Owners Henji Cheung and Sarah Thompson arrive from New York with warm smiles and a charming story. He’s the husband and chef trading in the Italian noodles he used to make for a lineup of Hong Kong-style dishes cribbed from his mother’s kitchen. She’s the wife and general manager stirring up cocktails with Chinese herbal syrup and sourcing natural wines from everywhere from Greece to Texas. Together they spend their days doing prep work for 24-hour golden chicken, twice-cooked lamb ribs, and steamed egg custard. A no-reservations policy means people may have to be patient to land a table.

The brick-lined townhome that used to house Piola reemerged in April as an ivy-covered Latin fusion destination, starring artfully presented dishes from an acclaimed Venezuelan chef. Chef Enrique Limardo most recently made a name for himself in Baltimore, helming Alma Cocina Latina for the past five years. For his first D.C. venture, Limardo presents his menu in seven sections: snacks, small plates, medium plates, large plates, desserts, cocktails, and wines. The format aims to unite flavors from his native country with those from Peru, the Amazon rainforest, and the Caribbean. The space recently grew with the addition of a patio area for 30, outfitted with lounge seating and a full bar. 

After a lifetime of molding the Great American Restaurants group into a powerhouse full of loyal followers in Northern Virginia, Randy Norton designed his dream restaurant. Attracting deeper-pocketed clientele than its other eateries — places like Sweetwater Tavern, Artie’s, and Mike’s “American” — Randy’s piles on the luxury with highly rated wines, prime beef and wagyu steaks, and a shellfish cake made out of lobster and crab. Next-door, the more casual Patsy’s American serves a list of greatest hits from GAR’s other venues.

Stellina Pizzeria brought the booming Union Market neighborhood a whimsical atmosphere for patiently fermented pizza crust, Don Ciccio cocktails, house-made pasta, and street foods from Italy’s southern coast. Chef Matteo Venini and restaurateur Antonio Matarazzo worked together at Lupo Verde. Fans of Venini’s cacio e pepe can sample the Italian staple in both pasta and pizza form. Another white pie is blanketed in mortadella. Other recommended orders include Sicilian arancini, a breaded swordfish sandwich, and an eggplant Parmesan-based Il Cuzzetiello panino built on pizza dough. The owners’ European fashion sense is evident inside, with artwork of a legendary Italian comedian sporting a colorful suit by Dolce & Gabbana. 

The months-old sequel to pastrami pro Oded Weizmann’s established Mount Vernon Triangle sandwich shop expands upon the Israeli-born owner’s repertoire with Middle Eastern meatballs he used to eat as a kid. There’s also a new lineup of bright dips, charcuterie, and harissa-topped flatbreads cooked in a domed oven. Hits from the original Carving Room also make it over, like 100-percent brisket burgers and fried Moroccan “cigars”. The airy restaurant next to the NoMa-Gallaudet Metro, wrapped in welcoming blue tiles and reclaimed woods, is already a hit for weekday happy hour. Its brunch service is gaining steam, when its slow-roasted ribeye flatbread gets a steak-and-eggs twist.

There may be no better ambassador for Burmese food in D.C. than Jocelyn Law-Yone, the retired English and Art history teacher donning an apron covered in patterns inspired by tribal textiles to cook dishes she grew up on in the capital city of Rangoon (now Yangon). Law-Yone, her daughter Simone Jacobson, and business partner Eric Wang have now expanded from Toli Moli, their Burmese bodega in Union Market, to a full-blown restaurant in the former Sally’s Middle Name space on H Street NE. There customers can find lahpet thoke, a traditional salad of fermented tea leaves mixed with other veggies, sesame seeds, and crunchy broad beans, as well as a range of snacks, noodles, and curries that will give many Washingtonians a memorable introduction to the cuisine.

Perennial James Beard award finalist Amy Brandwein doubled her footprint in CityCenterDC with an all-day cafe right across from Centrolina, her simple, essential Italian restaurant and market. Brandwein recently studied bread making in San Francisco and imported a wood-burning oven from France to churn out loaves of walnut raisin ficelle, rosemary focaccia, and brioche. Omelets and grapefruits go into the oven, and so do stuffed Sicilian scacce pockets and panuzzo buns that get stuffed with porchetta.

Trinidadian-born Peter Prime and his sister Jeanine are recreating the vibes of rum shops from back home in this narrow restaurant on H Street NE. Prime turns his fine-dining pedigree towards doubles — rounds of fry-bread stuffed with curried chickpeas and spicy chutney — grilled oxtails, and smoked coconut soft serve. Fresh juices make up the base of rum-heavy cocktails and punches.

Ambar owner Ivan Iricanin recruited chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo, one of the most famous faces in the Mexican culinary world, to design the menus at this three-level complex in Clarendon. Buena Vida, the second-story dining room, gives Vázquez Lugo a chance to give history lessons about the country’s diverse heritage with dishes such as tableside Caesar salad from Tijuana and shellfish pozole from Colima. On the first floor, Tacos, Tequila, Tortas (TTT) is a more casual venue for Mexico City-style street food. A rooftop bar, dubbed Buena Vida Social Club, was the last to open, serving open-faced crab sandwiches, beef tartare tostadas, and build-your-own shrimp taco platters.

Chef-owner Reid Shilling’s long-delayed passion project in Navy Yard draws from Mid-Atlantic traditions from his Baltimore-area upbringing, Southern touches from his time as sous chef at the Dabney, and the ingredient-first approach he studied at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bistro in Napa Valley. Named after the farm and processing business run by Shilling’s great uncles, the restaurant will ramp up canning and meat-curing production throughout the summer. Following its early July opening, customers can expect to order from an ample raw bar and sample small plates like a salad of heirloom tomatoes, preserved cucumbers, purple basil, and fried squash blossoms, or larger dishes like a wood-grilled lobster in bourbon lobster butter with grits and pole beans on the side.

Charleston, South Carolina-based Indigo Road, the restaurant group behind O-Ku in the Union Market District, brought its upscale steakhouse brand to Old Town last month. The anticipated 130-seat power spot, lined with exposed brick and crimson-colored leather banquettes, has nearly 20 wines by the glass and a menu that’s packed with much more than steak. Chef Joseph Conrad, a Bourbon Steak alum, works with tomahawks dry-aged for 70 days along with 36-ounce porterhouses and 22-ounce New York Strips. Vegetarians can try salads, a substantial veggie burger, and truffle mac and cheese. Meals start with Parker House made with Anson Mills cornmeal and slathered in cultured butter.