When veteran Wayne Johnson has dined in nightlife hotspots like Dubai, Mykonos, and Ibiza, he says that one factor has all the time remained true: “each dinner is a present.” Beginning Saturday, April 19, he hopes to convey a equally visually and sonically fascinating eating expertise to downtown DC.
GAIA Supperclub is a collaboration between Johnson and Tony Perry, each of whom have helmed nightclubs St. Yves and Abigail, and DJed at cafe Llamabar. They’ve teamed up with entrepreneur Mele Melton to create a restaurant the place to purpose is that “you may’t depart with out selecting up your telephone and videotaping one thing, whether or not it’s meals, dancers, the DJ, or a musician,” says Johnson.
If you stroll into GAIA, you’ll be surrounded by glowing backlit signage, fashionable, plush cubicles, and a centerpiece DJ sales space. Johnson says that the crew hopes to host DJs each weekend, in addition to reside musicians and dancers to up the “wow issue” at dinnertime. Within the months to comply with, the crew may even roll out brunch and patio service.
The restaurant makes a speciality of Latin-Mediterranean tapas and large-format dishes, created by Meals Community’s “Chopped” winner and Milk & Honey eating places founder Sammy Davis. Search for menu gadgets plantain hummus, lamb empanadas, and grilled branzino with Latin tomato sauce. One in all Davis’s favourite purposes of the fusion is the Spanish lamb meatballs, that are made within the model of Greek keftedes and infused with a Puerto Rican sofrito.
Johnson says that he was impressed to fuse the 2 cuisines due to the “liveliness and presentation” of the meals at one among his favourite Mexican seaside golf equipment, in addition to the “freshness, cleanness, and ease” of Mediterranean meals.
“The 2 [cuisines], oddly, simply work together rather well,” he says. “It provides the shopper a variety of choices.”
Other than this culinary theme, GAIA additionally presents a choice of playful-yet-luxe American bites with some twists — just like the “Caviar McGaia” that includes lightly-battered rooster nuggets and crème fraîche, and a 24-ounce tomahawk ribeye with truffle butter and “Tiger” sauce that the crew presents to every consumer, in uncooked kind, earlier than making ready it.
“I believe that that entire expertise and interplay goes to be actually cool for somebody who’s a steak fanatic — or, truthfully, somebody who simply says, ‘Deliver me the good factor you’ve obtained,’” Johnson says. “That’s going to be our ‘coolest factor we’ve obtained.’”
To drink, Johnson recommends the “Full Frontal,” GAIA’s tackle the “Porn Star Martini,” served with a mini Moët bottle. He guarantees that every thing in regards to the cocktail lineup, from the flavors to the glassware, is “actually enjoyable to see.”
As crew GAIA comes down from its grand opening weekend, they anticipate that the restaurant will function each a pre- and post-game vacation spot for DC nightlife-lovers — and, with its DJ acts and efficiency points of interest, they hope that some folks may think about it to be “the sport” itself.
