Latin Standout Seven Reasons Is Moving to CityCenter DC

Seven Reasons, the scene-y, tropically appointed restaurant along 14th Street NW for the past four years and change, will relocate to another part of the city in the coming months. Seven Reasons will move to a much-bigger location at CityCenter DC in the former home of DBGB Kitchen & Bar, either later this year or “very early next year,” per a circulated statement from the team on Wednesday, August 23. Washington Business Journal first reported on the new lease this week.

Scott Suchman/For the Washington Post via Getty Images

Open in an ivy-covered, brick-lined townhome since April 2019, Seven Reasons continues to draw big crowds who want to sample artfully presented dishes from acclaimed Venezuelan chef Enrique Limardo. Seven Reasons offers an a la carte or an 8-plus-course chef’s tasting menu ($160 per person) with a wine pairing option.

At 8,000 square feet, Seven Reasons 2.0 will be nearly twice as large as the original with room for 130 sit-down diners, 15 at the bar, and two private dining rooms (931 H Street NW). Glassy brasserie DBGB, French celebrity chef Daniel Boulud’s sole D.C. establishment, quietly closed last fall after an eight-year run.

Limardo and co-owner Ezequiel Vázquez-Ger announced a few months ago its plans to close its original location by the end of the year, dubbing its swan song menu the “Last Dance.” Its reservation portal only shows seatings through the end of September (2208 14th Street NW) but the plan is to remain open “until the move is ready.” Daring dishes include cauliflower gnocchi, ceviche surrounded with bright purple sweet potato and crispy quinoa, and guava cheesecake. The new location will maintain the “same flavor profile,” Limardo tells WBJ, though a bigger kitchen and space will offer natural wiggle room for further experimentation.

While Limardo helmed Alma Cocina Latina in Baltimore, his cooking caught the eye of Washington Post critic Tom Sietsema and led to a lucrative business partnership with then-regular Vázquez-Ger.

Seven Reasons, named Esquire’s No. 1 new restaurant in the country upon opening, was the team’s first D.C. spot that started it all. They managed to exponentially expand during a global pandemic, starting with polished, Mediterranean-leaning Imperfecto in early 2021. The West End showpiece earned a Michelin star last year for Limardo’s elaborate “Chef’s Table” tasting menu. A dressed-down offshoot of their inaugural restaurant, dubbed Joy by Seven Reasons, debuted in Chevy Chase last fall.

The team then expanded in the West End this spring with the opening of luxe, Spanish-themed TheSaga in The Ritz-Carlton Washington, D.C., where they also run lobby-level Quadrant Bar & Lounge. The fast-growing group will soon break into Virginia with the opening of Surreal, a new indoor-outdoor bistro near Amazon HQ2 with ice cream, tacos, burgers, and pizza in a private Arlington park that allows drinking.