About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
All Souls bar in Shaw prides itself on its simplicity—just a handful of cocktails, some beers and wines, modest snacks, plus a jukebox. Owners David Batista, Soung Wiser, and Joanna Brady want to bring that same just-the-basics ethos to their new pizza bar, the Little Grand. It officially opens today in an alley off the side of the Apollo apartment building on H Street, Northeast.
New York-based chef Bobby Hellen, who previously ran pizza shop GG’s and launched Black Seed Pizza in the East Village, is behind the sourdough-based pies.
“It’s rounds and squares,” Batista says when asked about the style. More specifically, “New York-ish” rounds and “Sicilian-ish” squares baked in an electric deck oven. But the team doesn’t want to pigeonhole the pizzas: “It really is our kind of bastardized version of influences from New York to Portland,” Wiser says. In short: “our style.”
Basics like cheese and pepperoni pizzas are available in both shapes with optional add-ons ranging from anchovies to meatballs. The round pies come with more seasonal toppings, including one smothered in “all kinds of onions” and another with crushed potato, rosemary, and ricotta. Only a limited number of squares will be available each night—12 to start—because they’re more time- and labor-intensive. There are also a handful of veggie-centric plates like bitter greens with roasted hazelnuts, and snow peas with golden beets and a spicy vinaigrette.
The opening menu offers just five cocktails—think martinis and negronis plus a St. Germain spritz—alongside a concise list of eclectic wines by the glass and bottle, four draft beers, and a few more bottles and cans.
The snug spot has about 10 seats at the bar plus 24 booth table seats. While All Souls is located in an older building with built-in character, the Little Grand started as an empty shell in a luxury apartment building and has morphed into what Batista calls “a little gem box.”
“The original intention was to open a bar that serves pizza,” Batista says. “It was as simple as that.”
The Little Grand. 808 Seventh St., NE. 202-758-0783. Proof of vaccination is still required.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind D.C.’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
