The Grove. 7747 Tuckerman Ln., Potomac. Open daily for dinner.
The Cabin John Village shopping center, sandwiched between a busy suburban intersection and the thick woods of Cabin John Regional Park, doesn’t much resemble the Bellagio in Las Vegas or the fine dining kitchens of Madrid. But those are the former stomping grounds of chef José López-Picazo, who will open a luxe Mediterranean restaurant in the Potomac development Tuesday, November 28.
The Grove, a Spanish fusion dining room with pastel-shaded floral decor and Michelin aspirations, is backed by Alexandria-based Common Plate Hospitality Group (behind such Old Town restaurants as Mason Social, Augie’s, and Urbano). López-Picazo’s aim is to bring a fine dining option to Cabin John residents, but also to make the restaurant a destination in its own right. After all, he points out, some of Spain’s most legendary restaurants have opened in tiny, remote villages.
“You can open a restaurant far up in the mountains, but if you do a good job, in the end you’re going to be successful,” López-Picazo says. “Your advertising is the people who go to your restaurant.”
The food that López-Picazo hopes will earn that kind of following is predominantly Iberian, with touches from Italy, Morocco, Greece, and elsewhere in the Mediterranean. Most dishes start with extra virgin olive oil, onion, and garlic, and many get a splash of aged sherry vinegar.
The Grove’s appetizers include classic tapas like toasted “crystal” pan con tomate and the Catalan grilled vegetable assemblage escalivada, along with Italian-leaning dishes like smoked-burrata salad and braised oxtail with guanciale and brioche. A sculptural plate of tuna tartare is accompanied by avocado cream and Osetra caviar. Main dishes include a slow-cooked spiced lamb shank, whole salt-baked dorade for two, and a duck breast with crispy skin perched on top of pureed and confit winter vegetables.
“In Spain right now, the way to cook is with fusion,” López-Picazo says. “Everybody is using their own style of food, fusing with many other items I didn’t know when I was a kid.”
López-Picazo, who trained at the Madrid Cooking Institute, came into his own under José Andrés, whom he helped open the Bethesda location of Jaleo in 2002. He later rode the tapas wave to Las Vegas, where he ran kitchens at Julian Serrano Tapas and two Michelin-starred Picasso in the Bellagio Resort. In 2017, he returned to DC to raise his kids, and since then has helped open such restaurants as Fabio Trabocchi’s Del Mar.
For now, the Grove’s menu is a la carte only, with smaller plates ranging from $14 to $28 and main courses going up to $65. But in a few months, López-Picazo plans to add a tasting menu— and hopefully grab a Michelin star.
