Kwame Onwuachi’s New DC Restaurant Will Serve Afro-Caribbean Food

Details about chef Kwame Onwuachi’s long-awaited follow-up to his short-lived Shaw Bijou have finally arrived: Kith and Kin, a 96-seat restaurant at the InterContinental Washington D.C., is set to debut in October, Eater DC reports.

The “Afro Caribbean” restaurant, as Onwuachi describes it in an Instagram post, will draw on Caribbean, Creole, and African flavors. Kith and Kin will be casual, with prices ranging from $9 to $15 for small bites and $12 to $26 dollars for entrees, which will include items like like jollof rice with spring onion confit, peel and eat gulf shrimp, and goat roti with dal puri.

Photo: Kith and Kin

The restaurant is a 180 from Onwauchi’s previous high-profile project — in size, price, and format. Following a star-making turn on Top Chef, Onwuachi opened the Shaw Bijou in November 2016, serving an ambitious $185, 15-course tasting menu. After an much-publicized two and a half months, including a bevy of negative reviews, the Shaw Bijou, which Onwuachi co-owned, abruptly closed.

In recent months, Onwuachi has cooked at a series of pop-ups to fine-tune dishes for his upcoming restaurant. At Kith and Kin, Onwuachi will be chef, not owner, but the restaurant is entirely his vision, according to a press release.

The flavors are particularly personal. Onwuachi spent a few years living in Nigeria with his grandfather as a child and has spent a lot of time with family in New Orleans. “I grew up a Creole, Nigerian, and Jamaican child in the Bronx. If it weren’t for the stories of my ancestors and my parents making sure I understood that, then I wouldn’t be here today,” Onwuachi wrote in an Instagram post. “It’s time I honor that.”

• Chef Kwame Onwuachi Reveals Wharf Restaurant’s Name, Focus [Eater DC]
• @bastedmind [Instagram]