This place blew me away. Between the food, the drink, the
service, and the atmosphere, it’s no wonder why Masa 14 is one of the most
highly sought after brunch places in DC.
It is in such high demand that the Brunch Quest visit to the
restaurant was limited to only 3 people. I am told that trying to get a
reservation there last year went something like this:
Masa 14: Hello, Masa 14.
Quester: Hi there, I would
like to make a brunch reservation for 10 people in 3 weeks.
Masa 14: How about 4 people in 2 months?
Quester: We’ll take it!
This past New Year’s Day, however, we were able to secure a
reservation for a larger group. That experience I’ll detail below.
The Deal
Masa 14 offers an “Unlimited Pre Fixe Brunch” for $35.
That’s bottomless food and drink until 3pm and it’s perfect for Masa 14’s small
plate style. It allows you to sit back and hang out with your friends while the
wait staff brings you a variety of delicious food and drink. The plates range
from $5-12, so as long as you put in your fair share of eating, it comes out to
a really good deal.
Drinks
#NailedIt. The mimosas here were perfection in a glass, the ideal
combination of champagne and orange juice. However, most of us didn’t start
with a mimosa as Masa 14 offers 5 other brunch drinks and you can switch between
them throughout the meal. The other drinks include the Masa Mimosa, Bloody
Mary, Bacon Bloody Mary (with
bacon-infused vodka), Lychee Bellini, and Lemon Lager. I started with the Masa
Mimosa, which is made with champagne, mango puree and blood orange. It was
really good but super sweet. Not ideal if you plan on drinking quite a bit,
which is easy to do since the wait staff is so attentive to refills. Side note:
in case you’re wondering, the Lemon Lager tastes like cream (vanilla) soda.
Food
You can get bottomless drinks at all of our brunch stops, but
this bottomless food deal is more rare. And with so many interesting options on
the menu at Masa 14 you just want to try everything. And you should. And can!
Basically you order your food in waves, run down the list of the things you
want to try. When you’re done with those, order again. And again.
From the egg dishes to the burgers, everything we ate was
delicious. A couple of pizza shout-outs go to the Masa Breakfast Pizza (bacon,
egg yolk, jack cheese, pico de gallo, and arugula) and the Prosciutto Flatbread
(goat cheese, cantaloupe, arugula, truffle, and lime). I also have a new food
rule: all rice should be bacon fried rice. No exceptions.
Make sure you save some room to make a strategically placed
order in the Pan Dulce. We saved it for last and it was a sweet end to a sweet
brunch. I recommend you do the same.
Service
I alluded to this earlier: the service here was phenomenal.
(Shout-out to our waitress Ivana!) We were seated right away, and our food and
drinks came out immediately. Our waitress was excellent, attentive and always
around to refill our glasses, which is essential if you want a top score on
this Quest. She was so good that when I wanted to switch to the traditional
mimosa, I couldn’t because each time I turned around my glass had already been
refilled. I literally never saw the bottom of my glass. I eventually had to
order the next drink while still on my previous and had two going for a while.
Around 2pm, our waitress came over to apologize that the
kitchen was backed up because the second kitchen was down. Honestly, we hadn’t
even noticed; a testament to the service here. Regardless, we were there past
the 3pm brunch closing time, and they were still serving our drinks and
checking on our food. Awesome. I also know from last year’s more intimate Quest
visit that the staff can guide first-timers through the ordering strategy for
bottomless food. So never fear, this place is great for brunchers of all levels
and parties of all sizes, assuming, of course, you can get a table.
Atmosphere/Overall
This was a memorable brunch experience and definitely a top
contender for the best brunch in DC. Since there is barely any ordering and the
food and drink just keep coming, it’s a great place to focus on conversation
and hanging out with your friends. Plus the bill is really easy at the end, a
consideration when you’re in bigger groups. I loved the atmosphere and their
music selection is great for a feel-good brunch. Some music highlights include:
Jackson 5, Parliament Funkadelic, I Heard it Through the Grapevine, Low Rider,
Superstitious, and Staying Alive.
Make your reservations now. Masa 14 is in demand and you
should be on the inside looking out.
Masa 14
1825 14th Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20009-4425
tel. 202-328-1414
www.masa14.com
1825 14th Street Northwest
Washington, DC 20009-4425
tel. 202-328-1414
www.masa14.com
