About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
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Bread Alley
1250 Fifth St., NE
If you’re like us and devour the bread basket at Le Diplomate, add this “micro-bakery” near Union Market to your hit list. The brand new alley spot from Starr Restaurants Group exclusively sells the same baguettes, levain boules, cranberry-walnut breads, and jams—available starting at 9 AM until they sell out. Look for an expanded menu of pastries, breads, and La Colombe coffee in the coming months.
Jane Jane
1705 14th St., NW
A team of hospitality vets are behind this retro-chic bar on 14th Street. Ex-Rappahannock Oyster Company barman JP Sabatier mixes well-known and lesser-seen classics in the homey space, which also boasts a patio. To eat: Southern cocktail-hour snacks like pigs in blankets.
Officina Downtown
1615 L St., NW
Michelin-starred chef Nicholas Stefanelli adds a third swanky Italian location to his growing Officina portfolio, which includes a Wharf flagship and Georgetown cafe/market. The newest iteration is designed to cater to a downtown crowd (tourists, office workers, et al) with morning espresso drinks and pastries, quick-grab paninis and pizzas, and a spacious bar for after-work an aperitivo, plus house-made pastas and more.
Penn Social
801 E St., NW
Enormous, two-story Penn Quarter bar Penn Social just reopened in time for football season, and they added six new 86″ televisions for fans. Look for deals during college and NFL games like $5 Port City beers, $4 Millers, and $10 frozen cocktails or flatbread pizzas. Coming soon: a new street-level restaurant, bar, and coffee shop dubbed Little Penn, slated to debut next month.
Rako Coffee Roasters Cafe
2016 Wilson Blvd., Arlington
Sisters Lisa and Melissa Gerben launched Rako Coffee Roasters nearly two years ago, roasting sustainably sourced, single-origin coffees at a green production facility in Lorton, Virginia. They’ve now expanded to an all-day cafe and natural wine/cocktail bar in Clarendon, where you can stop by in the morning for a baklava latte or nitro cold brew, and cap off the day with a coffee-infused negroni and charcuterie board.
Starr Hill Biergarten
1805 Capital One Drive, Suite 1100, Tysons
A huge, 5,000 square-foot rooftop beer garden and lounge from Virginia’s Starr Hill Brewery just landed in Tysons. The 24-tap bar sits atop the Capital One Center entertainment venue, surrounded by The Perch, a 2.5 acre sky park set with greenery, sculptures, and walking paths.
Succotash Prime
915 F St., NW
After a year-plus closure, Knead Hospitality + Design’s splashy collaboration with Louisville-based chef Edward Lee has reopened as a Southern steakhouse. Staples like “dirty” fried chicken and shrimp n’ grits join a new lineup of smoked steaks, sauces like bourbon-bordelaise, and sides—all in an elegant historic bank building (also new: more plants!). Brunch—including a set family-style feast—starts this weekend.
The Thirsty Crow
3400 11th St., NW
The colorful basement bar beneath Malaysian hotspot Makan celebrates its “grand reopening” on Thursday, September 9 after a November 2019 debut and pandemic-era closure. Chef James Wozniuk reimagined the former Meridian Pint space as an American-Malaysian mashup bar with plenty of TVs for catching NFL and soccer games, billiards tables, 24 draft lines, and fun eats like smashed fried chicken with tomato sambal and chilies.
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.
