photo by Claudia Holwill
It seems you can’t go more than a week in this town without another restaurant opening. And plenty of that action is happening on H Street. This week, the long awaited Vendetta — owned by Blair Zervos, Jimmy Silk, Ricardo Vergara and Joe Englert — will officially open its doors to the public on Tuesday, May 20, in the space formerly occupied by the Red Palace. Frozen Tropics is also reporting that they will be taking some walk-ins tonight.
Vendetta features two indoor bocce ball courts and “outdoor grotto seating” along with a bar menu of 25 wines hand crafted cocktails to complement beer and prosecco on tap. The menu, created by Executive Chef James Figueroa, features a range of pastas that can be mixed with eight different sauces, including Bolognese, meatball & turnip ragu, walnut kale pesto, and rabbit, broccoli rabe & mustard seed ragu. And yes, they do plan to have gluten free pasta in the near future. Appetizers range in price in $5-$14 and entrees are $14-$23. The full menu can be viewed here.
The renovation of the space was done very well, with design and art direction executed by artist Martina Pelot of Washington, DC. On the first floor, reclaimed lumber, cathedral lights, and original mid-century Italian art set the tone for the evening. Upstairs, vintage mod art and suspended Vespa motor scooters frame the bar and seating areas. As a photography lover, I particularly enjoyed looking at all of the black & whites on the walls.
Vendetta is located at 1212 H Street NE. Reservations can be made on OpenTable.com and initial hours will be Sunday – Thursday: 5:00 p.m. – 2:00 a.m. and Friday – Saturday: 5:00 p.m. – 3:00 a.m. In the near future they will look into adding weekend brunch as well.