An array of new dishes as Karizma, the more casual sister restaurant next to tasting menu-centric Karma. | Karizma Plus, pizza and wine lands on the National Mall, D.C.’s first “dog garden” and bar, a swanky NYC-based pasta spot, and more area arrivals to note The cold weather is just starting to set in, bringing a flurry of openings before the holidays. Consider this your guide to all the new restaurants, bars, and cafes that have debuted in October 2024 so far. This list will be updated weekly. If there’s an opening in your neighborhood that we’ve missed, let us know at [email protected]. October 25 EDGEWOOD — A new Korean barbecue spot from Rockville opened a new outpost by Alamo Drafthouse and Bryant Street Market. Chadol Korean BBQ serves up thin-cut brisket and fun cocktails, along with a reasonable all-you-can-eat option ($31) that diners grill up at their tables. 630 Rhode Island Avenue NE October 24 Greg Powers Chicken straight from the rotisserie will be served with sides or salad. VAN NESS — Rosedale just touched down in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Van Ness. James Beard Award-winning chef Frank Ruta, who also runs Knightsbridge Restaurant Group’s Annabelle, will be overseeing a new American-style menu with daily rotisserie specials and seasonal small plates like grilled squid in a ginger wine sauce. The former White House chef brings his famous sourdough starter to the new spot, using it in fresh bread and thin-crust pizzas topped with bacon and figs, clams and smoked ricotta, and pistachio and reggiano crema. Wall-spanning blue bookshelves filled with trinkets and plants fill the 100-seat interior, designed by respected restaurant designer Martin Vahtra. Many decorations, such as the miniature tractors and a large modernist farm painting, nod to Rosedale’s namesake, the Rosedale Farmhouse that was built in 1793 in nearby Cleveland Park. Restaurateur Ashok Bajaj also owns Sababa and Little Blackbird in nearby Cleveland Park. 4465 Connecticut Avenue NW UNION STATION — Late-night “little treat” addicts rejoice: Insomnia Cookies opened a new location in Navy Yard on October 12 (1201 Half Street SE) and another one in Union Station on October 24 (40 Massachusetts Avenue NE). The new additions mark seven locations in the District, all open till 1 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends. October 22 GLOVER PARK — A new Afghani restaurant serves dips, samosas, kebabs, and classic comfort foods from the family’s kitchen. Washingtonian reports that former Afghan diplomat Hilal Rahim and her relatives, who also own Kabobistan in Arlington, opened the verdant green-filled Bonjon Rumi in the old Surfside space. A multi-course breakfast option ($25.95) is also available, with roasted vegetable-filled scrambled eggs, clotted cream and honey, walnuts, homemade jams, a samosa, paratha, and Afghan tea. 2444 Wisconsin Avenue NW Bar Americano Bar Americano customers can buy wine by the glass or bottle. October 18 NATIONAL MALL — An old tourist kiosk got a major upgrade this fall, flipping into a cute new cafe serving natural wines and some of the best pies in town. Bar Americano comes from the team behind Park View’s beloved Sonny’s Pizza, serving up a familiar lineup of stellar square slices, sandwiches, salads, beer, natural wine, and spritzes in the afternoon. The morning menu will resemble that of Doubles with a full coffee program, homemade pastries, and made-to-order breakfast sandwiches. The pint-sized setup with all-outdoor seating opens up onto America’s famed front yard, making it a prime new picnic spot. Near 600 Independence Avenue SW CLARENDON — Hyde Social just opened in Clarendon, serving up classic American food and fun cocktails, like a pistachio martini, lavender gin-based Hyde and Jekyll, and a smoked butter pecan bourbon drink. With leather booths and couches, the sports bar has a more relaxed and elevated atmosphere, while still boasting plenty of TVs for football and baseball watching. 