791 Wharf Street SW, Washington, DC 20024; tel. +1 202 525-1402;
By J.P.
Given the track record of Fabio and Maria Trabocchi, the opening of Del Mar was supposed to be good news for Washington DC area foodies. Actually, it turned out to be great news. Del Mar offers an outstanding ambience, in an environment that is at the same time informal and elegant, while food keeps pace with all that. As you step into the restaurant what first catches your eye is the beautiful design by Barcelona-based LázaroRosa-Violán. The restaurant’s high ceilings, lots of outside light, and many people around seem to point to a happy meal, and Del Mar fully meets this expectation.
Del Mar joins four other Trabocchi’s restaurants in the Washington DC area. All of them have been previously reviewed by Tasting Bites: Fiola; Fiola Mare; Casa Luca; and Sfoglina. In addition, a Del Mar Miami is scheduled to open in the fall of 2018.
Del Mar is located in the Wharf, a waterfront complex of restaurants, retailers, residences, and businesses, by the Potomac River in Southwest DC. This area has a long history, but as far as restaurants are concerned two iconic names come back to my mind: Hogates and Flagship Phillips. After several decades on the waterfront, Hogates was demolished in 2010 and, as reported by the Washington Post (see), this was seen as a first step towards the recreation of the Southwest waterfront. This 2010 article of the Post stated that Hogates had been there since 1972, but this was vividly contested by readers who affirmed to have visited the restaurant in the 60’s or before. Unfortunately, I cannot settle this dispute. My first visits to Hogates occurred in the early 80’s when, working at L’Enfant Plaza, we would once in a while go down to the waterfront for lunch. Flagship Phillips, which I also used to visit in the early 80’s, closed in 2014 (see). The restaurant, among others, was renowned for its excellent crab cakes.
The Washingtonian article announcing the opening of Del Mar in October 2017 (see) wondered whether a Spanish tapas restaurant would be new territory for a Chef with Italian roots. Fabio Trabocchi, whose wife is from Mallorca, responded saying “I’ve been part of my extended Spanish family for over 20 years. Spanish cuisine is well ingrained into my DNA.”
The kitchen at Del Mar is led by Executive Chef Alex Rosser, previously with Fiola. Before that, he worked in Las Vegas and New York under Chefs Joel Robuchon and Daniel Boulud. Chef Rosser is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, and the Lycée Professionnel Raymond Cortart in Aurillac, France.
We have visited Del Mar twice, once for lunch in February and the other for dinner in July 2018. You can park in one of the garages in the Wharf complex or leave the car with the valet in front of the restaurant. For our last visit we were a party of four and had reservations for 5:30 pm on a Sunday. When we arrived, the downstairs area was not full, but we were offered a table on the second floor, accessible by elevator. We preferred to stay on the ground floor and were seated in the closed veranda, which turned out to be a nice location.
The Del Mar menu comprises several sections: Bar Cádiz (selection of raw fish); Spanish charcuterie; Spanish cheeses; classic tapas; “tapas temporada” (seasonal tapas); “platos principales” (main dishes); “la brasa” (from the grill); “paellas y arroces” (paellas and risottos). There were only three or four items in the last three categories, but still a lot to choose from. We started with four tapas to be shared among the four of us:
- Andalusian gambas al ajillo(pink Key West shrimp, garlic, arbol chile, parsley); Árbol chile is a small and potent Mexican chili pepper.
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| Croquetas de jamón |
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| Gambas al ajillo |
- Pulpo a la gallega (classic Galician style octopus, crushed potatoes, smoked paprika)
- Huevos con setas y cerdo (Poached farm egg, chanterelle mushrooms, glazed pork belly)
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| Octopus |
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| Poached egg |
All very good, but a poll around the table elected “Gambas al Ajillo” as the best. A.M. who loves the “croquetas” at Jaleo thought that those at Del Mar were not as good, despite the bonus of having black truffles on top.
After that we chose one item from the “paellas and risottos” section:
- Arroz con carabineros y almejas(red king prawns, New Zealand cockles, flat beans, heirloom tomatoes). Cockleis a bivalve mollusk.
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| Arroz con carabineros |
The carabinero risotto was listed in the menu as serving two to four ($75) or four to six ($145). We ordered the smaller portion and it was certainly enough for our party of four. It was presented to the table in a nice pan and then served outside the table to our four plates. It was very good. Carabinero is a delicious shrimp/prawn and the rice had just the right consistency.
In our February visit we were a party of two, and also had the octopus. In addition we had: (i) “Escalivada” (Catalan-style char-roasted eggplant, onions, red bell peppers, tomatoes), and exercised the option to add to it an ahi tuna crudo; (ii) salmon ahumado y pan de cristal (Chesapeake smoked salmon and tomato on crisp Catalan bread); (iii) crispy monkfish cheeks (mild garlic purée, lime and black truffle salt); (iv) Cazuela de Bogavante (Mallorcan Style Lobster, Confit Potatoes, Poached Farm Egg). My notes say that everything was good, highlighting the smoked salmon.
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| Escalivada |
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| Smoked salmon |
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| Monkfish cheeks |
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| Lobster cazuela |
For dessert, in both visits, A.M. and I shared a Tarta de Santiago (Galician almond cake, nougat, Asturian chestnut honey).
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| Tarta de Santiago |
During the July visit, G.C. had:
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| Pan con chocolate |
I thought the Tarta de Santiago was quite good.
To accompany the meal, in both visits, I picked a wine from a Spanish winery that has recently impressed me quite a lot, Bodegas Volver. As mentioned in the Tasting Bites review of China Chilcano (see), the first wine we tried from Bodegas Volver was the Tarima Hill, Monastrell. I thought this wine was outstanding. Since then, I have not had the opportunity to drink this particular wine and, even in a more recent visit to China Chilcano, I was told they were out of it, although it was still in the wine list. However, I have had the opportunity to drink the Tempranillo from Bodegas Volver at Jaleo Bethesda and thought it was also very good.
Given all that background, in our February visit to Del Mar, we had the Tempranillo Single Vineyard, Bodegas Volver, 2015 ($50), while in the July visit we had the Triga, 2013 ($100), which is a blend of Monastrell and Cabernet Sauvignon. The Tempranillo is from D.O. (denominación de origen) Mancha, while the Triga is D.O. Alicante. Wine Spectator rates the Bodegas Volver Triga from 2011, 2012 and 2014, all above 90 points, but does not have a rating for the 2013 wine. Wine Spectator has ratings for a Tempranillo from Bodegas Volver, but it is not the Tempranillo Single Vineyard. I thought both wines were very good and the Triga is undoubtedly much more elaborate.
In both visits, I felt brave enough to accompany dessert with a sherry: Emilio Lustau, East India Solera ($14/glass). Lustau is a traditional Spanish sherry producer and East India Solera is a special blend that has been characterized as a combination of two different types of sherry: Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez. Also, in our July visit, the 16-year old in our party tried one of the mocktails (Luna Llena - Hibiscus, Lemon, Club Soda), and liked it.
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| East India solera sherry |
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| Luna Llena |
Dinner for four, including tax, tips, and $114 of wine, added up to $425.
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