D.C.’s New Nicoletta Italian Kitchen Grows With a Sun-Drenched Coffee Shop

It’s opening day for Brew’d Coffee Bar in Mount Vernon Triangle, Altamarea Group’s new espresso-driven destination for fresh pastries and biscotti, egg-filled breakfast panini, Italian “Lunchables,” and Sicilian-style pizza breads.

The sleek walk-up java bar joins the prolific restaurant group’s debut Nicoletta Italian Kitchen, which started slinging pizzas, meatballs, and pastas over the weekend at the base of the shiny new headquarters of the D.C. Bar association (901 4th Street NW). James Beard Award-winning chef Michael White also runs Navy Yard’s Osteria Morini and its weeks-old waterfront kiosk, Nicoletta Pizzeria.

Brew’d/official photo

The modest 400-square-foot setup features limited counter seating, accented by globe pendant lights dangling from soaring ceilings and white subway-tiled walls.

One to-go order at Brew’d delivers a playful spin on childhood snack pack Lunchables, featuring four compartments filled with fresh-sliced cured meats, cheeses, and olives. Other to-go offerings include blueberry muffins and vegan and gluten-free Jam Oats Bars. Local purveyors are also in the mix, like coffee-laced meats from Jerkface Jerky and three flavors from District Doughnut. Hours are weekdays 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The opening dinner menu at Nicoletta Italian Kitchen’s 40-seat dining room next door includes pastas, pizzas, salads, and Italian snacks, along with includes surf-and-turf entrees like branzino, veal, hanger steak, and sea bass. Its 10-seat bar is big on Italian spirits like limoncello and Italian wines and beers.

The two-part enterprise is modeled after an all-day Italian “piazza,” or central plaza. The whole space is 4,000 square feet, including a patio and the kitchen.

White and partner Ahmass Fakahany’s group runs 15 spots worldwide, including Michelin-starred Italian seafood spot Marea and glitzy French brasserie Vaucluse.

• Michael White’s Long-Awaited Italian Kitchen Is Almost Ready to Open in D.C. [EDC]
• NYC’s Nicoletta Pizzeria Finally Finds a D.C. Home in Navy Yard [EDC]