Ba Bay Has Officially Closed Its Doors on Capitol Hill

It's the Tuesday before Thanksgiving and apparently that means it's time to dispense of all bad restaurant news. Yes, it's another shutter, and this one is the real deal. The Washington Post reports this afternoon that Ba Bay served its last meal on November 19, almost exactly a year after it opened on Capitol Hill. Co-owner Denise Nguyen rather cryptically tells Tim Carman that the shutter was "due to circumstances beyond our control" — and that she wasn't at liberty to disclose much more.

There were a lot of high hopes for this modern Vietnamese restaurant, which started out with a lot of hype. But later months have brought string of bad news — a so-so review from Tom Sietsema, and the departure of chef Nick Sharpe amid the restaurant's own plans to restructure. All this upheaval makes news of a shutter a little less surprising, but no less sad. Also sad? You'll never get to try the Godzilla Banh Mi that the restaurant had just introduced to the masses, according to DCist. It came filled with meatballs, fried chicken, fried eggs, whole fried catfish and fried pickles.

· Ba Bay Goes Buh-Bye on Capitol Hill [WaPo]
· All Previous Ba Bay Coverage [-EDC-]