Here's a look at the best new Washington restaurants, corporate event venues, hotels, conference centers, and private and party rooms to open for events this fall. These new and renovated Washington venues can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, conferences, meetings, weddings, business dinners, teambuilding activities, cocktail parties, and more.
Chef Amy Brandwein opened her new 4,075-square-foot market and seasonal Italian osteria Centrolina in May at CityCenterDC. Architecture firm Core designed the space, which includes a 48-seat dining room, 16-seat bar, and 32-seat patio. The design scheme includes neutral colors, white-painted brick, polished concretes, and blond-wood tones with accent colors in turquoise, terra-cotta, and fuchsia. The private dining room seats as many as 10 guests.
In June, Jamestown LP debuted its new rooftop event space, the Observatory at America’s Square. The 1,758-square-foot rooftop offers prime views of the U.S. Capitol building and the D.C. skyline. The space holds 240 guests for receptions or seats 120 guests.
The Bethesda Marriott unveiled newly renovated event space this spring, including a 4,592-square-foot ballroom and 13 meeting rooms on the central and west sides of the first floor. The hotel now offers close to 12,000 square feet of meeting space with a contemporary new look. The space offers a neutral canvas for events, with a palette of gray tones and modern light fixtures. The Grand Ballroom alone seats 450 guests theater-style, 300 banquet-style, or 260 guests schoolroom-style; it also holds 450 for receptions. The hotel is in the midst of a total transformation, with redesigned guests rooms revealed earlier this year and a new restaurant and lobby set to open later this summer.
Nautical-themed Annapolis restaurant Blackwall Hitch opened a second outpost in Alexandria on the Old Town waterfront in June. The restaurant has 450 seats; three outdoor patios overlooking the Potomac River seat 135 combined. The larger Potomac Patio seats 75, while Dockside Patios 1 and 2 each seat 30 guests. Inside, upstairs dining room the Crow’s Nest seats 36. The restaurant is divided into five additional spaces: the Captain’s Quarters with seating for 36, the Bridge with seating for 60, the King’s Room with seating for 60, the Oyster Bar with seating for 25, and the Quarter Deck with seating for 88.
Also now open in CityCenterDC is an outpost of national chain Fig & Olive, which bowed in June. Both the menu and the design of the 10,000-square-foot restaurant is meant to evoke the French Riviera. The 330-seat Fig & Olive location includes an outdoor patio; an expansive lounge, bar, and crostini station on the first floor; and a formal dining area, an intimate bar space, and a private dining room upstairs. The private dining room seats 70.
New to NoMa is outdoor beer garden Wunder Garten, which opened in May. The outdoor venue is available for private events and seats as many as 240 guests or holds 300 for receptions. German and local beers are on tap, and guests have access to games such as cornhole, ladder ball, and Frisbee.
New York-based chef Alex Garcia opened a second location of AG Kitchen in Silver Spring in June. The 8,000-square-foot Latin restaurant seats 250 diners and incorporates vibrant colors such as green, yellow, aqua, and orange. A private dining room holds 60 guests for receptions or seats 45. A semiprivate dining room faces the open kitchen and seats 55 guests or holds 70 for receptions.
RW Restaurant Group opened Urban Heights in Bethesda in April, with a menu based on the flavors of the Philippines and Southeast Asia from executive chef Cliff Wharton. The main dining room seats 86, as well as an additional 20 guests at the bar and 20 guests seated along the window rail. The Bamboo Room, Urban Height’s second-floor private dining room, seats 20 guests. The second-floor dining patio holds 60 guests for receptions, and one level above, the Lotus Lounge seats 40 and has a 15-seat bar. The lounge holds 200 for receptions. The restaurant has an industrial look and floor-to-ceiling windows.
New H Street restaurant Sally’s Middle Name seats 25 guests or holds 40 for receptions. The upstairs space doubles as a boutique when not being used for events. The eatery, which opened in June, focuses on fresh, local ingredients. Decor includes white tiled walls, exposed brick, and vintage plates sourced from estate sales and thrift stores. A roof deck is slated to debut in late summer or early fall.
In May, chef David Guas opened his second location of Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery. The new Southern-inspired restaurant is located in Capitol Hill on the grounds of Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital. Guas restored the circa-1864 carriage house, keeping unique elements like exposed brick, wooden hay chutes, and feeding troughs. The venue seats 50 guests inside and 40 on the patio.
