Washington has briefly lost one of its top seafood markets and restaurants with the temporary closure of BlackSalt, which began renovations today. Restaurateur Jeff Black tapped Molly Allen of Atreus Works to revamp the interior, while executive chef Mike Huff plans new dishes for the menu.
Black says the changes were spurred by a pipe break in February, which filled the space with five inches of water and exacerbated the natural wear-and-tear of the 11 year-old restaurant. Regulars won’t find a radically different look when BlackSalt reopens. The newest feature will be elevated booth seating in the walk-in bar area, while other sections of the restaurant are undergoing touchups like fresh upholstery and paint, remodeled bathrooms, and different china. No major changes are planned for the fish market, which will reopen along with the dining area in about three weeks to a month.
Black and Huff are taking the downtime to experiment with the menu, though the focus on global seafood won’t change. Huff, who lived and cooked in Italy for four years, hopes to bring a few more Italian dishes and fresh pastas to the table. And no, those Addie’s mussels aren’t going anywhere.
Stay tuned for the exact reopening date.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
