Who’s behind it: Restaurateur Stephen Starr and his Starr Restaurants group reopened, and reimagined, a legendary Washington, D.C., restaurant: the Occidental. Located in the historic Willard Hotel, just a block from the White House, the restaurant has been a dining destination for the country’s political leaders since opening in 1906. Starr took over ownership a year and a half ago, following a pandemic-induced closure. The project comes on the heels of two other recent Starr Restaurant openings in the U.S. capital: Pastis and Osteria Mozza.
When it opened: March 5, 2025
Why you should know about it: The Occidental has played a historic role in the D.C. restaurant scene. Perhaps its most significant meal—featuring pork chops and crab cakes—was held between Soviet and U.S. political representatives in 1962, a meeting credited with ending the Cuban Missile Crisis. Today, the restaurant refers to its pork chop as “the Pork Chop That Saved The World.”
Starr Restaurants is also a leader in hospitality, and 13 of the group’s restaurants have earned Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards, including Best of Award of Excellence winners St. Anselm, Barclay Prime and the Clocktower.
[article-img-container][src=2025-03/restaurant-news-occidental-washington-dc-interior-032025_1600.jpg] [caption=The Occidental's expansive, two-floor sapce was refashioned by interior designer Ken Fulk.] [credit= (Birch Thomas)] [alt= The interior of the Occidental in Washington D.C.][end: article-img-container]
What’s on the wine list: Wine director Samantha McCrimmon manages the 750-selection list, which is composed of primarily Californian, French and Italian wines. McCrimmon comes from D.C. restaurant L’Avant Garde and has managed beverage programs at a range of resorts and hotels.
A notable collection of Napa Valley Cabernets makes up one of the list’s largest sections and includes verticals from Dalla Valle, Dunn and Staglin. West Coast Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays are also well represented, with bottles from Mount Eden Vineyards, Arnot-Roberts, Failla and others.
French picks include wines from the Rhône Valley’s Paul Jaboulet Aîné, Bordeaux’s Château Montrose and Burgundy’s Robert Chevillon, while the Italian section features Cantina Terlano, Paolo Scavino and Idda. A page of dessert wines, mostly late-harvest bottlings and Madeiras, rounds out the list. The beverage program also features Martinis poured tableside, with more than 50 gins and vodkas to choose from, as well as more than 80 whiskeys.
The culinary approach: Head chef Neil O’Connell, who previously worked at Starr’s Pastis in Miami, continues to serve the Occidental’s established menu of American fare. Several items harken back to the restaurant’s fabled past: for instance, a Barnsley lamb chop (once served with kidneys, and now offered with mint jelly), a 21-day dry-aged, salt-crusted prime rib and supremes of grapefruit mixed with honey dressing and dill oil and served in a Martini-style glass. For seafood, there’s shrimp cocktail, tuna tartare and fresh oysters, as well as Chilean sea bass and Dover sole meunière. For dessert, guests can expect baked Alaska, coconut chiffon cake or the eye-catching bananas Foster, flambéed tableside.
The design: The expansive, two-floor restaurant was designed by Ken Fulk (behind other well-known restaurants such as Carbone in Miami) and seats up to 280 guests. With large brass doors, green velvet banquettes, crystal chandeliers and walls adorned with portraits of historic political figures, the opulent space evokes a mid-century atmosphere. The restaurant also has an upstairs cocktail lounge and a 3,200-square-foot outdoor courtyard overlooking Pennsylvania Avenue.
David Chang Debuts Bar Kabawa in the Former Momofuku Ko Space in New York
What’s happening: In February, chef-restaurateur David Chang and his Momofuku group opened Bar Kabawa, a new bar focused on “daiquiris and wine,” as well as Caribbean culture and cuisine. The bar and an adjoining, not-yet-opened restaurant—which the Momofuku team announced earlier this winter—are located in the Lower Manhattan space that once housed Chang’s Momofuku Ko.
Leading the kitchen is chef Paul Carmichael, who has been executive chef at Momofuku Seibo (a Caribbean concept in Sydney, Australia) for the past decade. Carmichael worked with chefs such as Marcus Samuelsson and Wylie Dufresne before leading the kitchen at Momofuku’s now-closed Manhattan bistro Má Pêche. The chef will also soon unveil the space’s tasting-menu restaurant, Kabawa.
When it opened: Bar Kabawa, the space’s front section, opened Feb. 6; Kabawa will open March 25.
Why you should know about it: Momofuku is a leading name in hospitality, and this is the group’s first opening since the COVID-19 pandemic, following years of portfolio downsizing. The opening of Bar Kabawa and Kabawa ushers in a more significant, company-wide operations role for Carmichael, according to a statement.
[article-img-container][src=2025-03/restaurant-news-bar-kabawa-momofuku-paul-carmichael-032025_1600.jpg] [caption=Barbados-born chef Paul Carmichael will be taking on a larger role in restaurant operations for Momofuku.] [credit= (Courtesy of Bar Kabawa)] [alt= Chef Paul Carmichael][end: article-img-container]
What’s on the wine list: Beverage director Eitan Spivak said that the restaurant inherited a significant portion of the list from the 15,000-bottle Momofuku Ko wine cellar, which had been a springboard for leading New York City sommeliers like Arthur Hon of Wine Spectator Grand Award winner The Modern and Chase Sinzer of Best of Award of Excellence winner Claud.
