Man Stops Traffic at 17th and K to Demand $200 Million
Morning Roundup: Goodbye, Abe Edition
Judge Throws Out WTU Suit Over Teacher Layoffs
Vegetate to Close at the End of the Month
Morning Roundup: Rain Won't Go Away Edition
Capitol Hill’s 8th Street SE will add its newest hangout tonight with the opening of pizza bistro Matchbox’s new Capitol Hill location. The restaurant and bar will open its doors at 5 p.m., and will likely host crowds nearing Chinatown-level proportions, if the attendance at this past Wednesday’s soft opening are any indication. This weekend, the restaurant will be open daily for dinner and on Sunday for brunch. Saturday brunch begins next weekend, and weekday lunch may come at a later date.
Matchbox owners Perry Smith, Drew Kim and Mark and Ty Neal have kept the same vibe in the new restaurant as its predecessor. A stone pizza oven doubles as a design element on the ground floor of the restaurant, and decor is heavy on the exposed brick and custom metal work that is omnipresent throughout the Chinatown location—inspired originally by the unique brick building that houses the first restaurant. The owners have also created an open, multi-level dining room in the new location, mimicking the multi-floor layout of Matchbox in Chinatown but creating a much less congested feel with the high ceilings and wider walkways. That openness does have one down side—the noise—but fans of the Chinatown spot won’t be surprised, or if history is to repeat itself, deterred, by the decibel level.
The menu too looks to be largely similar to the other location, although via the Washington Business Journal, newly hired chef for the Capitol Hill restaurant Shannon Troncoso may have a chance to tinker a bit with its pizzas, salads and burgers. A visit during the soft opening revealed that the kitchen—and staff—are ready for tonight’s opening: sliders were cooked perfectly to order and came out piping hot with the tower of frizzled onions, and the Q special pizza we ordered was perfect, with the sweet yet spicy tomato sauce balanced well with the chicken, red peppers and portabellas. Waitstaff was on point and knowledgeable, and handled what turned out to be a packed event with ease.
Still, the far smaller amount of foot traffic along 8th Street SE as opposed to H St NW could mean that Matchbox in Capitol Hill becomes more of a neighborhood spot, rather than the mecca that it is in tourist-clogged Chinatown. The Capitol Hill location is significantly smaller than the Chinatown restaurant since its expansion, but has a bar of roughly the same size. The bar will be offering Matchbox’s signature “Quittin' Time Cocktails” tonight from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and every week from Monday to Friday, so head over there on the early side tonight if you want to catch a first glimpse.
Matchbox
821 8th Street SE
Opens tonight at 5 p.m.
Click here for more details on initial hours
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
Lets hope that lunch comes sooner rather than later. I would have given them my money this afternoon, except they was closed. I suppose they need to iron the usual bugs out before they offer lunch and dinner service. I wouldn't go near the place for at least a month until things settle down. Until then, I'll make do with the doner kebabs at Cafe 8 across the street.
Crowds stay away- that place is built on an ancient Anacostia Indian burial ground! Scary huh? I promise it's true look it up on...
Pizza all mine, It's all mine! wahahahah.
Monkey:
If you go in the 'back room' at Cafe 8 you'll get Donner Kebabs, which are part Santa's reindeer and part Donner Party leftovers.
Funny. I thought the "back room" at Cafe 8 was reserved for Turkish prison sodomy and acting out the titties-on-the-glass scene from "Midnight Express." Color me embarrassed.
Will definitely try the reindeer cannibal kebabs next time. But hold "the sauce."
I hope it's more of a neighborhood spot... maybe then I'll actually eat there. The Chinatown location is waaay too busy.
PAonPenn: Waaay too busy, and waaay not that good.
it's good for barracks row that this is opening, given the number of places that have closed down there recently (of course, i've read that most of the closed bars and restaurants will reopen soon with new names and menus)
Mmmmmm... overrated pizza and overpriced burgers
Went, Saw, Wasn't impressed
Rukasu: Unimpressive food, place, or patrons? Or all of the above?
Does this new Matchbox also feature a convenient lack of a reservation system? I'm tired of being slowly compressed into a diamond in the tiny waiting area. Happy to help present an exaggerated image of the popularity of the establishment, but maybe give me a place to sit down while my presence attracts others in some kind of self-playing Katamari Damancy.