The South’s Best Food Halls
"Isabella Eatery is one of a kind," says restaurateur and chef Mike Isabella, who is well known for his successful establishments in the Washington, D.C., area. He has now brought versions of some of the [...]
Mike Isabella Archives
5 New DC-Area Breakfast Spots Worth Waking Up For
Brunch culture is alive and well in DC, but ambitious new restaurants are giving Washingtonians another reason to get out of bed in the morning: breakfast. Skip the yogurt for something way more interesting—some of [...]
Restaurant and Bar-Hop at Mike Isabella’s Massive New Tysons Food Hall
Nine spots offer everything from Champagne and oysters to pizza and "pig sundaes" Growing up in suburban New Jersey, chef Mike Isabella learned a thing or two about malls. Which is why the prolific restaurateur’s first-ever mall [...]
Initial Phase of Isabella Eatery Is Now Open in Tysons Galleria
Top Chef alum Mike Isabella December 11 begins redefining mall dining with the partial arrival of Isabella Eatery, the multi-concept food hall now serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner — as well as pork-packed desserts — on the [...]
Requin, Worthy Of Its Premier Spot At The District Wharf
Before opening Requin on the Southwest waterfront in October, Mike Isabella tasked its eventual chef, Michael Rafidi, to include on the menu “a good roast chicken, escargots and foie gras,” recalls the serial restaurateur and [...]
Mike Isabella, Washington’s Restless Restaurateur
WASHINGTON — Mike Isabella fanned himself with a hard hat as he stood on a construction site on the bank of the Potomac that workers were frantically trying to turn into a contemporary French restaurant. [...]
Cocktail Program of the Year
#RAMMYS17 This year's RAMMY Awards Gala at the Walter E. Convention Center paid tribute to some of the local restaurant industry's great culinary artists, business stalwarts, hard-working team members and creative minds. For this reason, [...]
Developers Are Giving DC Restaurants Crazy Deals They Can’t Resist—But Should They?
In an average week, Mike Isabella fields three to five real-estate offers. Never mind that he’s not even looking for property right now—the chef/restaurateur behind Graffiato, Arroz, and other dining rooms is constantly being wooed by landlords [...]
Arroz Chef Michael Rafidi Will Lead the Kitchen at Requin at the Wharf
Arroz head chef Michael Rafidi has been making culinary waves in his native Washington since leaving RN74 in San Francisco for restaurateur Mike Isabella’s modern Spanish spot. His cooking helped land the eatery in Washingtonian’s top ten new restaurants of the [...]
Mike Isabella’s Requin In the Mosaic District Will Become a Casual French Brasserie
Changes are in the works for restaurateur Mike Isabella and chef Jennifer Carroll’s French-Mediterranean restaurant in the Mosaic District. Starting next year, Requinwill undergo renovations and transform into a casual French brasserie. Requin, which means “shark” in French, began as [...]