Via Mandarin Oriental

CityZen, one of the best restaurants in D.C., will close at the Mandarin Oriental on December 6, as the chef moves on to a new project.

Chef Eric Ziebold plans to open his own restaurant in Mount Vernon Triangle, the Washington Post reports. The hotel will launch its own restaurant. Further details on both ventures were not made available.

Here’s what DCist contributor Josh Novikoff said about CityZen in our best restaurant list last year:

Year after year, chef Eric Ziebold sets a gold standard in the local restaurant scene. At the start of 2013, CityZen was one of two area restaurants to take home an AAA Five Diamond Award (the other was Patrick O’Connell at The Inn). This is tasting menu only territory, but not of the endless degustation variety. You can start with four courses for $90 or get the full monte for $120. There’s a six course vegetarian option as well as some of the best crafted cocktails in the city. You generally won’t find Ziebold seeking the media spotlight or offering samples at events across the city. He’s content watching over his staff from the expediter position in his kitchen. Service is flawless, and upon a recent special occasion dinner, our server delivered a greeting card signed by the chef and the entire staff prior to our dinner service.

If you always planned to go, but didn’t want to spend the money, the time is now.