Melina makes a big splash in Bethesda with its gorgeous Greek dishes, which come as no surprise from a Greek chef with loads of experience cooking in Greece’s upscale restaurants. Chef Aris Tsekouras puts veggies first in many of the dishes, like heirloom carrots roasted to a deep golden color before joining a tightly composed plate of smoked Manouri cheese, spiced granola, and pickled raisins. There are plenty of meat and seafood options as well, like a tender, slow-roasted lamb neck with salty, nutty Kefalograviera cheese, plus sweet roasted peppers, grapes, tomatoes, parsley, and pickled onions; and a stunning plate of beef tartare with lemony avgolemono foam, cabbage, wild fennel, and egg yolk. Tsekouras also bakes breads in-house. The restaurant comes from the folks behind the fast-expanding Cava empire.

Just after Christmas, Himalayan Wild Yak restaurant moved into the 5,000-square-foot space in Brambleton that was previously home to the Lost Rhino Retreat. With a a menu abounding with yak dishes: marinated and grilled yak appetizer; yak sausage; yak biryani; and yak fried rice; plus tea polished with whipped yak butter, milk, pink salt, and sugar. (Yak is an exceptionally lean meat with plenty of omega-3 fatty acids.) Goat, bison, pork, chicken, and lamb make the menu as well, plus Indian dishes like butter chicken and chana masala. The interior is anchored by none other than a taxidermy yak named Rocky.

Chef Jeffeary Miskiri’s Southern-meets-Caribbean restaurant charms with deep-fried jerk catfish and sautéed crab over white cheddar grits, deviled eggs with jerk honey shrimp, jerk crab cakes, and fried or grilled chicken wings in homemade sweet and sour sauce. From the group behind Po Boy Jim and Creole on 14th, this new restaurant highlights the Caribbean contributions to Southern cuisine while playfully combining ingredients in ways that just dare you to look the other way.

The business partners behind Johnny’s Half Shell, a D.C. favorite for 21 years across multiple locations, reinvented the Adams Morgan restaurant they shut down in late 2020. Chef Ann Cashion and John Fulchino replace the space with a full-service Mexican restaurant serving tequila-driven drinks to complement their Taqueria Nacional brand nearby. Taqueria and fonda fare includes Gulf shrimp enchiladas, Yucatan-style grilled chicken, a Veracruz crab cake, and throwback queso from Cashion’s Austin Grill days. Aside from quesadillas, fish tacos, tres leches cake, and churros, the whole menu is gluten-free. 

This massive Italian restaurant gallops into Tyson’s Corner with Hell’s Kitchen alum Declan Hogan helming the kitchen. From the group behind barbecue spot Texas Jack’s, this new restaurant adds a good dose of house-smoked meats to Italian cuisine. Diners can find smoked Berkshire porchetta, pizzas, a beer burger served with house fries cooked in beef tallow, as well as classic Italian dishes. Look for lasagna layered with braised beef shank, ricotta, Parmigiano, and pecorino; as well as a gorgonzola-stuffed gnocchi dressed in wild mushroom cream sauce.

Restaurateur Med Lahlou boosts his 14th Street NW portfolio (Lupo Verde, Lupo Pizzeria) with a stylish new sanctuary for meze and wood-fired favorites from Spain, Morocco, Italy, and Greece. Highlights include luxe iberico sliced tableside; whole branzino flanked with Morocco’s pungent herb chermoula; Greek moussaka; and octopus gnocchi dressed with spicy ‘nduja. A Moroccan Spritzer is the ultimate fusion cocktail, built with Tanqueray, Aperol, Massaya arak, mandarin, prosecco, club soda, and mint syrup it makes on-site. Ghibellina’s former two-story home got a full Euro-chic makeover, complete with images of Italian celebrities and idyllic coastal towns splashed across brick and regal blue chairs visible from the street.

