So I got to do something really fun recently: I snagged a seat at the soft opening of Alfie’s in Georgetown, and you guys, WOW. What a meal. Quick disclosure before I gush: the meal was comped since it was their soft opening, but all my opinions here are my own. Alfie’s is a modern Northern Thai spot (and natural wine bar) tucked into a little alley off M Street, and it was a 10/10 night for me.
The braised octopus was one of the best I’ve had in a while, and everything we got was fantastic. If you love Thai food that goes way beyond the usual pad thai and green curry, this is the Georgetown debut to know about right now. Book ahead, because I have a feeling it’s about to be very hard to get a table!
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What Makes Alfie’s a Must Visit in DC
Here’s what sets Alfie’s apart: it’s not your standard Thai takeout spot, it’s a modern take on Northern Thai street food, built by chef Alex McCoy (the guy behind Lucky Buns) along with co-owner Justin Ahn. The kitchen leans hard into hyper-local, seasonal Mid-Atlantic ingredients.
The menu’s written on a chalkboard and rotates several times a week, which means there’s pretty much always something new to come back for. It’s also a natural wine bar, with a tight list of organic and biodynamic pours (including some Virginia bottles) that rotate right along with the food.
A DC Cult Favorite, Back After a Decade
If the name rings a bell, there’s a reason. Alfie’s started as a nine-month pop-up in DC’s Park View back in 2016, and in that short run it became a full-on cult favorite, pulling write-ups from Vogue and Bon Appetit and a crowd of chefs and sommeliers from across the city before it closed. This Georgetown location is the first time Alfie’s has had a permanent home, and as Washingtonian put it, it’s been roughly a decade in the making. Honestly, it was worth the wait!
What to Order at Alfie’s
Everything Minje and I got was fantastic, but here’s what really stood out. Heads up that the menu changes constantly, so some of these might rotate out by the time you go.
Braised Octopus
This was SOOO good, probably one of the best octopus dishes I’ve had in ages. It comes with a green tomato aguachile, fig leaf, coconut, and lime, and the flavors legit hit you hard in the face (in the best possible way). It’s punchy and super acidic, the kind of bite that wakes up your whole palate, but somehow it still stays balanced. If it’s on the board when you go, order it, no question.
Laap Meuang
This minced lamb dish comes with long pepper, fish mint, and sticky rice, and it had such great heat to it. I would’ve happily demolished the entire plate if I wasn’t trying to save room for everything else. Pro tip: eat it with the sticky rice to help temper the spice, lol. Laap meuang is the Northern Thai style of laap, drier and more herb-forward than the version you usually see, so it’s a fun one to order if you think you already know laap.
Belly Pork “Hangleh” Curry
Melt in your mouth pork belly, full stop. It’s made with pickled garlic, Burmese spices, and ginger, and it had this really beautiful depth to it. Even though it’s rich, it somehow wasn’t heavy at all. Minje and I straight up fought over the final bite, and then split the last piece of pickled garlic too, because we’re mature adults like that. Get this one to share, or don’t, and just fight about it.
Khao Soi
Khao Soi’s an Alfie classic and a total must to share. It’s a Northern Thai coconut curry noodle situation that’s so yum, and it carried over from the original pop-up, so you already know it’s a signature for a reason. One warning though: the chili that comes with it is spicy AF, so consider yourself warned! Since the board’s always changing, you might also catch things like grilled sai ua sausage, Hat Yai fried chicken, or their ba mee haeng noodles, all worth a look if they’re up.
More Info About Alfie’s Deliciousness
If khao soi and laap meuang are new to you, here’s the quick version. Khao soi’s a Northern Thai dish of egg noodles in a rich coconut curry broth, usually topped with crispy fried noodles and served with pickled greens and shallots on the side, a Chiang Mai signature.
Northern Thai cooking in general leans drier, herbier, and more spice-driven than the sweeter Central Thai food most of us grew up on, with real Burmese influence in dishes like that hangleh curry. If you want to go deeper on regional Thai around the DMV, Sense of Thai in Bethesda covers the Southern Thai side of things, a spicier, more sour style, with a Chumphon pad thai built on the owner’s mom’s recipe.
The Vibe and Experience
The space is tiny and intimate, we’re talking around 25 seats inside plus a little back patio, with an open kitchen where the chefs are right there chatting with you while they cook. It’s got this cool hole-in-the-wall-wine-bar-meets-Thai-shophouse feel, tucked into a redeveloped Georgetown alley.
It’s perfect for date night or a fun dinner with a friend who’s into food and wine, and since it’s a natural wine bar too, it’s a great spot to actually linger over a bottle. If a wine-forward DC night out is your thing, the Casamara rooftop in Dupont is another pretty one to keep on your radar.
Good to Know
- Location: 📍1228 1/2 31st St NW, Ste 100, Georgetown, Washington, DC 20007
- Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 5PM to midnight (closed Monday and Tuesday)
- Reservations: book through Resy, released about 60 days out, and I’d grab one early since roughly half the small dining room is held for walk-ins
- Price: moderate, it’s a small-plates, share-the-table kind of meal
- Menu: a rotating chalkboard of around 10 to 20 dishes that changes several times a week, so it’s a little different every visit
- Drinks: a natural, organic, and biodynamic wine list (including Virginia bottles), plus Singha and local beers
- Website: alfiesthai.com
- Good to know: the space is small and buzzy, so book ahead, and don’t get too attached to any one dish since the menu shifts constantly
Is Alfie’s Worth A Visit?
This was a 10/10 experience for me, hands down, and one of the DC debuts I’m most excited about right now. If bold, regional Thai food and a good glass of natural wine are your thing, Alfie’s is absolutely worth planning a night around, just book ahead because it’s tiny and it’s about to blow up. It’s an easy pick for date night, or for the foodie friend who wants to try something they haven’t had a hundred times before.
That’s my full scoop on Alfie’s, Nomsters. A HUGE congrats to Alex, Justin, and the whole team, I’m so excited for you guys, and I already can’t wait to see what’s on the board next time. Have you made it to Alfie’s yet? Let me know what you’d order in the comments, and send this to the friend you’d happily fight over that pork belly with!