Hunter’s Hound, an Irish-themed restaurant and bar, will open this fall on Wisconsin Avenue in Chevy Chase. The restaurant is under the same ownership as three Irish restaurants in the metro New York area.
About three years ago, Jason O’Brien was visiting the D.C. area to look for a place to open Hunter’s Hound as an extension of his New York operation, he told Bethesda Beat on Tuesday.
O’Brien owns Irish restaurants called Hudson Hound in Manhattan and Jersey City, N.J. He also owns a Manhattan restaurant called Trinity Place, which serves modern American cuisine.
O’Brien said he liked the space in Chevy Chase across from Clyde’s and came to an agreement with the landlord. But the process for opening has been slow going.
“The project has been stalled a lot because of the pandemic,” he said.
O’Brien said Hunter’s Hound will be “modern American with Irish hospitality.” Appetizers will include French chicken liver pate, house-made pickled vegetables , burrata and whitefish mousse pate.
Main course selections will include a house shepherd’s pie that is half lamb, half beef, and wild Atlantic king salmon. Another selection is braised lamb shank in a red wine rosemary glaze with a side of “autumn hash” (sweet potato, butternut squash in a white wine butter sauce).
Hunter’s Hound will also feature a weekend brunch on Saturdays and Sundays with more traditional fare, O’Brien said. This includes pork sausage, black-and -white pudding (types of sausage), rashers (similar to bacon) and baked beans.
O’Brien added that the restaurant will have a large bar with about 40 seats. Hunter’s Hound will host happy hours, corporate functions and other events.
O’Brien said on Tuesday that he is hoping for a mid-October opening. The main remaining hurdles are getting permitting approvals from Montgomery County, and getting approval for a liquor license early next month.
He said he thinks people will try the restaurant despite the spread of the Delta variant.
“People are definitely more comfortable because they’ve been vaccinated,” he said.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media
