An exceptional dinner at Qui Qui DC last week!! I had the Sancocho and Arroz con Gandules and el OG served by my quality server, Victor. An outstanding experience with Peurto Rican cuisine. Totally enjoyed the entire staff and quality service I received. Can’t wait to return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nicole Uzor
Amazing service and food 10/10! Felt welcome and tried numerous things on the menu. Will 100 percent be back next time I’m in DC.!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dina Marie Pitta
Amazing! Love the coquito, and the food was absolutely incredible
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jailene Corporan
Incredible food, wonderful staff, and the music made me feel right at home. I’d recommend this place to anyone!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ashland Johnson
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Qui Qui is a true neighborhood gem on Georgia Ave. We stopped in for happy hour and loved it so much we stayed for dinner.
The drinks were creative, balanced, and delicious. We tried the ceviche (so fresh and flavorful), BBQ chicken skewers, and a couple of pork dishes — everything was juicy, well-seasoned, and generously portioned. Don’t miss the maduros and pudding dessert if you like sweets.
The vibe is laid-back, warm, and effortlessly cool — fun and vibrant but still intimate and not too loud. The staff and chefs were incredibly friendly and gave great recommendations. Huge shout-out to Cole for the excellent service and spot-on recommendations!
They’re currently open Thursday–Sunday, and I can’t wait for them to expand their hours. Highly recommend checking this spot out!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ricki V
This is the best PR restaurant in the DMV area. Period. Food is amazing, and the service is impeccable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jose Figueroa
We’ve been going to Qui Qui for a few years and have recently been able to try their new location. We’re so happy that the restaurant still consistently knocks it out of the park. The food tastes as good as my abuela’s in Puerto Rico and the service makes you feel like you’re back at home. Come for the food and stay for the quality drinks, service, and Puerto Rican ambiance. I’m so happy to have an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant in the city and I look forward to many years of good meals.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kevin McClintock
It's just fine if you're Puerto Rican, good if you're not. Overpriced either way.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Cecile Saint Paul
The flan & budin de platanos was like eating sweet pudding. Chef needs to get an authentic recipe. Too loud.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
Cody Gaffney
I hate to leave a bad review, but sometimes it is necessary.
BACKGROUND: We live in the neighborhood and were devastated by the closure of Tabla, the Georgian restaurant that previously occupied this space. However, we were excited when we learned that a Puerto Rican restaurant was coming, especially after the loss of Mi Cuba Cafe in Columbia Heights a few years ago. By the time we finally got reservations at Qui Qui (which has been challenging since it opened), our expectations were high. Unfortunately, we are never coming here again.
SALT, SALT, AND MORE SALT: The single biggest issue with our meal was that nearly every dish we ordered was over-salted, and not just by a little. I say this as someone who likes salty food and is heavy-handed with salt when cooking in my own home (just ask my husband). The worst offender was the Mufongo, the base of which was indistinguishable from one of those salt pucks that you give to your pet hamster, i.e., totally inedible. All we could taste, across multiple dishes, was salt. My husband and I made it about halfway through our shared entrees before he asked if we could leave, abandoning a large amount of leftovers. By the time we exited the restaurant, we were both experiencing irregular heartbeats -- which yes, is a thing that can happen when you eat too much salt. I have never had this happen before in my life (we are healthy people in our 30s). I don't think I have never had a saltier meal in my life. None of this is a joke: my husband and I are having *physical reactions* to the level of salt at this restaurant.
OTHER ISSUES WITH THE FOOD: It is difficult to focus on anything other than the salt, but there were actually several other disappointing aspects of our meal. My husband loves octopus, but the cold octopus salad was rubbery and under-dressed. The shrimp on the Mufongo were cooked to death and tasted like rubber.
IT WASN'T JUST THE FOOD: This place is cramped, crowded, and extremely loud. I get that it's a trendy new restaurant in a small space, so some of that is understandable. What I don't understand is why you'd ever have a *live band* playing in such a space, or why the band would do a sound check at 8 o'clock during the peak dinner rush.
In addition to everything else, our server was very inattentive. We had to flag her down multiple times, which was difficult because she disappeared from our wing of the restaurant for a substantial portion of our meal. She forgot to bring us more water when we asked for it, which is a small thing, except we were dying of salt poisoning at the time. I would normally attribute bad service to a restaurant being short-staffed, but there were seemingly plenty of employees wandering around (the busboys were very efficient and the drinks came out quickly).
A FEW GOOD THINGS: While we had an overall very bad experience, there were some good aspects, which is why I am leaving 2 stars instead of 1. The pistachio Choquitos (essentially Puerto Rican eggnog) were delicious, and the pastelillos (which are like Puerto Rican empanadas) were very good and appropriately salted.
Amazing!! I tried multiple items on the menu and loved every bite!!
Steve Harwood
Big Surprise.. Karen complaining.. this place is amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Bill Mistreta
Karen has no idea what she's talking about.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Karen Cestero
Ok this is not, NOT a Puerto Rican restaurant...if you never had Puerto Rican food before then they might get away with it. But for a Boricua like me that know my food it's a no go all the way its highly over priced for the bad quality of the food. Nothing tasted right. We had sorullitos they were frozen kind, pastelillos had no taste, morcillas only because they were so spicy that you could eat them. It helped the flavor. The pork with mofongo...pork was tiny pieces of burnt hard meat. Mofongo was ok. Tostones straight out of frozen box. The drinks we order a piña colada it was all ice in a tiny glass $10 non alcoholic. It was terrible nothing like our food. I asked where the owner was from waitress said he was Mexican Puerto Rican. I don't think anyone there was from PR or had any roots from PR. We were very dissapointed. Oh and parking is almost impossible $105 for for my little girl and me. CRIME
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
Kimberly Griffith
I had the best time at Qui Qui DC. The food was delicious and the staff were so friendly. The food was so flavorful!
