Once new Japanese restaurant O-Ku opens next week, expect friends’ social media feeds to explode with galleries of fancy sushi rolls raised skyward while the Union Market sign glows in the background.
The ready-made photo op comes courtesy of the first rooftop deck available to D.C. diners in Northeast’s evolving warehouse zone. The long-standing industrial complex has over the past few years become home to Michelin-starred Masseria, restaurant-filled Union Market, homegrown bakery Pluma, vegan eatery Shouk, and the regional training center for nationwide coffee chain Blue Bottle. Next up: a bigger version of Brooklyn tavern St. Anselm is opening just a few doors down from O-Ku later this summer.
The airy, dangling bulb-dotted perch above 1274 Fifth Street NE is just one of the areas O-Ku has created for those interested in checking out what the Charleston-based restaurant has in mind for D.C. The two-story, 120-seat establishment also contains: a main bar with room for over a dozen drink aficionados; a brightly lit main dining room sprinkled with two- and four-tops; a sushi bar with room for nearly 20 nigiri and sashimi lovers; an upstairs cocktail lounge with two oval-shaped banquettes designed for parties of 10 to 12; and a chill seating area with low-slung chairs that will eventually be accessible by an entrance facing the adjoining alley.
Status: Scheduled to open June 22. 1274 Fifth Street NE; website.
Scroll down to see inside the rest of the space:
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