Moon Rabbit

Moon Rabbit had two lives. The first was inside the InterContinental at the Wharf, where chef Kevin Tien built a reputation for modern Vietnamese cooking before the hotel closed the restaurant in 2023. The second began in 2024 at 927 F Street NW in Penn Quarter, in the room that used to hold Co.Co. Sala - roughly fifty seats, considerably more intimate, and entirely Tien's. The cooking is Vietnamese threaded with his Louisiana upbringing, and the recognition has followed the move: a place in the Michelin Guide, a spot on the North America's 50 Best Restaurants 2026 list, and a continuing Washingtonian 100 Very Best Restaurants pick.

The bar is led by Thi Nguyen, who won the 2024 Michelin Guide Washington, D.C. Exceptional Cocktails Award, and the structural point about her list is that the Spirit Free section is priced at $13 against alcoholic cocktails at $19 to $22 but built with the same number of moving parts. Sai Gon Fruit Cart is the most involved: Lyre's white cane spirit with lacto-fermented pineapple, lime, clarified coconut milk, soda and shrimp salt - the shrimp salt being the detail that makes it read as a drink from this kitchen rather than a tropical cooler. Tho Ngoc, or Jade, runs soursop, osmanthus and lemon under a vegan foam. Ho Xuan Huong, The Poet, named for the eighteenth-century Vietnamese poet and credited on the menu to Amanda Deviana, is built from chrysanthemum rice milk, red bean, sesame and ginger syrup, and is the closest thing on the list to a dessert. The Life of A Showgirl is the lightest, with nectarine, verjus blanc and jasmine-lemongrass soda. Beyond the cocktails the wine list carries a zero-proof Beaujolais, Domaine des Grottes Antilope, at $14 the glass and $52 the bottle, which is a real bottle on a serious list rather than a token.

Practical notes. Dinner runs Monday through Saturday, 4.30pm to 9.30pm, closed Sunday. The room is small and reservations are effectively required. The drinks list rotates - the Dynas-Tea and Purple Shiso Spritz that appeared on earlier versions are no longer served - so ask what is current rather than arriving set on a specific drink.