These new restaurants in Washington have private rooms and semiprivate spaces for groups both big and small, appropriate for events, meetings, business dinners, presentations, and other types of entertaining.
1. Penn Quarter’s dining options have continued to expand with the June opening of 901 Restaurant and Bar. Specializing in craft beers and a tapas-style menu meant for sharing, the 7,500-square-foot restaurant can seat 205 or host 450 for receptions throughout its bar and dining room. There are two private event spaces, the Georgetown and wine rooms, seating 52 and 16 people each. Receptions can also be hosted for 60 people in the lounge, which is outfitted with armchairs, love seats, and a fireplace. There is also a chef’s table separated from the main dining room by floor-to-ceiling draping, seating eight.
2. Bringing a bit of art to the dining experience, Lincoln restaurant opened with its penny-covered floor in the Dupont area in April. The upscale eatery has two private rooms, each decorated with a different historical theme. The Emancipation Room can seat 40 and has an LCD display wall of the Emancipation Proclamation. The American Flag Room can also seat 40 or host 55 for receptions, and is decorated with its namesake item. There is also seating for 200 in the main dining room and 40 on the patio.
3. The fourth branch of chef Guillermo Pernot’s Cuba Libre Restaurant and Rum Bar opened in early October in Washington’s Penn Quarter section. The 9,000-square-foot space has a 28-seat private dining room with complete audiovisual capabilities. Additionally, the L-shaped main dining room can host 170 guests, while the bar and lounge has seating for 50. During the warmer months, the restaurant will also offer a 66-seat sidewalk café. Available for complete or partial buyout, the restaurant offers a variety of unique entertainment options for events, including cigar rollers, salsa lessons, professional dancers, and musicians.
4. American Eats Tavern opened in the former home of ThinkFoodGroup’s Café Atlantico. The pop-up eatery is the newest venture from James Beard award-winning chef José Andrés, who will change the venue name, menu, and possibly decor when American Eats' six-month run has ended. The three-floor restaurant can seat 140 on the first floor, 36 on the second, and 36 on the third. There is also a rooftop that can host 50. The menu focuses on classic American cuisine throughout history, taking recipe inspiration from the National Archives with items like oysters Rockefeller and Kentucky burgoo—a type of stew. A casual take on the menu is served on the first floor, a more refined option on the second and third.
5. At 20,000 square feet, Carmine’s in Penn Quarter is the largest restaurant in Washington and can host groups of eight to 400 people in its nine private dining rooms. Opened last summer, the Washington outpost of this famous eatery offers enormous portions of Italian specialties, all served family-style, which is ideal for groups.
6. The Washington dining scene welcomed back one of its namesake chefs when Roberto Donna opened the bilevel Galileo III in October. The 80-seat restaurant serves many of the classic Italian dishes that made Donna a local star. The 6,100-square-foot restaurant also features two private dining rooms that can host 50 additional guests.
7. Another New York dining institution made its way to Washington when P.J. Clarke’s opened in the former Olive’s space in October. The 125-seat restaurant offers an impressive raw bar with some of the East Coast’s best catches, along with its famous burgers and steaks. Anchoring the space is a wrought-iron solarium originally owned by Walt Disney, which also leads guests downstairs to Sidecar, the restaurant’s 86-seat private dining room.
8. Lost Society opened in the U Street Corridor in June. The three-level space has two floors for entertaining, each of which can be booked for private events, as well as a rooftop seating 38. Each floor is roughly 2,900 square feet with seating for 86 on the main level floor, which is decorated with blue tufted sofas, vintage photography on the walls, and chandeliers. The second-floor lounge's decor is contrastingly light; the space can seat 20, and has whitewashed walls and its own bar.
9. After finding success downtown, local hospitality firm Whisk Group expanded its Againn gastropub concept to Rockville with Againn Tavern. Executive chef Wesley Morton oversees both locations, and the tavern menu features many of the same signature items, like fish-and-chips with mushy peas and bangers and mash. For groups, the 8,100-square-foot restaurant features two semiprivate rooms off of the main dining area that can be reserved for cocktail and dinner parties for as many as 50 people.
10. On May 5, restaurateur Richard Sandoval opened El Centro D.F. Mexican restaurant with more than 200 varieties of tequila and two event spaces for private events. For outdoor parties, the rooftop terrace has two tequila bars and can host as many as 100. Inside, the dimly lit tequileria in the basement has its own bar and accommodates 50 seated or 100 standing. The main floor has additional seating for 115 or as many as 275 for receptions, with rustic exposed brick walls and an open kitchen.
