Organization
Maketto
Maketto is a restaurant, cafe and shop on H Street NE in Washington, D.C., serving Cambodian and Taiwanese food.[1] Chef Erik Bruner-Yang and Will Sharp, founder of the DURKL fashion line, conceived it as a communal food and retail market of about 6,000 square feet (560 square meters) on three levels.[2][3] It opened on April 10, 2015, at 1351 H Street NE.[4]
History
Work on Maketto began in 2012, when Fundrise, a real estate crowdfunding platform in Washington, raised money to improve the building. In three months it raised $325,000 from 175 individual investors. Maketto was Fundrise's first project, and it opened as the first crowdfunded real estate project in the United States.[2]
Bruner-Yang already owned the ramen shop Toki Underground, which he opened in 2011.[3] He has said that Taiwanese and Cambodian American heritages shape the menu, along with wider Asian influences and his experience of growing up in America and in Washington.[3] At its opening Maketto held a 60-seat restaurant, a coffee shop, a bakery, outdoor vendor stalls and a DURKL store.[2] It specialized in local coffee, handmade bao buns and collectible sneakers, and the first menu included steamed buns with shredded pork and a Khmer-style meat dip with raw vegetables.[4][5]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Maketto retooled its business and built up takeout and delivery; Bruner-Yang said online orders made up about 30 percent of its business. The kitchen then returned to its noodle soups and five-spice chicken, and he has kept the menu unchanged so that regulars can find the dishes they remember.[4] Many of its cooks have worked there since it opened.[3]
Food
The dishes are made to be shared and draw on flavors from across Asia.[6] Cantonese-style shrimp dumplings come dressed with Cambodian fish sauce and dill, and pork laab is made Thai-spicy and served with bone marrow.[6] Caramel fried chicken and Gruyère dumplings with beef chili have been on the menu for a decade. The menu also carries Peking duck, pork shoulder bao platters, gingery soup dumplings and banana-matcha tiramisu, with coffee and cardamom buns in the cafe.[1]
Other signature dishes include steamed pork bao buns, sourdough scallion pancake, strange flavor eggplant, Cambodian noodle soup, roasted red pork and Maketto fried chicken.[4] Bruner-Yang has named spicy cucumber salad, sourdough scallion pancake, crystal shrimp dumplings and wok-fried rice noodles as a first order.[3]
The space
From the street, Maketto first looks like a clothing store, with merchandise in display cases.[6] Beyond the shop are a dining room and a large courtyard.[1] Sneakers on the wall serve as an art installation and are for sale, and the shop also sells design books and candles.[1] Coffee from house-roasted beans is served on the second floor.[7]
Recognition
The James Beard Foundation named Bruner-Yang a semifinalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2016, and as of 2025 Maketto had held a Michelin Bib Gourmand since 2017.[4] Bruner-Yang has received several James Beard nominations.[3] Maketto appears on the Washingtonian's list of the 100 Very Best Restaurants for 2026.[1]
Visiting
In November 2025, it served brunch, took reservations and had a terrace.[6][8] Orders can be placed for pickup and delivery.[9]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Washingtonian, 100 Very Best Restaurants 2026: Maketto
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Commercial Property Executive, Nation's first-ever crowdfunded real estate project opens in Washington, D.C. (April 2015)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 inKind, Chef Series: Maketto's Erik Bruner-Yang
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 The Washington Post, How these 2015 restaurant openings changed the D.C. dining scene (September 2025)
- ↑ Resy, Maketto
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Michelin Guide, Maketto (2025)
- ↑ Bon Appétit, Maketto
- ↑ Michelin Guide (Korean edition), Maketto (2025)
- ↑ Maketto, official site