WASHINGTON, DC
With its sea blue walls, wooden rafters and stylized macramé accents, Michelin-starred Tail Up Goat is a good reminder that there’s never a bad time to take a break and reconnect with your happy place. For owners Jill Tyler and Jon Sybert, that spot is the beach, specifically the patch of sand where they got hitched in the U.S. Virgin Islands—also Tyler’s childhood home. James Beard Award-nominated Sybert’s acclaimed cuisine is loosely classified as Mediterranean-Caribbean, with a nod to a few other culinary traditions and inspired by fresh mid-Atlantic ingredients. Wine great Bill Jensen has composed a charming list full of gems from iconoclastic small winemakers that’ll have you longing for a holiday pour. All of this beach bar chic design and all-around awesomeness was part of a cunning plan to invent a space where time slows, shoulders relax, and you’re able to reconnect easily with friends and family. Count us in.
INCLUDED IN THE FEAST
Tail Up Goat
JON SYBERT, JILL TYLER, AND BILL JENSEN
The hospitality industry has a way of bringing great people together. Case in point, Jill Tyler, Jon Sybert and Bill Jensen, who worked side-by-side in some of Washington’s best restaurants until they decided to go out on their own in 2016 to open Tail Up Goat, which Michelin has awarded a star every year since. It’s a team win, really, since the goal with this space was to cook the kind of food the founders like to eat and serve it the way they like to eat—shared with friends, paired with fresh wine and enjoyed in a casual space with a friendly vibe. And, as hospitality industry vets, they’re serious about making restaurant work sustainable and lead by example by eliminating tipping and paying their staff a living wage, with benefits, to create equity.
MICHELIN STAR
Awarded Every Year Since Open
WINE ENTHUSIAST
America's Best 100 Wine Restaurants
WHY WE LOVE IT
At Tail Up Goat, everything that can possibly be made in-house is. Reviewers have raved about the inventive breads but, beyond that, there’s also the house-made pasta, sausage and ricotta cheese, all of which help create an experience unique to this place and moment in time.
