D.C. restaurants are raising the bar this season, with new chefs, wine bars and openings from Shaw to Navy Yar
Nicholas Fulginiti was named executive chef at Ten Ten West End at the One Washington Circle DC hotel. He was previously executive chef at District Winery and The Duck & The Peach.
Eugene Beckley and Katie Catalano’s Charcuteria, a Mediterranean market and wine bar featuring conservas (tinned seafood) as well as private-event space, is slated to open in Shaw in mid-December at 2104 Vermont Ave. NW.
Partnering with his wife, Laura Pisarello, Peruvian chef Augusto Salazar Calderón — formerly of Fiola, The Salt Line, ilili and Cranes in D.C. — is slated to open Ceferina, a full-service wood-fired grill restaurant, and Chapla, an all-day café, at 360 Water St. SE in Navy Yard, where Shilling Canning Company used to be. A first-quarter opening is targeted for each concept, with the café opening first.
Bajo, an Iberian Spanish-Japanese restaurant from Max Rivera and Sarah Montell, is slated to open in the fourth quarter at 130 Blagden Alley NW in Shaw. In addition to a Spanish and Catalan wine program and a sake list, there will be a DJ-directed vinyl listening bar.
From Spike Mendelsohn (We, The Pizza), Seth Goldman (Just Ice Tea) and Chris Treloar, who brought us PLNT Burger, comes PLNT Café at 655 K St. NW, where Shouk used to be. The 26-seat café is slated to open in the fourth quarter.
Also in the fourth quarter, Mehdi Zorgani, formerly of iK Hospitality Group and Capital Restaurant Concepts, will open Pastiamo Osteria in Woodley Park at 2614 Connecticut Ave. NW, where Elsa Ethiopian Kitchen used to be. The 110-seat Italian restaurant will offer homemade pastas and brick-oven pizzas.
Mike Cordero will open Capellini’s Classic Italian at 22850 Brambleton Plaza in Ashburn’s Brambleton Town Center by the end of the fourth quarter. Cordero also owns and operates Carbonara restaurants in Arlington and Gainesville.
Just opened: N.H. 48 Indian Kitchen at 4828 MacArthur Boulevard NW in D.C.’s Palisades neighborhood. Owners Prady Rana and Bhakti More named it after National Highway 48, the route connecting Delhi and Mumbai.
North Carolina-based Crave Dessert Bar, featuring sweet, savory and boozy offerings, is slated to open at 2 Massachusetts Ave. NW by Union Station. It will have 75 seats and a sidewalk café with 70 more. One of the owners, Adam Aberra, has a local connection: general counsel for Five Guys International. Sheldon Osborne and Clint Medlock are the other two partners.
tagsBajoCapellini’s Classic ItalianCeferinaChaplaCharcuteriaCrave Dessert BarDC restaurantsN.H. 48 Indian KitchenNavy YardNicholas FulginitiPalisadesPastiamo OsteriaPLNT Caférestaurant openingsShawTen Ten West EndThe Latest DishUnion StationWoodley Park
Dining and Cooking