Bad Saint
| Address: | 3226 11th St NW, Washington, DC 20010, USA |
| Site: | badsaintdc.com |
| Rating: | 4.6 |
| Working: | 5:30–10PM Closed 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM 5:30–11PM 5:30–11PM 5:30–10PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
AL
Alice Wang
Lucked out and got seats for two around 7:30 on a Monday night! They were quoting a 2 hour wait, but as we were about to call it quits, the hostess grabbed us stating that two people had cancelled. There are only 25 seats total in the entire restaurant so it is very small. But its very cozy and the ambiance is inviting. Even though the space is small, the décor and design is hip and modern, with staff members family pictures and Filipino arts and crafts. Even the bathroom walls are decorated with Filipino punkzines. Pinoy punk is heard in the background. Nick Pimentel and Genevieve Villamora of Room 11, along with chef Tom Cunanan from Ardeo + Bardeo, have created a restaurant dedicated to Filipino staples and regional food. The menu will rotate on a seasonal basis, and theyve already changed their menu despite being open for a mere 3 weeks. The menu breaks down into 3 categories - Gulay (veggies and salads), Isda At Iba Pa (fish and more), and Carne (meat). My recommendation is to try something from every category. Also, order more! My boyfriend and I originally ordered 3 plates but quickly realized that these plates are fairly nouveau-sized so we asked for our menus back to order more. +Ginisang Ampalaya {bitter melon, farm egg, preserved black beans}: $9 +Kinilaw {tuna, avocado, chilies}: $12 +Ginisang Tulya {littleneck clams, Chinese sausage, Sichuan chile}: $18 +Inihaw Na Liempo {pork belly, acharra, tamarind sauce}: $14 +Tapa {dried beef, farm egg, green salad}: $16 We started off with Kinilaw, which was essentially tuna ceviche. Wonderful starter, not too heavy and great flavor with the chilies and avocado sauce. Next came the Inihaw Na Liempo. This was a delicious pork belly dish marinated in tamarind sauce and garnished with acharra. You eat them as a wrap and the pork belly is fantastic. Then, we had the Ginisang Tulya. The clams were tasty and we devoured the rest of the sauce with our rice, of which they were not hesitant to give us more. The Tapa is very, very good. I loved the farm egg and the mixture of flavors with the rice, salad, and dried beef. Finally, the Ginisang Ampalaya. If youre not a fan of bitter melon, this dish may be a little hard to swallow but they did a nice job of toning down the bitterness with the other ingredients. Its also a very healthy dish since bitter melon is chock full of nutrients. Overall, great food and wonderful service. A little pricier given their small plates but very unique cuisine. Their limited space is great for dates or small groups (3-4) of friends but does not cater towards a larger group.
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Karin Wolman
If you have not eaten here yet, WHY NOT? I first visited Bad Saint in April 2016, when I was in DC for a conference, and discovered the amazing food, drinks and people of this treasure. The dishes ranges from petite to enormous, with a fantastic array of flavors & textures, and drinks to match, in a handsome setting (but not spacious: best for 1 to 4 people). I have a more-than-passing familiarity with Filipino food, and these chefs are inventive, restless, and really exciting. Dont expect the same menu the next time you come back; it will be different. If an item looks like you cannot pass it up (& there will be several), eat it right now! Aside from being skillful & stylish, the staff at Bad Saint is incredibly warm. I came back after 4+ months and all of them remembered me. That may be because I sat at the solo seat at the counter, facing into the kitchen: a ringside seat for taking your tastebuds to the circus. Things I have had here range from a rich lemongrass goat curry, to fantastic kinilaws (one involved mackerel, pomelo, radishes & coconut cream; another was tiger prawns, papaya & cucumber with chilis & lime), to a ginisang with bitter melon, scrambled egg, fermented black beans & tomato, and a super-crispy ukoy the size of the crown of England. The line outside Bad Saint may be long for a while now, since Bon Appetit just dubbed them the 2d best new restaurant in America, but if you want to skip the line, go solo & sit at the counter. Tell them I sent you.
GI
Gina Sussan
We had dined here many times before but each experience is exiciting, phenomenal flavors and consistent personal level service as always! We thoughted the Octopus Ceviche. being the day after Christmas, the lines would be shorter...but no...there are even more people eager to try this restaurant. The line started at 2:30pm for a first seating experience. If you manage the your expectation, and patiently wait...it is so worth the wait and the hype. I laugh at the comments who write not about what is inside...rather than the line. We ordered the Octopus Ceviche, Ampalaya (Bitter Melon Gourd) sautéed in egg with black fermented beans, Grilled Bronzino with "Maggi", Lime and Vinegar sauce, Kale and Taro leaves sautéed in Coconut Milk (Laing), the Clams sautéed with Chinese Sausage and Chinese Donut crullers, and Pancit Molo sautéed with crispy garlic and shallots, onions and stuff. Dessert was a collection of miniature apple fritters wrapped in egg roll wrappers with cinnamon. What a treat! What a menu! Chef Tom Cunanan, please bring back your Signature Ukoy. But the menu, service, experiencewas beyond our expectations. Diner must order the amount equivalent to the number of people in the group...at least or more. We are already planning our return! For the naysayers that complain, please just go somewhere else and stop taking valuable space! Better for the fans! I cannot wait for the next menu!
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Alex DiCaprio
The newly opened Bad Saint offers DC a fresh new flavor. Filipino food is severely lacking in the district, but Bad Saint fills this cultural void perfectly -- I honestly couldnt have asked for more. The food at Bad Saint was excellent. We had lumpiang, tapa, and pancit. The lumpiang and tapa were outstanding. The lumpiang was a crispy well portioned appetizer served with a delicious chili vinegar sauce. The beef in the tapa was flavorful and crispy and the rice was cooked perfectly. Although I could have done without the cilantro, it was easily moved. The pancit unfortunately came off slightly flat to me -- I wish they served it with calamansi to boost the flavor. Regardless the menu changes daily so every day offers a fresh new experience. Be aware that Bad Saint is small and tightly packed, offering 2 wall benches that seat ~5 across and a couple booths that fit 4, you wont be having a large party eat here. The music and service is excellent and the decor is folksy (but in a good way). To sum it up, the overall the experience is like eating at your best friends moms house... Very homey feel good food and atmosphere.
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Karl Cabadin
"Filipino food, Flavors that is worth the wait." I never really knew what the hype was all about, I had read about the place online, seen pictures of the food, but I had never had the chance to try it. Until now. We wanted to celebrate my fiances birthday weekend here. Planned out to come to the place and wait it out for some time. Interestingly we actually met someone waiting in line that had been coming back to this place multiple times, willing to wait just to get a bite of this authentic Filipino cuisine. The time came up and we got in, Wow, not what I expected for all this hype, not at all. Place has very limited seating. Host got us to our table and introduced the menu. Of course as we usually go on these food trips we love to indulge on the best they have to offer. So we did. At the end of this all, we were at awe, the various flavors that they offer from variety of dishes are worth the wait. Seriously, it is. For all the food lovers out there, if you want to cross that off your list of authentic food flavors, swing by and savor it. Hope this helps! Karl Cabadin @kcSnapimagery
