News & Advice

The Wharf Opens in Washington, D.C.

The new complex on the Potomac adds a slew of restaurants, shopping, and recreation spaces.
Image may contain Water Building Waterfront Boardwalk Bridge Vehicle Transportation Boat Dock Port and Pier
Matthew Borkoski

Despite Washington, D.C. thrumming at the confluence of the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers, most visitors limit their waterfront experiences to walking along the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, paddleboating in the Tidal Basin, or reclining by a hotel swimming pool.

The Wharf changes that. Debuting October 12, the eventual 3.2 million square feet of new restaurants, hotels, shopping, residences, and cultural and recreation spaces (its second phase won’t be completed until 2022) will open up a mile-long promenade of D.C.’s Potomac River waterfront in the city’s Southwest quadrant. Previously, you knew the little sliver that is Southwest D.C. as home to the Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King Jr., and Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorials—but not much else. (“You mean we need to go back across The Mall to get something to eat?” ”Yes, now stop whining.”)

Featuring many follow-up efforts from celebrated restaurateurs and merchants in phase one's opening, The Wharf is a safe bet. The flip side, of course, is that visitors can already experience many of The Wharf’s tenants’ flavors and styles in long-established D.C. neighborhoods—areas with more character, if less waterfront, than a still-in-construction development. Hopefully phase two of The Wharf, set to break ground in mid-2018, will include more debut spots from the deep talent working the lines in D.C.’s kitchens.

Tacos at local D.C. favorite Hank's Oyster Bar.

Courtesy District Wharf

Highlights of The Wharf’s 20 restaurants opening in this phase include Del Mar de Fabio Trabocchi from the eponymous James Beard Award-winning, D.C.-based chef; Michelin star winner Nicholas Stefanelli’s Italian Market and Restaurant; Requin by “Top Chef” alumnus Mike Isabella; and Roberto Santibañez’s take on Mexico City cuisine, Mi Vida; as well as new outposts of local D.C. favorites Hank’s Oyster Bar, Jenny’s (Asian cuisine), and Rappahannock Oyster Bar. One of the area’s few pre-Wharf eateries and the oldest continuously operating fish market in the country, the Municipal Fish Market, has undergone a restoration as well. Some of these phase one restaurants aren’t slated to launch until next month, or even spring 2018, however, so call ahead.

Shopping-wise, established D.C. chocolatier Harper Macaw, gallerist Martha Shaw, and bookstore Politics & Prose (its Connecticut Avenue location is a staple on CSPAN’s BookTV) join new ventures such as A Beautiful Closet, a boutique run by a former World Bank staffer. Operated by the same company that oversees D.C.’s iconic 9:30 Club, The Anthem, a 6,500-seat concert hall, headlines the entertainment offerings.

For recreation, The Wharf’s ten-plus acres of parks and piers offer spots to rent kayaks and paddleboards to further explore D.C. via water, ice skating in the winter, and the 7th Street Park with walking trails and stand-up desks (which seems like an idea a developer thought his millennial kids would find “on fleek”).

While The Wharf is easily accessible from D.C.’s existing hotels, the development includes three new properties. The 278-room InterContinental Washington D.C.—The Wharf’s rooftop pool affords a view of the Potomac. Canopy by Hilton—the lifestyle-focused brand’s North American debut—also offers rooftop vistas from its penthouse lounge, Bistro & Bar, with an outdoor firepit. And with many rooms offering kitchenettes and separate living areas, Hyatt House targets extended-stay guests.

One of the other rare pre-Wharf destinations for travelers in Southwest D.C., the Mandarin Oriental (which just went through a $20 million guest room renovation) is celebrating its new neighbor with the Taste of Southwest D.C. package. Starting at $295 a night for a minimum of two nights, if offers a guaranteed water-view room, $50 on-property dining credit, a $50 gift card for Requin, and complimentary valet parking and WiFi.

The Wharf’s easily accessible from the rest of the D.C. area by car or Metro (it’s a five-minute walk to Waterfront Metro on the green line and eight minutes to the L’Enfant Plaza hub). The 25-minute water taxi ride from Georgetown, though, comes with an expanded view of the monuments from the water. And if you’ll be arriving by your own boat, The Wharf offers day docking, because it’s a wharf.