Dining Minis

Cafe 8

424 Eighth St. SE

202/547-1555

Turkish

Cafe 8 is a new Turkish restaurant, the latest addition to Capitol Hill’s culinary scene. It is cozy, and the food is moderately priced and pretty good, although not innovative. There are no delicate garnishes or avant-garde preparations.

Owner Turan Tombul, who also owns the more upscale Italian Locanda nearby, wants this restaurant’s Turkish home cooking to be affordable for neighborhood families and others to enjoy on nights they don’t feel like cooking at home.

If the first few busy months are any indication, Cafe 8’s unpretentious, moderately priced Turkish home cooking and its upscale look make it welcome on the Hill. Get a reservation if you’re planning to dine at Cafe 8 on the weekend.

The restaurant is open 10 to 12 hours a day, and the menu and prices stay the same. Familiar Turkish dishes include Iskender and Adana kebabs.

— Gabriella Boston

Gerard Pangaud Bistro

915 15th St. NW

202/737-4445

French

In 2006, Gerard Pangaud left his restaurant, Gerard’s Place, for a senior position at L’Academie de Cuisine in Bethesda. He has returned to McPherson Square part time, renaming the restaurant Gerard Pangaud Bistro, revamping the menu, presiding as executive chef and cooking there from time to time. The chefs in the kitchen are students whom he taught and trained. He trained them well. The cooking is first-rate.

The menu is almost identical at lunch and dinner in selection and price. Starters include a salad of beautiful and refreshing red and golden beets, roasted in olive oil and paired with a spoonful of a creamy goat cheese; diver scallops, sauteed and dressed with a subtle citrus beurre blanc and chopped orange; nuggets of veal sweetbreads sauteed to a crisp finish; and a cake of wild mushrooms with a sorrel sauce.

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