Compared to its larger neighbors in South America like Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay is not as prominent in people’s minds for culture and food. Well, here is one fun fact: Uruguay has a higher population of cattle compared to humans, almost four to one. The country, though, according to brothers Juan and Manuel Olivera, is so much more than tasty steak. At least that is what the Oliveras tried to show in their restaurant Ceibo, which opened last year in Adams Morgan. The restaurant, whose name is derived from the country’s crimson-colored national flower, is inspired by the South American bar culture of Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital. My wife Jun and I recently visited the restaurant, and there were some really pleasant surprises from our dinner.

The best part of our meal at Ceibo came early. Our server highly recommended the leek tart with taleggio cheese on pastry dough on the menu, and we are very glad we listened to him. The tart was exceptional, showing the earthy and savory character of leek quite well and the pastry dough not overly heavy. We also really liked the mushrooms with squash, walnut pesto and black truffle, with its smoky flavor shining to great effect. I could tell from both dishes that the restaurant wanted to showcase its command on not just meat but vegetables as well.

On the other hand, one of the signature dishes at the restaurant, chorizo dumplings with pork sausage, pecorino sardo and mushroom immersed in kombu brother, was a slight letdown, and we both thought the seasoning could’ve been slightly toned down. Given Uruguay’s reputation for beef, we had to try the steak, accompanied by black truffle, potato and onion jus. Jun was complimentary of the steak’s quality (grilled at around medium rare) with its juicy, tender texture; I agreed that the steak was indeed quite delicious but wondered if the price ($55) was somewhat steep given the portion. The restaurant also had some tasty desserts. If you are not a sweet tooth, you would be won over by the restaurant’s take on a traditional Uruguayan dessert called Martín Fierro with cheese mousse and quince. We also enjoyed the refreshing sabayon ice cream with black cherries.

Getting a reservation at Ceibo is probably not the hardest thing to do, but the restaurant was nearly full by the time we were finished with early dinner so I would still recommend booking in advance. The restaurant has a full bar with interesting wines from all over the world, with a critical mass from Uruguay (a country known for its Tannat reds to complement meat dishes). The clean and minimalist dining room offers an enticing venue for a variety of occasions from date nights to friends and family gatherings. I don’t know how often the menu at Ceibo changes, but what the restaurant showed us on our first visit had a number of intriguing dishes that we would be happy to go back to try other dishes (and perhaps include Uruguay in our future travel wish lists).

Address: 2106 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009

KenScale: 8.0/10 (Jun’s Score: 8.0/10)

Website: https://ceibodc.com/

Reservation via Resy