About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
GAIA Supperclub. 1025 Vermont Ave., NW.
When veteran Wayne Johnson has dined in nightlife hotspots like Dubai, Mykonos, and Ibiza, he says that one thing has always remained true: “every dinner is a show.” Starting Saturday, April 19, he hopes to bring a similarly visually and sonically interesting dining experience to downtown DC.
GAIA Supperclub is a collaboration between Johnson and Tony Perry, both of whom have helmed nightclubs St. Yves and Abigail, and DJed at cafe Llamabar. They’ve teamed up with entrepreneur Mele Melton to create a restaurant where to goal is that “you can’t leave without picking up your phone and videotaping something, whether it be food, dancers, the DJ, or a musician,” says Johnson.
When you walk into GAIA, you’ll be surrounded by glowing backlit signage, modern, plush booths, and a centerpiece DJ booth. Johnson says that the team hopes to host DJs every weekend, as well as live musicians and dancers to up the “wow factor” at dinnertime. In the months to follow, the team will also roll out brunch and patio service.
The restaurant specializes in Latin-Mediterranean tapas and large-format dishes, created by Food Network’s “Chopped” winner and Milk & Honey restaurants founder Sammy Davis. Look for menu items plantain hummus, lamb empanadas, and grilled branzino with Latin tomato sauce. One of Davis’s favorite applications of the fusion is the Spanish lamb meatballs, which are made in the style of Greek keftedes and infused with a Puerto Rican sofrito.
Johnson says that he was inspired to fuse the two cuisines because of the “liveliness and presentation” of the food at one of his favorite Mexican beach clubs, as well as the “freshness, cleanness, and simplicity” of Mediterranean food.
“The two [cuisines], oddly, just interact really well,” he says. “It gives the customer a lot of options.”
Aside from this culinary theme, GAIA also offers a selection of playful-yet-luxe American bites with some twists — like the “Caviar McGaia” featuring lightly-battered chicken nuggets and crème fraîche, and a 24-ounce tomahawk ribeye with truffle butter and “Tiger” sauce that the team presents to each client, in raw form, before preparing it.
“I think that that whole experience and interaction is going to be really cool for someone who’s a steak enthusiast — or, honestly, someone who just says, ‘Bring me the coolest thing you’ve got,’” Johnson says. “That’s going to be our ‘coolest thing we’ve got.’”
To drink, Johnson recommends the “Full Frontal,” GAIA’s take on the “Porn Star Martini,” served with a mini Moët bottle. He promises that everything about the cocktail lineup, from the flavors to the glassware, is “really fun to see.”
As team GAIA comes down from its grand opening weekend, they expect that the restaurant will serve as both a pre- and post-game destination for DC nightlife-lovers — and, with its DJ acts and performance attractions, they hope that some people might consider it to be “the game” itself.
