After many delays, one of the city’s premier chefs, Ris Lacoste, said that her long-awaited new dining venue, Ris, will open in late summer 2009 in the West End. Designed by local architect Tom Kamm, the newly constructed 3,200-square-foot flexible space will have five separate dining areas and 160 seats (plus an additional 40 to 50 outdoors in fair weather), which can be reconfigured to create private rooms with 12 and 40 seats. Kamm said his design is based on "a contemporary reinterpretation of a French café with additional influences from the chef’s experiences in Australia and the Northern California wine country."
Lacoste, who has consulted on various projects since her departure from 1789 restaurant in Georgetown more than three years ago, said, “I’ve commanded that—considering the location near the Kennedy Center and Foggy Bottom—the space be flexible for cast parties and politico dinners, as well as for the neighbors who want quiet dining.” The menu will be modern, seasonal American.
Correction: The original version of this story incorrectly stated the number of indoor and outdoor seats.
