Moon Rabbit

let's take a journey (snoop dogg voice)- this was a wild ride from start to finish. never had so many flavors, textures, and ingredients I can't pronounce - personally, I think the $85 chefs tasting menu is absolutely worth it. you get over five courses (and then they say five) and every course is fabulous and high end. - the cocktail menu can seem over welcoming as every drink is unlike anything I've seen before. luckily our waitress gave killer suggestions. the "back in Cali" was perfectly fruity yet strong with a delicious cold foam on top. think a sweet cream cold foam on a non blended pina colada. the cucumber basil combo in the Don't Be Naive was refreshing - a few of it the items are on menu but many are special for just the chefs menu. perfectly spaced out and each dish was explained so you had a slight idea of what insane combination was in front of you - the standouts to me were (calling them by what they seemed to be) the eggplant crispy rice, the sweet coconut yellowtail dish, the miso cod, and the crab gnocchi. - every dessert. just wow. there was an avocado cotton candy type thing? a sake ice plate? pomegranate popping boba? I wish I could explain how complex this was, everything had a sour citrus tang which was unique. - the "Cajun" influence came out in the large pork dish resting on incredible thick collard greens. same with the spices on the chickpea fritters (taste like tofu). - only item I did not like was the chicken liver pate ... could have seen that coming a mile away- great service and extremely lit up place which makes it feel more casual than the level of food reflects. very bright

came just for dessert- green curry sponge cake: a kaleidoscope of textures and flavors, sweet and umami that at first seemed discordant but later harmonized- durian mousse: more sweet than expected, but the durian is subtle and tasted like lychee. one of my favorites texturally because the mousse is paired with frozen shards of passion fruit syrup and a crispy crust- wild mushroom chocolate: rich, not as good as i would've liked (i felt it could actually need more salt) but beautiful in presentationalso incredible service and decor. super cute with such asian american vibes

Came for restaurant week and most of the selections were solid. It's a Vietnamese spot but most of the menu items seem to be more fusion to me. The shrimp sate was AWESOME. Amazing flavor, loved the sauce and the sourdough toast. Everything went perfect together. Chicken katsu wasn't spectacular. Pretty standard. Not enough sauce. Rice was in special. Chicken was smooth but a little dry and hard to cut into. Tumeric Catfish was amazing. The flavors and the juiciness of the fish was perfect. Great great flavor. Rice again unspecial. 4 leches pretty disappointing. Dry cake, and I didn't think the flavor or sweetness did much for me. Overall, would come back, but I expected a little more from a place that's been on my list for a long time.

I loved everything about this spot. It's been on my list for so long- inventive Vietnamese. The cocktails are highly regarded and with reason. The ice ice tamarind and night market were so delicious.Came for restaurant week and honestly it's a fantastic deal. If you let them know you'll be sharing plates, they'll plate and slice accordingly to make it easy to try everything. Some of the best duck my husband has ever had and the flavors were perfectly balanced and portions were good.Beyond the food is the service. The place is swarming with servers and runners and they are buzzing around to make sure your water glass is never empty, your food is coming out at a perfect temp AND they're nice. The vibes are so cute, modern but cozy. Perfect dim lighting but not too dark. Great spot for an elevated dinner, special occasion.I was blown away by the service and I will for sure be back again!

Great experience from start to finish! Moon Rabbit is a Michelin-starred restaurant in Penn Quarter that serves Vietnamese food with some creative twists. Every employee I interacted with, from the hostess, to the bartenders, to the waiters were so friendly and professional. It was the best customer service I've had at a restaurant in DC. Every dish that came out, the waiter/waitress would explain what exactly it was. The inside was chic and had plenty of seating. I came here during restaurant week. They were offering a 4 course menu for dinner for $65. The portions were filling, but I didn't leave overly stuffed or bloated. I ordered: Turmeric bun with butter and pork floss, and crispy rice with eggplant and a chickpea fritter with ragu- the turmeric bun was unique and delicious, and the butter it came with was sweet. The chickpea fritter with ragu and crispy rice with eggplant were also very good- a lovely start to the meal. The shrimp toast- my favorite dish I ordered. It came on a brioche bun and lobster bisque. Amazing. Black cod- this was flavorful and delicious. It came with puréed celery root, pickled peppers, and crispy rice. I think it had caramel in it as well. Banana chocolate tarte- this was okay, banana desserts aren't my favorite. I wish I had ordered the other dessert option. Overall, I really enjoyed my meal here. I want to come again and try their regular menu.

Big thanks to Monique ( sorry if I misspelled!) for being a great server. Informative, friendly and so sweet to my energetic toddler! We had 5pm reservations and got a table with space to fit our giant stroller. She quickly set up a super comfy high chair, baby water bottle, a rubber plate, plastic fork and spoon. For 3 of us, we got 2 cocktails, the rice cake and the chefs tasting. I was stuffed!! They definitely didn't skimp on the portions. Everything was creative and delicious. Even the little details in the decor (drawings from a child with humorous description cards), and the pokemon trading card prompt was so cute!The highlights for me are the pandan bread, wagyu roll, crab and sweet potato and the cumin lamb. We will definitely be back to try more items!

For my last of 2024, I give you Moon Rabbit. Where once coco sala lived (I have fond memories), now stands Moon Rabbit. Certified Viet here, so here's my thoughts on this Viet-twist food spot:Chef's tasting - We enjoyed 90% of the dishes with our absolute fav being their main ("gnocchi" and crab) and our least fav being their lamb dish. We did not enjoy either of the desserts (sorry) and I'm a dessert slore so I enjoy just about anything sweet.We ordered 2 drinks each (4 diff. drinks total) from their cocktail menu: The drinks (by recently won Michelin-drink Master Chef) were ok and neither of us loved our drinks.4.5 Stars cause I liked most of my meal and would return for another try and their culinary attempts and taking me to unfamiliar palate roads.

The ambiance and drinks of this restaurant are absolutely chefs kissThe interior is so cozy it feels like you're in someone's fancy living room! We came in as a walk in and was able to sit at the bar. The drinks here are so intricate and unique - you'll never find a drink menu like this anywhere else! I ordered the Ice Ice Tamarind drink and the Midnight Ca Phe. The ice ice tamarind drink was absolutely my favorite drink - may even be my favorite drink in DC! The midnight ca phe was also good, very strong though and I did not taste the laughing cow cheese liqueur very much which might be a good thing lol The only thing I will say about this place is that it is pricey - for the drinks I think it's understandable but the food prices were kinda outrageous to me. $16 for a summer roll without any protein is robbery to me

I loved absolutely everything about my experience at Moon Rabbit. First, the ambience. After braving the cold and winds to get to this restaurant for our dinner, the warm, cozy environment was exactly what was needed! Service was quick and our server was incredibly helpful, pointing out vegetarian options and the most recommended dishes. We ended up going with the rice cakes, twice cooked squash, and cecemariti from the from the Earth section. Each dish had a unique flavor profile and just bursted with different flavors. My favorite was the twice cooked squash. (there was nothing left on the plate) For dessert we got the seaweed pandan panna cotta. A unique flavor combo but it worked! I would love to go again!

Moon Rabbit is doing it right. Enjoyed a leisurely restaurant week dinner there, and albeit having to wait for the table and between courses, everything was spectacular. From the ambiance, to the outstanding service (love a surprise take home treat), to the food that was thoughtfully crafted and beautifully executed. I'd recommend it for a date night or a special occasion, as they do the little things to make their guests feel celebrated. It's on the short list for my birthday celebration! Favorite bite was the turmeric bao bun with the sweetened condensed milk butter. I could've eaten 5 of those.