eclectic/​refurbished light fixtures, and rustic hipster handiwork), the pleasant service, and, of course, the food won me over.
I ordered the Chorizo Burger, which comes with a chorizo patty, avocado, pickled onions, and a smoked chimichurri sauce. FYI, the burger definitely has a bit of spice for those who are wary of hot foods, but I thought it was very tolerable and nicely offset by the creamy avocado slices. I do wish the bun was a bit more toasted, but it was delightfully buttery and rich — perfect for a cold winter’s afternoon. My friend ordered the Aged Beef Fat Fries, which were absolutely delicious — they come dressed in an herb seasoning that really elevates them to a whole new level of potato.
So, if you’re in the area, The Partisan is a fantastic option for lunch. The burgers and sandwiches are very reasonably priced (~$ 10) and you’ll be hard-​pressed to find a better place in terms of overall experience that is also this affordable.

I figured I’d check the bar out after dinner at Oyamel after having seen a friend’s recent pictures there on Instagram. With minimal expectations, I was very pleasantly surprised. Excellent selection of wines by the glass and very cool ambiance with the exposed brick and open shelving. Strongly recommend and would return myself.

I hate to leave a review on a non-​food related issue since Unilocal is supposed to be about the food but I must rant.
Have had great meals here previously but almost impossible to do a private event as they’re terrible at communication. Then when you finally reach a manager after calling for a week straight she is really abrupt and almost rude. Her apology to me was half assed and insincere. Truly disappointing because staff has always been super accommodating while dining.

The cocktails we got were spectacular. Especially loved the beef fat fries, the rabbit, and the charcuterie platter we got for our group of 3. The lovely bearded male server was super helpful and knew the menu very well. Basically a hipster’s paradise.

This was the best restaurant I’ve been to in a very long time. Honestly, the food and vibe took me back to Seattle, where we just moved from. Local, house-​made, traditional, funky, new-​age, eclectic, comforting; in other words, hipster in a GREAT way!
We entered through the Red Apron butcher shop, where a cooler and shelves presented us with, among other things, chops, cured meats, and various brined things. There were a few tables, but we went through the side door to sit in and eat at the Partisan. (The businesses are conjoined.)
We were seated in a booth and greeted promptly. Our server helped break down the MASSIVE beer list to me when I had a couple of questions, and brought me a sample of something I was curious about (I didn’t get it, but thanks!). Some of the beers look pricey, but I always compare it to wine; you’ll spend $ 45 on a bottle of wine but balk at $ 20 or $ 30 for a 22 of beer the likes of which you will probably NEVER have again? Wine is great but can only get so divergent, but you’ll find beer here on the spectrum from «light pilsner» to «brewed with oysters». It’s crazy. Crazy awesome.
I’m running a little behind on my reviews, so I don’t remember the beer I wound up with, but it was something I hadn’t had before that the server recommended, and it was great,
We were a little confused by the menu; some of the items we’d seen online when looking this place up weren’t on it! We asked, and it turns out some of the items are on the butcher shop menu, but you can order off of it as well.
We started off with beef fat fries, which are what they sound like, but way better than you could imagine. They’re like the love children of the best burger you’ve ever had and some sort of heirloom potato that traces its origins to the pharaohs. The potato pharaohs. Pharidahos? Anyway, they were perfect. They came with a a dipping sauce (some sort of ranch thing) that was fine but almost a sin to put on those fries. I think this dip should be a test; if you ruin these fries with this sauce, the chef comes out, slaps you, and throws you in the street, You don’t put flame decals on an Astin Martin, baby.
We started off with the bacon plate, which is an unrepentant platter featuring four kinds of bacon, including the house original bacon. Review: [Homer Simpson drooly gurgle].
For entrees I had the «breakfast panini», which was brisket on French-​toasty bread with foie gras sauce and a fried egg, It hit the perfect balance of savory and sweet, but be warned, it is rich, rich, rich. I like that most of the time, and in this case the quantity of food was not overwhelming so that the richness was perfect.
The W had the baked eggs, with snap peas, oyster mushrooms, potatoes, and grana padano. For a dish with no meat and no wheat, wow; delish! It looked smaller than it was; very hardy and filling for the lack of carbs and meat.
Because we were ready to burst from all the food and beer but are also Americans, we ordered dessert. The carrot cake donut holes were ordered, and the server, having noticed a birthday card my wife gave me, had the kitchen put a little candle on on of them. Crunchy on the outside, fluffy and moist on the inside, but a little teeny bit boring after all the other flavors we’d already had. Yummy and not too sweet, but I think I’ll save the calories next time.
The dining room is cozy and warm, the bar area is wide open and has a speakeasy feel. On my way tot he restroom (through the bar area) I saw a bartender making a frothy drink that looked delicious, and asked my server later what it was. He said it was a whiskey sour, made the traditional way with raw egg white. Wowzers. I’ll have to grab one of those the next time I’m in.
I can’t wait to go back here!

