Back in October, my wife Jun and I visited YELLOW café/restaurant in Georgetown from acclaimed Middle Eastern chef Michael Rafidi who made his name in the DC dining scene with Albi. We really liked our dinner experience there so we decided to check out the other YELLOW location in Union Market. Unlike the Georgetown branch which focuses on the “(not) pizza” sourdough pies, the kebabs are the centerpiece of the menu at the Union Market location. We also enjoyed a dining experience at this location as well during our visit last month.

At this point, I already knew that Jun was going to order the lamb awarma hummus which she so enjoyed at the Georgetown location. Dip some pita breads on this delicious hummus and you already have a very promising start to the meal. Jun was also interested in ordering another hummus dish this time, but the red shatta hummus (with feta cheese), based on Middle Eastern chili paste, didn’t quite have the same impact. We also tried the little gem lettuce salad with pickled peppers and tahini ranch and it was quite solid, too. On the main kebabs section (all kebabs are served with whipped tahini, herbs and sumac onions), we settled on lamb kefta and butcher’s steak. Jun remarked how she always finds very satisfying lamb dishes at Albi and its sister restaurants, and her observation was true in this case too, as the ground lamb was outstanding with its smoky flavor and moist texture, somewhat outshining the steak (which was not bad on its own, by the way). We ran of room for desserts this time but I would’ve loved to try a different soft serve on the dessert menu this time (at the Georgetown location, we tried one with Concord grape flavor).  

Getting a reservation at this location of YELLOW also requires some advance planning, although the dining space was bigger than the Georgetown branch so you might have a better luck with walk-ins. The beverage menu seemed more or less the same as the Georgetown location, too, with some hard-to-find wines from the Middle East. So, do we have a favorite between the two locations of YELLOW? It’s a bit of an apples to oranges comparison given the different focus on the principal dishes between the two, but both are equally compelling in my view. I certainly would come back to the Union Market location for some more lamb kefta kebabs.

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

Address: 417 Morse Street NE, Washington, DC 20002

Website: https://www.yellowthecafe.com/hq-union-market

Reservation via Resy