Hiraya - Calumet-Norvelt

Review is for the tasting menu. We came as a party of four, being FilAm we are always excited to try new Filipino restaurants in DC. We heard of Hiraya via social media and a mutual friend and waited until we could try the tasting menu.There were ten courses and some were elevated odes to Filipino classics.Overall, it’s nice to see Filipino food in an elevated fashion. However, having had tasting menus for other cuisines and knowing Filipino food- it missed the mark for me. There were odes to Filipino classics but lacked creativity that I would expect with a tasting menu. Everything tasted good but essentially the dishes were a lot of expensive ingredients- caviar, foie gras, uni, etc.. in Filipino vessels.The first four came at once.The oyster was fresh and came with calamansi which was really refreshing.The kinilaw was a hamachi that came in a crunchy tart like shell.The kutsinta was a classic Filipino kutsinta, which is an orange steamed rice cake. It was topped with caviar and a creme fraiche but honestly tasted like cream cheese.The buchi again is a classic Filipino buchi hit filled with foie gras.The fifth course bitso, is a fried donut topped with uni. A little on the heavier side but the uni was fresh.The raviolo came next, and it was delicious but felt out of place relative to the course menu. A light tasting mushroom sauce and morel mushrooms.The inasal came next which was a small lobster dish. Beautifully plated and fresh lobster but nothing to note.The last savory dish was the Pares dish. It was steak and adobo topped with a quail egg. Nice umami flavors, made me want some rice though lol. The steak was cooked perfectly.The first dessert that came, called Pusong Fresa, was a heart shaped mousse cake. It was all a similar texture, not my favorite dessert but looked beautiful.The last dessert came and it was called Floating Lotus but Filipinos will know this as Bilo bilo. It’s glutinous rice balls, tapioca, and jackfruit in a coconut milk. This dish was a classic bilo bilo, no elevated take. It hit the spot and I could have eaten multiple servings.Last came the Pasalubong. This is essentially the Filipino word for bringing gifts back to family from a destination or being away. I wish they would explain these on the menu or in explanations of the dishes because other may not know. Anyway this course was a few chocolates and a jelly. No one came to explain these to us so not sure what everything was. The jelly was nice and tart and would eat it last to cleanse the palate from all the chocolate.We’d come back for the cafe downstairs but not sure I’d come back for the tasting menu.Service was very friendly but kind of dropped towards the end as the night got busier. We also paid in advance and had a reservation.Street parking

Couldn't have loved Easter Brunch any more! We had an excellent meal. We were in the area and I've been wanting to try the filipino inspired coffee since I saw it somewhere on social media. I checked out the menu and we decided we would have brunch here on Easter Sunday before heading back home. Such a great choice. It was me, my husband and 2 toddlers. We were seated at the table inside by the sliding door and it could not have been more perfect. The perfect table makes me happy, what can I say! It became even more awesome when the sliding door was opened and the weather was nice. We ordered Choriburger for the kids to share, corned beef salpicao for me, and a cheeseburger for my husband. He also tried the Turon iced coffee and I tried the Ube iced coffee. When the meals arrived, it was A+ for presentation. All the meals were so tasty and delicious! The corned beef salpicao IMO was way too spicy though. Some spice is good, but this was flaming hot. Clearly the kids could not share. It was delicious, but I would lay low on the chili. The Choriburger was sumptuous and my husband enjoyed his cheeseburger as well. The iced coffee did not disappoint! We were happy! The kids were happy! Great ambience, delicious food, friendly servers, even the bathroom was huge and nice! Thank you for thinking of parents with babies! (Theres a changing table). I wished it was closer to home so I can be back sooner, but we will definitely be back!

Hiraya was so nice, we ate there twice.I had this Filipino restaurant on H St. bookmarked before we visited DC two weeks ago and then I found out that we were staying within walking distance of it--score! My husband and I walked over twice for breakfast here during our stay and both times we were the first seated customers of the day since we arrived soon after they opened. The decor definitely had the Filipino touch, complete with barrel men (IYKYK! .On our first visit, I had the Makulay Latte and the Ricotta Calamansi Toast, while my husband had the Longganisa Filipino breakfast. The latte is one of their well-known drinks with its rainbow colors and is described as an homage to birthday cake with yellow cake and brown butter flavors; it does taste like a party in your mouth, but not too sweet. The ricotta toast was definitely cheesy, but the calamansi-infused jam gave it a nice balance. I tasted my husband's breakfast, which is a traditional Filipino meal with garlic fried rice, longganisa, and a fried egg. He added two additional eggs to his meal for more protein. This was also a winner and if you've never had it, you should order it. Then we both shared the ube Basque cheesecake. Did we have room in our stomachs for this? Not really, but that didn't stop us. It was so good and it's another item you should definitely get if you have not experienced ube.On our second visit, I had the Turon latte with terrific banana and brown sugar flavors plus the Hiraya Granola bowl. The bowl is a very generous portion with candied walnuts, fresh fruit, and yogurt; I needed something on the healthier side this time after having eaten out for three days on vacation.Breakfast and lunch is served from 8am to 3pm and then dinner is from 5pm-9pm with a different menu. If you do want dinner, you need to make reservations. I thoroughly enjoyed our visits to Hiraya. As Filipinos, it's always nice to visit restaurants that serve the food we know and do it well.

The food is so delicious and such beautiful presentation , the staff so hard working and wonderful!

The staff is incredibly friendly, the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, and the food was exceptionally delicious. You can taste that the ingredients are carefully crafted and bring out deep traditional flavors. The heirloom garlic rice, kale laing, and the adobong pusit paella were amongst my favorite dishes. The calamansi pound cake with the hot champorado latte was a great way to seal the meal. Hiraya should be on your bucket list of places to experience when you’re in the D.C. area!