2 Amys

The Case for Doing Less

Washington, D.C.'s restaurant culture in recent years has tilted toward ambition — tasting menus, intricate technique, and the kind of sourcing narratives that come with their own footnotes. Jônt operates in that register. So do Albi and Causa. These are serious, Michelin-starred rooms asking serious prices, and they represent one very valid answer to the question of what D.C. dining can be.

2 Amys, on Macomb Street in Cleveland Park, represents a different answer entirely. Here the editorial angle is reduction, not expansion. The kitchen operates under the Italian principle that quality of ingredient and precision of execution matter more than length of preparation or complexity of composition. A good pizza, made correctly, needs almost nothing else. That is the philosophy the kitchen at 2 Amys has held to for years, and it is why Opinionated About Dining — one of the more rigorous independent ranking platforms tracking American restaurants , placed it at #285 in its 2024 Cheap Eats in North America list and included it in its Recommended tier for 2023.

The OAD Cheap Eats list is worth understanding in context: it does not rank fast food or casual dining in the generic sense. It tracks places where the quality-to-price relationship is considered exceptional by a community of informed, frequent diners. Being on that list, consecutively, means something specific about what 2 Amys delivers.

Cleveland Park and the Geography of Casual Excellence

The address on Macomb Street places 2 Amys in Cleveland Park, one of the quieter residential neighbourhoods in Northwest D.C. , far from the Penn Quarter concentration of expense-account dining and the downtown restaurant corridors. That distance is intentional in feel if not in origin. The neighbourhood draws families, local regulars, and the kind of diner who wants a good meal without the apparatus of a reservation-required formal room.

Contrast with the city's formal tier is worth noting. Oyster Oyster and Albi sit in the Michelin ecosystem with the pricing to match. 2 Amys occupies the other end of the spectrum , accessible in cost, serious in craft. The neighbourhood setting reinforces this: a pizzeria in a residential quarter, open seven days a week, anchors itself to the rhythms of daily life rather than the calendar of special occasions.

Simplicity as a Standard

Italian tradition 2 Amys draws from is not romantic nostalgia. Neapolitan pizza-making has a formal set of standards , dough hydration, fermentation time, oven temperature, ingredient provenance , that are as exacting as any fine-dining technique. The simplicity is structural, not casual. A margherita made correctly requires San Marzano tomatoes, fior di latte or buffalo mozzarella, and a crust that achieves the correct balance of char and chew in under two minutes at high heat. There is almost no room to hide mistakes, which means the discipline required is considerable.

This is where 2 Amys, under chef Peter Pastan, has built its standing. Pastan's approach , and his reputation in Washington , has consistently been about fidelity to source material rather than creative departure from it. The kitchen's restraint is the point, not a limitation. Compare this to what happens at the other end of the American pizza conversation: heavily loaded pies, novelty toppings, fusion formats that use pizza as a delivery mechanism for other cuisines. 2 Amys holds a different position. The pizza is the subject, and the subject deserves to be treated clearly.

That ethos has parallels elsewhere in American cities. Ken's Artisan Pizza in Portland operates in a similar register of craft-focused simplicity. 11th Street Pizza in Miami represents the same commitment to form over novelty. These are not the only routes to quality in American pizza, but they share a conviction that the tradition itself is worth respecting without constant reinterpretation.

Where 2 Amys Sits in the D.C. Picture

Washington has a layered dining scene that runs from the Michelin-starred ambition of venues like Causa down through a competitive mid-market to a casual tier that, by the standards of most American cities, punches well above its weight. The OAD recognition for 2 Amys reflects what informed diners have known for some time: the city's casual end is not an afterthought.

The pizzeria format itself occupies an interesting position in the broader national dining picture. Some of the country's most awarded rooms , Le Bernardin in New York, Alinea in Chicago, The French Laundry in Napa, Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg , operate in categories where complexity is intrinsic to the proposition. A pizzeria that earns critical recognition does so in a different register: by proving that simplicity, executed with consistency, can command the same kind of informed respect. Lazy Bear in San Francisco and Emeril's in New Orleans represent other American institutions that built standing through clarity of vision, even if their formats differ.

For a fuller sense of what D.C. offers at the upper end of the dining spectrum, the full Washington, D.C. restaurants guide covers the city across price tiers and cuisine types. The bars guide and hotels guide are useful companions for planning a longer visit, alongside the wineries and experiences sections. All Purpose offers another strong reference point if you're building an itinerary around D.C.'s pizza scene specifically.

Planning Your Visit

2 Amys is at 3715 Macomb Street NW, Suite 201, in Cleveland Park. The kitchen runs Monday through Friday from 5 pm to 9 pm, with weekend service extending to include lunch from 11 am on both Saturday and Sunday, closing at 9 pm. The evening-only weekday format makes it a natural neighbourhood dinner option rather than an all-day destination, though the weekend lunch window opens a different kind of visit: a quieter, unhurried afternoon meal in a residential quarter of the city. No phone number is listed in current records, so checking for booking details online before visiting is advisable. The accessible price point, consistent with OAD Cheap Eats recognition, means the cost of a meal sits well below the Michelin-starred tier of D.C. dining.

Frequently Asked Questions

What has 2 Amys built its reputation on?

2 Amys has built its standing on consistent, craft-focused Neapolitan pizza under chef Peter Pastan. The kitchen's approach prioritises fidelity to Italian pizza-making tradition , proper dough technique, quality ingredients, high-heat execution , over novelty or creative departure. That commitment has earned consecutive recognition from Opinionated About Dining, which ranked the restaurant at #285 in its 2024 Cheap Eats in North America list and placed it in the Recommended tier for 2023. In a D.C. dining scene dominated by Michelin-starred tasting menus, 2 Amys makes its case through restraint.

What's the signature dish at 2 Amys?

No specific dishes are confirmed in available data. What is documented is the cuisine type: Neapolitan pizza, made according to the standards of that Italian tradition. The kitchen's reputation rests on the fundamentals , crust, sauce, cheese, oven technique , rather than on elaborate toppings or format innovations. For specific current menu details, checking directly with the venue is advisable.