Before I left DC for New Jersey, I got together with my friends Janine and Martha for an incredible dinner at Komi. Located on 17th Street NW in DC, not an area 
known for incredible cuisine, the dining room is intimate and minimalist, just like the food and the service. The restaurant has a reputation for locally sourcing all its food and stands out in part because the chef/owner, Johnny Monis (one of Food and Wine's 2007 Best New Chefs), seeks no publicity. Rather it appears he prefers to build Komi's reputation on food and service alone.
The one rigid moment -which you instantly get over - is that everyone at the table must have the same dining experience...the two-course, three-course or the degustazione. We picked the degustazione, which was described as approximately 28 tastes of the chef's whim, and paired it with the sommelier's pairings.
We then experienced a seemingly endless array of tastes made all the more exciting because each of us always had our own "taste". Most of these were one to three bites so by the time the pasta and entree courses arrived there was still room for more. The presentations were consistently minimalistic, focused on the bites themselves and were as beautiful to look at as they were to savor. The staff were extremely knowledgeable, detail-oriented and more than happy to repeat descriptions as well as answer more specific questions about various flavorings and preparation techniques.
While I suspect you can easily enjoy a two-course meal it seems a shame not to plan on the full experience. One of the things that Martha, Janine and I talked about was how this was a nice twist from our Mini Bar restaurant experience. At Mini Bar the courses come fast and don't allow much time for conversation, in part because when you aren't eating, you're watching the preparation. At Komi we were afforded plenty of conversation time during our more than three hour dinner and coffee.
A definite will return restaurant for me. Reservations are definitely recommended. If the plan is for a romantic diner ask for the two-top in the window.
