Rye Bunny, the stripped-down follow-up to Michelin-starred Tail Up Goat, opens Thursday, April 2, in Adams Morgan at 1827 Adams Mill Road NW. Chef Jon Sybert and partner Jill Tyler are swapping the old-school tasting-room experience for a counter-service, fine-casual setup that is designed to keep both menu prices and staffing levels on a realistic footing, as reported by Rye Bunny.
How the counter-service model works
As announced on Rye Bunny, the restaurant will open April 2 with a first-come, first-served system. Guests place their orders at the rail, then staff circulate through the room with refills and add-ons instead of hovering tableside all night. The site lists the Adams Morgan address and invites diners to sign up for updates while the team gets into the groove of service.
Food, design and the dining room
As reported by Eater DC, Sybert’s one-page menu will change weekly and leans into polished comfort food. Early dishes include fennel focaccia with housemade ricotta and honey-poached beets, tagliatelle Bolognese, wild-greens–stuffed ravioli, and shareable mains like fried chicken and chermoula-sauced rockfish. Eater DC also notes that the 84-seat dining room keeps things intimate, with quilts lining the space, patchwork tile underfoot, and string lights overhead, while the former bar has been rebuilt into the ordering rail that anchors the new format.
Pricing, BYO and charity reservations
As reported by Axios, wines at Rye Bunny start around $12 a glass, with bottles running about $50. Diners who prefer to bring their own bottle will see a $35 fee. Axios also reported that two OpenTable reservations will be set aside each night, each carrying a $25 booking fee that goes to Dreaming Out Loud and the Amica Center for Immigrant Rights.
Why the pivot matters
The move to a fine-casual, counter-service setup is meant to protect staff pay and benefits while making the business pencil out long term. As The Washington Post reported, Tail Up Goat never fully bounced back in revenue after the pandemic, and the owners said they were unwilling to cut health coverage, paid leave, or livable wages just to keep the lights on. Jill Tyler told Axios she was initially “worried about the hospitality piece, because that's my favorite part,” but said the streamlined model still lets the team “take care of people.”
Permits and the neighborhood
A filing from the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration shows the ABC Board approved transferring the license to Rye Bunny LLC on December 10, 2025. The same action amended the previous settlement to allow a summer garden with seating for up to 16 people, open through 10 pm. The document finalizes the handoff from Tail Up Goat’s old license and spells out basic outdoor seating rules for the Adams Morgan address.
What to expect on opening night
With more approachable price points, shareable mains, and a leaner service style, Rye Bunny is set up to make Sybert’s cooking easier to access without losing the sense of being looked after. As Eater DC pointed out, the tradeoff is fewer layers of table service in exchange for a smaller crew and steadier economics. Walk-ins will be the norm, but those two nightly guaranteed tables and the charity-linked booking give planners a way to lock in a seat while sending a little money out into the community.
