This week we welcome into our neighborhood a new restaurant at 660 Pennsylvania Avenue: Joselito. Starting Monday and running through Sunday the 15, you can give their menu a try and receive a 20% discount. But heads-up, they are on limited hours. Starting today, Thursday, January 12 they will offer lunch and dinner, starting at 11:30 a.m. and closing at 10 p.m. (Fridays and Saturdays at 11 p.m.)
It is not often that you go to a place that is still working the kinks out but is also giving excellent service AND you arrive a stranger only to leave feeling like you’ve found family. This was the easy chemistry flowing throughout the media preview dinner at Joselito last week, which I had the good fortune to attend.
After Sona Creamery, a beloved staple in the neighborhood and Hilly award runner-up for best new business, was forced to close in April of 2016, the space remained empty for most of last year. It was a shame to see them close abruptly after witnessing how hard they worked to create community and to be innovative. Unfortunately, we have seen over the years how some spaces go through a series of restaurants or other retail, before settling in with a business that is able to galvanize the space and become a destination as well as a mainstay– for instance, it’s hard to remember that the space Hank’s on the Hill has made homey and breezy since 2012 was previously home to two promising places that were not able to succeed at the same Pennsylvania Avenue locale since this blog has been around.
So when the team behind Joselito started working to transform the space from a more industrial and quirky space, decorated with wine crates and beautiful pen-and-ink murals, to a cozy Spanish taberna, with tall mirrors and Mediterranean tile accents, we kind of crossed our fingers and hoped for the best. It didn’t take them too long: Work started in the fall, and because everything was in place from the previous restaurant, owner Javier Candón was able to start training his staff in record time.
The place is stunning: The previously mentioned mirrors take center stage behind the bar, where previously grapes waged comical battles against hops. The wall directly facing the mirrors has a salon-style display of actual family photos of the Candón family: a sweet and heartfelt tribute to the patriarch of the Candón family and the namesake of the restaurant, who passed away a couple of years ago.
Being the youngest one of eight siblings, Javier only appears in one adorable, chubby-cheeked portrait near the additional seating area. This cozy room, which in another incarnation was the place where you could watch the Sona crew make cheese, is now a private dining room: It’s a little like your fancy grandmother’s parlor, complete with a dark wood cabinet tastefully filled with understated china.
Speaking of serving plates: When we were welcomed, we were all given a glass of Castellroig Brut Rosé served in the most beautiful saucer sparkling wine glasses. Handing out these glasses and looking like a vision in silk monochrome was Christiana Candón, wife of Javier and the point person for all media inquiries. She and Javier both cut elegant and well-dressed figures that made those of us choosing to wear heavy boots and sweaters feel just the tiniest bit dumpy (ok, a lot). The saucer glasses set the tone for the evening. The glassware and china were just so, appropriate but not over the top, and chosen in great taste.
Back to the rosé: The wine list has been thoughtfully put together by general manager and sommelier Gustavo Iniesta, whose effervescence even when serving a decaffeinated coffee –possibly the least exciting drink order– is contagious. Iniesta was formerly with the very-delicious Taberna del Alabardero, as was David Sierra, the executive chef. Sierra dazzled us guests with a selection of dishes from the menu. The stand-outs from the menu were the cuttlefish with Lima beans —light and yet hearty, with a satisfying creamy texture— and the wagyu steak: tender beef with deep flavor, prepared in a way that it’s allowed to shine, and just escorted by a great salsa verde.
We look forward to many more joyful meals at Joselito, and we could not be more excited to welcome fine yet approachable Spanish cuisine to Capitol Hill. ¡Que viva!