The verdict is in at Proof, the latest addition to Penn Quarter’s restaurant scene (which we told you about here). Post critic Tom Sietsema gives the restaurant two and a half stars, declaring, “You can be serious about what you pour and cook, and still let diners have fun at the table.”
Sommelier Sebastian Zutant’s philosophy, “to make wine fun and accessible,” is a big part of the restaurant’s success, evidenced by the six to eight offerings in Zutant's champagne cart, which Sietsema says “allows starving artists to pretend they're moguls with a $7 Spanish cava” or “drink in the clouds with a $50 glass of Krug.”Another perk: Zutant will pour a glass of any bottle under $300 for about 30 percent of its price on the restaurant’s wine list, allowing diners to sample some wines from Proof’s extensive collection.
Sietsema also raves about chef Haidar Karoum’s internationally inspired cuisine. For starters, his picks are seafood options such as conch served with avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro or the flatbreads topped with burrata cheese, lemon thyme, and arugula. The critic went on to compliment Karoum’s updates to familiar choices like chicken and steak and described the gnocchi, accented with sweet corn and buttery chanterelles, as “rich, but not overwhelming—and hard to stop eating.”
While some dismiss the venue's interior, Sietsema found the space—located one block from the Verizon Center—“warm and welcoming,” noting that the pewter-topped bar’s “overhead display is not a series of TVs, thank goodness, but monitors that take advantage of the nearby National Portrait Gallery's vast archive of images.”
Sommelier Sebastian Zutant’s philosophy, “to make wine fun and accessible,” is a big part of the restaurant’s success, evidenced by the six to eight offerings in Zutant's champagne cart, which Sietsema says “allows starving artists to pretend they're moguls with a $7 Spanish cava” or “drink in the clouds with a $50 glass of Krug.”Another perk: Zutant will pour a glass of any bottle under $300 for about 30 percent of its price on the restaurant’s wine list, allowing diners to sample some wines from Proof’s extensive collection.
Sietsema also raves about chef Haidar Karoum’s internationally inspired cuisine. For starters, his picks are seafood options such as conch served with avocado, tomatoes, and cilantro or the flatbreads topped with burrata cheese, lemon thyme, and arugula. The critic went on to compliment Karoum’s updates to familiar choices like chicken and steak and described the gnocchi, accented with sweet corn and buttery chanterelles, as “rich, but not overwhelming—and hard to stop eating.”
While some dismiss the venue's interior, Sietsema found the space—located one block from the Verizon Center—“warm and welcoming,” noting that the pewter-topped bar’s “overhead display is not a series of TVs, thank goodness, but monitors that take advantage of the nearby National Portrait Gallery's vast archive of images.”
