Johnny Spero

Bar Spero | Reverie

Johnny Spero

Owner / Executive Chef, Bar Spero & Reverie

Johnny Spero

Owner / Executive Chef, Bar Spero & Reverie

Born and raised in Maryland, Spero began his culinary career at the young age of 16. Early on, he had the opportunity to work alongside James Beard award-winning Chef Johnny Monis, learning that the best restaurants fine-tune every aspect of the experience—not just the food. Just two years later, Spero was staging at Noma in Copenhagen, which revolutionized his understanding of sourcing and preparing high-quality ingredients. Upon returning to the U.S., Spero worked at Chef John Shields’ acclaimed fine-dining restaurant, Town House, before eventually finding a role as the Executive Chef at José Andrés’ Minibar in D.C. During his tenure, Minibar received a four-star review from Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema and Spero was celebrated as the Eater “Chef of the Year”. He also represented D.C. as one of ten contestants on the Netflix competition The Final Table. Never one to stop learning, he then returned to Europe to stage at Mugaritz, a top-ten contender for the “World’s 50 Best Restaurants” whose playful presentation and creativity inspired Spero to begin planning a restaurant of his own. Opened in October 2018, Reverie is the result of more than ten years of daydreaming, an intimate and personal expression of his travels and talents. The restaurant earned its first Michelin star in the spring of 2022, just weeks before the opening of Spero’s second independent venture—Bar Spero—a seafood bar and grill in D.C.’s East End. Since opening in September 2022, Bar Spero was recognized as a James Beard semifinalist Best New Restaurant in 2023, and has been featured in nationwide lists such as Robb Report and Bon Appétit, and named “Best New Restaurant” by Esquire and Robb Report.