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.
The new 182-room Cambria Suites hotel at the City Market at O center near the Walter E. Washington Convention Center includes 1,200 square feet of meeting facilities, as well as lounge space, a courtyard with a fire pit, and a rooftop patio with a pool. The 800-square-foot Duke Ellington Room holds 70 for receptions or 40 classroom-style. A 400-square-foot boardroom seats 12.
Chef Daniel Boulud’s long-awaited French brasserie DBGB Kitchen and Bar opened in September at the exclusive mixed-use development CityCenterDC. Serving classic American dishes prepared with a French flair, DBGB is designed by Thomas Schlesser, the same architect and interior designer who designed the original DBGB location in New York. The dining room is a mix of beer-hall-style tables and booths, with private dining space upstairs. The restaurant's two private dining rooms, Salon Rouge and Salon Bleu, can host seated meals and cocktail receptions. Salon Bleu seats 40 guests in several styles of arrangements with panoramic views overlooking H Street, while Salon Rouge seats 24 guests with a boardroom table and views of CityCenter’s courtyard. There is a shared reception area adjacent to the space, and both private rooms can be reserved in tandem for 90 people for receptions or a seated meal for 60 using the reception space. The private rooms boast individually controlled lighting, HVAC, blackout shades, and iPod docks. The entire restaurant including the ground floor holds 200 additional guests.
In October, restaurateurs Eric and Ian Hilton opened their newest project—and their first in Georgetown. Chez Billy Sud is located in the former Cafe La Ruche Space and is the sister restaurant to Petworth’s Chez Billy. The French restaurant is open for lunch, brunch, and dinner and seats 64 in the dining room and 54 on the patio. A wine bar expansion is slated to open at Chez Billy Sud in the next six months.
A renovation this summer doubled the size of Urbana’s bar area, upgraded its patio, and relocated the private dining room at the restaurant, which is located in Hotel Palomar. GrizForm Design Architects reimagined the 82-seat Dupont Circle restaurant’s floor plan to be more free-flowing with an expanded lounge area in the location of the former private dining room. The bar area now has a double-sided bar, while the relocated private dining room is located near the hotel lobby and seats 12. Custom red sliding doors can close off sections of the main dining room for private events, while a full buyout of the restaurant holds 200 guests for receptions. The sleek redesign includes materials like wood, marble, grey plaster, and chrome.
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse opened in September at CityCenterDC and spans three floors. The restaurant boasts 400 seats and includes two split-level dining rooms, two bars, a lounge, and a courtyard patio. Private dining options include a 350-square-foot boardroom upstairs that seats 16 and offers audiovisual service, as well as a lower-level wine cellar where 90 guests can dine in a room with walls of glass-encased wine bottles. The 1,200-square-foot wine cellar also can be split into two rooms with an air wall—one section measuring 700 square feet, and the other 450 square feet.
New to Mosaic District is B Side, a bar and restaurant from Neighborhood Restaurant Group with an industrial vibe and a menu offering bar snacks and main dishes. The 50-seat restaurant is available for buyouts, and while there isn't a private space within B Side, event planners can book evening events in the neighboring Red Apron butcher shop.
Mess Hall opened in October, transforming a 10,000-square-foot raw warehouse with 17-foot ceilings in Brookland into work space for Washington food entrepreneurs. Mess Hall offers kitchens, offices, and storage space. The venue also includes 1,500 square feet of private event space for meetings and parties for 300 guests. The space can be divided into two separate rooms with sliding barn doors. When the doors are closed, one room is about 1,000 square feet and the other is 500 square feet. Mess Hall also includes a state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen that is open to the event space.
A glossy red piano is the star at Georgetown Piano Bar, a new venue that opened in September. Pianists Hunter Lang and Spencer Bates lead sing-along sessions and provide live entertainment seven nights a week. In addition to space for two pianists to play together, the venue also includes a circular sunken bar and custom built-in benches across from the bar. The bar is available for partial or full buyout for receptions of 180 guests.
At Washington Harbour on the Georgetown waterfront, Bangkok Joe’s restaurant is now Mama Rouge, a new Southeast Asian restaurant with French influences. The restaurant seats 106 guests, with an additional 15 seats at the bar and 25 seats on an outside patio. The restaurant is available for buyouts.
EatsPlace in Park View near Columbia Heights and Petworth is a new restaurant incubator offering residencies to a rotating selection of pop-up restaurants and guest chefs. The 1,500-square-foot venue offers private event space and can be booked for full buyouts for both the dining room and commercial kitchen. The dining room is 750 square feet; it seats 40 and has a semiprivate chef’s tasting room option.
