About DC Restaurant Openings
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
The Grace. 1539 Seventh St., NW.
A year ago, The Passenger owner Tom Brown sold his Shaw bar to one of his regulars: Sanjay Mandhaiya, chef and co-owner of Pappe Indian restaurant on 14th Street and the Silk Road-inspired Karravaan in Union Market. Mandhaiya has since completely transformed the space and reopened it last week as the Grace, a modern American “saloon” with cheffy pub food.
“Even though it’s elevated, it’s not pretentious,” Mandhaiya says. “It’s just a place where people can come in and be themselves and get great customer service. Repeat clientele. That’s what our vision is for this place.”
The two-story space has a new “female forward” look, Mandhaiya says, with purple velvet walls, floral bathrooms, upstairs lounge seating, and artwork from local artist Maggie O’Neill, including one of two women riding a horse.
Leading the kitchen is chef Courtney Evans, who came to DC from Charlotte, competed on the Netflix show Next Gen Chef, and was briefly a sous chef at Rose’s Luxury. Evans says her culinary background is in Afro-Southern food, and you can see some of those flavors scattered throughout the Grace’s menu. For example, a play on oysters Rockefeller includes smoked-collard-greens butter with a suya spice/parmesan crumble on top.
Meanwhile, black truffle fritters with tomato jam draw inspiration from grilled cheese and tomato soup. And a “French-ish” onion soup swaps croutons for a soufflé puff pastry layered with aged white cheddar. “The steam comes up and cheese pull happens. I just love food that you can have fun with,” Evans says.
The menu also features a number of salads and sandwiches, including a classic Reuben and a Cuban with cumin-crusted pork loin and smoked shallots. Entrees range from seafood linguine with a riesling cream sauce to bone-in pork schnitzel garnished with dollops of bacon jam, garlic aioli, and apricot jus, and served with herb-roasted fingerling potatoes. Mandhaiya adds that they’ve tried to keep entrees under $30, although you will find a 16-ounce ribeye for $49.75.
Mandhaiya also hopes to cater to a late-night crowd with a kitchen that’s open nightly until 1 AM and serving a condensed menu of sandwiches and appetizers: “I’m a long-time industry guy. And for me, working in a hot kitchen, the highlight of the day was getting some beer and some food late night.”
The cocktail menu ($14.75 to $18.95) includes a variety of daiquiris—from the classic to lychee, strawberry, or banana versions. Summer ingredients are embraced in a mezcal cocktail with peppers and melon as well as the “Peach Pie” with peach-infused moonshine, almond orgeat, and a touch of honey. “It’s really rounded, nutty, fruity, but yet kind of refreshing,” says Director of Beverage and Mixology Stefan Sokic.
There will also be some carryovers from the Passenger. An antelope bust named “Gary” still hangs on the wall and has been incorporated into the Grace’s logo. The restaurant will also serve the PPK (Passenger Pain Killer), one of the former bar’s most popular cocktails.
“Stefan is doing a twist on it and making it more crafty,” Mandhaiya says. “This is going to be paying homage to the Passenger.”
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.
