Oyamel
Thursday – Saturday: 11 AM – 2 AM
Lunch menu available:
Monday – Friday: 11 AM – 3 PM
Brunch:
Saturday & Sunday: 11 AM – 3 PM
Hora Feliz:
Monday – Friday: 4 PM – 6 PM
Late Night Menu:
Thursday – Saturday: 11 PM – 2 AM
Sunday – Wednesday: 10 PM – midnight
Menu
We both selected the "Restaurant Week" option and the portions were perfect and the food was full of flavor. In particular the ceviche and the brussel sprouts were amazing, as was the caramel ice cream! Our server, Andres, was awesome and very attentive. Great experience.
I should start by saying I'm a big Jose Andres fan and I visit Oyamel once/year at least, particularly because of how impressed I've been with my visit during the annual Dine 'n Dash event - such fabulous food, drink, and service! So, I usually have a great time here, but I was VERY disappointed this time, and perhaps because it was not a good place to eat when you're dining when trying to talk during dinner. The restaurant was VERY loud (a table of 8 bachelorettes nearby were yelling excitedly each time they bought a round of tequila shots), so it was difficult for our table of 5 to hear each other. My dad and brother were seated on one end of our booth, me and my boyfriend in the middle, and my friend on the other side. Our booth was not very big, but even so, with all the noise in the restaurant my brother and dad were left out of the conversation and made it difficult for our group to really engage with each other. The food was "ok", but I was not blown away by anything. I didn't choose the restaurant week menu, but the others did, and even with all the choices they made and previous knowledge of the restaurant, they were also left very unimpressed with the food.
One of our very favorite restaurants in DC. I don't think we've ever tried a dish here that we didn't enjoy, and the waitstaff is always friendly, attentive, and enthusiastic about the menu.
Food was only ok. Service was awful.
I went with my girlfriends for restaurant week. They sat us in the beautiful butterfly room. Since it was restaurant week, we picked from a 5 course menu. The ceviche was phenomenal, the best I’ve ever had. Roasted Brussels sprouts had a nice crisp to them. The shrimp was very flavorful. Pork taco was cooked perfectly. Finished off the meal with the dulce de leche cake. We were amazed at the portion sizes. They did not disappoint, considering it was restaurant week and they were fairly busy. The staff was very attentive and accommodating. Chips and salsa are addicting, and the margaritas are the best! We will definitely be back.
Oyamel was not the fine dining experience we expected In terms of ambience. We lunched on a Friday during restaurant week in Washington DC so it was very busy, crowded and loud. However, we were seated promptly and in the booth I had requested. The wait staff was excellent; very attentive, knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and polite. We did not order from the special menu but the prices looked reasonable for the Restaurant Week event. We enjoyed the guacamole and housemade tortilla chips; the guacamole was nicely seasoned with chunks of avocado served in a large rustic black metate. My daughter ordered the Queso fundido with chorizo but disliked the cheese base and the large chunks of the sausage. I thought it was fine. My cactus paddle salad with a spicy dressing was beautifully presented. Outside of the facts I was expecting a “fancier” less casual dining environment and the loud noise level was so high that it made conversation difficult, we are glad we gave Oyamel a try. Total bill was about $90 with two glasses of wine, 2 appetizers and a fish entree.
Great food and service!
Oyamel is a modern take on Mexican cuisine. Every plate is delicious, with very nice presentation. If you love excellent Mexican food in DC, then this is the place you need to be.
Fantastic options—especially for restaurant week. Food was very well portioned and excellent. Service was good as well. I will say the seating is a bit tight but manageable.
My office and I went to Oyamel for restaurant week. Not only was the staff gracious and helpful, the food was excellent! I had the ceviche for my appetizer and it was stellar. Perfect blend of citrus and heat. The dessert was also great, the tres leche cake with pineapple. Everything was good, but those two are what stand out. During a hectic time like restaurant week, it would be easy for the staff to become impatient or to be tired, but I saw no hint of that. From the greeting at the door to the very end, everyone made us feel that they were happy to be there for us. I truly enjoyed the visit and look forward to returning.
From the earlier reviews I had high expectations, however apart from a couple of very good dishes, the food on the Restaurant Week menu was not that extraordinary.
As others have said, the noise levels were pretty high, making it difficult to speak with my guest.
And on service, we were surprised to receive the hot second course before the cold first course.
Unfortunately we were also seated close to the walkway, and were impacted by a dropped glass that shattered near our feet from a passing waiter.
