Reviewing Palette 22: New American food, art, and fun in Arlington, VA.

True to its word, all three are apparent from the moment you walk through the revolving doors. The bustle of an open kitchen is visible from the center of the restaurant while servers whisk small plate after small plate around the large dining room. Art of all shapes, sizes, and colors adorn every inch of the brightly painted walls, arranged in a mesmerizing array of organized chaos. Artists sit at easels or tables as they paint, draw, or craft whatever it is that they craft. And in its midst, groups of people of all ages are sitting together, laughing, and raising the din in the restaurant. It’s all very warm and welcoming — a perfect place to spend a Sunday brunch with some good girlfriends, which is how I found myself at Palette 22.  

A cool detail about the tapas here is that they are a conglomerate of world flavors. You’ll find some of the Spanish classics, but you can also get noodles, a bao bun, cheeseburger sliders, and even brick-oven pizza. Because the menu is so diverse and exciting, Palette 22 offers a bottomless feature for lunch, dinner, and of course, brunch. Pay a fixed price and order endlessly off the menu, plus get discounted signature sangria or brunch cocktails. Everyone at the table must select this option, and we did so without any hesitation!  

The first item to arrive at the table were our drinks. We started with the bloody mary, a favorite, if not divisive, cocktail. Excellently spiced with horseradish and hot sauce, they offer up three flavors: house vodka, jalapeño, or habanero. Later in the meal, we ordered another round of cocktails, and I had to try the Bellini. Listed as watermelon and passionfruit flavored, I was concerned that the cocktail could be too sweet, but what I got was a beautiful baby pink drink that tasted of sparkling wine and real fruit, rather than an artificial syrupy taste.  

As we ordered, I was instantly impressed by Palette 22’s willingness to work around food allergies and restrictions. As a table of three, we collectively had a vegetarian, someone who does not eat pork, and a cilantro aversion. The server proactively asked us about our allergies and eating restrictions at the beginning of our meal, noted it in the system, and we never had to worry about it again. They easily adapted dishes to make them vegetarian and happily left cilantro toppings off others. We ordered a slew of tapas to share, starting with some of the savory brunch specialties.  

When the small plates start coming at Palette 22, they come quickly! Food was served to us from all sides, covering our table in dishes mere minutes after we ordered. The chilaquiles, served in a cast-iron pan, were a delicious vegetarian-friendly dish. Stacked high with crispy tortillas and egg, they were topped with cotija cheese and a mild, flavorful chili sauce. The arroz frito con huevos was served in two ways for our group: one as listed on the menu and the other made vegetarian-style. The seasoned fried rice was topped with spicy house chorizo, scrambled egg, and roasted vegetables. Holding back the chorizo for the vegetarian style made the egg the star of the dish. Both were deliciously complimented by a rich tomato aioli.  

The aioli appeared again in Palette 22’s take on traditional patatas bravas, which included a fun twist. The usual fried potato and rich sauce dish included crunchy puffed corn pieces, which provided both a hit of flavor and texture. Our last savory dish, ordered on a whim after seeing it pass through the dining room, was the shiitake and Japanese eggplant bao bun. Chosen from the list of several unique style buns on the menu, this mushroom and eggplant bun included hoisin sauce and pickled cucumbers for a hot and cold, sweet and savory, soft and crunchy explosion of flavor. The bun itself was the perfect light and fluffy cloud texture that you expect of a bao bun.  

When it came to choosing sweet tapas, I was instantly drawn to the monkey bread. Who could resist puffs of warm dough sprinkled with raisins and pecans and topped with hot salted caramel? Not me! This dish delivered my expectations with a flaky, light dough and decadent toppings. Our next pick was the French toast sticks, which came as thick slices of brioche fried with a cornflake crust. Served with a chocolate sauce, this was definitely the heaviest dessert dish we ordered.  

Included with Palette 22’s bottomless brunch is a waffle station, which sits in the middle of the restaurant where employees crank out large Belgian-style waffles on a trio of waffle makers for an ever-present line of diners. We decided to split one of these, and from the extensive list of available toppings, we chose to indulge in bananas Foster, which was piled warm onto our fresh waffle and topped with maple syrup.

Finally, the pumpkin donuts were the last of our sweet dishes and were also easily my favorite dish. More of a large donut hole than your typical ring-shaped donut, they were fried to a deep golden brown and served warm. The inside is a cake-like consistency, with that spicy, cinnamon sugary pumpkin flavor that dominates fall menus everywhere. A thick dulce de leche glaze and some powdered sugar topped the dish, creating the ideal combination of sweet and savory.  

The key to this restaurant is the more, the merrier; it’s an ideal place to dine with groups of close friends since the nature of tapas is to share. The art and the constant buzz around the kitchen create a sensory experience that is simultaneously overwhelming and comforting, like being in the busy home of a good friend. All the artwork on the walls is available to purchase if you can decide on just one piece. Luckily, you don’t need to decide on just one dish!