Alfie’s brings Thai dishes to Georgetown. | Mack Ordaya Just as the temperatures finally start to rise, many notable dining destinations will start to bloom across town over the next few months. Exciting D.C.-area arrivals to look forward to include: Ox and Olive, a steakhouse and marti ni bar for Georgetown; Rye Bunny, a counter-service spot for polished mid-Atlantic dishes in Adams Morgan; Angie, a European-styled bistro in Ballston, and more. PopUp Bagels PopUp Bagels, the NYC bagel sensation backed by celebrities like Paul Rudd and Michael Phelps, makes its D.C. debut in Georgetown this month — with a whopping 20 more DMV locations to come. Expanding at a supersonic speed up and down the East Coast, PopUp Bagels stands apart with its “rip-and-dip” menu mantra — where you rip off chunks of a hot bagel to dip into an open container of cream cheese. Bagels are sold by the bag, and rotating schmears of choice include Guinness chocolate cake or pesto butter. Founder Adam Goldberg started the bagel business in Connecticut during the pandemic as an at-home baking experiment, and NYC pop-ups for his fresh-out-of-the-oven spheres went on to generate long lines. Its standalone store count ballooned from there. Its brick-framed D.C. digs most recently housed Mason’s Lobster Rolls. A Bethesda lease was also recently secured. Where: 1078 Wisconsin Avenue NWWhen: Friday, March 27 Rosselli D.C.’s always-adapting hospitality vet Ashok Bajaj banks on a downtown comeback this spring with the arrival of Rosselli. The corner space near Metro Center was long home to Modena, his modern Italian spot that flopped last year. With a fresh Italian identity comes a revised layout that shrinks the dining room and plays up a marbled U-shaped bar and more counter seating. Bajaj tapped a faraway chef with Michelin-starred credentials to lead the kitchen. Carlos Cardona most recently cooked at NOI by Paulo Airaudo in Hong Kong. Knightsbridge Restaurant Group (Rasika, Bombay Club) is no stranger to flipping concepts, which includes this ever-changing Italian restaurant space that was Bibiana before Modena. Bajaj recently turned short-lived rotisserie restaurant Rosedale into Indian seafood spot Malabar and made Bindaas a fast-casual in Foggy Bottom.  Where: 1199 H Street NW When: Late March Rye Bunny Jon Sybert and Jill Tyler, the fine dining vets behind Adams Morgan’s Michelin-starred favorite Tail Up Goat (which closed in December after a decade), turn the same tucked-away real estate into a counter-service spot with room for 84. Named for the couple’s two adopted dogs, Rye Bunny will continue to highlight Sybert’s calling cards (produce-heavy, seasonal, mid-Atlantic) in a more casual format. Look for half-fried bobo chicken and Sunday ragu, plus a wine list from beverage director Audrey Dowling (with a $35 corkage fee for dine-in guests, too). Tail Up Goat’s stark canvas underwent a full-blown transformation by Edit at Streetsense, complete with folk-art influences, stained-glass partitions, antique wooden chairs, and punches of color in plum, mustard, and maroon. Where: 1827 Adams Mill RoadWhen: Thursday, April 2 Marv’s Dogs What: Diane Gross and Khalid Pitts, the owners of Logan Circle standby Cork Wine Bar, bring a nostalgic spot to Tenleytown. Marv’s Dogs specializes in snappy Chicago-style hot dogs topped with classic pickled toppings, along with creamy vanilla and pistachio milkshakes. The dressed-down, family-friendly spot near American University also carves out room for fun video games below. The team is hot for upper Northwest as of late, having added a new Cork in Cleveland Park in January. Where: 4936 Wisconsin Avenue NWWhen: April Ox and Olive D.C.-based Hive Hospitality, the growing group best known for 14th Street’s pair of stacked Michelin-starred stalwarts (French-influenced bistro Bresca and upstairs tasting room Jônt), enters the steakhouse game – and Georgetown market – for the first time this spring. The new 50-seat Ox and Olive revives the high-profile alleyway space that Michelin-starred Reverie left behind last year. Chef Ryan Ratino pays homage to his Ohio upbringing with a meaty menu full of rib-eyes and American steakhouse classics like a wedge salad and baked oysters, plus foie gras as a nod to his fine dining background. Hive’s portfolio also includes a presence in Florida with Maass at the Four Seasons Hotel in Fort Lauderdale and Ômo by Jônt in Winter Park. Where: 3201 Cherry Hill LaneWhen: Mid-April Uchi James Beard Award-winning chef Tyson Cole’s decades-old sushi standout breaks into the D.C. market for the first time this spring. The Austin original, open since 2003, sits in a refurbished bungalow that inspired the restaurant’s name (“house” in Japanese). Other Texas outposts slowly arrived in Houston (2012) and Dallas (2015), followed by a West Coast expansion to Los Angeles in 2023. Its newfound East Coast reach includes a recent opening in Philly, with another en route to NYC. Hai Hospitality’s latest