2. Top of the Hay
One of the most coveted private rooftops in Washington, the Top of the Hay at the Hay-Adams Hotel, underwent a multimillion-dollar, five-month renovation and is scheduled to open in January. The all-new, L-shaped space features floor-to-ceiling windows, a wraparound terrace, and five separate rooms that will fit groups of 15 to 300 and offer panoramic views of the White House and downtown Washington. Designed by interior designer Tom Pheasant and architectural design firm Hartman-Cox Architects, the updated decor boasts a new palette, and mosaic tiles, marble floors, and custom-designed carpets.
3. Hirshhorn Bubble
The Hirshhorn Museum on the Mall may open its new, temporary expansion sometime in 2011. Designed by New York firm Diller Scofidio & Renfro, the space known as the "bubble" will be a 145-foot-tall inflatable auditorium that encompasses the doughnutlike hole in the middle of the museum, and will offer a smaller, clear lobby space that will protrude from the side of the building. Scheduled to be inflated during the summer, the main auditorium will be able to host as many as 1,000 people for conferences, meetings, and special exhibits.
4. Virtue Feed & Grain
Already one of the top chefs in the Washington metro area, Cathal Armstrong is expanding his restaurant footprint in Old Town Alexandria in the spring with Virtue Feed & Grain. The two-level, 300-seat Irish-American pub takes its name from the building’s former use as a feed house, and Armstrong plans on serving comfort foods from both his native Ireland and the States. Mixologist Todd Thrasher, Armstrong’s business partner, will oversee the beverage program, which will feature “hop-tails” and a wide selection of craft beers.
5. Fiola
Chef Fabio Trabocchi returns from New York City to Washington in the spring to open Fiola. The Penn Quarter location holds a special place in Trabocchi's heart—he met his wife when he was the chef at Bice, one of several restaurants that have opened and closed in the space over the years. The 140-seat restaurant will offer what Trabocchi calls a “gourmet but accessible” menu that will be a huge departure from his previous Washington restaurant, Maestro.
6. Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel
One of the few new hotels to open in the Arlington section of Crystal City—and the Washington area in 2011—the 302-room Renaissance hotel is in the heart of a busy dining and business district and less than one mile from Reagan National Airport. Scheduled to open in March, the hotel features 15 meeting rooms equaling more than 17,000 square feet of meeting space for groups of 12 to 900.
7. Graffiato
Top Chef contestant and former Zatinya chef Mike Isabella plans to open Graffiato, his first restaurant, in the spring near the Verizon Center. Isabella is aiming to offer an Italian-inspired menu of wood-fired pizzas, pastas, charcuterie, and small plates in the two-level restaurant, which will seat 150 people. While the restaurant won't have a private dining room, groups will be able to reserve the second level for events.
8. Lincoln
Hudson owner Alan Popovsky plans to open his newest restaurant, Lincoln, on the former president's birthday, February 12. Taking over the space vacated by Il Mulino, Popovsky hired local designer Maggie O’Neill, who created Sei and Oya, to create a contemporary log cabin motif for the 210-seat space. It will include private dining space, along with a bar area and main dining room. Demetrio Zavala will helm the kitchen, serving items like bacon-wrapped scallop sliders and pot-roast bites.
9. Todd Gray's Watershed
Chef Todd Gray and his wife, Ellen Kassoff Gray, oversee one of the most recognizable restaurants in Washington with Equinox, and the couple has finally decided to expand and open their second restaurant, Todd Gray's Watershed, in the up-and-coming NoMa neighborhood. The 6,500-square-foot restaurant will be on the second floor of the yet-to-open Hilton Garden Inn and offer a seafood-focused menu. Initial plans call for an 80-seat dining room, a 20-seat bar, a patio, and several banquet rooms, which will seat as many as 165 people.
10. Italian Cinema/Italian Shirt Laundry
Mark Weiss, the restaurateur behind Againn and Againn Tavern, has announced plans to partner with ABDO Development and open two new Italian-themed restaurants in the 14th Street Corridor in late 2011, Italian Cinema and Italian Shirt Laundry. First up is the upscale Italian Cinema, which will take over the ABDO’s former office space in Logan Circle and will screen films on the walls, while Italian Shirt Laundry takes over a former dry cleaner down the street and is planned as a casual alternative focusing on pizzas and baked goods.
