Manhattan Transfer Keith McNally has opened his famed Minetta Tavern in DC, and everyone wants a table. Photograph by Corry Arnold. In late fall, the British, New York–based restaurateur Keith McNally opened a replica of one of his most successful Manhattan spots, Minetta Tavern, in DC’s Unio n Market District. That long-awaited dining room lies roughly 450 feet from Pastis, another iconic McNally joint, which he helped Stephen Starr open here last year. And speaking of Starr, that restaurateur is also behind (among many other places) St. Anselm, the unstuffy steakhouse just a few blocks away. The three restaurants are different, sure. But they have more than the owners and neighborhood in common. All are spinoffs of existing New York restaurants, all have undeniably popular banquette-lined dining rooms, and all serve meaty menus and plenty of martinis. Let’s see how they compare.   Minetta Tavern location_on 12874 Neal Pl., NE. language Website Minetta Tavern’s Gruyère-laden onion soup. Photograph by Corry Arnold. New York original: The first Minetta Tavern opened in Greenwich Village in 1937, drawing a writerly crowd (Hemingway, Pound). McNally took it over, gave it a makeover, and relaunched it in 2009 to rave reviews from critics. Opened here in: December. The look: Very much like the New York Minetta—shiny red leather banquettes, checkerboard floors, walls crammed with drawings and paintings (McNally is an art obsessive). Upstairs is the crimson-walled Lucy Mercer Bar, with a roaring fireplace and no-phone policy. Nobody does restaurants as set pieces like McNally, and this location—he has said it will be the only duplicate—impressively feels as if it’s been around forever. Vibe: Impossibly cool. It’s hidden in an alley, and once inside, you get why this is the place everybody wants to be right now. It’s booked solid and three deep at the bar, but unpretentious and friendly, with lighting that makes everyone look better. Cuisine: Old-school steakhouse meets French brasserie. Behind the menu: Laurent Kalkotour, who also oversees the New York Minetta’s kitchen. Most famous dish: The Black Label burger, which is really a steak in burger form. It’s a blend of dry-aged cuts of prime beef, topped only with caramelized onions, and sided with excellent skinny fries. Priciest item: $175 dry-aged côte de boeuf for two, served with bone marrow and salad. Best dish: Onion soup, deeply flavorful and topped with gobs of Gruyère. Don’t overlook: Pommes aligot—basically, the gooiest, silkiest, cheesiest mashed potatoes you could imagine. Best cocktail: Bon a Le, a super-smooth, slightly floral vodka martini with eau de vie and white port. For dessert, you have to try: The Grand Marnier soufflé. It’s doused at the table with even more of the orange liqueur, straight from the bottle—baller move.   St. Anselm location_on 1250 Fifth St., NE. language Website St. Anselm’s buttery steak with creamed spinach. Photograph of steak by Scott Suchman . New York original: Restaurateur Joe Carroll opened his quirky, antiestablishment Williamsburg steakhouse in 2010. It recently reopened after an electrical fire last summer. Opened here in: September 2018—Starr teamed up with Carroll to bring the spinoff to DC. The look: A steakhouse but make it punk rock. Think tons of taxidermy, Iggy Pop on the speakers, and portraits of past Presidents—with their faces replaced by light fixtures. Vibe: A comfy neighborhood favorite—as good for a date night as it is for dinner with the parents, a leisurely lunch, or chocolate-chip pancakes with the kiddos. Cuisine: Steakhouse classics—creamed spinach, wedge salad—mixed with cheffy comfort food. This isn’t a place that serves A5 Wagyu or boasts about how many days your meat was dry-aged. Instead, it serves butter-drenched butcher steaks, gigantic (and shareable) ax-handle rib eyes, and lots of interesting seafood and veggie options. Behind the menu: The kitchen, once run by Marjorie Meek-Bradley, is now in the hands of Ryan Payne, a former Pastis chef. Most famous dish: Massive buttermilk biscuits with pimiento cheese. Priciest item: That ax-handle rib eye, priced by weight—it starts at around $170. Best dish: Decadently fatty salmon collar, simply grilled and heavy on the lemon. Don’t overlook: The restaurant’s wondrous collection of Madeira wine, which you can sample in flights or one-ounce pours. Best cocktail: The old-fashioned, made with a mix of bourbon and rum. For dessert, you have to try: The smile-inducing chocolate-and-vanilla ice-cream cake with rainbow sprinkles.   Pastis location_on 1323 Fourth St., NE. language Website Pastis’s lemon spaghetti with briny bottarga. Photograph spaghetti by Lens Craving. New York original: McNally first opened Pastis in the Meatpacking District in 1997, and it became an art/fashion/Hollywood celebrity magnet until it closed in 2014. Starr and McNally revived it in 2019 and spawned locations here and in Miami. It’ll soon arrive in Nashville. Opened here in: January 2024. The look: Exactly what you picture when you think “Parisian bistro”—Thonet chairs; pressed-tin ceiling; creamy white marble and dark wood surfaces; and looming mirrors painted with the nightly specials. Vibe: A loud, crowded party that can get a little sloshy. Like sister restaurant Le Diplomate, influencer types and boozy brunchers love to use it as an Instagram backdrop. Cuisine: French bistro with German and Eastern European touches. Behind the menu: Corey Chunn, who worked for a wide variety of restaurants around the country before settling down at Pastis last year. Most famous dish: Steak sandwich with grilled onions and Gruyère. Priciest item: $99 seafood plateau, overflowing with shellfish. Best dish: Buttery lemon spaghetti with shavings of bottarga. Don’t overlook: The ultra-simple but very delicious pierogi. Best cocktail: Le Dirty Martini—the best version in the city. For dessert, you have to try: Classic vanilla crème brûlée. This article appears in the March 2025 issue of Washingtonian.The post How Union Market’s New York Spinoff Restaurants Compare first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less