Surreal, a ‘whimsical’ all-day restaurant, opens in Crystal City
Award-winning D.C. chef Enrique Limbardo and his team at Seven Reasons Group will open an indoor-outdoor-themed restaurant named Surreal at JBG Smith’s new Dining in the Park development in Crystal City, Virginia, by the end of the month.
No hard opening date has been announced.
Limbardo is the first U.S. Michelin-starred Venezuelan chef for his D.C. restaurant Imperfecto.
Surreal is in a newly-constructed restaurant space set in a one-acre park. Limbardo’s restaurant in on 2121 Crystal Drive was announced more than two years ago.
Limbardo’s team at Surreal also includes partner Ezequiel Vázquez-Ger, head chef Daniel Lozano and sous chef Kelvin Gomez.
The restaurant, designed by Seven Reasons creative director Valentina Story and OOAK Architects, is laid out around a center island of plants. The bar was designed with a heavy, rocky appearance to look like an old ruin. The bar is accessible from both inside and the outdoor patio.
No online menu is available, but, per an announcement of the opening, it will include “whimsical takes like Queso Fundido, Shakshuka for breakfast, Swordfish Carpaccio with flaming hot totopos and a twister foot-long hot dog.”
There is also a grab-and-go section at Surreal, with sandwiches, pasta sauces, croissants and cookies, juices and house-baked breads. Desserts, from corporate pastry chef Genesis Flores and pastry chef Barbara Whettell, include banana split, an upside down pineapple flan cake, and housemade ice cream.
Seven Reasons Food Group now operates a half dozen restaurants in the D.C. area.
Dining in the Park is part of a larger foodie addition to Crystal City developed by JBG Smith. The 1.6 acre Water Park opened in October with nine-foot kiosks, a full-service restaurant called Water Bar, and a New York-style pizza restaurant called Crush Pizza.