About DC Restaurant Openings
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Isla and Goodlove. 1100 15th St., NW.
A Canadian chef with Jamaican roots is bringing island vibes to DC with a chic downtown restaurant called Isla, opening today. Chef Lonie Murdock and her husband Darren Hinds operate Caribbean-inspired Miss Likklemore’s, along with other restaurants, in Toronto. For the DC debut, Murdock is taking a more fine-dining, global approach, drawing from islands around the world. A luxe next-door cocktail lounge called Goodlove will open November 7 with nightly DJs and seven custom chandeliers.
Isla’s wide-ranging, small plate-centric menu infuses island flavors from Japan, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and beyond. Murdock says one of her favorite dishes is a snapper crudo with passionfruit ponzu, culantro oil (“the tropical sister of cilantro”), and fried wakame seaweed. Another melange of influences: lamb tartare with green seasoning—an herby staple throughout the Caribbean—plus sweet potato crema, pickled pearl onions, and chives.
The centerpiece of the open kitchen is a wood-fired hearth, which infuses smoky flavor throughout the menu. Bara, a Trinidadian flatbread, is grilled and served three different ways, including with channa (a chickpea curry) and whipped labneh or curried goat and pomme puree. Larger plates from the grill include a bone-in pork chop with crab butter and kuchella (a spicy Trinidadian relish made of green mangoes and peppers).
Roasted pumpkin gnocchi channels the Caribbean with a smoked jerk beef ragu with coconut ricotta cream. Murdock uses her grandmother’s jerk recipe throughout the menu, including for a jus that’s reduced into a glossy sauce for the charbroiled chicken.
“Here’s this lady that would never have imagined that her recipe would be used in such a way, but I think it’s so special to see that Black and Brown food can be presented on a global level and on the same stage as many others,” Murdock says.
The cocktail menu focuses heavily on rum with drinks such as the “Overproof Papi,” a clarified milk punch rum and Coke. Murdock says one of her favorites is a riff on an espresso martini with peanut punch (an island staple—think peanutty Ovaltine).
The sultry, jewel-toned dining room with a dramatic pink chandelier also has a “rum room,” which will house what aims to be the largest rum collection in the DC area. The restaurant also has multiple private dining rooms, including a circular one that can seat up to 24, with its own private entrance, bar, and bathroom. A larger private room, also with its own bar, seats up to 65.
And then there’s neighboring Goodlove Lounge, which will be more of a nightlife destination featuring classic cocktails and “remixes.” The snacky menu will include things like mac and cheese bites and Jamaican-style patties with pepper sauce.
But one of the biggest attractions will be the music. It’s familiar territory for Hinds, who owns a number of nightclubs in Toronto.
“With the lounge, what he wants to do is give a little bit more freedom to the DJs to just play for the crowd and play good music,” Murdock says. “So not necessarily sticking to a particular genre, just really kind of creating the vibe in the room.”
Correction: Hinds and Murdock are not partners in Casamara. Rather, Casamara owner Hanif Harji is a partner in Isla.
Jessica Sidman covers the people and trends behind DC’s food and drink scene. Before joining Washingtonian in July 2016, she was Food Editor and Young & Hungry columnist at Washington City Paper. She is a Colorado native and University of Pennsylvania grad.