Good service, good ambiance, good cocktails, good selection of Whiskies
Price is high. but in line with most of DC

I try to go to the partisan a few times a season. My faves have been the Pig Ear Terrine, andouille sausage, and pork pâté. All time favorite though? Without a doubt it’s their Squid Ink Bucatini with unagi and octopus. Don’t let the inky black noodles scare you off. They’re rich and decadent, with a nice brininess from the Unagi to cut through the sumptuousness of it all. Most times my bill is around $ 55 total for two with a few beers. Their cocktails are on point and they probably have some of the most hospitable bar tenders this city has seen. It’s a great place for a noirish getaway. Make a night of it with someone special. Dress up like Bogart and Bacall. Call everyone crazy dames, and pepper «now see here,» and «Pal» into your conversations. If you have a big enough group– order the Pig’s head and invite me.

This review is for brunch. TLDR version: possible food poisoning, great fries, great service.
Brunch begins by walking through the sister butchery. All of the servers were attentive and polite. Despite being so thirsty that I drank no less than 10 glasses of water with brunch, the waitress was always around with more when I needed her. Even after we had already paid the check.
For brunch, my friend and I both got the corned beef hash. Neither of us liked it. It was flavorless, and my friend actually thinks it made her sick. I didn’t get sick, but I also hardly ate the hash because it sucked. So, we can’t be sure on causation.
However, being fry enthusiasts, we also split the beef fat fries. We’ve eaten fries at almost every restaraunt in DC and these were by far the best. Crispy, salty, and plenty of fried Rosemary. We are even the small crumbs.
Since this meal was a mixed bag, I’d be interested to come back for dinner. I’d also be curious to know if anyone else got sick from the corned beef hash.

The Partisan is a nicely decorated wine bar right next to the Red Apron deli in the heart of Penn Quarter.
They have an intimate setting with low lighting, high wooden tables, and a large bar. It is a nice date spot, whether meeting for drinks or for dinner. The menu is well organized by small (appetizers), medium (entrees), and large plates (share for a table) and is also categorized by the type of food (vegetables, fish, meat). We really enjoyed the curry brussels sprouts, and the meatballs, (the blue catfish could have had more flavor). Save room for dessert as the Snickers Peanut Butter Cake and the Fried Apple Pie were amazing!
They have a great selection of reasonably priced wines and very good cocktails. The staff was also very attentive, welcoming, and provided great recommendations.
Overall, this is an excellent spot for catching up with a few friends or a date. They provide a quiet setting, friendly atmosphere, and great food and drink options.

I visited the Partisan on a weekday afternoon for lunch while visiting the city. The Partisan is the sit down dining area connected to Red Apron. Once inside, the hostess was quick to sit me and my fiancé at a high top by the bar. It was quiet and made for a perfect lunch date.
The atmosphere is welcoming and definitely a place I can see being pretty busy during the evenings, especially for happy hour. Our server was extremely friendly and could answer every question we had about the menu.
My fiancé ordered the cheeseburger and I ordered the kale & mushroom salad with a side of fries. Our plates arrived within 10 – 15 minutes, and we were impressed with how fresh everything looked and tasted. The fries were, hands down, my favorite part! I was so close to ordering a second round of fries, if it wasn’t for the fact I had a salad to finish. The salad had plenty of mushrooms, and the goat cheese at the bottom gave it a great overall flavor. My fiancé had zero complaints about his burger. He ate every last bite!
Overall, the service was excellent and the food was delicious. I’ll definitely be coming back again to try a few of their cocktails.