The 25-page wine list for Kabawa and Bar Kabawa builds off Ko’s strengths in California, Burgundy and the Rhône Valley, with highlights from wineries such as Jean Louis-Chave and Marquis d’Angerville. The list features informational pencil drawings, maps and even a helpful cartoon companion named Corky, an anthropomorphic wine bottle akin to Microsoft’s iconic Clippit intelligent user interface. Among other tidbits, Corky provides off-the-beaten-path Chablis picks, a comparison of “Old School” and “New School” Burgundies, and California Cabernet recommendations. “We wanted to have a serious wine list that doesn’t take itself too seriously,” Spivak told Wine Spectator.
[article-img-container][src=2025-03/restaurant-news-bar-kabawa-momofuku-patties-032025_1600.jpg] [caption=Caribbean patties, filled with anything from goat to foie gras, are a fixture of the Bar Kabawa menu.] [credit= (Courtesy of Bar Kabawa)] [alt= A basket of patties from Bar Kabawa][end: article-img-container]
To complement the restaurant’s Caribbean cuisine, Spivak focused on wines from island regions like Sicily, the Canary Islands and Corsica. He suggests guests take a close look at the selection of Champagne, one of his favorite pairings with Bar Kabawa’s patties, which are filled with everything from foie gras and pepperpot duck to short rib, conch and bone marrow. If you’re not sipping wine, Bar Kabawa has a library of rums—some dating to 1997—and a list of daiquiris, including the Floridita (accented with grapefruit and Maraschino liqueur).
The culinary approach: Drawing on influences from Carmichael’s native Barbados as well as the greater Caribbean region, the Bar Kabawa menu is filled with raw bar options and a range of patties served either fried or baked. Seafood dishes include bay scallops with pikliz (a Haitian pickled vegetable relish), oysters with a pineapple mignonette and pickled okra doused in a salted cod XO sauce. Tasting-menu dishes have not been announced, but the team revealed that the prix-fixe menu will include three courses.
The design: Centered around a 24-seat bar, Bar Kabawa was fashioned by Joseph Alayón Ormaza of the SUITE firm, who has channeled the “welcoming essence of the Caribbean family home,” according to a statement from the restaurant. Details include rich upholstery, wood elements and tropical motifs.—Julia Larson
Prime Steakhouse Reopens in Las Vegas
A refreshed Prime: After a two-month hiatus from its dining room overlooking the iconic fountains at Bellagio Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Jean-Georges Vongerichten’s Prime Steakhouse—a Wine Spectator Best of Award of Excellence winner—has reopened with a reconceptualized look, menu and wine list. While renovations were underway, Prime took over the space that once housed Grand Award winner Picasso.
“We felt after 26 years, guests deserved to see a fresh and revitalized Prime,” explained Warren Richards, executive director of food and beverage at Bellagio and Park MGM. “We didn’t want to overhaul the restaurant, but we essentially wanted to make it feel new again.”
The restaurant’s signature French blue and caramel tones are still part of the aesthetic, as are Venetian chandeliers, carved glass features and Saint Laurent marble accents. The team added a 14-guest private dining room (it was formerly semi-private) and an extended patio overlooking Bellagio’s fountains.
[article-img-container][src=2025-03/restaurant-news-prime-steakhouse-las-vegas-dining-room-032025_1600.jpg] [caption=The renovated dining room still features Prime Steakhouse's signature color scheme.] [credit= (MGM Resorts International)] [alt= The dining room of Prime Steakhouse at the Bellagio][end: article-img-container]
Executive chef Sean Griffin, wine director Jason Quinn and sommelier John Burke have stayed on. “The team is re-energized,” said Richards.
Menu updates: The new menu offers a more diverse selection of steaks, particularly from farms in California, Washington, Colorado and Nebraska. Japanese Waygu is also on offer. “We also wanted to bring in some creativity, that maybe you’d get in one of Jean-Georges’ fine-dining restaurants in New York, but in a steak-house environment,” said Richards. Around 30 percent of the menu is new, including side dishes like the broccoli with pistachio crumbs and the crispy delicata squash with red chile.
Highlights on the new wine list: Prime has incorporated the wine inventory from Picasso restaurant, according to Richards, with ambitions to grow the new wine program to around 600 selections. “Prime has always been known for heavy-hitting California selections, which is still a strong point and reflected on the [list],” Richards observed. Expect Schrader Cabernets and other blue-chip Napa reds from Dalla Valle, Dominus, Grace Family, Heitz and Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars. The list incorporates new, producer-focused pages, including a spotlight on Hundred Acre and a vertical of Château Margaux back to the 1980s.
[article-img-container][src=2025-03/restaurant-news-prime-steakhouse-las-vegas-fountains-032025_1600.jpg] [caption=Renovations at Prime Steakhouse included extending the patio dining space, which looks onto the Bellagio fountains.] [credit= (MGM Resorts International)] [alt= The patio of Prime Steakhouse, looking onto the Bellagio fountains][end: article-img-container]
One highlight is a special by-the-glass option poured from a large-format bottle, with the selection changing based on availability. “Coravin usage has become so common,” said Richards. “We decided to have more fun with it. We currently have a six-liter of Shafer Hillside Select on offer for $190 per glass.”—Aaron Romano
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