Hot D.C. restaurants: What's new and next in June
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Ampersandwiches. Photo: Natalie Flynn
A bar and restaurant boom is happening in the D.C. area with a bunch of exciting openings — and more on the way this month.
Just in: Ama, a chic all-day Italian restaurant, just breezed into Navy Yard. We can't wait to try the homemade focaccia sandwiches, frozen spritzes, and chef Johanna Hellrigl's lesser-seen regional dishes like Ligurian ravioli.
🍜 Baan Mae (Shaw): Thip Khao chef Seng Luangrath plays with Southeast Asian flavors at "mom's house." Get the crab curry and fruity cocktail and hit the hidden back patio.
🇪🇹 Eatopia (U Street): An Ethiopian DJ and restaurateur are behind this eclectic Adis-style newcomer, serving Ethiopian tapas and weekend brunch, plus programming like art displays and cooking classes.
😻 Catboat Pizza (Alexandria) The Sonny's team just opened this cool marina bar — bike, car, and boat accessible — with slices and slushies on weekends.
🍕 Stellina Pizzeria (Tysons) The growing local pizza and pasta house recently opened its biggest location yet for lunch and dinner with a commissary and Italian marketplace.
🍧 Malai (14th Street): For dessert, a South Asian-style scoop shop — by way of Brooklyn — just opened with kulfi popsicles, pistachio-saffron soft-serve, and chai cones.
New drink spots: If you love the Tex-Mex breakfast tacos at La Tejana, you may obsess over the margaritas, queso, and carne asada in their new upstairs cocktail bar in Mt. Pleasant.
🐯Easy Tiger Tavern (Adams Morgan): It's easy drinking in the old Pop's Seabar space thanks to a crowd-friendly menu of crushes, bar grub, and a wallet-friendly brunch.
🍷 Sixty Vines (Foggy Bottom): A wine chain opens near GWU on June 11 with a huge patio and 60 varietals on tap, plus "vineyard-inspired" food.
Between the lines: We love a good sandwich pop-up, let alone two! Ampersandwich is back at Shilling Canning Co. in Navy Yard with mammoth meat-wiches on homemade bread.
🥪 Beresovsky's Deli is coming uptown to Mi Casa in Dupont Circle starting June 12 with breakfast sandwiches and their NY-style classics.
What's next: Maketto's Erik Bruner-Yang is teaming up with longtime employees for a tiny eclectic bar on H Street, NE that speaks to their roots (Taiwanese and Salvadoran). ETA is late June.
🍣 Bar Japonais — a sister to scene-y Bar Chinois — takes over the Estadio space on 14th Street this month with French and Japanese-influenced cocktails and an izakaya-style menu of skewers and handrolls.