Uchi anchors downtown D.C.’s sleek office tower 17xM, and an area offshoot is slated to open soon in Bethesda. Hai’s sibling restaurants include Uchiko, Uchibā, Oheya, and LORO Asian Smokehouse Bar. Where: 1150 17th Street NWWhen: Mid-April Soko Butcher The Takoma Park butcher shop and deli known for its award-winning cheesesteaks expands across state lines for the first time. Chef-owner Brad Feickert, who grew up in Purcellville, returns to his rural Virginia roots with a Soko for downtown Leesburg. Along with that crowd-pleasing compilation of prime rib and house-made cheese wiz, Soko is also known for its smash burger, all-day breakfast burritos built with house-made sausage, and sides like beef tallow fries and chicken wings. Soko’s charming Leesburg home with outdoor seating will also do happy hour all day. Another Soko for Virginia will soon follow in Arlington. Where: 15 Loudoun Street, Leesburg, VirginiaWhen: April Angie The team behind Dupont’s Greek hit Balos brings an all-day, French-influenced bistro to Ballston. The Angie — a Virginia offshoot of West End’s year-old Italian hot spot Bar Angie — will offer a traditional European menu with upscale American influences. Think ricotta ravioli with Kalamata olives and basil oil; garlic and butter-crusted lobster frites; and roasted Dover sole. Al fresco dining is also a big focus, with operable windows breathing air into the 5,700-square-foot setup situated at the foot of a glassy office building. The Angie marks the latest collaboration between NYC restaurateur Joe Ragonese and ForFive Coffee founders Stefanos Vouvoudakis and Tom Tsiplakos. Look for a barista bar for the morning crowd, plus a full bar, lounge, and dining room that can seat 162 guests during lunch and dinner. Where: 3901 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, VirginiaWhen: May Alfie’s A decade after making its (temporary) debut in Park View, followed by stints in cosmopolitan places like London and Bangkok along the way, roving Thai pop-up Alfie’s finally opens a permanent home in the city that started it all. Alfie’s chefs Alex McCoy and Justin Ahn plant roots in Georgetown with fine-tuned dishes, natural wines, a small cocktail list, and just 25 seats. The focus is less on street food preparations – which was what “Alfies 1.0” was all about, says McCoy – and more on the “ethos of Thai cooking” remixed with nontraditional ingredients. At its most recent residency at London’s chef incubator Carousel, for instance, the “clams and chili jam” dish combined Welsh cockles and mussels with nam prik pao, lime leaf, ’nduja, mouse chile, and holy basil over sourdough. Its first real D.C. location, hidden in an alley next to omakase room Two Nine, features house-made curries using local seafood, meats, and vegetables for dinner. Lunch will continue to showcase the street-style orders Alfie’s is known for, like noodle bowls of khao soi and baa mee haeng. Where: 1228½ 31st Street NWWhen: May Electric Bull Chef Victor Albisu, the founder of fast-casual chain Taco Bamba, returns to his sit-down steakhouse roots with a new Argentinian grill and butcher shop called Electric Bull. Located three doors down from his Vienna Taco Bamba, the former chef at D.C.’s BLT Steak and Del Campo (which he also owned) caters to carnivores with hanger, flank, and flat iron steaks; South American-style short ribs; sweetbreads; and a family recipe for chorizo. Albisu will also spotlight the same rolled skirt steak that out-grilled Bobby Flay on his Beat Bobby Flay cooking show. His charred honey lamb ribs with chimi-chermoula and smoked oyster barbecue sauce – the winner of this year’s South Beach Wine Food Festival national grill competition hosted by chef Tyler Florence – will also make an appearance. Albisu recently tapped two big names to help lead the kitchen: Pittsburgh’s James Beard-nominated chef and master butcher Justin Severino (Morcilla), who’s a partner, and executive chef Adam Hoffa of Arlington’s now-closed Pirouette Cafe Wine Bar. Where: 176 Maple Avenue West, Vienna, VirginiaWhen: Early spring Maurizio’s Ted Xenohristos, co-founder and owner of fast-casual Mediterranean chain Cava, brings a modern Italian restaurant to Potomac, Maryland. The team’s seventh full-service project to date will showcase starters, pastas, and mains from its executive chef Aris Tsekouras, including rosemary focaccia, fritto misto, linguine and clams, chicken Parmesan, and grilled branzino. One unique feature is a dedicated Negroni bar menu full of riffs on the classic cocktail. HapstakDemetriou+ and CedarHouse Creative transformed the former home of Renato’s in Potomac Village with lively greens, floral patterns, curated artwork, striking photography, terracotta floors, brass elements, and reclaimed wood beams. Cava’s team is also behind Bouboulina, Julii, and Melina, a cluster of sit-down spots in Rockville’s Pike Rose development. Where: 10120 River Road, Potomac, MarylandWhen: Late spring ...read more read less