Hunter’s Hound, an Irish restaurant and bar, opened at 5471 Wisconsin Ave. in Chevy Chase over the weekend.
Hunter’s Hound serves entrees such as beef & Guinness (beef in a Guinness gravy, vegetables, puff pastry), fish & chips, pan-seared salmon and Mussels Magnier (steamed mussels with cider, bacon, shallots, cream), among other dishes.
The restaurant is currently only open for dinner from 4 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and is accepting walk-ins only, owner Jason O’Brien told Bethesda Beat on Sunday.
O’Brien said he plans to expand the hours next month to include lunch and brunch, and will also start accepting reservations.
O’Brien said Hunter Hound has a signature sticky toffee pudding for dessert, which he refers to as the “get out of jail free card.”
“In the restaurant world, sometimes you might overcook somebody’s burger. And if you upset somebody or something happens, we always give them the sticky toffee pudding and they leave saying we love you,” he said.
Hunter’s Hound is O’Brien’s first restaurant in the greater Washington region, after having opened two restaurants in New York City and one in Jersey City, N.J. He said the reception has been positive.
“Everything’s fantastic. The neighborhood’s really embraced us so far. Friday was our first day open and everyone was just lovely and wishing us well,” he said.
Currently the restaurant is operating at 50% capacity, which O’Brien said is partly due to not yet hiring all of the employees the restaurant needs, and also to ensure social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re trying to protect the kitchen from getting overwhelmed. We’re trying to protect the bar. And also, we’re trying to show people that we’re spaced out well,” he said.
O’Brien said he expects the capacity will increase after hiring more workers.
Dan Schere can be reached at daniel.schere@moco360.media