My just delightful Mother had her birthday this week, so Matt and I wanted to take her out somewhere she would really enjoy.  The one requirement was that it be accessible to the Orange line metro so that she could metro in.  My Mother went to Ireland this year, and her family being of Scottish-Irish descent I thought taking her to somewhere with modern British-Isles fare would be fun, so long as it wasn’t for a traditional English breakfast.  So off we headed to Againn.

The first thing to note is the lighting and ambiance.  I think the cleanliness of the style with multiple types of lighting, which wasn’t to dim or bright, just really made it feel fresh and almost romantic.  The wood booths, the natural light, the glass at the bar all just made you feel comfortable.  But just wait till you taste a cocktail crafted with what is inside those bottles.  I had the Haig & Peaches- haig pinch, peach lambic, aperol, benedictine, lemon, vanilla rooibos tincture, egg white.  Now while this sounds like a lot on paper the smooth, slightly sweet, slightly tart drink was very refreshing, without being too much of anything.

Then they brought out the bread, crusty sourdough that was tender and soft in the middle with perfectly room temperature butter.  The service was professional with the servers not being overzealous, but not leading you to want for anything.

I started with the Ale Battered Maryland Soft Shell Crab fried and on a bed of ratatouille.  The crab was crispy, juicy and sweet.  The ratatouille was a chunky version with good flavor.  They paired well together as a nice dish that wasn’t overseasoned in which you could taste the fresh vegetables and crab meat.

I then moved to the Ale Braised Rabbit with pickled ramps and grits.  And as a note although both dishes had ale elements it didn’t take over any part of the flavor.  This dish was so good I could have perhaps eaten seven of them if given the chance.  It is a mini dutch oven of perfectly tender and flavorful rabbit that just melts amongst the white grits.  The white grits have a nice texture and absorb all the flavors of the dish, while the pickled ramps give you a crisp and pungent hit of tang so that the rich flavor is balanced.  I scooped up every bit that my fork couldn’t reach with bread.  And while it wasn’t a huge portion, it was just right in this hot hot weather with my starter.

I also snagged a decent portion of Hubby’s shepherd’s pie.  Which came with a small salad (not noted on the menu but fyi in case you thought of getting a salad for a starter).  His pie was a generous portion of ground lamb and scallion mashed potatoes.  The lamb and its sauce was nicely spiced and not your typical bland filling.  Both the meat and the seasonings used to make the sauce had a lot of flavor.  The mashed potato topping had a nice dense texture and was crispy on top, but the scallions gave you a crunch and some added flavor so that the dish wasn’t boring at all.  The birthday girl had the Cod, with mussels, cockles, spinach and saffron broth.  She loved the crisp outside of the fish and that it was very firm while not being dry.  The accompaniments while rich added nice depth to the broth.

We ended the night with absinthe.  Although the dessert menu looked great the hot and sticky weather just didn’t bode well for dessert.

Againn might be one of my very favorite restaurants in the DC area.  The ambiance, service and food were all top notch without being stuffy or over the top.  I really enjoyed it.

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