3100 Clarendon Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia October 15 Emily Venezky “Unleash your fun” is the motto of the new dog garden. LOGAN CIRCLE — The District got its own doggy social club with draft cocktails, local brews, and Chicago tavern-style pies. Dog Daze Social Club boasts a 6,000-square-foot “dog garden,” with pooches welcome from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and the indoor space open till midnight on weekends. The laundromat and parking lot at the busy intersection of 11th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW transformed into a classy, green-accented restaurant with a small covered patio and a weekly deep-cleaned, turf-covered yard that resembles a garden party with sturdy picnic tables and padded armchairs shaded by striped umbrellas. Breakfast options will join the menu within the first few weeks, with smoothies and acai bowls from a Dupont Circle farmers market staple, Just Juice, and coffee from Cafe Unido. Owners must register their dogs, submit their vaccine records, and pay a $10 entrance fee before four-legged friends can be admitted to the park. People can enter the restaurant or dog garden for free. 1100 Rhode Island Avenue NW October 13 Rey Lopez/Eater DC Chef Elias Taddesse brings some competitive heat to the menu with the famous “the National” fired chicken sandwich. UNION MARKET — Even if you’ve never watched a Formula 1 race, this 17,300-square-foot arcade, event space, and bar has something for everyone. Union Market’s F1 Arcade is the London-born racing brand’s second locale in the U.S., starting with Boston this spring, and this is the first to collaborate with local talent. A respected D.C. chef and bartender contribute locally distilled liquors and a famous Ethiopian fried chicken sandwich to the gaming chain’s high-end menu. It’s definitely more refined and futuristic than your usual Dave & Buster’s, with a gold-covered 42-foot main bar, high chairs covered in different wacky patterns, and 83 sleek driving simulators with wraparound screens lining every inch of the former warehouse. Those simulators lend an electric energy to the open, industrial space with the ongoing realistic hum and real-time shaking of race cars. 420 Penn Street NE October 12 Rachel Paraoan Spaghetti alla carbonara at Olio e Più. DOWNTOWN — NYC-born Olio e Più, a sprawling spot to sit and sample Italy’s many regional cuisines and wines in one place, made its anticipated D.C. debut. The charming new restaurant joins its fancy French sibling La Grande Boucherie, which made a grand entrance upstairs in the same Federal-American National Bank Building this spring. Situated on the prime downtown corner of 14th and G Streets NW, the 120-seat dining room near the White House evokes a grand villa nestled in the Italian countryside. Charcuterie and cheese arrives with homemade focaccia, followed by a crudo bar, salads, soups, and antipasti like octopus carpaccio or roasted veal eye round surrounded in tonnato sauce and crispy capers. Pastas are all handmade on-site from its shiny open kitchen in the back. 699 14th Street NW October 10 UNION MARKET — National chain Jinya Ramen Bar opened up its seventh D.C.-area location this month. The California-based ramen chain offers five different broths, but specializes in tonkotsu-style broth simmered for more than 18 hours. The brand has expanded to over 60 locations across the county since starting in 2010. Sam Shoja, the franchise owner of all D.C., Maryland, and Virginia shops, says he’s planning to expand his reach to 25 to 30 spots in the next few years. Next up is Georgetown, with Shoja just finishing up the permitting process for a space on the main strip of Wisconsin Avenue NW. 1259 4th Street NE October 9 Jonathan Krinn Spiced caramel roasted peach with a parmesan mousse from Elyse. FAIRFAX — Chef Jonathan Krinn slowly rolled out his “out of the box,” five-course tasting menu back in February. The tenured chef already has a baked-in customer base in Northern Virginia, where he’s operated restaurants around the region for a quarter-century. Situated in a tiny standalone building off Lee Highway, Elyse only has 30 seats, including eight at a bar wrapped around an open kitchen. It’s Krinn’s smallest restaurant yet, comprised of a dark lounge interior that “hugs” its patrons. Elyse adopts a relaxed structure for dinner service, with only one seating a night that allows guest to sit back and enjoy the hybrid tasting menu ($125) for as long as they like. Diners will have two options on the menu, choosing from a few first courses after an amuse bouche and a fourth-course pick before dessert. Krinn plans to change up the menu monthly and is already experimenting with future dish ideas. 