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In today’s review… we’ll cover a restaurant concept that highlights modern and delicious Vietnamese cuisine, but certainly has had quite the shakeup with its menu, staff, and location.

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The Ratings

Our simple & honest checklist covers a restaurant’s key ingredients:
Ambiance, Service, and Food.

8/10

Moon Rabbit has had quite the ups and downs in the DC food scene over the last year or so. And boy are we glad things are finally settling down. Moon Rabbit is a restaurant we fell in love with and supported through tough times, but then were slightly disappointed by with its current state of reemergence. Nonetheless, Moon Rabbit is still a fantastic establishment and we know that Chef Kevin Tien is only just getting started.

For those of you who don’t follow foodie-drama (that’s why we are here for you), the Moon Rabbit saga has been quite hectic. In summary, Chef Tien’s original Moon Rabbit restaurant, located on the Wharf in the Intercontinental Hotel, was suddenly shut down due to a dispute with the hotel over unionization. In fact, DC diners like ourselves only had one day to rush back to the restaurant to enjoy a final meal (or drink — because ‘wow’ was that Vietnamese espresso martini with condensed milk out of this world!). Please note that this original venue was simply fantastic with indoor seating, a cool bar, and an outdoor patio looking out to the water in the most popular spot of the Wharf (and to this day… no restaurant has taken its place… a barren cemetery for the Moon Rabbit spirit). Following the restaurant’s shut down, Chef Tien and his team opted for home delivery food options and a temporary location in Bryant St Market. In January 2024, Chef Tien opened up his new and permanent venue in Penn Quarter. This new spot is a little less fun and exciting and more elegant and higher class. The atmosphere feels a bit congested and professional because it appears that Chef Tien is aiming to please a fancier crowd (softer music, refined décor, and softer spoken conversations). While the shift does feel odd to us, given the Chef’s more creative flair, we remain quite pleased with the result and suspect Chef is aiming for some Michelin Guide recognition.

Overall, despite all the commotion and changes, Moon Rabbit scores highly and is a must try recommendation.

6/10

Mixed reviews. Back when the Rabbit was partying on the waterfront and watching the Moon illuminate the night, I mean… back when Moon Rabbit was on the Wharf, the waitstaff were well-trained, kind, fun, and totally got the vibe. However… when the restaurant moved over to Bryant St Market, staff quality took a hit. Waitstaff were not jazzed up about their menu, misplaced and dropped silverware, and seemed to be performing their tasks in a robotic manner and without any of the passion we were eagerly anticipating. Bummer. It felt like the Bryant St Market version of Moon Rabbit was only there to keep dedicated customers hooked on the Chef’s celebrated flavors. I guess some people need their consistent Moon Rabbit fix.

When the restaurant finally stationed itself in Penn Quarter, once again we experienced a totally different level of service. Here, we were greeted by the hostess in a more formalized tone — one we typically would expect at a starred restaurant — and were offered to hang our outerwear at the coat check. We were pleased by the gracefulness. Yet, once we were seated, the service quickly declined. Our waiter confused our table’s orders with those of another… twice. The waitstaff brought out our second course dishes… twice — which made for an awkward clarification. And, then our server asked if we had received certain dishes on 3 different occasions. Overall, the waitstaff seemed way too distant, confused, and busy. Chef Tien himself missed out of an opportunity to connect with his diners, as he galloped from one end of the restaurant to the other, without socialization. We had the pleasure of him even delivering one of our courses. But alas, he simply dropped the plates off and quickly vanished, without describing the dishes he and his team prepared. An unfortunate mistake.

With Moon Rabbit’s struggles and varied manifestations, we feel that a slightly above average rating on service best captures the volatility a diner should expect when frequenting the restaurant. We have high hopes that as time goes on Moon Rabbit’s service will continue to trend upwards, but for now, we feel a moderated rating best captures the holistic experience.

7.5/10

Location number one: glorious. We truly loved it. De-licious! We wish we would have dined there even more frequently than we already did because the flavors were that incredible. Ahhh some of those Vietnamese pork dishes for lunch…

Location number two: uh oh… the menu featured Chef’s known dishes like the Crawfish and Noodles (juicy crawfish and creamy crab sauce on top of ramen noodles), but it seemed like a third of the flavors were missing. And oddly enough, the drink menu only consisted of cocktails named after Taylor Swift songs (Shake it Off, Fearless, Willow, Getaway Car, Red, Cruel Summer, etc). We get it, Taylor Swift is popular and Chef Tien is in love with her (we also appreciate her talent both as an artist and businesswoman), but really? To name an entire drink menu after her… it felt excessive and obsessive.

Location number three: Okay, wow. Moon Rabbit grew up, attended Georgetown University, and is flirting with the DC elites. The restaurant is now “fancy,” exploring more gastronomic and experimental dishes — again another sign of potential Michelin-type ambitions. However, the flavors don’t match up with the new ambiance and setting. While still yummy, the food tends to be more inventive and lacking in complimentary flavors and textures.

For instance, the Bò Lá Lôt — wagyu beef wrapped in perilla leaves and served next to labne with fermented honey and pickled shallots — leverages fancy ingredients and tastes good, but fails to differentiate itself with flavorful harmonies. Similarly, the Gà Kho Tô — a soy caramel chicken served atop a crispy chicken fat rice with pickled chilis, cilantro, and an egg yolk — has the potential to be a go-to dish for its incredibly marvelous flavors. Unfortunately, while the chicken is mighty tender, the rice is slightly overcooked, the spices are lacking their pizzazz, and the marinade isn’t powerful enough. Still both dishes are yummy, but they just don’t stand out as some of Chef’s iconic recipes.

Finally, Moon Rabbit has been going through some phases. Yet, despite all the turbulence, you can find the gems that make this place worth checking out and enjoying. We look forward to the ratings only improving from here on out.

Reservation & Menu: