DÔA, a South Beach-based “LatAsian” restaurant, is making headway in its search for a DC location. Restaurateur Arjun Waney—who’s behind scene-y Miami spots Zuma (Japanese) and Coya (Peruvian)—says his team is focusing on neighborhoods like Shaw, the 14th Street corridor, and West End. They hope to open next year.
Waney “tapped a group of highly accomplished millennials” for DÔA, according to a release from the restaurant (because, millennials). The team includes executive chef Carlos Estarita (age 23) and fellow “millennial protégé” Arman Naqui, the restaurant’s director of development and a George Washington University alum. Though the forthcoming DC location will be helmed by a new executive chef, it will serve the same nikkei and chifa cuisines as the flagship—styles of cooking that speak to the influence of Japanese and Chinese immigrants on Latin American cooking. A lineup of raw, steamed, and grilled dishes might include ceviche maki rolls, pork buns, shrimp dumplings, and robata-grilled corn.
DC’s DÔA is expected to differ from Miami’s in a few ways, including a more “intimate setting,” according to Waney. A new cocktail and nightlife component is also being developed for the Washington restaurant. An expansion to Boston is also in the works.
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.
