Superstar Chef Michael Mina Leads a New Two-Part Project at D.C.’s City Ridge Complex

Michael Mina, the James Beard Award-winning restaurateur behind D.C.’s sleek stalwart Bourbon Steak, will debut two restaurants at the shiny new City Ridge development near Tenleytown.

In addition to a to-be-named Italian restaurant on the ground floor, MINA Group will open a new rooftop bar and cafe serving tropical small plates and cocktails at City Ridge’s members-only pool club. Both will open in early 2023. The glassy hub of City Ridge (14 Ridge Square NW) will also house the headquarters of fast-casual chain Cava, co-working facilities, and a huge Equinox gym.

City Ridge’s joint venture partners, D.C.-based Roadside Development and San Diego-based North America Sekisui House, announced the Mina news in a press release on Monday, September 26.

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for Vegas Uncork’d by Bon Appetit

The celebrity West Coast chef made a big splash in D.C. back in 2009 with the debut of posh Bourbon Steak within Georgetown’s Four Seasons hotel. The classy D.C. steakhouse, currently led by Hazel alum Robert Curtis, is known for its luxe meats, dry-aged Japanese wagyu, scene-y cocktail lounge, and a pretty, stone-lined patio.

Mina’s sophomore D.C. project across town will include a 7,815-square-foot, “fattoria-to-table” restaurant on the ground floor that promises to source “fresh ingredients for dishes and cocktails.” Five floors up at the Ridge Club, Mina will also operate a 3,000-square-foot poolside perch with a walk-up bar and views of the National Cathedral. The luxe, 20,000-square-foot rooftop oasis is modeled after the stylish One Hotel in Miami, complete with a resort-style pool, lap lanes, cabanas, large theater screen, and locker room facilities.

“City Ridge is one of the most exciting new developments to come to the D.C. area in recent years,” says Mina, in a statement.

The 10-acre, mixed-use redevelopment of Fannie Mae’s old headquarters is anchored by D.C.’s first Wegmans grocery store. Newly opened Tatte Bakery & Cafe will be joined by King Street Oyster Bar and Taco Bamba’s big D.C. comeback project soon.

City Ridge/rendering

In order to access the rooftop lounge and sample Mina’s bites and drinks, guests must live in one of City Ridge’s four new apartment buildings. Resident perks include six rooftop areas, a pizza oven and smoker, greenhouse, and private event spaces.

Mina’s San Francisco-based restaurant management company currently manages over 40 virtual brands and brick-and-mortar outlets around the world. Along with seven Bourbon Steak locales from coast to coast, Mina Group also runs Bardot Brasserie in Vegas, International Smoke in San Francisco and Vegas, Wit & Wisdom in Sonoma, Mina Brasserie in Dubai, and Mina’s Fish House in Hawaii.