Duck Duck Goose, chef Ashish Alfred’s glamorous French brasserie in Bethesda and Baltimore, made its anticipated D.C. debut in December. Its new Dupont address imports best sellers like steak tartare, chicken liver pate, escargot, duck leg confit, and an eponymous burger dressed with seared foie gras. Big-ticket orders include a 36-ounce bone-in ribeye main with bordelaise sauce ($125) and a foie tasting for two ($96). The 80-seat restaurant with a huge year-round patio plays up French grapes on its wine list o go along with an extensive zero-proof cocktail list. Weekend brunch joins the mix on Saturday, January 8, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The team behind Shaw’s Espita opened Las Gemelas Cocina Mexicana last spring as a casual coastal cafe at Latin marketplace La Cosecha. In December, the airy eatery flipped into a modern Mexican eatery, complete with a new name and menu. Its ambitious makeover into Destino includes inventive riffs on classics like Brussels sprout quesadillas, mole verde with crispy pork belly and handmade egg noodles, and seasonal butternut enchiladas. Neighboring Mexican sibling Taqueria Las Gemelas remains the same, and tortillas from Guerrero native Yesenia Neri-Diaz are still served at Destino. A quick lunch deal includes two courses, served simultaneously, for $24. Weekend brunch features sweet-and-savory creations like a torrejas main built with brioche, Mexican chocolate, hazelnut, and salted caramel.

Matt Baker, the prominent D.C. chef behind Ivy City’s Michelin-starred Gravitas, expands his local portfolio with a new French-American restaurant in the lobby-level Eaton hotel space on K Street NW. At Michele’s, Baker incorporates lots influences from New Orleans and Houston with dishes like Louisiana crawfish-studded linguini, a hamachi crudo that takes tips from Texas’s beloved tacos al pastor, and a banh mi en croute that showcases Vietnamese flavors and French technique. Pastry chef Aisha Momaney, who works with Baker at cafe and market Baker’s Daughter, brings sour cream cheesecake and a bananas Foster ice cream sundae to the table. The 124-seat restaurant dressed in cobalt blue and neon pink takes the place of chef Tim Ma’s American Son, which arrived shortly after the hotel’s debut in the fall of 2018.

Chef David Deshaies, the Frenchman who runs Unconventional Diner and Central Michel Richard, breaks in the Capital Crossing development with an ambitious Italian kitchen that boasts all the bells and whistles to match a soaring space covered in golden-glossed chandeliers, terrazzo tile floors, and black marble countertops. A 40-layer lasagna stuffed with beef sugo, truffle mornay, and truffle-infused Sottocenere cheese sets a decadent tone. The wood-burning grill and charcoal oven come from Barcelona producer Mibrasa, and a pizza oven bakes naturally leavened pies topped with hot salami and sausage.

Puro Gusto’s first stateside location opened December 15, bringing the Italian way of life to D.C.. The casual, Milan-born all-day cafe seamlessly transitions from coffee bar to lunch hub (with dine-in, counter service, and a market with Italian treats) to a cheerful bar with aperitifs like bellinis and negronis lighting the path from workday into the night. In a color-splashed interior with furniture made from plastic bottles and even coffee grounds, guests gather over dishes of springy sourdough Pan Gusto pizza; cornetto (a traditional Italian croissant served in a variety of sweet and savory options, filled with items like egg and cheese, Nutella, or pistachio ice cream); Italian pastries; smoked salmon-topped PanGusto, yogurt; overnight oats; fruit parfaits; cups of coffee; and cocktails.

The owner of Maryland’s Akira Ramen & Izakaya livened up Barracks Row in December with a Godzilla-themed ramen shop that lures big spenders with an $80 wagyu option. Most bowls hover around $15, filled with tonkotsu, miso, shoyu, or veggie broths simmered for 10 hours and noodles made daily. Eye-popping apps like an octopus corn dog draw inspiration from its name, which means “giant monster” in Japanese. Chef Junzo Miyajima hails from Saitama, Japan, and formerly worked at NYC’s lauded En Japanese Brasserie.

A Parisian cafe that segues from croissants and La Colombe coffee drinks during the day to fizzy French cocktails and coq au vin by night reactivates a high-profile corner space that formerly housed a location of gelato shop Dolcezza, marking D.C. restaurant group Knead Hospitality + Design’s third waterfront venue in Southwest. The chic cafe opens daily at 7:30 a.m. with brioche donuts and pastries supplied by partner bakery Mah-Ze-Dahr and bechamel-blanketed eggs over sourdough. As the day progresses, traditional French fare like French onion soup, duck confit, and steak frites join the mix. For drinks, there’s a nice bubbly section, fresh-squeezed juices, and a short list of spirits (think: one gin, one vodka, one rum).