Poplar

Perks

• Complimentary off-menu chef special any time you dine at the restaurant

About

Opened in 2025 in Brightwood Park, this unusual eatery hopped right onto Resy’s “Hit List”. Poplar, whose name derives from the tulip poplars of Rock Creek (you know, those very tall trees that attract all sorts of delicious wild mushrooms), offers an inventive menu that emphasizes mushrooms and other foraged goodies, as well as directly sourced sea and farm items. Executive Chef Iulian Fortu graduated from the Culinary Institute of America and spent a summer working at the acclaimed Noma restaurant in Copenhagen before training at the Puglia Culinary Centre in southern Italy. He is also a professional forager and purveyor to many notable fine restaurants in DC, including Reverie, Oyster Oyster, Bresca, and The Dabney. At Poplar, he is delighting diners with dishes like melon gazpacho, stuffed Indian eggplants with Calabrian sauce, blue crab aquachile, chicken skewers with corn and oyster mushroom succotash, and a luscious chocolate cake with Madeira plums and hazelnuts.

Category

• Restaurants