While our list leans heavily on restaurants, there were plenty of other excellent openings in the past year that you can still experience in the months ahead.
Moon Rabbit
For those who fell in love with chef Kevin Tien’s cooking at Moon Rabbit 1.0 at the Intercontinental at The Wharf, the new incarnation that opened last winter—and reeled in a James Beard nomination—feels like the chef is on a booster rocket. The menu changes frequently and is always a revelation. “The vibe is coastal Vietnam, and I’m recreating things I grew up eating,” says Tien. “But we’re also focusing on different regions of the country. We want guests to feel like they’re visiting Vietnam without leaving the country.”
Osteria Mozza
James Beard Award-winning chef Stephen Starr (@stephen.starr) and Michelin-starred chef Nancy Silverton (@nancysilverton) teamed up for the opening of Osteria Mozza (@osteriamozzadc) in Georgetown this fall. It occupies a gorgeous 20,000-square-foot building with old bones (circa 1865). Guests will discover a restaurant with a traditional Italian menu, a marble-topped Mozzarella Bar, a stunning bar, two private dining areas and a Silverton-curated market featuring spices, fresh fruits and vegetables, jarred and tinned Italian delicacies and specialty olive oil, among other sundries.
Hirshhorn Museum: OSGEMEOS: Endless Story
Sir Richard Branson once noted that miracles sometimes come in pairs. He could have been speaking artistically about the Brazilian identical twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo. The artists, known globally as OSGEMEOS (Portuguese for “the twins”), will showcase their work at the Hirshhorn Museum in OSGEMEOS: Endless Story through next summer (Aug. 5). Guests should buckle in for a surreal ride during the first U.S. survey of the artists’ work. The exhibition encompasses an entire floor and showcases 1,000 artworks, photographs and archival pieces.
El Taller del Xiquet
Chef Danny Lledó, the visionary behind Washington, DC’s acclaimed Spanish restaurant Xiquet, recently unveiled a new dining concept within the Glover Park location. El Taller del Xiquet (pronounced “el ta-YER del Chee-KETT”), meaning “Xiquet’s Workshop,” occupies the street-level space below his Michelin-starred fine dining establishment, bringing a fresh culinary experience to the neighborhood.
Lledó says the restaurant offers guests a glimpse into his culinary journey and a chance to taste dishes as they evolve. “It’s not a tasting menu; instead, I invite everyone to explore the menu and design the meal they crave.” The à la carte menu blends Lledó’s Valencian roots with modern American culinary creativity. With just 14 seats, the space offers an intimate setting for private dinners or communal gatherings with loved ones. Lledó explains, “I want our guests to experience this food like my people do.”
Maggie O’Neill: Vote For Your Daughter
The Washington, DC-based artist Maggie O’Neill wants to change the world one vote at a time. O’Neill (@maggieoartist) founded the nonprofit Vote for Your Daughter and the Our Daughters Future Fund, a nonpartisan campaign that encourages people to consider their daughters’ futures when voting based on four key issues: healthcare, education, representation and equal pay.
Rosedale
Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj, the hit-making legend of Washington’s fine-dining scene for three decades (Oval Room, Modena, Rasika, among others), still believes in neighborhood gathering spaces where conviviality reigns. He’s betting on it.
Ashok’s new 100-seat restaurant, Rosedale (rosedaledc.com), on Connecticut Avenue in upper Northwest’s Forest Hills neighborhood, feels like the type of third-place that should be a blueprint for anyone launching a restaurant: warm, open, detail-oriented and offering a simple American farm-to-table menu that delivers unforgettable tastes that win awards without trying too hard.
El Cielo’s New Tasting Menu
While exploring Juan Manuel Barrientos’ exciting new 20-course tasting menu, guests will find plenty of smoke (liquid nitrogen) and even hand-washing with melted and warm white chocolate and Columbian coffee grounds. But at no point will you think the extracurriculars are silly sideshows. Instead, they are part of the powerful magic. The menu is a hit from the opening act to the finale.
Neutral Ground Bar + Kitchen
It’s safe to say that chef David Guas is an original. For those who remember his early days at DC’s Oceanaire, it was clear Guas was cut from a different culinary cloth. After 13 years of bringing authentic regional flavors to Arlington via Bayou Bakery, Guas recently introduced his Neutral Ground Bar + Kitchen in McLean. This venture, which took six years to realize, is close to his home and pays homage to New Orleans’ “neutral ground,” a green space symbolizing community unity. The name reflects his vision of bringing people together through a shared culinary experience. It became an overnight hit last summer.
The menu highlights regional small farmers and fishermen from the Mid-Atlantic, Virginia and the Gulf Coast. Early favorites include a wood-fired bone-in pork chop with whole grain mustard pan sauce and fennel-green apple slaw; wood oven-roasted Chesapeake oysters with lemon-garlic-Parmesan butter; and the CHF “Shenandoah Randall Line-Back” double patty burger with classic fixings.
Fairmont Washington, DC: Georgetown Suite
The newly refurbished, 2,150-square-foot Georgetown Suite, located on the ninth floor (the Fairmont Gold level) at the Fairmont, nestled on a quiet stretch of M Street in the West End. The suite’s press release notes that it’s fit for kings, queens and presidents seeking luxurious sojourns. All true. But it’s also a two-bedroom winter hideaway for couples looking to rejuvenate or honeymooners celebrating their big day before the rest of their lives begin.
