There’s a class of restaurants in D.C. that have a lot, and I mean a lot, of hype. These are the restaurants that make every top list every year, get all the rave reviews, and of course, are hard to get into. I’m always a little skeptical about how good these restaurants are – but Bad Saint met (and exceeded?!) those expectations. 

Bad Saint serves Filipino food out of a very small spot in Columbia Heights. There’s only 20 seats – which makes access to their food coveted. Until recently, customers had to walk up to the restaurant when they opened at 5pm and submit their name to a waitlist – and come back potentially hours later when they were slated to eat. Now, walk up seats are still available, but a limited number of seats are open for reservations a month in advance – and trust me, they fill up fast!

They can only seat groups of 4 or less – and its impressive how aesthetically pleasing the restaurant is despite it being so small, they’ve very much maxed out the space. When you make a reservation, be sure to let the hosts know of any allergies or aversions, they will take note and guide your ordering accordingly.

The menu is small but rotating. When I visited in January, they had 3 vegetarian options, 2 seafood options and 4 meat options. My friend and I both generally don’t eat red meat, so it was good that there were still options no matter your dietary restrictions. The prices were around $16-35 per dish, with the veggie dishes being on the lower end. They also have an extensive wine list – with a few rotating beers and a few cocktails. 

Let me just say – this was the *best* cocktail i’ve had in D.C. While I do like to be adventurous with drinks on occasion, I often find that drinks are either too sweet and watery or too strong and bitter for me. I got the Willy Santos – and I wish I knew what was in it, it was the perfect balance of fruity, sour, and boozy. I actually wanted to drink it – rather than forcing myself to finish something I paid for. 

For our first dish, we got the radishes, the Labanos At Pinaitum, with burnt coconut and peanuts. Now, I am so sad this was the one dish I got the worst pictures of, because this was probably my favorite restaurant dish i’ve had in D.C. Purple radishes served on this creamy peanut coconut sauce, topped with pistachios, honey, and micro greens. The crunchy radish with the nutty sauce with the sweet honey was truly unlike anything i’ve ever had before – *chefs kiss*!! I would come back for this dish – and this dish only, honestly. Strong endorsement!!

Next, we had the bitter melon stir fry, the Ginisang Ampalaya. It had bitter melon, tomatoes, eggs, and chinese black beans. One thing with Bad Saint – I was not expecting the portion sizes to be…normal? Usually with these fancy places, the sizes are so small and so expensive, you have to get many dishes to be full. However – many of the dishes we got came with rice – which was not only necessary for the dish but surprisingly filling! Especially for this – the bitter melon with the veggies, and tart beans needed some rice to balance it out. This dish seemed very homey – like something that would actually work as a quick dinner, even though it was something I had never had before. 

Then we had the seafood curry with durian, the Ginatang Ulang. After hearing literally only bad things about durian, the worst smelling fruit in the world, I was expecting this dish to taste more…funky? But it was actually nothing of the sort! The curry was spicy – with clams, lobster, veggies, and of course, the ever-lovely edible flowers  – served with rice. Admittedly, my spice tolerance has diminished considerably since leaving home, so this was a bit spicy for me. Many glasses of water were consumed, but the flavor of this curry was really fantastic. There was a great balance of seafood and veggies to curry – and the durian was cooked so well, with the texture of something reminiscent of a bamboo shoot, that if I hadn’t asked to confirm it was indeed in there – I would’ve never known! 

Just as we were finishing up, I was thinking, this restaurant would be so much better with dessert, which isn’t on the menu. But alas! Just ask the server, they do in fact have a dessert option, which was guava pie that night. The guava paste was sweet and tart, with a crumble on top, homemade whipped cream, lemon zest, and those damn edibles flowers I love so so much. 

Overall – I was so incredibly happy with this meal. The service was fantastic – I appreciated that the server gave us honest advice about what dishes to order, and what would be enough for two people. While (incredibly) small – the ambiance is cozy and beautiful, and of course, the meal was fantastic. This is not a cheap-eats, this is definitely a nicer dinner. However – for a drink, 3 dishes and dessert split – the bill was about $55 (before tip) – which…really isn’t bad considering we left *stuffed* And for all these above reasons, Bad Saint really does live up to the hype. I will willingly go to any nice restaurant which actually lives up to its reputation and serves me good good thats worth the price.

The Bottom Line

Best meal in D.C. Yes I said it.

Price: $$$ (around ~50-60 per person for a full meal)

Location: Columbia Heights, Washington, D.C.

On the Internet: Bad Saint Website, Yelp Page