DC Michelin | Whimsical & Quirky Pineapple & Pearls 🍍✨

📍 715 8th St SE, Washington, DC 20003 💰 Chef’s Counter: $345 + tax + tip (22% automatic gratuity) Pineapple & Pearls is one of DC’s three Michelin two-star restaurants — a rebellious, rule-breaking fine dining experience that’s anything but ordinary! 🍽️✨ It’s part of the same family as the beloved Rose’s Luxury and the charming Little Pearls nearby. The food is wildly creative, and the service is full of surprises and playful humor. Definitely a meal to remember! ✨ They start by taking a Polaroid photo of you at the door! At the end, it’s gifted to you in a custom box along with your menu 📸🎁 ✨ The amuse-bouche was a pair of caviar dumplings — one red, one yellow — presented on tall and short glass pillars. The server said the chef recommends eating each in one bite… challenging, but fun! Flavor-wise? A bit too salty for me 🥟🧂 ✨ First course: Even if You Don’t Like Lamb — How could I not order something with a name like that? 😆 The lamb was incredibly tender and delicious… but it came with a chocolate cake pulled out of a “plant of greens.” Yes, really! 🍫🌿 ✨ Second course: Ravioli + Gnocchi — A rich cheese-filled pasta and soft gnocchi showered with black truffle. The menu said “choose one,” but they brought both! Again, a tad salty 🧀🍄 ✨ Third course: Crab Feast — I picked this one from three options. Two crispy crab balls with lobster meat — absolutely divine! 🦀🔥 ✨ And just like that… the hot dishes were done! (Wait, really??) Then came a cheese-flavored ice cream, a sip of very fancy champagne, and a yuzu jelly 🍦🥂🍊 ✨ Fourth course: First, a pancake with a candle arrived. I was confused — did I order this? Just as I hesitated, the chef stopped me: “Don’t eat it yet, there’s more!” Me: 😳… Then came the signature pineapple dessert: a pink, melt-in-your-mouth yogurt foam (hard to describe but delicious!), topped with smoked pineapple roasted for 5 hours. So refreshing! 🍍💖 ✨ Next, a server quietly called me over to the bar to make my own soft-serve ice cream! I’d never used the machine before and ended up with a giant bowl 😂 It was delicious, especially paired with a complementary drink. When I was leaving, they even offered me another round — I politely declined, LOL 🍦❤️ ✨ Finally, they brought out a giant golden pineapple 🍍 and said, “This is your gift!” I opened it… and found the bill! But since I’d already paid and didn’t order extra drinks, it just said: You’re all set! 👀💛 ✨ The take-home gift box included a Wagyu beef slider — and it was seriously tasty! 🍔 All in all, a wildly fun and unconventional meal! Some savory dishes leaned salty (probably better with wine), but the desserts were fantastic and the service was top-tier 💫 P.S. Heads up — phone service inside is practically nonexistent, and the Wi-Fi was stubborn. But my server kindly shared her personal hotspot! 📶❤️ I’ve now tried all the 2- and 3-star Michelin spots in the DMV… Which one is your favorite? Let me know in the comments! 👇🥰 #FoodExploration #DC #Michelin #HiddenGemRestaurant #MichelinRestaurant #MichelinTwoStar #MichelinFoodReview #WashingtonDC #DMVFood #WhatToEatInDMV #FoodieLife #MyFoodDiary #FineDining #UniqueDining #DiningExperience