23 New Restaurants To Try In D.C. This Summer
The explosion of D.C.'s dining scene has not slowed down, with new restaurants opening every week across the District and its surrounding suburbs.
Many of the openings are occurring at massive mixed-use developments such as The Wharf and Ballston Quarter. Some are on the ground floors of downtown office and apartment buildings, and some are in stand-alone retail buildings in D.C.'s more residential neighborhoods.
The rapid pace of openings can make it hard to keep track of what's new in the D.C. dining world. Bisnow found 23 new spots, from fine dining restaurants to fast-casual concepts to cafés, that D.C. residents and visitors can try this summer.
1. Cherry
The W Hotel, one block from the White House at 515 15th St. NW, has just undergone a $50M renovation and is welcoming two new restaurants in June. Both restaurants will be led by Chef William Morris. The first concept, Cherry, will feature a 15-foot hearth and wood burning ovens. Its menu will include slow-roasted chicken, rotating butcher's cut of beef, wood-fired crab cake and skillet of shrimp. Its drink offerings will include local beers on tap and cocktails with spirits sourced from the D.C. area.
2. Corner Office
The second restaurant opening at the W Hotel, Corner Office, will serve artisan wood-fired pizzas, cheese and charcuterie, and seasonal salads. Its bar will boast 38 rotating taps and it will have a beer garden and bocce courts outside.
3. Eat Brgz
A new fast-casual burger concept is debuting in July at 700 Penn, the office building in the Hine School redevelopment that delivered in 2017 from Eastbanc, Stanton Development and Jamestown. The new concept, Eat Brgz, will create made-to-order burgers with custom ingredients mixed into the patty before it is cooked. The menu will include feature offerings such as the Greek-style burger, with feta cheese, olives, cucumber and tomatoes mixed in.
4. Grazie Grazie
The closing of sandwich shop chain Taylor Gourmet left a retail vacancy at The Wharf. The chain's owner, Casey Patten, is now introducing a new concept in the space at 85 District Square. Grazie Grazie, an Italian deli and salad shop, began its soft opening Thursday.
5. Falafel Inc.
At The Wharf's 1140 Maine Ave. SW, Falafel Inc. opened in April with falafel, hummus, bowls and sides. The philanthropic eatery, which had its first location in Georgetown, donates a portion of all sales to help feed refugees.
6. 12 Stories
The group behind trendy New York hotel bar Mr. Purple, the Gerber Group, opened rooftop cocktail bar 12 Stories at The Wharf in April. The 3,500 SF bar at 75 District Square features 13-foot floor-to-ceiling windows and an outdoor terrace with views across the city. It serves a variety of craft cocktails and its food options include oysters and a buttermilk fried chicken sandwich.
7. Slapfish
California-style seafood shack Slapfish plans to open in June at Ballston Quarter, Brookfield's major mall redevelopment that delivered earlier this spring. It is the fourth location in the region for Slapfish, which has outposts in Downtown D.C., Rockville and Loudoun County.
8. Ted's Bulletin
Local restaurant chain Ted's Bulletin is also opening in Ballston Quarter in June. It will be the sixth location for Ted's. The brand was acquired in 2017 by restaurateur Steve Salis, who signaled plans to refresh and expand the chain. The Ballston Quarter location will also include an attached Sidekick Bakery, the first stand-alone location for the concept.
9. Cucina Al Volo
Italian eatery Cucina Al Volo is opening its first Virginia location at Ballston Quarter this summer. It will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and feature a variety of homemade pastas.
10. Maizal
South American restaurant Maizal will open its second location, and first in Virginia, in Ballston Quarter's Quarter Market food hall this summer. It offers a take on the arepa, a South American street food that tops a cornmeal patty with meats and vegetables.
11. Bluestone Lane
Australian-inspired café Bluestone Lane plans to open this summer at Liz, the 14th Street mixed-use project from Fivesquares and Whitman Walker Health System that will include 78 apartments, 60K SF of office space for the health system and 20K SF of retail, including a cultural center. Bluestone Lane will serve breakfast, lunch and evening food offerings.
