12 New Options for Business Entertaining in Washington

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises opened an outpost of Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab downtown in January. Located in a former bank and designed by Gensler, the 20,000-square-foot restaurant holds intimate gatherings or parties for as many as 150 guests. The restaurant’s mezzanine level includes four private dining rooms: the Gigi Room, which seats 112 guests or holds 150 for receptions and can be partitioned; Jo Ann’s Room, which seats 14 and has full audiovisual capabilities; Grace’s Room, which includes a boardroom table with 18 seats and audiovisual capabilities; and the South Beach Room, which seats 30, has audiovisual capabilities, and overlooks the grand bar on the lower level. On the first level, Jesse’s Room is decorated with restored floor-to-ceiling vintage millwork and seats eight.

A new, larger outpost of Ted's Bulletin opened on 14th Street last August. Designed to look like a 1930s diner, the 160-seat restaurant includes a 500-square-foot bakery offering treats such as doughnuts and homemade Pop Tarts to go. The restaurant, which includes counter and booth seating, holds 15 on either side of the dining room.

After a decade of development, the much-anticipated 1,175-room Marriott Marquis Washington, D.C. opened May 1 adjacent to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The hotel has several restaurants and bars for entertaining business clients, including Anthem (pictured), the Dignitary lounge, and the sports bar High Velocity. The hotel, on track to earn Silver LEED certification, also has more than 105,000 square feet of meeting space.

Chef and restaurateur Richard Sandoval’s newest project in Washington, contemporary pan-Latin steak house Toro Toro, opened in March. Designed by LW Design Group of Dubai, the 12,400-square-foot restaurant includes an open main dining room with Japanese and Latin elements such as cowhide accents, marble floors, silk cushions, and a sculptural metal cage staircase. Smaller events for as many as 50 guests can be arranged upstairs, and the downstairs holds 200 for receptions. The entire restaurant is available for buyouts of 600.

Former BLT Steak executive chef Victor Albisu opened his first full-service restaurant in April 2013, the upscale South American grill Del Campo. Located in Chinatown, the 5,000-square-foot venue seats 129 in the dining room, 36 at the bar, and 40 on the patio. Del Campo accommodates as many as 300 guests for full buyout. Private dinners for 18 guests and semiprivate dinners for as many as 46 can also be arranged. At the Asado Bar, guests can sit at a nine-seat counter overlooking the restaurant’s open kitchen while trying dishes from the restaurant’s tasting menus. Del Campo’s look is designed by CORE and inspired by both the modern South American city and the Argentina countryside. Decor includes textured concrete walls, laser-cut wood paneling, leather dining chairs, velvet-upholstered booths, South American collectibles, and crystal chandeliers.

New from restauranteur Ashok Bajaj of Rasika, Bibiana Osteria-Enoteca, and the Oval Room is NoPa Kitchen & Bar, a brasserie in Penn Quarter. Helmed by executive chef Greg McCarty, the restaurant serves French-influenced dishes. The restaurant seats as many as 140 guests in the main dining room and offers three private dining rooms for business entertaining. The largest dining room seats 40 guests and includes a fireplace and audiovisual capacity. Designed by Martin Vahtra of Projects Design Associates of New York, the venue includes a 20-seat bar and lounge for casual dining.

A huge open kitchen with hickory-fired rotisserie grills is a focal point at chef Mike Isabella's new northern Greek-inspired restaurant Kapnos on 14th Street. The 6,000-square-foot space includes a 39-seat semiprivate dining area with accents like velvet curtains, punched metal Moroccan lanterns, and a window view into the display kitchen. Designed by Streetsense, the restaurant's rustic 160-seat dining room also includes a 10-seat chef's table illuminated by wine bottle chandeliers. Also new is Isabella's new Italian sandwich shop G, which is located next door to Kapnos. The 2,000-square-foot restaurant seats 46 and offers dine-in and carry-out sandwich options by day and a four-course Italian-American tasting menu for dinner.

Daikaya Izakaya, the much-anticipated Japanese tavern and grill, opened in Chinatown in March 2013. Located on the second floor above Daikaya’s more informal, walk-in-only ramen shop, the 90-seat izakaya is available for entertaining and partial buyouts. Designed by Edit Lab at Streetsense, the restaurant’s eclectic, layered look includes glazed mosaic tiles, vintage pendant lights, Japanese fabrics, tour bills for Japanese bands, movie posters, and custom manga wallpaper.

Frederik De Pue’s new restaurant concept Menu MBK in Penn Quarter spans three levels: the ground-floor Market, which offers local produce and goods as well as coffee and premade meals; BistroBar, which serves beer, wine, cocktails, and small plates; and Kitchen, a top-floor restaurant serving European country cuisine. Kitchen seats 36 guests or is available for receptions and business entertaining, and the BistroBar area seats 29 guests.

Bluejacket, an ambitious craft brewery, and its sister restaurant, the Arsenal, from Neighborhood Restaurant Group, opened in October on the Capitol Riverfront in the renovated historic Boilermaker Building. The Arsenal, located inside the brewery, seats approximately 200 and has a semiprivate area on the second floor that accommodates as many as 20 guests for events. The brewery also hosts tours.

Dupont Circle lounge Kabin brings alpine Aspen chic to Washington with a 1970s-era ski-culture-inspired interiors. The 3,200-square-foot venue accommodates as many as 250 guests and includes chalet-esque design details like charcoal-finished wood walls, skiing murals, mirrored ceilings, tanned-leather banquettes, herringbone floors, and a virtual fire box.

In April 2013, Heritage India owner Sanjeev Tuli opened Crossroads, his newest venture located just a blocks from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. The 7,000-square-foot restaurant has an appropriately global menu and includes South American, African, Asian, and European dishes—and a dual concept, with a second dining area solely devoted to Heritage India’s menu. Groups can book the restaurant’s private dining room, which accommodates 45 people and offers items from both Crossroads and Heritage India. Decor includes tribal masks from around the world, along with a Buddha statue that measures more than five feet and weighs 500 pounds.