An exceptional dinner at Qui Qui DC last week!! I had the Sancocho and Arroz con Gandules and el OG served by my quality server, Victor. An outstanding experience with Peurto Rican cuisine. Totally enjoyed the entire staff and quality service I received. Can’t wait to return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing service and food 10/10! Felt welcome and tried numerous things on the menu. Will 100 percent be back next time I’m in DC.!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Amazing! Love the coquito, and the food was absolutely incredible
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Incredible food, wonderful staff, and the music made me feel right at home. I’d recommend this place to anyone!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Qui Qui is a true neighborhood gem on Georgia Ave. We stopped in for happy hour and loved it so much we stayed for dinner.
The drinks were creative, balanced, and delicious. We tried the ceviche (so fresh and flavorful), BBQ chicken skewers, and a couple of pork dishes — everything was juicy, well-seasoned, and generously portioned. Don’t miss the maduros and pudding dessert if you like sweets.
The vibe is laid-back, warm, and effortlessly cool — fun and vibrant but still intimate and not too loud. The staff and chefs were incredibly friendly and gave great recommendations. Huge shout-out to Cole for the excellent service and spot-on recommendations!
They’re currently open Thursday–Sunday, and I can’t wait for them to expand their hours. Highly recommend checking this spot out!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is the best PR restaurant in the DMV area. Period. Food is amazing, and the service is impeccable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We’ve been going to Qui Qui for a few years and have recently been able to try their new location. We’re so happy that the restaurant still consistently knocks it out of the park. The food tastes as good as my abuela’s in Puerto Rico and the service makes you feel like you’re back at home. Come for the food and stay for the quality drinks, service, and Puerto Rican ambiance. I’m so happy to have an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant in the city and I look forward to many years of good meals.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
It's just fine if you're Puerto Rican, good if you're not. Overpriced either way.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
The flan & budin de platanos was like eating sweet pudding. Chef needs to get an authentic recipe. Too loud.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
I hate to leave a bad review, but sometimes it is necessary.
BACKGROUND: We live in the neighborhood and were devastated by the closure of Tabla, the Georgian restaurant that previously occupied this space. However, we were excited when we learned that a Puerto Rican restaurant was coming, especially after the loss of Mi Cuba Cafe in Columbia Heights a few years ago. By the time we finally got reservations at Qui Qui (which has been challenging since it opened), our expectations were high. Unfortunately, we are never coming here again.
SALT, SALT, AND MORE SALT: The single biggest issue with our meal was that nearly every dish we ordered was over-salted, and not just by a little. I say this as someone who likes salty food and is heavy-handed with salt when cooking in my own home (just ask my husband). The worst offender was the Mufongo, the base of which was indistinguishable from one of those salt pucks that you give to your pet hamster, i.e., totally inedible. All we could taste, across multiple dishes, was salt. My husband and I made it about halfway through our shared entrees before he asked if we could leave, abandoning a large amount of leftovers. By the time we exited the restaurant, we were both experiencing irregular heartbeats -- which yes, is a thing that can happen when you eat too much salt. I have never had this happen before in my life (we are healthy people in our 30s). I don't think I have never had a saltier meal in my life. None of this is a joke: my husband and I are having *physical reactions* to the level of salt at this restaurant.
OTHER ISSUES WITH THE FOOD: It is difficult to focus on anything other than the salt, but there were actually several other disappointing aspects of our meal. My husband loves octopus, but the cold octopus salad was rubbery and under-dressed. The shrimp on the Mufongo were cooked to death and tasted like rubber.
IT WASN'T JUST THE FOOD: This place is cramped, crowded, and extremely loud. I get that it's a trendy new restaurant in a small space, so some of that is understandable. What I don't understand is why you'd ever have a *live band* playing in such a space, or why the band would do a sound check at 8 o'clock during the peak dinner rush.
In addition to everything else, our server was very inattentive. We had to flag her down multiple times, which was difficult because she disappeared from our wing of the restaurant for a substantial portion of our meal. She forgot to bring us more water when we asked for it, which is a small thing, except we were dying of salt poisoning at the time. I would normally attribute bad service to a restaurant being short-staffed, but there were seemingly plenty of employees wandering around (the busboys were very efficient and the drinks came out quickly).
A FEW GOOD THINGS: While we had an overall very bad experience, there were some good aspects, which is why I am leaving 2 stars instead of 1. The pistachio Choquitos (essentially Puerto Rican eggnog) were delicious, and the pastelillos (which are like Puerto Rican empanadas) were very good and appropriately salted.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
Amazing!! I tried multiple items on the menu and loved every bite!!
Big Surprise.. Karen complaining.. this place is amazing.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Karen has no idea what she's talking about.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ok this is not, NOT a Puerto Rican restaurant...if you never had Puerto Rican food before then they might get away with it. But for a Boricua like me that know my food it's a no go all the way its highly over priced for the bad quality of the food. Nothing tasted right. We had sorullitos they were frozen kind, pastelillos had no taste, morcillas only because they were so spicy that you could eat them. It helped the flavor. The pork with mofongo...pork was tiny pieces of burnt hard meat. Mofongo was ok. Tostones straight out of frozen box. The drinks we order a piña colada it was all ice in a tiny glass $10 non alcoholic. It was terrible nothing like our food. I asked where the owner was from waitress said he was Mexican Puerto Rican. I don't think anyone there was from PR or had any roots from PR. We were very dissapointed. Oh and parking is almost impossible $105 for for my little girl and me. CRIME
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 1
I had the best time at Qui Qui DC. The food was delicious and the staff were so friendly. The food was so flavorful!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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