Easily four and a quarter stars for one of my favorite bars in DC. Reservations recommended, as seating at the bar can get competitive and scant seating is reserved for walk-​ins. Prices are definitely DC grade, but the quality of cocktails satisfy me every time (thanks, Eddie). Well-​curated beer and brown liquor bible, plus a variety of portion types to choose from. It was nice to receive an apology when the kitchen fell behind and our food was dragging significantly longer than our dining companions’. I’ve been a fan of most of their whiskey cocktails, though I was a touch lukewarm about Career Opportunities. Loved that the ribs they presented at Lamb Jam stayed on the menu.
Szechuan peppercorn salami was a nice charcuterie option, and I’m sad I didn’t try the foie truffle bologna, wild boar pâté, or three peppercorn before they cycled out the menu. Slow cooked pork shoulder got a little messy to assemble, but was absolutely delicious. Pigs feet arrived in an unexpected format: completely deboned, formed into rectangular patties, battered lightly and fried for more texture, and served with well-​paired dipping sauces. Not sure if trying the triple stack burger will be as high a priority given the pricing, but future hit list includes Rise Above; chicken skins, beef fat fries, Calabrian chili paccheri, spanish mackerel crudo, seared sea scallop, beef tartare, rotissi-​fried chicken, rabbit, rohan duck crepinette; tete de phở, iron and wine, biraldo, captain beefheart; walnut bourbon pie. Yeah, who am I joking? I wanna eat all teh foodz.

Always a good time here! I’ve been a few times just for drinks, and I highly recommend it. They do a great job making it feel like an appropriate atmosphere whether you come in for dinner, drink, or take out. For drinking, you head all the way to the back, where there is a nice long bar with lots of seats and dark décor with pleasant yellow lighting behind the bar.
They have a decent, eclectic array of beers, cocktails, and wines, and you can get any of the beers and wines in half glasses if you want to sample. Nice touch. The drink called Maybe a Joyful Noise is one of the best cocktails I’ve ever had, with bourbon, chinato, bonal, and orange & chocolate bitters. Such a great mix. Well done, folks. The beer list changes frequently, but the first visit they had the goose island bourbon county stout, always an exciting find. Fun place.

The Partisan has to be one of my favorite restaurants in the DC area. From beginning to end, my dining experience was beyond phenomenal.
First off, our waitress (I don’t remember her name) was very friendly, knowledgeable, accommodating and helpful. Good service means a lot and they take things seriously here.
For starters, they have a Charcuterie menu that is unparalleled. So many choices it’s dizzying. We couldn’t decide, so based on our preferences, our waitress put together a custom board that she thought would work well with what we were drinking. I hate to admit that I don’t remember what she presented to us, but every bite was wonderful.
Moving on to the rest of the menu, they offer an assortment of appetizers and entrees served as small, medium or large plates. There were only two of us, so we started with beef fat fries three plates. After the charcuterie we weren’t sure how much we’d be able to eat. We went with curry brussel sprouts, lamb ribs and pork shoulder. Everything was wonderful, but I have to say that the one thing that really made an impression was the pork shoulder. O.M.G. It was perfectly seasoned and tender. It literally fell off the bone and melted in my mouth. It was like nothing I had every tried before. Truly an amazing experience.
Dining at The Partisan isn’t cheap, but the overall experience is well worth the cost.
Enjoy!

Great service, middling food. We had a big party with plenty of stragglers, but our waitress (and the other staff) let us chill and wait for the people (some of whom streamed in more than half an hour late) even though the place was pretty packed on a Saturday night. They were great about refilling our water and drinks without being pushy about ordering. We got some wine and nibbles to start before everyone arrived, including a charcuterie plate (can’t comment much because it was mostly gone when I got there), the beef fat fries ($ 6– so good!) and chicken skins ($ 5– so fried they were nearly black– good for the first bite or two, but not so much after that).
The menu has many, many pages, which I found a little confusing. The early pages don’t have any headings and contain a mix of what I assume to be appetizers (like the fries and chicken skins), veggie dishes and pastas– these don’t contain any indication of the size of the plates. The later pages are based on animal the dish came from, and each dish is marked as a small, medium or large plate. Maybe I’m just old-​fashioned, but it’s really hard to put together a meal when the menu is all over the place.
I ended up ordering the fig and arugula salad ($ 14), which was bigger than I expected. It wasn’t particularly remarkable– it looked like someone had taken bagged baby arugula from the grocery store and tossed it with some vinaigrette and just a few little pieces of fig. I also got the schnitzel ($ 12), which was supposed to come with spaeztle and cabbage. There was the tiniest bite of it under the meat, but what I could taste was nicely charred and I would have liked more of it!
I’m glad they were so accommodating of our group, but nothing about the food made me want to return, except maybe if I could get the beef fat fries to go.

I wanted so bad to try their food on the menu but I was so full when we came here from our dinner at the Capital Grille. They have Charcuterie plates and other bar bites that looks pretty yummy.
Anyway, this place is pretty laid back and drinks are good. Totally all you need for a chill night out!

This is a cute little restaurant/​pub connected to Red Apron. They have a great cocktail list and a small menu. From what I have enjoyed, both the cocktails and the food are great.
The décor and setting is nice. The bartender we had was sufficient but not overly friendly. They have $ 5 specials for happy hour. They are not large drinks but they are delicious. Regularly cocktails are $ 10 – 13.
I’ll definitely be back to check out the rest of the menu. My one complaint? They wouldn’t let us sit at a table (only the bar) unless we were going to order a meal. All of the tables were empty but one…

Of all the pretentious places in DC, The Partisan ranks near the bottom on my list. Before I came, I knew the menu serve small bites and expensive drinks, so my complaints aren’t about the prices, but the service.
We came with a group of 8 people and decided to grab a table in the bar area. The waitress asked if we wanted to order from her or from the bar — thinking it’d be easier to get food/​drinks from the waitress, we elected to go with her. That was a mistake. Our waitress was grumpy all night, with a sharp tone whenever we order something. Then when we couldn’t find her to place drink orders, we went over to the bar to order — she became downright mean.
The low light of the night was when we ordered the triple-​stacked burger. She asked if we wanted fries or something different to substitute it — we asked about sweet potato fries and she said she can do that. What came out was a $ 8 surcharge and a small cast iron pot of sweet potato mash. Completely different than what we ordered, and we didn’t know there was an additional charge. Our waitress explains that everything at The Partisan is ala carte, so I’m glad we weren’t charged for water and use the bathroom.
Steer clear of this establishment. Plan B Burger Bar nearby had 200% better service and food than The Partisan, which is surprising and unacceptable.

We arrived right before 5 and ordered some drinks to kill time until dinner officially began. The dining room in front was almost empty and the bar in the back had a group gathering and some happy hour attendees. The high top where we sat in the back by the bar was actually more comfortable than I imagined. The only downside was that when HH was in full swing, lots of folks kept on bumping into the back of my friend’s chair. The vibe in the bar area felt a little too pretentious for HH, but it was crawling with suits…
We started with a charcuterie board and I wish I knew what all my husband ordered, but I’m guessing, since they’re in the Red Apron Butcher family, there isn’t anything that’s bad. We also had the beef fat fries, meatball, rolled pork belly, shank confit and the charred corn. The fries were delicious and we almost made a meal out of them because we got two orders. The meatball was really underwhelming. Considering how much I love the meatball sammy from Red Apron, this appetizer was just ok. The rolled pork belly — minus the fennel for me, was pretty tasty. The only negative was that the skin was very chewy. The shank confit was a little dry and bland, but it paired well with the pears it came with. The charred corn, as told to us by Marcus, the floor manager, complemented the coffee/​chocolate dark beer my friend had — she was very happy with the pairing.
Although I feel the food only garners four stars, I kicked it up to five because our server Helen and the floor manager, Marcus were so patient, helpful, and kind. They both made food recommendations and Marcus is their beer connoisseur/​soon to be cicerone, so we were not lacking in Partisan information. Marcus must have been feeling super generous as we received a beer float gift. It was vanilla with the beer that has hints of coffee and chocolate in it (sorry I can’t remember the brew’s name). It wasn’t a hit with me, but my friend really enjoyed it and was able to polish it off.
My first visit to The Partisan was a really good experience and I’m more than happy to head back for HH or a meal.
Thanks Helen and Marcus!

I wanted to try Red Apron for lunch and asked a coworker if she would like to go as well. We walked over and decided we would like to sit for lunch. The Partisan is the sit down side of the establishment.
The menu options are almost the same at Partisan (and I was told later that if it was available at Red Apron I could order it on the Partisan side). The prices of the sandwiches were the same but the fries were more at the Partisan but same with a sauce. (It looks like the prices of all the sides are increased at The Partisan).
The fries were REALLY good.
I ordered the chorizo burger and my coworker had the original burger. When they arrived the bun looked hugh. I was worried it was going to be overpowering taste and the meat and other flavors would be lost in the experience. We were both glad when this was not the case — although large looking the buns were not dense and served well with the other flavors. We chatted with a couple sitting next to us and I have now added the meatball sub and the hot pastrami to my list of items to try at either The Red Apron Butchery or The Partisan.
I also liked the décor as well as the staff making this a brand I plan to watch, follow, and try some more.