On August 12, chefs and brothers Morou and Amadou Ouattara opened the 6,900-square-foot restaurant and bar Kora in the Crystal City space that formerly housed Roberto Donna’a Bebo. Newly reconfigured by Washington-based Grizform Design Architects, the bright contemporary venue has soaring walls of glass and a color scheme of purple and gray with white accents. Like Donna’s enterprise, the menu highlights trattoria-style Italian fare with an emphasis on house-made pastas and pizzas.
At the entrance, there is a small lounge area with black leather sofas and a dining bar for four overlooking an open pizza kitchen outfitted with an elaborately tiled wood-burning oven. To the left, the airy main dining room is broken into three sections by see-through dividers and features undulating sheer fabric overhead and a massive four-panel Warhol-esque photo of chef Morou’s three-year-old daughter, Kora.
Guests climb one step to the 21-seat bar and the 45-seat private dining room, where a wall covered in purple silk leads the eye to the 20-foot beamed ceiling and skylight.
