A new American restaurant with “celestial” flair opens at the foot of Penn Quarter’s Arlo hotel on Thursday, October 15. Altair, situated under a glassy, greenhouse-like ceiling, provides vantage points of the night sky as diners enjoy everything from
glistening oysters to hearty duck courses (333 G Street NW).
The 82-seat newcomer comes from NYC-based Renwick Hospitality, which operates Arlo-affiliated restaurants like Soho’s seasonal American spot Lindens and its speakeasy Foxtail; the only other Altair, which opened in 2023 in Midtown; as well as Arlo’s Art rooftop bar in D.C., Soho, and Midtown.
Altair slides into the sprawling lobby-level space left behind by Arrels, D.C. chef Pepe Moncayo’s short-lived Spanish restaurant that went dark this springafter just over a year in business. Renwick soon swooped in to plan which of its restaurants would take its place. The D.C. Altair follows the lead of the NYC original, themed after four ancient elements: earth, air, fire, and water.
Altair’s menu (and its website) went live today, Wednesday, October 7.
It starts with vegetable small plates that embrace fall: honeynut squash ravioli with brown butter, pancetta, and agrodolce; Persimmon with rocket arugula, asiago, and pumpkin seeds; and beets with creme fraiche, arugula, and hot honey.
The following “land and sea” section includes a charred diver scallop with smoked celery root and crispy leeks; Mallard duck with almond crust, sunchokes, and sauce l’orange; and rack of lamb with farro granoli, hakuri, and coffee. A “Pig Out” for three features pork three ways (pork chop, rinds, ragu and belly) with cannellini beans and cranberry. Like its NY counterpart, there’s foie gras on the menu — an ingredient making headlines as of late. (D.C. has decided it wants to follow New York in terms of duking it out over whether foie gras should be bannedat restaurants.)
Customers at Altair are greeted by a lush cocktail lounge, where drinks are grouped by its ancient elemental theme: Eucalyptus & Yuzu with gin, soju, green chartreuse, shiso leaf (air); Wild Mushrooms with Jefferson’s small-batch bourbon, turbinado, angostura and orange bitters (earth); and Habanero with mezcal, rooibos chai, roasted grapefruit, and lime (fire).
The 82-seat space was completely transformed by in-demand firm /3877, which also put together the look of Cranes (another Moncayo restaurant that closed nearby this year), as well as Mi Vida and Ellie Bird. The sprawling restaurant is anchored by a live tree with hanging lanterns, casting a moody canopy over lounge-style seating with earthy colors and wooden finishes.
Renwick has loose ties to D.C. already with Seed Library, its year-old Nomad offshoot of Ryan Chetiyawardana’s London cocktail bar inside Hotel Park Ave. The master drinks maker, also known as Mr. Lyan, is also behind the daring drinking den Silver Lyan in the depths of the Riggs hotel in Penn Quarter.
Renwick’s other hotel restaurants sit in the Motto hotels in Times Square (the Alderman) and Chelsea (Lulla).
