The restaurant group behind some of DC’s oldest dining institutions—Clyde’s, the Old Ebbitt Grill—is hopping on some of the hottest seafood trends with a rustic nautical eatery, slated to open in the Union Market District on Monday, November 18.The Northeast DC restaurant, set to open November 18, is a departure from the restaurant group’s more staid approach at Clyde’s and the Old Ebbitt Grill.
Between them, the restaurant’s founding staffers have plenty of experience at restaurants that don’t much resemble Clyde’s. There’s vice president of culinary operations Stephen Lyons, who worked at the Inn at Little Washington; executive chef Rene Caceres, an alum of the Salt Line and Fiola Mare; and general manager Sonya Znati, formerly of Bar Spero.
“We’ve never used fish-aging lockers before, and you don’t see it a ton,” McDonnell says. “It really goes up a couple notches when you talk about the sumptuous texture, the intensity of the flavor, and the umami.”