12. Shilling Canning Co.
Reid Shilling, whose uncle founded the Shilling Canning Co. to preserve produce, will open a restaurant with the same name this summer. It will open on the ground floor of the Arris apartments at The Yards in the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood. The restaurant will serve Mid-Atlantic cuisine and feature wood-fired ovens to cook pizza and bread.
13. Denizens Brewing Co.
A new brewery and kitchen opened May 25 at Riverdale Park Station, the Whole Foods-anchored mixed-use development in Prince George's County. Denizens Brewing Co. will serve its own year-round beers and seasonal selections, plus a variety of cocktails. It also has a kitchen serving burgers, fish and chips, mussels, quesadillas, wings and other shareable offerings.
14. Erik Bruner-Yang concept
The 3K SF restaurant opening at Southeast D.C.'s new Novel South Capitol in August does not yet have a name, but it does have a celebrity chef. Erik Bruner-Yang, the James Beard-nominated chef behind D.C. restaurants Maketto, Spoken English and Brothers and Sisters, will open an all-day café concept with breakfast food, evening snacks and craft cocktails.
15. Punjab Grill
Fine dining Indian restaurant Punjab Grill opened in March at 1001 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. It is the first location in the U.S. for the restaurant with a presence in the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Thailand. The restaurant features a colorful, elaborately designed interior and its menu includes fine dining takes on traditional Indian street food.
16. Tokyo Pearl
Sakerum owner Stephanos Andreou is planning to open Tokyo Pearl next month at 1301 Connecticut Ave. NW. The restaurant will serve fast-casual style poke bowls and sushi rolls to the lunch crowd and will convert to a gastropub with a bar and entertainment area during the evening.
17. Duke's Grocery
The third location of Duke's Grocery opened Thursday at The Shops at 2000 Penn in Foggy Bottom. The 125-seat restaurant, led by owner Daniel Kramer and Chef Rick Koplau, has an all-day food menu with a variety of global sandwiches. Its bar has 12 draft lines and a cocktail menu and will offer happy hour from noon to 7 p.m. on weekdays.
18. Gogi Yogi
The Duke's Grocery team will also open a Korean barbecue spot later this summer at The Shay development in Shaw. Miller Walker Retail brokered the deals for Punjab Grill, Tokyo Pearl, Duke's Grocery and Gogi Yogi.
19. Reren Lamen & Bar
After opening its first restaurant in Chinatown in 2016, Reren Lamen & Bar plans to open at 1073 Wisconsin Ave. NW in Georgetown. The Asian restaurant, serving dishes influenced by Thai, Japanese and Chinese cuisine, is expected to open this summer.
20. Happy Endings Eatery
Northern Virginia restaurant group Happy Endings Hospitality last year signed a 5K SF lease at Rosslyn's Central Place, where it plans to open Happy Endings Eatery. The concept will feature six fast-casual food stalls serving Asian food, including a Vietnamese grill. It is expected to open this summer.
21. Rumi's Kitchen
The team behind high-end Persian restaurant Rumi's Kitchen in Atlanta signed on in November to open the same concept at Douglas Development and Brookfield's 655 New York Ave. NW. Papadopoulos Properties principal Tom Papadopoulos, whose firm brokered the Reren Lamen, Happy Endings Eatery and Rumi's Kitchen deals, said all three are expected to open this summer.
22. Retrobottega
Billed as the Italian version of a Spanish tapas restaurant, Retrobottega plans to begin serving small plates in Adams Morgan this summer. The Italian concept from Al Volo partners Rolando Frias and Matteo Catalani will seat 60 people inside and 24 outside at 2435 18th St. NW.
23. Emilie's
Perseus Realty's Penn Eleven development on Capitol Hill is preparing to welcome Emilie's, a 100-seat restaurant from Himitsu Chef Kevin Tien. The concept will have an a la carte menu with seasonal small plates and rolling cart specials. Tien told Eater he was shooting to open by the end of May.
