Days (+ Nights) at Doi Moi

The vibrant and rich culture of street markets in Vietnam are hustling, bustling all-day affairs where customers can buy a bite to eat, groceries, take-out, booze and coffee. While most of us can’t hop on a flight to Vietnam ourselves, we can find a little corner of Saigon in our own backyard. Matching the diurnal rhythm of the street markets is Doi Moi, located on the corner of the busiest intersections of 14th Street Northwest and S Street Northwest. Nestled just across from the newly-opened Aslin Beer Garden and steps away from Ted’s Bulletin and the Black Cat, the space has seen a number of changes (both physically and conceptually) in the last few years. Doi Moi, in Vietnamese, is a term used to describe innovation or renovation — an apt description, in more ways than one. 

Executive Chef Wade Fatt, at the helm for two years now, plays on traditional textures from an open, gleaming-steel kitchen. Leafing through the menu, you’ll find offerings that are aromatic, sweet, sour, tangy and acidic, including fun takes on traditional staples (confirmed: the drunken noodles are delish). The sleek, tiled, mid-century-inspired main dining room is a great place to nosh on citrus chicken, bahn bao, grilled bok choi or pork wontons slathered in sauce (bottles of which are available to-go). For beverages, diners can grab Vietnamese-style tea, cool off with fresh pressed juices and velvety frozen fruit smoothies, or indulge in a Vietnamese coffee — a legendary combination of coffee and condensed sweetened milk.

Photo by Celia Camacho.

If you’re around as the sun sets and in need of something stronger, Doi Moi won’t disappoint. The bar area, just beyond the main dining room, is an airy space reminiscent of a provincial, tropical hotel. Accordion windows open the bar to diners nestled in the verdant shaded patio.

Doi Moi’s cocktail program is focused on light, fruity, herbal beverages with a nostalgic twist, and their daiquiris take center stage. Listed as “8/8/8” — $8 daiquiris, until 8 p.m., 8 days a week — giving the impression you’re meant to be slugging them back on spring break. But there’s more than frozen concoctions or overly-sweet stuff you’d drink in college, of course. Using flavors like watermelon basil, dragon fruit or mango, the mixmasters behind the bar stir up libations with fresh juices and top them with seasonal fruit in an elegant glass. They’re also pouring low-ABV spritzers with exotic vodkas, and offer signature cocktails like the “Beachside Becky”: vodka, dragon fruit, blue Curacao, lemon and sparkling grapefruit. 

“It’s great to see 14th Street come alive again,” says Tony Burke, the creative cocktail force behind Doi Moi and neighboring sister restaurant Chicken + Whiskey. “We’ve designed something for the crowds no matter when they want to come in.”

Whether you’re seeking a healthy smoothie and a crunchy snack midday, meeting friends for happy hour or dropping in for a late-night mixed drink on the patio, you can leave D.C. behind, relaxing while sailing down rivers of flavor at Doi Moi.

Doi Moi: 1800 14th St. NW, DC; www.doimoidc.com // @doimoidc

James Liska