Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Food & Retail Find a Good Fit at Maketto

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Maketto (1351 H Street) is an interesting animal, part clothing shop, part coffee house, part bakery, part Asian restaurant, and part bar. Coffee and baked goods go together pretty easily, and it's not hard to sneak a bar into the mix. But Asian fare, sneakers, and t-shirts? Hmmm...yet Maketto manages to pull it off in such a way that nothing looks or feels out of place.

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When you first enter you'll find yourself in the Durkl showroom.

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They've got all manner of clothing and accessories on display.

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Head straight back if you want to grab a baked good from Frenchie's.

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They've got a tempting spread that's available until 3pm.

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At 5pm the bakery counter transforms into a bar.

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But feel free to order a beer or wine earlier.

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Head upstairs for coffee, or tea from the Vigilante Coffee bar.

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It's a welcoming space with plenty of great ways to start your day.

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This is here you'll place your sandwich, noodle, soup, bun, or other item upstairs at the coffee counter.

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I haven't been for dinner yet, but you can grab lunch at Maketto everyday from 11:30am-2:30pm.

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I started with the Cambodian pork noodle soup (kuy teav, $10) which was spicy, filling, and delicious. Definitely a winner. I accompanied that with a Hey Song Sasparilla and then later with a jar of Montgomery Mint from DC based Running Bird Tea Company (a sweetened mint tea).

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On a later trip I tried the Cambodian sandwich (num pang, $9) which was also excellent. It's got grilled pork, cucumber, pickled daikon radish and carrots, jalapenos, cilantro, spicy mayo sauce, a pâté, and some sort of wonton like crispy bits.

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There's plenty of seating whether you are by yourself...

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...or with a group.

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There are also table perfectly sized for sitting with a friend or a date. Both time I visited the music was low key and you could easily have a conversation with your tablemate.

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Out back there's a second floor catwalk that allows you to look down on the large patio space.

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The upper rear area is home to a rather unusual vending machine from Guerilla Vending.

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Downstairs is a long table perfect for lounging or doing a little reading.

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You can even catch a glimpse into the kitchen.

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Get close enough and you can pretty much see the entire kitchen and storage area.

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Back out on the patio visitors will probably find themselves drawn to this colorful rickshaw.

Here are the current hours (subject to change):
Bakery everyday 7am- 3pm.
Coffee everyday from 7am-5pm, at which time drip coffee ends, but can still get espresso drinks.
Bar opens at 5pm, but can get beer or wine before.
Lunch 11:30am-2:30pm.
Dinner starts 5pm and runs until 10pm Mon-Wed, 11pm Thursday, and 12am Fri-Saturday. No dinner service Sundays. No reservations.
Retail hours 11am-8pm weekdays & 11am-9pm weekends.
Overall hours 7am-10pm M-W, 7am-11am Thurs, 7am-12am Fri-Saturday, 7am-5pm Sunday.

    
You can see the full menu (scroll down for the the daytime café menu and the bakery menu) above.


21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Me and my lady friend walked into this place during a stroll down H. St. wondering what it was. We left still not knowing what it was. It appeared to be some type of private party for young homosexuals. However, the pictures and descriptions clear things up a bit so thanks for that.

Anonymous said...

^---- LOL

Anonymous said...

hipster cracker barrel

Anonymous said...

Nice photos. It's a very nicely designed space, great place for lunch.

Anonymous said...

How much are they paying you to write these advertisements for them?

Shelly said...

I’d just flown back in from Krong Battambang, when I was out walking my Yorkie and I ran into my dear neighbors Erik Bruner-Yang and Will Sharp and their Yorkie which they had adopted together a couple of years ago when they were married. I told them I was dying for some Grilled Khmer Sausage and they told me I should absolutely stop by their new place Maketto to satisfy my craving!

When I walked in, I was greeted by the friendliest large glasses-wearing, one-piece-adult-floral-jumpsuit-girl you could ever meet. Apparently Erik and Wills had told her I’d be stopping by and to give me the royal treatment. She fixed me a Love Boat Espresso and we were off on a tour of this decadent communal market! I especially loved the Durkl show room. Some of the items were simply to die for! It was too much to resist, so I picked out a couple of Shelly-items and headed over the cash register. Well…I was in for a surprise when the shop-girl told me that Eric and Wills wanted to treat me to a couple of special pieces and that it was their pleasure. Hmmph! You two are too much! I owe you two dinner poolside on my fabulous rooftop!

Off to lunch we went, or as they say in Cambodian “អាហារថ្ងៃត្រង់”! Hmm…well, the script doesn’t work on this blog. (Seems like something the tech folks will have to work out!

I had an assortment of snacks including my Grilled Khmer Sausage, which was absolutely delish! Four Shelly Stars out of Five! You really can only get it better when you visit Khnach Romeas. The services was a delight. I’ll definitely be back!

Love,
Shelly

inked said...

2:29,
Very funny.

Anonymous said...

Shelly, love boat is what we call PCP in da hood. If they servin that there then sheeeitt, I'll have me an espresso next time I'm up in that joint.

Anonymous said...

it's a great place with really good food and coffee. Haven't bought any socks or shoes yet, but I think that I might. Very excited to have them in my neighborhood.

Anonymous said...

As a guy, I truly loath shopping for clothes and shoes. A drink would help me get through with it.

Ann said...

@2:29: Yes, because a neighborhood blog covering a (LONG) awaited neighborhood opening would just be ridiculous.

How was the lunch traffic? When I've gone to Toki, I've been surprised how busy it has been.

inked said...

Ann,
I went for lunch on weekdays and there was a decent crowd, but there were also plenty of empty seats and no lines for anything. I'm sure it is busier on weekends.

TV said...

Based on prior descriptions, I've been skeptical. However, the space looks beautiful. The pork sandwich is calling me. I look forward to checking it out this week!

Unknown said...

This is a cool addition to the neighborhood. I hope it succeeds.

Anonymous said...

I had the pleasure of checking this spot over the weekend. The space is amazing. It is much needed retail on the corridor. I will be back to try the dinner menu. WAY TO GO Maketto !

Poo Poo said...

This reminds me of a similar-type place in the jardins district in Sao paulo, Brazil. It's been around for years and is very popular. I actually had a drink while shopping once. It does... Inspire... one to make purchases - at least it inspired me. So... The concept works in other places. Granted, jardins is far more upscale. Sounds like a good choice for a first date.

Anonymous said...

I popped in on Sat. Cool vibe. It's like they aped all of David Changs best ideas then added sneakers.

Anonymous said...

OH SHIT FIGHTING WORDS!! 12:47:00 PM

Anonymous said...

Shots fired near 4th and i ne last night at 12:15am? Anyone know what happened? Sounded like big Booms

Jesse said...

I've been adding more H Street trading cards to my collection from their vending machine.

Glad it's open.

They also didn't give us too many weird looks when I brought my 4 year old.

Anonymous said...

I don't know why they bother to have clothes there. They have like five shirts and ten sneakers. Its like they had this grand idea for a clothing store and food market, then in their five years of planning realized it wasn't that great of an idea but kept a little bit of clothes just to maintain whatever that groundbreaking first idea was