Komi is a

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

operated by

Chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

Johnny Monis, serving

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

- and

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

-influenced dishes. __NOTOC__

The Restaurant

Komi is located at 1509 17th St. NW, near

Dupont Circle Dupont Circle (or DuPont Circle) is a traffic circle, park, neighborhood and historic district in Northwest Washington, D.C. The Dupont Circle neighborhood is bounded approximately by 16th Street NW to the east, 22nd Street NW ...

It was a notable addition to the neighborhood when it opened in 2003, serving wood-fired pizzas and an à la carte menu of soups, salads, and entrees for lunch and dinner. In the winter of 2006, Chef Monis shut down the restaurant for two weeks, removing a majority of the tables and re-opening with a prix-fixe multi-course menu priced at $84, only available for dinner. This new incarnation of Komi earned rave reviews, landing the No.1 spot on '' Washingtonian'' Magazine's Best Restaurants in DC in 2009. It would hold this top spot through 2012, as it became one of the most acclaimed restaurants in the city. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

dined at Komi in May 2010. Komi earned a Michelin star in the 2018

Michelin Guide The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The ac ...

for Washington, DC. In his 2018 Fall Dining Guide, ''Washington Post'' food critic Tom Sietsema named Komi to his ten-restaurant Hall of Fame.

Chef Johnny Monis

Johnny Monis was born and raised in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, where his family owned La Casa Pizzeria. His parents were born on the Greek island of

Chios Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mastic ...

, and Komi is named for a taverna-lined beach on Chios where the family vacationed. Monis enrolled as a premed at

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

but dropped out to attend the College of the Culinary Arts at

Johnson & Wales University Johnson & Wales University (JWU) is a private university with its main campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded as a business school in 1914 by Gertrude I. Johnson and Mary T. Wales, JWU enrolled 7,357 students across its campuses in the fa ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina, the county seat of Charleston County, and the principal city in the Charleston–North Charleston metropolitan area. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint o ...

. He did not finish culinary school, however, because he believed he was learning more by working at McCrady's Restaurant. In 2001, Monis was hired to work at the

restaurant Chef Geoff's, where he was quickly promoted and was named the executive chef of a new Chef Geoff's location downtown. In 2003, Monis quit to open his own restaurant, Komi. In April 2007, ''

Food & Wine ''Food & Wine'' is an American monthly magazine published by Dotdash Meredith. It was founded in 1978 by Ariane and Michael Batterberry. It features recipes, cooking tips, travel information, restaurant reviews, chefs, wine pairings and season ...

'' magazine named Monis one of the F&W 2007 Best New Chefs. In 2013, Monis won a

James Beard Foundation Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media award ...

for Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic. In 2011, Monis opened a separate restaurant on the floor below Komi, the

Thai Thai or THAI may refer to: * Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia ** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand ** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand *** Thai script *** Thai (Unicode block ...

-inspired Little Serow, which was named one of the best new restaurants in America by ''

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center i ...

'' magazine.

Awards

* 2007 Best New Chefs ''

'' Magazine. * 2009 Very Best Restaurants in DC, No.1, '' Washingtonian'' Magazine. * 2013 Best Chef, Mid-Atlantic,

. * 2018 Michelin Star ,

References

External links

Komi Restaurant
{{Restaurants in Washington, D.C. 2003 establishments in Washington, D.C. Dupont Circle Greek-American culture in Washington, D.C. Greek restaurants in the United States Italian-American cuisine Italian-American culture in Washington, D.C. Italian restaurants in the United States Michelin Guide starred restaurants in the United States Restaurants established in 2003 Restaurants in Washington, D.C.

The Restaurant

Chef Johnny Monis

Awards

See also

References

External links