All in all more of a missed opportunity than a bad experience, however I won’t be rushing back in a hurry.
Great chips and salsa accompanied by very good guacamole. My family and I are vegetarians, and we loved the wide variety of creative and tasty vegetarian offerings. The service as quick and the food had great flavor! Beautiful restaurant too!
The food was very good, lots of variety. Spice reigned supreme
José Andres never disappoints. The best take on Mexican food I have experienced. The salsa was like nothing I have eaten. The ambiance and service were world class.
We were there during restaurant week so that probably increased the value score. Bustling and noisy place. Good food. We had problems getting the bill correct--nothing nefarious, just sloppy.
Really, really good food. Not to jam-packed with tables. Great margaritas. A great selection for restaurant week. We are sending our daughter and son-in-law next week.
We were celebrating a special birthday and our waiter made sure it was memorable. He provided outstanding service. We will definitely go back the atmosphere and food were great!
Bad wait staff. Waiter continuously tried to up sell us
Packed to the gills with people, but still pumping out amazing food, excellent service, and a fantastic overall experience.
Drinks a bit too expensive, noise was tio loud, could not hear or talk with each other.
The food was really food and the place was nice but what made it 5 stars was the service. I wish i remembered her name because she was probably the best server Ive ever had. She was tiny and maybe reddish hair? She was so enthusiastic and into what she was doing. She was a doll.
Lovely ambiance, great food and excellent service. Loved the black garlic shrimp!
Great tapas. Just right for lunch. The various ceviche were wonderful!
Too loud to have a conversation
The most attentive staff, food was as expected outstanding and came out super fast! Sublime cocktails and Even the non-alcoholic drinks were surprisingly amazing, will definitely be back
I had a lunch business meeting with a colleague and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Service was competent and yet no intrusive. I had the shirt and fish tacos which were delicious. The food came out fast. Will try it for dinner soon.
Small, noisy, I don't recommend for kids. But Great service. Food comes in small portions but enough. Drinks are small but pretty good. Nice spot for two.
Great experience. Had lunch with a colleague who tried the Cricket Tacos!
Perfect as always; one of DC’s best restaurants. This place can turn even Red Lobster fans into foodies.
Beautiful decor, fun atmosphere, and the guacamole is a must!
Food arrived way before the drinks did ! Don’t go here thirsty !
Overall Good, but the noise level was extremely high our waitress couldn't even understand our order because of the noise level. The food was ok but over priced for the amount received.
We had a fabulous dinner at Oyamel. We were seated quickly for our reservations (we arrived early). We feasted on guac and chips while we decided what else to order. We went with two specials from the daily menu and then tacos. The specials, a squash blossom quesadilla and an heirloom tomato salad, were excellent--complex tastes and maybe richer than we were anticipating but not too rich. We ordered tacos; I think the brisket and the fish tacos are the best and our server recommended them. My partner ordered two very different kinds of pork tacos and was equally pleased. For dessert we had the tres leches with a really intriguing caramel ice cream and bits of pineapple and pineapply gelee decoratively arranged on the plate--not too sweet and really suited to the dish. A terrific dinner at a reasonable (for DC dining) price. My only complaint about Oyamel is that it can get raucously loud. We were in a loud section and had to shout at each other to be heard, but after two loud parties left to either side of us, the sound level was more bearable and we could have a conversation w/o shouting.
Found the waiter pushy and impairment. Tacos pretty small and the flavour was under whelming.
Great food, small plates to share. Fair price, not cheap. The only con is to be a little bit noisy when is full of people.
Great fun and lively restaurant to go with friends. Always a big ceviche fan and Oyamel did not disappoint.
Great meal! We loved the tacos and the mojitos are fantastic!
Great restaurant - best Mexican food I've EVER eaten.
One caveat - it is very noisy. Not really conducive to conversation. If you care about that.
Noise level could be muted if the background music could be turned down... don't know if Oyamel would consider that.
The restaurant itself was beautiful, but the service left something to be desired. I don't know if it was because it was later in the night, but our server seemed really annoyed the entire night and rushed us to order. He also brought incorrect items but then blamed us for his mistake and stated the kitchen couldn't remake it as it was too late and they closed down the fryer. The guac was pretty good, as well as the ceviche, huevos enfrijolados, and quesadillas, but avoid the tacos as you can find better on a food truck. Our entire table was disappointed as we love José Andrés.
Great food