WASHINGTON — Longtime Washington restaurateur Ashok Bajaj, whose restaurants include Bombay Club, Oval Room and Rasika, is changing the name and the menu at his 5-year-old NoPa Kitchen+Bar in Penn Quarter.
Olivia, with a rustic Mediterranean menu, will replace NoPa Kitchen at 800 F St., N.W. in January.
Between now and January, NoPa Kitchen is featuring a daily special from what will be on Olivia’s menu.
An announcement from Bajaj’s Knightsbridge Restaurant Group said Olivia’s menu will be inspired by the flavors of Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia, Italy, Greece and beyond, paying homage to the flavors and recipes from the Mediterranean and North Africa.
Nopa executive chef Matt Kuhn will remain in charge of the kitchen, and recently spent time traveling throughout the coastal regions of Spain to study rustic Mediterranean flavors.
The Olivia announcement listed menu items that will include roasted carrot hummus, chickpea espelette tagliatelle, merguez meatballs, octopus carpaccio, braised short rib tagine, lamb osso bucco and chicken roulade.
The menu will be priced from $5 to $28, Knightsbridge Restaurant said.
Olivia will have a 38-seat lounge and a 90-seat main dining room, and will be open for lunch and dinner with brunch coming down the road.
Bajaj’s Bombay Club marked its 30th anniversary this year.