The Latest Dish: The Japanese Experience … Reimagined
By • March 10, 2026 0 562
The Rhythm & Eats team has opened Katsumi, a not-your-father’s Japanese restaurant near Logan Circle at 1520 14th St. NW, where their Bar Japonais was. Chef Masaaki “Uchi” Uchino helms the kitchen while GM Andra “AJ” Johnson oversees the front of the house.
A new restaurant, Capitano, has raised the bar for dining at the Canopy hotel at the Wharf, managed by Concord Hospitality. Located at 975 7th St. SW, it’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, featuring southern and coastal Italian flavors.
Quick Hits: Sorso, a prosecco-on-tap bar, will open in Adams Morgan at 2475 18th St. NW, where D Light Cafe used to be … Call Your Mother bagelry is slated to open at 4000 Wilson Boulevard in Arlington, where a Starbucks closed … Rob Van de Graaff and Steve Kim are soon to open The Commodore at 220 N. Lee St. in Old Town Alexandria, where Mystic Bar & Grill was. This will be the second location of their signature “Five-Star Dive Bar,” featuring pub fare and drinks, with the addition of Chicago tavern-style pizza … Philippe and Tohm Ifergan will open a Georgetown location of Dayglow, a coffee company founded in Los Angeles, at 1510 Wisconsin Ave. NW in the third quarter.
Interior of Katsumi. Photo by Scott Suchman.
Just Opened: Carlos Delgado (Causa, Bar Amazonia) opened Maru San, a 25-seat Peruvian-Japanese handroll counter, in Capitol Hill’s Eastern Market at 325 7th St. SE … featuring Mediterranean and Turkish menus, Otto has opened at 1834 Wisconsin Ave. NW, where Café Divan used to be, on the border of Georgetown and Glover Park … Atlantic City-based Tony Boloney’s pizzeria and cheesesteak place opened at Upside on Moore at 700 N. Moore St. in Rosslyn.
Along with its new Museum of Exploration at 1600 M St. NW, the National Geographic Society is slated to open The Explorers Eatery in the third quarter. The 320-seat international food hall will have a bakery café, a 15-foot wraparound bar and indoor and outdoor seating. Its five food stalls will rotate cuisines, opening with American, Italian, Moroccan, Peruvian and Vietnamese. The eatery’s Ballard Bar is named for Robert Ballard, who discovered the sunken Titanic.
Linda Roth is the founder and CEO of Linda Roth Associates, a D.C.-based public relations and marketing firm that specializes in the food service and hospitality industries. Follow her at: @LindaRothPR, #LindaRothPR or lindarothpr.com.
