A celebration of smoke, seasonality, and souI, Isla delivers border-crossing, elevated fare with an island through-line, while the intimate, sexy Goodlove hits a new high note for DC nightlife.
Isla, a luxe ode to island ingredients and flavors with a global vibe is set to open on Oct. 29 alongside Goodlove, a stylish cocktail lounge rooted in good music and chic design, opening Nov. 7 on the ground floor of Midtown Center, Carr Properties’ trophy office building located in downtown Washington (1100 15th Street NW).
Both Isla and Goodlove – located alongside popular restaurant neighbors such as Grazie Nonna and Shōtō in the activated public plaza and dynamic retail promenade of Midtown Center bring a distinct culinary and aesthetic point of view to downtown, with an emphasis on live-fire cooking, exquisite seasonal, soulful fare, and lush, transportive design at Isla, and perfectly executed cocktails and sexy, music-driven vibes at Goodlove.
Isla, the domain of Executive Chef Lonie Murdock, celebrates the heritage and passionate globe-trotting shared by Murdock and her partner Darren Hinds, a veteran Toronto nightlife impresario and restaurateur. Hinds, meanwhile, takes the reins at Goodlove – which, although just steps from Isla, is a destination all its own, imbued with intimacy, hints of glamour, and most important, a cerebral love for music, from rock to house music to R&B, with DJs spinning nightly. The award-winning Solid Design Creative has given both spaces incredibly lush, transportive designs, with unforgettable custom touches throughout.
The minds behind Toronto’s We Shall Hospitality and its beloved, celebrity-favorite Miss Likklemore’s, The Good Son and Maxime’s, Murdock and Hinds were personally drawn to Washington DC for their latest concepts because of the city’s internationalism, eclectic interests and intellectually minded residents. In Washington, the pair teamed up with frequent partner and veteran restaurateur Hanif Harji, already established in Washington with Casamara and Reynold’s bar.
“On our trips to Washington, we quickly fell in love with the city’s diverse food scene and the energy of its nightlife,” said Murdock. “We felt an organic connection to the community here and saw an opportunity to share our own perspective while becoming part of a culinary culture that’s always evolving.”
At Isla, Murdock’s menu reflects heritage and modernity, tradition and experimentation. Drawing on her own bicultural experience as the child of a Caribbean mother and Canadian father exposed to a world of cuisines, Murdock has crafted complex dishes that spotlight the beauty of ingredients common to the diaspora, enlivened by open-fire cooking and the playfulness of familiar flavors reimagined.
Guests entering Isla, which clocks in at a sprawling 8,000+ square feet, are instantly enveloped by its drama and elegance. Isla is richly textured at every turn, cast in a spectrum of warm hues, from rich burgundy red to whisper pink, with walnut paneling, velvet and leather upholstery, custom art, and a sense of glitter imparted by reflective surfaces and a high-lacquer bar. Isla features multiple richly appointed dining rooms and private options – including a semi-private perch with prime views of the whole restaurant, and another more vast space with private bar, private entry and room for 80 – as well as stunning Rum Room whose collection is intended to grow over time to include an extensive array of obscure rums from around the world, handpicked on travels yet to come. Adorning the walls are two large custom art pieces from DC artist Charles Philippe Jean-Pierre, dubbed “Mermaid I & II (Sirena I & II)”; these mosaics, made from hundreds of hand-cut monotype fragments were inspired by Isla and the notion of mermaids as both muse and memory.
The restaurant’s noteworthy high ceiling, however, makes space for the restaurant’s singular showstopper: A custom, blush-pink chandelier measuring 8 feet by 10 feet, cascading down over the main dining room.
Steps away, Goodlove is an ideal complement to Isla’s elegance, a respite from the grind of the workday, a place for lovers of music and style, where a chic sensibility reigns and the latest beats pour from a custom sound system and fill the room. Drapes envelop bargoers, adding to the sense of escapism, with a subtle glow coming from seven custom chandeliers commissioned solely for Goodlove. Bartenders here, meanwhile, specialize in classic cocktails – and their Goodlove remixes.
At 2,200 square feet, Goodlove is the perfect place to enjoy nightly happy hours and snack on small bites from the Isla kitchen, or ensconce oneself with friends for a late night – or date night – filled with sipping and people-watching. Here, as the bar’s slogan aptly declares, good music is good music, and Goodlove is good love.
For more information, visit IslaDC.com and Goodlovedc.com.