Fine dining looks much different today than it when Ashok Bajaj opened his first restaurant 30 years ago. Since revolutionizing high-end Indian cuisine in D.C. with Bombay Club, Rasika, and Bindaas, the restaurateur has seen changes in what diners expect when they go out: less white-tablecloth formality, more accessibility. They want less hand-holding by the restaurant’s staff and more knowledge at their fingertips to guide their own meal. He even switched out the tie he wore daily for a pocket square.
Annabelle, Bajaj’s 10th restaurant in D.C. under the Knightsbridge Restaurant Group, reflects these shifts. That’s not to say Annabelle isn’t ornate. After a $1.5 million renovation, the 95-seat restaurant opens Friday in the historic building where organic trailblazer Restaurant Nora served farm-to-table meals for decades.
Bajaj worked with Martin Vahtra of Projects Design Associates of New York on what he calls a mid-century modern look. Plant-laced atrium ceilings, original brick walls, art by Cara Tomlinson from Bajaj’s personal collection, three rooms ready for private dining (including an upstairs art gallery), and Bar Barlow, a nine-seat peninsula bar lined in brass, are anything but simplistic.
Bajaj has a history of giving his restaurants makeovers to reflect changing tastes. Bardeo turned into Cleveland Park’s Indian joint Bindaas in 2016; Ardeo’s transformation into Israeli-inspired Sababa next door came two years later. In 2019, NoPa Kitchen + Bar re-emerged as Mediterranean spot Olivia, and Bibiana transformed into Modena soon after. Though people want to dine differently, Bajaj says, what hasn’t changed is a craving for flavors that stand out.
“I think times are changing and we want to dine in a place which makes us relax, but we still want the quality and the ingredients of the food to be the same way,” Bajaj says. “We want a little bit of a dance in our mouths. The internet and travel have made it so easy for us to try many different things. Korean food, Indian food, Chinese, Filipino food—so many flavors have come into [mainstream] dining. So, we experiment with flavors and can introduce new ingredients now.”
Executive chef Frank Ruta designed the “classical” culinary palette, which carries on elements of Nora’s seasonal style, to incorporate global flavors and execution that reflects the “youth and energy” of their culinary team, says Ruta. Think meats aged in the restaurant’s cellar or a vegetarian tasting menu, or desserts designed by Aja Cage and flanked by house-infused ice cream.
Bajaj tried to nudge Ruta, whose chops include cooking at the White House during the Reagan and Bush years and his own restaurant Palena in Cleveland Park, to work for him for years. Ruta’s eventual move to the restaurant sparked a breach-of-contract lawsuit from his previous employer at Mirabelle, Hakan Ilhan. Ruta declined to comment on the current negotiations. “As far as I am concerned it is something that is behind me,” he says.
At Annabelle, Ruta’s main menu ($9 to $38 for entrees, up to $110 for seafood) includes a pheasant version of the consommé he cooked at the White House and Palena, with truffle and tapioca. There’s wagyu beef from Snake River Farms served with a creamy bearnaise sauce and vegetables and a ricotta ravioli with spinach coulis. The five-course vegetarian tasting menu ($68) turns out pumpkin quinoa with almond vinaigrette and chestnut celery soup. Desserts make use of fruit pairings, like a passionfruit cream-filled pavlova and a chocolate stout torte spread with kumquat jam. A lengthy list of 150 wines ranges from $50 to $300 per bottle.
The bar serves a more casual slate of cocktails and comfort foods, including a Reuben-style twist on the Ruta’s famous Palena burger. The full dinner menu is also available.
Bajaj recognizes the legacy of the space’s former occupant and its neighborhood. The bar is named after Joel Barlow, a poet who gave Kalorama its name. Nora Poullion—a James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award recipient who’s known for ushering in the farm-to-table movement at Restaurant Nora—still lives close by, and stops to check in sometimes. People around the city tell him about their first dates, their 40th anniversaries, and high school reunions memorialized at his predecessor. But he also stresses the need to let go of the past—to make way for the new experiences people will have with Annabelle—in much the same way he’s embraced another era of dining.
“I’m preserving what [Nora has] done for the city, but we have to start fresh,” he says. “From the outside, it’s still Nora. When they walk in, I want them to have a feeling of awe, of wow, this is up to date. They can think about where they sat last time, but everything is different.”
Annabelle is located at 2132 Florida Avenue NW. Dinner hours are 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday; 5:30 p.m.-10:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday. Brunch will debut in April from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Sundays.
