WASHINGTON, D.C.
Less than a year after the four-year-old Reverie was awarded its first Michelin star in 2022, an early-morning fire severely damaged this beloved Georgetown restaurant. While that was obviously devastating, chef Johnny Spero soon realized that Reverie, which had an open design to eliminate the barriers between chefs and the clientele, was bigger than just the physical space. After that epiphany, the team got to work on the launch of “Reverie on the Road,” a series of events that saw the crew collaborate with chefs in restaurants as close as D.C.’s Minibar and as far away as Michelin-starred Evett in Seoul to plate up the perfectly executed seafood dishes it’s famous for.
INCLUDED IN THE FEAST
Reverie
JOHNNY SPERO
Even though chef Spero started working in kitchens in his hometown of Baltimore at the age of 16, it wasn’t until he happened to see an episode of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations that he understood he could make a career out of it. He enrolled in culinary school, which laid the foundation for a path that would see him stage at Copenhagen’s Noma and Mugaritz in San Sebastian and, closer to home, work as executive chef at Minibar by José Andrés. Spero is the first to point out though, that, at heart, he’s still just a kid from Baltimore who was driven enough to earn the chance to cook with and learn from the best, so he could finally perfect the traditional Charm City grilled oyster—an early fan favorite at Reverie.
MICHELIN GUIDE
One Star
STAR CHEFS
D.C. Rising Star 2014
WHY WE LOVE IT
The dishes at Reverie may sometimes border on ethereal beauty, but the driving concept is really about keeping things real. The open kitchen is about sparking a conversation about food and revealing all the magician’s secrets—and we love everything about this.
