The Grill at The Wharf Open for Business

The Grill bar. Credit: Rey Lopez

The Grill, a contemporary American bar and grill, recently opened at the District Wharf adjacent to Market Square. The new kid on the Wharf block has spectacular waterfront views, serious steaks and seafood, and a martini bar menu that includes over 100 gins and vodkas.

The Grill adds to the impressive list of upscale restaurants at the Wharf and fills the need for a place where the focus is on charcoal and wood-fired steaks. While the restaurant is new to the Wharf, the executive chef and management team are not. It is owned and operated by the KNEAD Hospitality and Design group, which also owns Mi Vida. Chef Roberto Santibañez, oversees the menu at both restaurants.

The food quality at The Grill is off the charts because of Chef Santibañez’s impressive attention to detail where he focuses on locally-sourced meat and produce including ethically-raised beef. For example, cuts include a 28-day dry aged Filet Mignon from Seven Hills Farm located in Lynchburg, Va. and a 12oz. Ribeye from Roseda Farms in nearby Monkton, Md.

Tomahawk Steak. Credit: Rey Lopez

Don’t think for a moment that Chef Santibañez is leaving those meats to chance to cook on just any grill. Oh no. The Grill ownership team led by Jason Berry, invested in a Josper Baque Grill, imported from Spain, to ensure the cuts of meat are cooked to perfection. Just mention the Josper at The Grill and employees get giddy, treating it like a member of the team.

It’s not all steaks at The Grill, where you will also find wild-caught Atlantic Black Bass, Scampi with head-on shrimp, orzo and garlic butter, and Halibut served over saffron-risotto with a red wine reduction and pistachios.

The beverage program at The Grill, developed by beverage Director Darlin Kulla and Sommelier Hugo Arias Sanchez, focuses on Martinis and classic cocktails with a twist. The steaks and seafood have plenty of wine pairing options with The Grill’s wide variety of wines, which includes 30 wines by the glass and 200 by the bottle.

Happy hour at The Grill is designed for fun. Patrons can make their own Martini where they can choose a gin or vodka, chose it traditional, dry, or pure, and dirty, filthy, or Gibson style, and finally, if they want it up or on a giant Grill ice cube.

Once the days get warmer, The Grill Punch is likely to be a bestseller, made with pineapple-infused vodka, hayman’s gin, grilled mango, ginger, mint, and bubbles. That’s a drink definitely made for waterfront-sipping.

The bar menu includes some surprisingly, relatively, affordable happy hour (M-F, 3pm – 6pm) options including a selection of craft beer on tap for $6, wine by the glass for $8, and the Grill Punch for $8, normally $12.

KNEAD management continues to invest in the Wharf because, according to Berry, “It’s a lively, buzzing area that will only continue to get better, and with it being right on the water, there’s no better spot.”

Visit The Grill at:

99 Market Square, SW

www.TheGrillDC.com