“Himitsu Co-owner and Executive Chef Kevin Tien to leave Himitsu to open a new restaurant concept in the acclaimed Capitol Hill neighborhood this September.”

828 Upshur Street, NW

From a press release:

“We are pleased to announce that critically acclaimed chef Kevin Tien will soon be opening a new restaurant, Emilie’s, in the heart of Capitol Hill. The new 5,175-square-foot restaurant is scheduled to open in September 2019. Chef Tien will be leaving Himitsu later this month to focus on Emilie’s opening.

“I can’t thank our loyal guests and the Himitsu family enough for making Himitsu the incredible success that it is today,” remarked Tien. “While this was a very difficult decision to make, I’m looking forward to writing the next chapter and sharing my passion with the community on a larger scale and a different service style.”

Chef Tien’s final service at Himitsu will be September 15th. Himitsu will subsequently continue to operate under current co-owner Carlie Steiner. Chef Amanda Moll, former executive sous chef of Doi Moi, will be taking over as Himitsu’s new executive chef.

“I am confident that Himitsu will continue to deliver the exceptional experience that our guests have enjoyed over the last 2 ½ years,” said Tien. “While everyone will always have a table at Emilie’s, I would love to see all our guests at Himitsu for one last service prepared by me before my departure.”

Chef Tien’s new concept, Emilie’s, will focus on seasonally inspired and local ingredients and will feature large family-style plates and a small a la carte menu. Guests can anticipate their dining experiences to be further elevated by small plates circulating the room on carts. The idea behind this style of “tableside” dining is to facilitate Tien’s mission of promoting and supporting the local community of producers, farmers, and ranchers. In addition, the circulating carts will give guests the opportunity to sample a variety of dishes as Tien’s team demonstrates their creativity in the kitchen.

The restaurant plans to initially provide dinner service and later expand into lunch and brunch soon after its opening. Emilie’s will seat approximately 100 guests in the main dining room and at the bar.”