The Biggest D.C.-Area Restaurant Openings in May
This is Eater DC's guide to all the new restaurants, bars, and cafes that opened in May. For more 2025 debuts, check out our roundup of best new bars and other recent restaurant arrivals to note . If there's an opening in your neighborhood that we've missed, let us know at dc@eater.com.
PENN QUARTER — Chinese American takeout Lucky Danger unveils a full-on flagship on Wednesday, May 21. Founded by restaurateur Tim Ma, the food menu is full of allium pancakes with whipped tofu and caviar; blue crab lo mein with leek fondue; and duck fried chaufa (Peruvian fried rice) with fish sauce caramel. The restaurant features four distinct areas: a bright entryway bar with classic cocktails integrating Asian flavors, an intimate dining room, the moody 'Lucky Club' with drinks using Chinese herbal medicine, and a green-toned mahjong parlor with over-proof whiskeys. Opening hours are 4 to 11 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, with lunch (and possibly even weekend dim sum) coming soon. 709 D Street NW
PENN QUARTER — The venerable Cafe Fiorello, which first opened its doors in Manhattan over five decades ago, lands in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol on May 21. This marks the first time the flagship of restaurateur Shelly Fireman's hospitality group grows beyond its Big Apple roots. The new location has the same reliable Italian fare, including famous thin-crusted pizza and an antipasti bar overflowing with vegetables and seafood, plus a new wood-fired oven pumping out branzino al Forno, a center-cut veal chop, flame-kissed cheeseburger, and more distinctly smoky mains. 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
GEORGETOWN — After closing downtown Sushi Gakyu earlier this year, sushi chef Yoshi Ota is opening Sushi Gaku on Wisconsin Avenue on Wednesday, May 21. Traditional nigiri, maki, and an omakase tasting with very fermented ancient-style sushi will be on the new menu. Dinner will be served from 5 to 10 p.m. every night except Tuesdays at the new sushi spot. 1338 Wisconsin Avenue NW
UNION MARKET — Fossette Focacceria, a Shaw sandwich shop for focaccia fanatics, expanded to a new stall in Union Market on Tuesday, May 20. The new menu includes most of the same breakfast and Italian sandwiches on the simple airy bread, plus two Union Market specials: the roasted vegetable and feta-filled Portofino and the Capra filled with prosciutto cotto, sopressata, pickled peppers, and Calabrian chile honey. The new stall also has longer hours than the original location, operating from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and opening up at 10 a.m. on weekends. 1309 5th Street NE
Related The Best Sandwiches Around D.C. Right Now
EASTERN MARKET — New American restaurant Lobby Bar debuted on Friday, May 16, in the storied space that housed Boxcar Tavern. Owner Adam Shulman livens up Barracks Row with an experimental martini menu, happy hour, and late-night service. Chef Andre Williams sends out local oysters, shrimp cocktail, crab cakes, a double smash burger, chicken pot pie stuffed with root vegetables, and a weekend-only prime rib special. Tori Pratt, founder of Pratt & Standard Cocktail Company, remixes a dirty martini with caper brine, tops a gin French 75 with a caviar-and-potato chip bite, and jazzes up an espresso martini with brown sugar. The 2,000-square-foot space with an 18-seat bar features cozy booths, a communal table, and an outdoor patio. Lobby Bar sources ingredients from vendors and farmers at historic Eastern Market, which sits directly across the street. 224 7th Street SE
ARLINGTON — Bar Chinois, Mt. Vernon Triangle's high-energy hangout for Frenchified cocktails and Chinese dim sum since 2021, debuts a follow-up location in Arlington, Virginia, on Thursday, May 15. The beverage program that party-starting Bar Chinois is known for makes its way across the Potomac over to National Landing, as do popular orders of black pepper duck, crab Rangoon, bao buns, and chicken karaage. Familiar daily deals like $1 dumplings and half-priced cocktails kick in next month (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.). Bar Chinois partners Dean Mosones, Mark Minicucci, and Margaux Donati are also behind Bar Japonais in Logan Circle, and BC National Landing marks the team's third project to date. The 90-seat, turquoise-toned interior joins a big (58-seat) patio. Reservations here. 244 19th Court S. #105, Arlington, Virginia
SHAW — Top Ethiopian chef Elias Taddesse's beefy burger shop, Mélange DC, and fried chicken joint, Doro Soul Food, are back and better than ever at his new culinary incubator in Shaw's Atlantic Plumbing building. Taddesse's Mélange Foods, Inc. opened on Monday, May 12 with both concepts and will add a third Ethiopian taco spot called Moya later this spring. 2108 8th Street NW
U STREET — Peruvian poultry pad Lucky Pollo swings open on Friday, May 9, with a starring order: 24-hour marinated chicken cooked over charcoal and infused with a dozen-plus herbs. Sides include yuca and french fries, mac and cheese, and mashed potatoes, plus wraps and salads for the healthier set. Owner and nightlife vet Zach Renovátes tapped NYC-based Jasin Cadic to install ceiling chicken figurines sporting green hair, Keith Haring-influenced art, and a neon-lit logo of its rowdy namesake saddling a horseshoe. 1357B U Street NW
FALLS CHURCH — Ice Cream Jubilee, a D.C.-born ice cream shop founded by government lawyer-turned-chef Victoria Lai in 2014, opened its sixth location in West Falls Church on Friday, May 9. The store also serves ice cream sandwiches made with Sunday Morning Bakehouse's sea salt chocolate chip cookies. The new scoop shop is open from noon to 9 p.m. daily. 151 W. Falls Station Blvd, Falls Church, Virginia
ARLINGTON — Courthouse's promising summer hot spot dubbed Rooftop Recess debuted Thursday, May 8, with a garden-like interior, happy hour, grilled eats, and a 360-degree view of the neighborhood. 2424 Wilson Blvd Arlington, Virginia
CLEVELAND PARK — NY native Gina Chersevani doubled down on her months-old Buffalo & Bergen with the addition of Carb Bar on Cinco de Mayo. As the name implies, there's plenty of pizza and buttery danishes to choose, from with help from her husband Neil Dundee. The founder of roving pizza pad Eternal Love swears by rye flour to build an array of carbs. The next-level Honey Love hot pocket comes stuffed with imported mortadella, stracciatella, arugula, EVOO, pistachios, Parmesan, and lemon. The sommelier by trade also offers an off-menu selection of rare Italian varietals by the bottle. Rectangular-shaped 'Grandma Pizza' — Chersevani's childhood favorite growing up in Long Island — is en route soon. 3501 Connecticut Avenue NW
H STREET — Two-level Henceforth opened up on Monday, May 5 in the former H Street Country Club space. The retro-styled venture showcases a thorough craft beer list, all brewed in house, and a wine list that ranges from Maryland and Virginia vinos to bottles from the West Coast, Europe, and South Africa. The carefully curated food menu features triple-fried fat fries, beef sliders with charred pepper aioli, and honey Old Bay wings. There's also a succulent, braised beef cheeks sandwich and an array of vegetarian entrees, including charred asparagus or roasted cauliflower on black garlic labneh. The new neighborhood hangout will unveil its sunny rooftop seats soon. 1335 H Street NE
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