Columbia Heights “Hidden Gem” – Los Hermanos

1428 Park Road, NW

Their website says:

“We started out as a small Bodega, a convenient store that sold Latin American products such as Yuca, Plantains, Salami, etc. back in 1995. At the time my brother and I were only ten years old. We worked with my parents on the weekends during the school year and all summer long during vacation. As a family, we grew our small business as any family oriented business would: based on hard work and long hours.

Instead of having us buy junk food from any of the fast food places around, my mom bought a small electric tabletop stove and cooked as she would at home for us and the rest of the family that worked with us including aunts, uncles, cousins, friends of the family.

When the smell of home cooked food from my mom’s makeshift kitchen filled the restaurant, our customers were curious as to what smelled so good. My mom, one of the most lovable moms you could hope to meet, would let those customers taste a little of the Pollo Guisado and Moro de Gandules she had just made. After a few weeks, mom got the crazy idea of maybe starting to sell food. Neither of my parents had any type of experience in running a restaurant type business. But nevertheless the home made Dominican Food put the Bodega out of business so to speak. We now needed room to sit families that would come all the way from Frederick, Maryland to eat the food they missed so much. With time, mom went from cooking 25 pounds of rice a week to the present 300-400 pounds we use today.

The rules were simple: Cook as if you’re cooking for your family at home. That is our goal here at Los Hermanos. It’s our promise that you will feel as if you’re eating right on your mom’s table in the dining room.”

You can see their menu here.

And they have one of the best fish tanks in town: