Chef Pepe Goes Back to His Roots at Arrels

At Arrels, the restaurant at the new Arlo Washington DC hotel, 333 G St. NW, Chef Pepe Moncayo has gone back to his Spanish roots. The restaurant opened Nov. 18 near Judiciary Square.

Arrels, a Spanish restaurant from Chef Pepe Moncayo, opened Nov. 18 at the new Arlo Washington DC hotel across from the National Building Museum. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Arrels means “roots” in Catalan

“Its about my memories,” Moncayo told DC on Heels. His mother cooked a lot of paella and artichokes and “whatever she could find at the market on sale.”

The recipes at Arrels were inspired by his mother. “They are not the exact recipes she was doing,” he said. “It was very hard to pick which ones I served.”

Diners can expect modern interpretations of classic Spanish dishes inspired by Moncayo’s childhood in Barcelona with Andalusian parents to being mentored by chefs across the Iberian Peninsula before heading across Asia and finally to Singapore before moving to D.C.

The open kitchen allows diner to watch their food being prepared. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

The menu will change often

“I’m already planning what to go into winter with braised beef cheeks and other dishes I had to put aside” for the opening menu, he said.

Arrels and its across-the-lobby Bodega by Arrels, which serves grab-and-go options, opened Nov. 19. Later this month, ART DC, a year-round rooftop bar with a Japanese and Pan-Asian menu from Moncayo, will open.

Moncayo also runs the kitchen at Cranes, which opened in Penn Quarter in 2020, just before the pandemic, and serves a Spanish/Japanese menu. He briefly had Jiwa Singapura at Tysons Galleria, which opened in mid-February 2023 and closed Dec. 4 of the same year.

The croquetas de jamon are ooey, gooey deep-fried balls filled with Iberico ham and bechamel sauce. A definite must try.
(Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Arrels’ 120-seat dining room and courtyard feature a chic but comfortable Spanish farmhouse aesthetic, with brown leather chairs and soft, velvety gray banquets. The floors are gray slate and light wood. Baskets and ceramic pots decorate throughout the restaurant and bar. Two walls of windows face out onto G and Fourth Streets NW. In the open kitchen, a charcoal grill and oven set the stage for Moncayo’s menu of grilled meats and charred vegetables.

Unlike Jiwa Singapura, which had a multi-page menu, Arrel’s curated menu has just 27 items, including 12 tapas options ranging from $9-$35, which I was tempted to make a meal out of during a recent visit.

The paella de marisco is served with squid, shrimp, sofrito and snow peas. (Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Make a meal out of the tapas

My favorite was the croquetas de jamon ($12), deep-fried balls filled with Iberico ham and bechamel sauce. They were delicious and a must try. The cambas al ajillo ($17) are charcoal grilled shrimp in garlic and lemon puree covered with chili-garlic crunch. The charcoal flavor stands out and the dish has a heavy garlic flavor and a little bit of kick. The classic patatas bravas ($9) are served in a paper cone with a delicious dipping sauce made from mayonnaise, tomatoes, peppers and paprika. Finally, coliflor ($14) is charcoal-grilled baby cauliflower slices with fried capers, brown butter and a lemon vinaigrette, a nice change from the crispy Brussels sprouts found on most menus.

Tender Waygu steak is served with mashed potatoes, sauteed and shredded potatoes, confit red piquillo peppers and jus.
(Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

For our main dishes, which range from $20-$68, we opted for the paella de marisco ($27) and the 6-ounce Waygu steak ($68). You must be a squid lover to enjoy the paella, which is made with squid, shrimp, sofrito and snow peas. Served in a traditional paella pan, the rice is topped with the body of the squid intact and the tentacles sliced into rings. The squid was a bit overpowering and chewy for my liking. The Australian Waygu, although a bit salty, was tender enough to cut with a butter knife, and served with mashed potatoes, sauteed and shredded potatoes, confit red piquillo peppers and jus.

Dessert also presents another quandary of which to order with four choices all sounding equally delightful. The churros ($13) were my favorite fresh out of the deep fryer dusted with cinnamon and sugar served with slightly spicy Espelette pepper chocolate sauce and Pedro Ximenez and vanilla Chantilly cream. The tocino de cielo ($12) was also very tasty. An egg custard with compressed apples, cinnamon and crumble served with a tart apple sorbet. Finally, the tarta vasca de queso quemado ($10) is a Basque pumpkin cheesecake with fall spices topped with pumpkin seeds served beside coffee ice cream. The spices in the cheesecake were overpowering and the coffee flavor in the ice cream too strong. The fourth, which we did not order, is a cheese plate ($18).

Churros are dusted with cinnamon and sugar and served with a chocolate sauce and Chantilly cream.
(Photo: Mark Heckathorn/DC on Heels)

Arrels, located just north of Judiciary Square diagonally across from the National Building Museum, is open for breakfast from 7-11 a.m. Monday through Friday and 8-11 a.m Saturday and Sunday, and for dinner from 5-9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Bodega is open from 7 a.m.-6 p.m Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Breakfast is served until 11 a.m. daily.