photo by Rey Lopez courtesy YELLOW
Another stud coming to Union Market!
From a press release:
“Today, Chef Michael Rafidi, winner of this year’s James Beard Foundation Award for Outstanding Chef, announces a July 9 opening date for the Union Market location of YELLOW, his lauded Levantine café known for pastries, mezze, wood-fired pita sandwiches, and specialty coffee. Located at 417 Morse St. NE, YELLOW’s second location will feature 60 seats in a 3,500-square-foot space enhanced with an open kitchen, pastry case, and carryout window. In addition to its much-loved sweet and savory pastries, Middle Eastern spreads, breakfast sandwiches, coffees, and teas, YELLOW Union Market will open in the evenings to serve “All the Kebabs” from the hearth grill. Online ordering will be available Tuesday through Friday for carryout and delivery. Initially, the restaurant will be open from 8am to 3pm Tuesday through Sunday for breakfast and lunch, with All the Kebabs debuting later in the summer.
“YELLOW, like any labor of love, is an evolving thing,” Rafidi says. “When we moved its permanent home from Navy Yard to Georgetown, it grew. We added (not) Pizza, expanded pastry and beverage offerings, and generally transformed it into something distinct for its new neighborhood. With the Union Market location, we’re evolving it again. In addition to All the Kebabs, which will be a totally novel experience for our guests, you’ll also find new items sprinkled across the menu. And, while our goal is to make it an everyday neighborhood favorite, we also want it to be something that will compel even those who already live near a YELLOW to travel a bit and explore the menu.”
The Menu
Breakfast will be available till 11am and include executive pastry chef Alicia Wang’s sweet baked goods, with location-specific items like ras el hanout pecan twice-baked croissants, ginger jam blondies, and red shatta morning buns. Egg pitas, wood-fired shakshuka, harissa focaccia, and “Urfa-Thing” bagels are among the selections that will fill out the savory side of the morning menu. Lunch, available from 11am to 3pm, produces wood-fired pitas and fillings from chicken or flank steak kebabs to black harissa cauliflower and crispy falafel. Mezze options like tomato fattoush salad, Levantine pickles, and hummus in various styles complete the table.
Just as the (not) Pizza menu is only available in Georgetown, when it launches later this summer, “All the Kebabs” will be a unique offering for Union Market available for walk-ins and reservation seating from 5pm to 10pm. With the charcoal grill at its heart, highlights will include steel-skewered delights like leg of lamb with dill yogurt marinade, bavette steak with chermoula yogurt, grape leaf swordfish, and amba chicken with fermented mango. Accenting the grilled items will be sides like red shatta cucumbers, beet pickled turnips, and a dizzying array of spreads and condiments.
Since it first opened as a pop-up inside Albi in 2020, YELLOW’s beverage program has been as much a focus as its food. Led by coffee director Ayat Elhag, the hot beverage list blends creative, Levantine-inspired specialty drinks with intentionally sourced Counter Culture coffee. In the Jaffa Orange Iced Coffee, tangerine, orange blossom water, and almond extract bring brightness and tang to the earthy coffee base notes. The Hibiscus Pom Iced Tea is slightly tart and sweetened with a touch of pomegranate reduction.
In the evenings, a coffee bar makes way for a selection of natural wines available by the glass, along with a list of local and Middle Eastern beer curated by wine director, William Simons. Rounding out the beverage offerings will be a menu of contemporary cocktails by Albi bar director, Alex Bookless. The cocktail menu will have an Arabic influence, and highlight ingredients like Arak and coffee while being designed to refresh when accompanying the spiced kebabs from the hearthfire. Among these selections will be the Jaffa Crush, with vodka, arak, Don Ciccio Mandarinetto, and orange, served over crushed Ice. The Queen Kiara mixes cucumber with Saler’s, lavender, pisco, and sparkling wine.
The Design
Working with Natalie Park, of Natalie Park Design Studio, Rafidi and his team have built a space that contrasts warm, earthy finishes, like the historic building’s original brick, with white birch millwork, tiles patterned with abstract Moroccan designs, and accents of pastel blue. The effect is an airy, high-ceilinged dining room that is at once vibrant and comfortable. Centering the space is a 14-seat communal table accessible just beyond the café
service area with its bright pastry case and coffee bar that converts to a wine bar in the evenings. A small seasonal patio fronts a generous window that will be opened on nice days to transform the front of the restaurant into an indoor/outdoor space.
Chef Collaborations
YELLOW will host both savory and sweet guest chef collaborations. Emily Riddell of Philadelphia’s Machine Shop and Warda Bouguettaya of Warda Pâtisserie in Detroit will join the team for collaborations in the pastry department. Following the debut of All the Kebabs, Rafidi will host savory chefs including local favorite Danny Lee of Anju, ChiKo, and Mandu, and Mei Lin of Daybird in Los Angeles, at dinners centered around the hearth fire.
Hours and Location
YELLOW Union Market, 417 Morse St NE, Washington, DC 20002
Open Tuesday through Sunday,
Breakfast, 8am to 11am
Lunch, 11am to 3pm
All the Kebabs, 5pm to 10pm (launches later this summer)”