Pierre Josselin of New York-based Pierre & Co (pierreandco.com) crafted the sophisticated urban retreat. Gold plays a starring role in the room’s decor, inspired by the golden hour casting its glow on the National Mall. Couches, vases, draperies, sculptures, lamps, marble tables, mirrors and a handcrafted glass cherry blossom chandelier showcase various gilded hues. Josselin balances and grounds his radiant selections with natural tones for coffee tables and hand-tufted area rugs. Bright white molding and black-stained millwork frame the rooms. The suite’s foyer is a marvel, with a gorgeous black, gray and white marble floor that flows into walnut wall panels.
Folger Shakespeare Library Reopens
“Wisely and slow; they stumble that run fast.” Those words from William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet could also describe the $80.5 million renovation of the Folger Shakespeare Theater. It took four years, but the payoff is nothing short of magnificent. Philadelphia-based architectural firm KieranTimberlake (kiernantimberlake.com) led the renovation of Folger (the firm also designed the U.S. Embassy in London), including the bright new public wing, Adams Pavilion, boasting 12,000 square feet. Another unexpected addition: stunning gardens, complete with lavender and rosemary, created by renowned landscape architectural firm OLIN (theolinstudio.com).
“This renovation expresses our faith in the ongoing importance of Shakespeare, the arts, and the humanities to our civic life,” says Michael Witmore, Folger’s director. “These enhancements to our building and grounds guarantee that generations of DC residents and visitors will engage with our collections and programs in new and profound ways.”
Chanel’s Redesign: Tysons Galleria
Chanel reopened its revamped boutique at Tysons Galleria last summer, and the single-level space is a knockout. It draws inspiration from Gabrielle Chanel’s iconic Paris’ rue Cambon apartment. Notable features include a meticulously selected blend of contemporary and period art and furniture curated by longtime Chanel collaborator Peter Marino (petermarinoarchitect.com), ensuring an elevated shopping experience.
A textured white stone facade unveils an interior featuring a color scheme of gold and black complemented by custom woven textiles in metallics and rich browns. Bespoke wool and silk carpeting, hand-applied crackle lacquer and moon gold finishes adorn the space. Fans of the brand will also discover a mix of modern art, sculpture, gilded antiques and custom lighting crafted by Goossens (goosens-paris.com), a Parisian goldsmith.
The boutique’s layout boasts 10 salons. Visitors will see dedicated spaces for handbags and accessories, fragrance and beauty, and watches and fine jewelry. An additional salon for shoes showcases two elegant bronze chairs from the design studio Voukenas Petrides (@voukenaspetrides), complemented by a stunning Goossens chandelier adorned with 17 hexagonal rock crystal pieces suspended from decorative gold chains.
Mita
Culinary ambition is thrilling to watch. It veers toward unexpected places and often delivers tastes never encountered. This is the mission of Miguel Guerra and Tatiana Mora, the former chefs behind Michelin-starred El Cielo in Union Market District and the renowned Latin American Serenata at La Cosecha Market. MITA also draws on the duo’s Latin American heritage with a 14-course, vegan-centric tasting menu that presents local ingredients in unexpected and dramatic ways. It garnered a Michelin star in its first year.
Venezuelan designer Valentina Story created the aesthetic in the cozy and relaxed V Street restaurant, which hints at the show guests will encounter. The staff wears head-to-toe white and guides guests into a dining room with an open kitchen, flower-shaped chandeliers from CB2 (cb2.com), wood tables, ivory-colored floors and comfy, ergonomic chairs. The tableware from Spanish-based cookplay (cookplay.eu) is now the prettiest in the city.
“Our culinary journey mirrors our deep love and passion for food,” says Mora. “As the creators of this gastronomic venture, we aspire to bring our customers an experience that resonates with our genuine desire to nourish not just the body but the soul.”
Cabada Contemporary
Georgetown’s Canal Square recently got a little brighter. Cabada Contemporary opened this year with its inaugural exhibit, BLOOM, featuring works by the abstract expressionist Javier Cabada and his daughter, figurative artist Sabrina Cabada. The two artists, who paint vibrant and engaging works, haven’t exhibited together since a show at their family-owned gallery over two decades ago. The gallery’s follow-up exhibits this year have been equally enticing.
L’Avante-Garde
The Georgetown French restaurant returned boldly earlier this year with a new partner and chef, Sébastien Giannini, who teams up with Fady Saba, the venue’s operator and creative director.
Giannini, who served as executive chef in DC at the St. Regis, Watergate Hotel and Four Seasons, creates authentic fare with his signature flair. Don’t miss dishes like whole branzino, tuna tartar (with Medjool date puree, garlic chips, caper berries and kumquat jelly), duck confit
(with a housemade foie gras center and topped with slivered almonds) and pan-seared diver sea scallops with thyme and bay leaves.
Tien says he’s forever working on a list of menu ideas. “We have 100 dishes we could have put on the first menu,” he says, adding that the menu will evolve and surprise. No one will visit Moon Rabbit and be bored by the experience.
Photography by: Michael McCarthy; Michael McCarthy; Rick Coulby; Courtesy of Brand
