Vera

Like the unfailing jeans and t-shirt you fall back on whenever your other outfits don't look as good in the mirror as they did in your head, Vera is the restaurant to keep in your back pocket for a night where you need guaranteed good food and good fun.

The Lebanese-Mexican spot in Ivy City is packed every night, putting Vera on DC’s short list of restaurants where you should make a reservation—especially on a weekend. That’s also when the DJs show up. And while you won’t quite relive your Dream or Love days, you can dance (or lean against the cinder block walls) until 2am.

photo credit: Nina Palazzolo

photo credit: Nina Palazzolo

photo credit: Nina Palazzolo

Because most people are loudly talking at their own tables and only looking around to check out the plates passing by, Vera is a great spot to bring a date—especially early on. Keep the stakes low—and the steaks medium and slathered in a spicy homemade mole that’s richer than Bill Gates. 

It’s the same mole you’ll find inside the molten lava cake in the elote & mole—a dessert so good you should just order two from jump because sharing isn’t an option, even if you are trying to impress someone. Instead, show off your international knowledge by telling them about how the fusion restaurant pulls from the deep history of Lebanese immigrants in Veracruz, Mexico—the region the restaurant is named after. Much easier than handing over an extra spoon to your corn ice cream. 

The menu is short—so short you’ll be tempted to taste all 14 dishes (do it). Like the slurpable labneh leche de tigre that makes their oyster ceviche the kind we’d take the D4 from Franklin Square in rush hour traffic to get. The smaller dishes, like the fattoush tostada, are built for sharing, but there are also adult-sized entrees like the deconstructed lamb birria dripping in an adobo sauce we keep trying to figure out the recipe for.

Vera is clutch enough that you should keep their Tock bookmarked, so you never have to waste too much time booking your reservation. It could be the difference between the fun night out you want to have, and the mediocre night out you end up with somewhere else.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Nina Palazzolo

Fattoush Tostada

A pile of fresh, crisp vegetables are piled high on a thin tortilla chip. It’s basically a salad, but it’s way more fun to eat as you try to catch cucumber, tomatoes, and herbs drizzled with labneh chipotle before they tumble back to the plate. It’s a great light bite to start your meal.

photo credit: Nina Palazzolo

Oyster Ceviche

We already told you we’d take a bus across town in rush hour for this dish. There’s a tart bite that’ll make you hunch your shoulders involuntarily, but the smooth oysters and rich labneh leche de tigre balance it out. And the bright yellows and purples against the creamy white broth are almost as fun to look at as they are to eat.

photo credit: Nina Palazzolo

Reides Fritters

This dish looks like little aliens on a plate. They’re stuffed with shrimp and corn and served in a tentacle-like filo dough that tickles your mouth as you chew. But if you can get past that tactile issue (break them off with your fork if you have to), the labneh cream and corn quinoa salad blend with the puff pastry into a cilantro-packed bite full of protein.

photo credit: Nina Palazzolo

Lamb Birria

The lamb loin in this deconstructed dish is cooked perfectly, and has a subtle taste that blends perfectly with the halloumi cheese and birria adobo sauce. Make sure to get a bit of each for every bite to really appreciate it.

photo credit: Nina Palazzolo

Mole

This juicy hangar steak is soaked in the decadent spicy chocolate sauce that is the chef’s family recipe. It’s a rich, heavy dish, so try to spread out the charred green onions piled on top to help lighten it up a bit.

Elote Y Mole

Who said you can’t have corn for dessert? Corn ice cream is paired with a molten lava cake filled with mole and surrounded by a corn emulsion and baby corn. It’s an almost savory dish that you should end every meal here with.