Pascual takes its name from San Pasqual, the patron saint of cooks and kitchens, a fitting nod for a Capitol Hill restaurant built around live fire. Chef Isabel Coss, who brings deep ties to Mexico City and decades of culinary experience, opened the restaurant on Maryland Avenue NE in February 2024 with Mexican ingredients and technique at the center of the kitchen.
The bar follows the same logic as the food: small-batch mezcales, local spirits, and a pour list built to let Mexico's flavors speak alongside the wood-fired menu.
Recognition has come fast and kept coming. Eater named it to its Essential 38, Michelin has selected it for its Washington, D.C. guide in both 2024 and 2025, and The New York Times included it on its 2024 Restaurant List. The James Beard Foundation named it a 2025 semifinalist for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic, Robb Report has cited it among its Best New Restaurants two years running, and it landed on North America's 50 Best Restaurants list for 2026.
The bar follows the same logic as the food: small-batch mezcales, local spirits, and a pour list built to let Mexico's flavors speak alongside the wood-fired menu.
Recognition has come fast and kept coming. Eater named it to its Essential 38, Michelin has selected it for its Washington, D.C. guide in both 2024 and 2025, and The New York Times included it on its 2024 Restaurant List. The James Beard Foundation named it a 2025 semifinalist for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic, Robb Report has cited it among its Best New Restaurants two years running, and it landed on North America's 50 Best Restaurants list for 2026.