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The team behind the Wharf’s dreamy dining destination La Vie is quietly working on adding a hip sushi spot called Tabu one floor below the new restaurant.
Social Restaurant Group (also behind Bar Bao, Pamplona, Provision No. 14) is currently building out the 3,600-square-foot bar, which is expected to capitalize on its scenic views with waterfront-facing booths and banquettes lining the perimeter of the space. Tabu will be about half the size of La Vie, which started serving Wharf diners coastal Mediterranean fare last month.
The team is shooting to unveil Tabu in time for New Year’s Eve, multiple sources with information about the under-wraps project tell Eater.
The third floor space, situated directly below the fourth-floor La Vie, is in its raw state now. The kimono-inspired color scheme could play up jewel tones like deep fuchsias, cobalt, and emerald. SRG’s edgy interior designer David Anthony Chenault, who transformed La Vie into a seductive and airy oasis via lime trees and chandeliers, is big fan of the florals of French fashion designer Christian LaCroix. In Clarendon, Chenault turned Pamplona into a sultry Spanish-themed sangria bar with lots of metal work and lace lanterns.
Tabu, which will be accessed by the same elevator as La Vie, would be the Wharf’s first big foray into sushi and potentially the hot new after-party spot for Anthem music shows next door (a “VIP” Tabu entrance is also in the works). Further details about its drinks program and menu are unclear for now. At La Vie upstairs (88 District Square SW), diners have raw seafood towers, roasted branzino, and house-made pastas to choose from, as well as inventive cocktails from Chad Spangler and Glendon Hartley (Service Bar) like watermelon Aperol spritzes.
“We do not have information we can release regarding the [Tabu] chef yet because it is not set,” according to a rep from SRG.
SRG confirmed Eater’s Tabu intel is correct, but the group declined to provide further details at this time.
