“It’s time to eat,” may be some of the most powerful words spoken in all languages.
Just the phrase alone makes one eager to surround a dinner table, and you won’t just be saying that phrase merely once this August if you find yourself at both Alexandria Restaurant Week and Metropolitan Restaurant Week.
The neighboring cities are showcasing the wide array of local dining options throughout the region by offering $15 to $22 brunches and lunches, as well as $35 dinners (either a three-course meal for one person, or a $35 dinner for two), both within a two-week time span.
Metropolitan Restaurant Week kicks off on Monday, Aug. 12 (through Sunday, Aug. 18) and has an estimated 250 participating restaurants throughout the DMV. The local fare covers the entire food-genre spectrum. Guests can expect to enjoy anything from wood-fired pizza to freshly caught seafood, and international cuisine including Indian, Peruvian and Filipino, just to name a few.
If interested, guests can book reservations here and join the Restaurant Week Diner Rewards Program by opting into email alerts. If enrolled, be on the lookout for exclusive offers from participating locations, including tickets to food-related events, restaurant gift cards and cookbook prizes from local chefs and restaurant concepts.
Alexandria Restaurant Week, on the other hand, runs from Friday, Aug. 16 to Sunday, Aug. 25, giving guests a little more wiggle room to schedule those coveted reservations at the estimated 70 participating locations. The neighborhoods taking part throughout the week include Old Town, Del Ray, Carlyle, Eisenhower and West End.
Several new locations will be featuring specialized dishes, such as newcomer Urbano 116, which will include swordfish tiradito on its $35-for-two menu; the area’s new noodle house, Yunnan by Potomac, will offer Mougu Shiitake and Braised Beef Lu; and Hops N Shine’s $15-per-person lunch will have loaded pulled pork and cheese tots, crab grilled cheese sandwiches and more.
Guests are encouraged to take advantage of Alexandria’s summer parking discount when traveling into the area, which offers $2 parking after 5 p.m. on weekdays and all day on weekends at city-owned garages and surface lots. Parking meters are free on Sundays.
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