Cava Group Inc.’s latest restaurant, Julii, opened Tuesday night at Pike & Rose in North Bethesda. The French-Mediterranean restaurant, co-owned by Montgomery County restaurateurs Ted Xenohristos, Ike Grigoropoulos and Dimitri Moshovitis, was originally slated to open in September. Julii is open for dinner service Monday through Sunday.
General Manager Nevena Dzhundzhurova said Chef Sasha Felikson is still tweaking the menu and focusing on dinner service before opening during the day. “We don’t have a date in mind for the opening of the day-time cafe,” Dzhundzhurova said. “We want to make sure people know we’re a dinner destination first.”
The menu, which includes French Onion Soup and Lamb Tagine, traces the outline of the Mediterranean sea. “We wanted to create a trade route, or in our case, a food route,” Felikson said in an interview with Bethesda Magazine in November. Other Mediterranean dishes include Salmon Crudo, raw salmon prepared with lemon and olive sauce and shakshouka, a dish of poached eggs in a heavily spiced tomato sauce. “We’re doing our favorite things in a style that’s new and approachable,” Felikson said.
Felikson was formerly executive chef of Doi Moi, a Southeast Asian restaurant in Washington, D.C.
The 2,000 square foot restaurant seats 60-70 guests and includes a bar at its center. The open concept has green-fabric backed booths, marble tables and wicker chairs. Three walls of glass provide a view of the surrounding neighborhood.
Leigh McDonald can be reached at leigh.mcdonald@moco360.media