10824 Fairfax Boulevard, Fairfax, Virginia October 8 14TH STREET — An intimate omakase experience awaits high above 14th Street NW. The new upper-level tasting room comes from chef Johnny Yi, a 16-year sushi vet who runs Takara 14 below. The third floor is now home to Raw Omakase DC, an 8-seat counter with just two reservation times each evening. Standing behind a zen, wood-framed station, Yi works with imported delicacies from Tokyo’s famed Toyosu Market to create a symphony of seafood courses every Tuesday to Saturday night. The first seating (6-7:30 p.m.) consists of 15 courses for $125; the second seating is a little longer (8:15-10 p.m.), featuring 18 courses for $150. Diners can opt in for curated wine and sake pairings. The omakase room showcases a pricier — and bigger — assortment of fish from Japan. On any given night, that may include hirame (flounder), ika (golden eye snapper), fatty, bright-red kinmedai, tuna (akame, chutoro, otoro), and ikrua (salmon caviar), to name a few. 1326 14th Street NW, 3rd floor Tom Thongkram Oxtail soup, larb moo, papaya salad, and more dishes from Rimtang. GEORGETOWN — A restaurant practically 40 years in the making, Rimtang finally opened its doors early this month. The latest restaurant from Yume Hospitality Group, whose other area establishments include Yume Sushi in Falls Church and Kyojin just down the street, brings Thai street foods to the historic D.C. neighborhood. A love letter to executive chef and co-owner Saran “Peter” Kannasute’s roots in Thailand, Rimtang is a true family affair. Kannasute’s mother, Prapit La Femina, will lead kitchen as head chef and is responsible for much of the restaurant’s recipe development. And those recipes, he says, come from La Femina’s restaurant in Thailand four decades ago. While Rimtang offers familiar dishes like red curry, fried rice, and stir-fried noodles, everything is influenced by homestyle cooking. The seafood-heavy menu also features more specialty Thai dishes, like the stir-fried clams with chili paste, sweetened with condensed milk and served over jasmine rice. 1039 33rd Street NW October 6 CHINATOWN — Chef and New Delhi native Ajay Kumar expands upon the inventive Indian cuisine he serves at Bib Gourmand-designated Karma Modern Indian, splitting the Chinatown space into two restaurants. The new establishment will serve favorites from its next-door sibling like butter chicken and grilled lamb chops while continuing to transform traditional Indian flavors in modern grilled entrees and small plates. The new signature Karizma dish, Nirvana 37, includes 37 flavorful ingredients that make a beautiful tower filled with spices, crunchy noodles, and even sour notes from mango and tamarind. Inventive cocktails also join the new menu, like an earthy beetroot shrub and vodka drink and the frothy Silk Road, made with tequila, pineapple, turmeric, and basil. 611 I Street NW October 4 Fredde Lieberman Green Pig Bistro’s new home showcases a playful mural honoring its namesake. Green Pig Bistro officially bid adieu to its original home on Sunday, September 29, but the neighborhood standby soon reopened right nearby. The French American favorite for terrific deviled eggs, an extensive happy hour, and delectable cornbread started a fresh chapter, resurfacing two blocks away at the foot of Mexican-themed Buena Vida Gastrolounge. As the name implies, Green Pig Bistro has a way with pork. Standouts include Gruyere-stuffed pork schnitzel and a cassoulet full of crispy pork belly, smoked pork shoulder, and duck sausage served with toasted bread. Daily happy hour at the bar (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) features $8 Kentucky mules and French 75s and $5-and-up snacks like fried pickles and Buffalo “baby back” pork ribs. Daily specials include fried chicken Mondays, meatloaf Tuesdays, and roasted porchetta on weck on Fridays. 2900 Clarendon Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia GEORGETOWN — The D.C. farmers market success story planted roots in Georgetown this month. Spot of Tea debuted a new standalone spot in the Grace Street Collective with bubble teas and toppings. 3210 Grace Street NW October 1 Trini Vybez Trini Vybez brings Trinidadian dishes to Columbia Heights. COLUMBIA HEIGHTS — Trini Vybez got its start in 2020 as a food truck slinging Trinidadian street foods all over town. For its latest iteration as a brick-and-mortar restaurant, founder Natalia Kalloo expands her menu with a selection of roti platters, seasoned sides, and doubles — a Caribbean favorite of fried dough stuffed with curried chickpeas and sauces. At Trini Vybez, the typically vegan dish can be tweaked with shrimp, chicken, or goat. On the first floor, Soca Cafe and Wine Bar is a sleek white destination for fruit and cheese boards, espresso drinks, oxtail sliders on hops bread, pepper roti, and a global wine list served by the glass, half-carafe, and bottle. Up top at bright-red Trini Vybez, the idyllic island country is celebrated across a full-service dinner menu full of doughy starters, roti dishes, sides served in carved-out coconuts, and stewed meats by the skillet. Trinidadian rum punch, which goes heavy on Angostura bitters over fruits, will also make an appearance at the bar framed with a leafy look, bucket swings, and colorful art. 1400 Meridian Place NW