Here's a look at the best new Washington restaurants, hotels, party rooms, corporate event venues, conference centers, and private rooms to open this winter. These new and renovated Washington venues can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, meetings, business dinners, cocktail parties, conferences, weddings, and more.
In December, Mandarin Oriental launched Asian fusion concept restaurant Muze with all-day service. The 96-seat restaurant replaces Sou’Wester and serves as a complement to the hotel’s fine-dining restaurant CityZen by Eric Ziebold. Muze’s private dining room accommodates 10 guests, and the restaurant also boasts a 36-seat patio.
At 30,000 square feet, the massive new venue Echostage is touted as the Washington region’s largest standing-room concert venue. Echostage is outfitted with state-of-the-art sound design and LED visual displays, as well as two 60-foot-long bars flanking the dance floor and more than 30 bottle service areas, which each comfortably accommodate eight people. Formerly known as DC Tunnel and DC Star, headliners at Echostage have included David Guetta, Calvin Harris, Avicci, and Armin van Buuren.
Modern Mexican cuisine with a waterfront view can now be found at Capitol Riverfront. The 4,000-square-foot Agua 301 opened in December at the historic Lumber Shed Building in Yards Park. Designed by GrizForm Design Architects, the decor is informed by Mexican design with custom wall panels, neutral colors, dark wood tones, and a wood trellis. The restaurant offers several private and semiprivate dining spaces, including a hacienda courtyard dining room that seats 28 guests. The hacienda courtyard’s decor includes stucco and tile walls, glass-blown lanterns, and greenery including cacti and succulents. Agua 301 accommodates a group of as many as 125.
New to the Capitol Riverfront neighborhood is Osteria Morini, an Italian restaurant from the Altamarea Group’s Ahmass Fakahany and chef Michael White. With rustic cuisine from Italy’s Emilia-Romagna region, Osteria Morini opened its Washington location in November. Groups can meet in the restaurant’s private dining room, which accommodates 30 seated guests or 45 guests for receptions. The fully enclosed private room comes equipped with a 60-inch plasma TV and exclusive iPod capabilities. The restaurant is also available for full buyouts for 110 seated guests or 200 for receptions.
Dolcezza has opened a state-of-the-art gelato factory, housed in a 4,000-square-foot warehouse facility near Union Market. Previously home to a wholesale flower market, the factory now includes a gelato tasting room featuring a bar overlooking the gelato production. Brian Miller of Edit added a new mezzanine level overlooking the gelato-making process and incorporated skylights, 18-foot-tall glass garage doors, and vintage industrial pieces from the Hershey Chocolate Factory circa 1950. With the venue’s open floor plan, events for private groups of as many as 100 guests can be arranged.
Philadelphia’s City Tap House now boasts a location in Washington. City Tap House DC opened in December in Penn Quarter with seats for 180 diners and 40 beer lines. The industrial design by Streetsense emphasizes wood beams, copper fixtures, and stone panels. City Tap House DC’s private dining room includes audiovisual capabilities and accommodates 100 guests for a seated dinner or as many as 200 guests for a cocktail reception. The private dining space can also be divided into two smaller rooms.
On K Street is new restaurant and oyster bar Catch 15. Semiprivate event space is available in Catch 15’s lounge area, which is decorated with plush white couches. The 24-seat lounge accommodates 40 guests for receptions. Seated dining for private groups will available in February.
A recent renovation at the Westfield Marriott Washington Dulles in Chantilly updated guest rooms, the hotel’s fitness center, and the hotel’s conference dining room. The renovation also added a new British-style pub and restaurant, Wellington’s, which seats 100 with a private area for a group of six. Decor includes wall coverings conceived by Parker Torres Design that feature the Duke of Wellington’s letters during the Napoleonic Wars. The hotel’s newly updated 375-seat Fairfax Conference Dining Room serves as a dedicated private dining room adjacent to the third floor function space; it doubles as the Palm Court for daily breakfast and Sunday brunch. Meanwhile, mobile-friendly apps streamline guest check-in
and meeting planning functions.
After opening upper northwest’s Al Dente, the restaurateur/chef team of Hakan Ilhan and Roberto Donna have opened a new Italian restaurant near Chinatown. Alba Osteria debuted in December and specializes in Italian cuisine from the Piedmonte region. Designed by Norris Design, the 5,500-square-foot restaurant seats 226 guests, including 63 diners on the seasonal patio. A pizza bar located next to a wood-fired oven decorated with handmade Italian glass mosaic tile is the restaurant’s focal point, while a 22-seat private room incorporates windows and the wood paneling from a 100-year-old demolished Crayola factory in Ohio.
New Logan Circle Italian restaurant Lupo Verde seats 100 guests for small plates, antipasti, paninis, pasta, and pizza. Designed by Lisa Halloran of Sculptures of Space, the restaurant houses a cheese shop, a 15-seat bar, and a 25-seat lounge. Upstairs, Lupo Verde hosts diners at a 10-seat marble bar and in a 50-seat dining room; a semiprivate alcove seats 10 near a working fireplace. The restaurant will also seat 40 diners on a gated patio.
