As a martini aficionado, there’s nothing I love more than a new flourish to dress up my cocktail of choice. So imagine my glee when the server at Bouboulina in North Bethesda uses a perfume atomizer to mist the inside of an etched martini glass with vermouth. Chilled with liquid nitrogen, the glass arrives at the table on a brass tray with a small carafe of icy Hendrick’s gin laced with olive juice (I had requested gin instead of the Belvedere vodka it comes with). Dubbed the Coldest Martini in DC, the drink is garnished with a meaty Spanish Gordal olive that has been marinated in citrus peels, chile flakes and fennel seeds, then grilled on executive chef Aris Tsekouras’ pride and joy, a 6-foot-wide Spanish grill fueled with oak wood and eucalyptus charcoal. “There is no gas,” Tsekouras says. “The whole kitchen only works with wood except for an electric combi oven [a commercial hybrid convection and steam oven] for breads and cakes. But even the bread is finished in the charcoal oven.”
With such fuss over a martini, it’s clear that dining is going to be full of extra touches at this Pike & Rose steakhouse from Cava founders Ike Grigoropoulos, Dimitri Moshovitis and Ted Xenohristos, who all grew up in Montgomery County and own Bouboulina’s neighboring restaurants, Julii and Melina. “I like to design places I want to eat at, and I always wanted to do a smallish steakhouse with a New York basement vibe and old-world charm, like a Keens Steakhouse,” says Xenohristos, referring to the Manhattan restaurant that has operated since 1885.
The 3,080-square-foot restaurant, named after Laskarina Bouboulina, the female Greek naval commander of Greece’s 1821 War of Independence, opened in March. Entering via a handsome polished mahogany door, diners pass through a cozy, wood-paneled 22-seat lounge with a stunning marble-topped bar and then through the area where servers pick up dishes to get to the 50-seat dining room, which creates the feeling of being in a speakeasy. D.C.-based HapstakDemetriou+ designed the sexy interior with a decidedly masculine palette: deep steel blue gray walls and matching wallpaper embossed with a coin-like circle pattern, cozy nooks with tufted brown leather banquettes, subdued lighting, turquoise velveteen settees and marble-topped tables.
Tsekouras oversees Melina, Julii and Bouboulina, which bills itself as a Mediterranean-inspired American grill. Its clubby throwback look aligns with such D.C. places as The Prime Rib and the newly reimagined The Occidental, and so do the prices. Appetizers (listed under “To Share”) approach the $30 mark; eight of 10 entrees cost more than $40. Tsekouras’ small loaf of Hokkaido-style milk bread is dark and crusty on the outside and ethereally fluffy inside, with a faint smokiness from the wood oven. It comes with smoked butter topped with honey and shredded Parmesan. It’s so good that only two people could reasonably share it (it amounts to four little rolls), which makes the $12 price tag conspicuous. A crudo of thin tuna slices formed into a rosette in the middle of a stunning notched earthenware bowl is surrounded by a bright yellow sauce flavored with kosho, a Japanese paste made in-house with serrano peppers and lime, lemon and orange zest. The garnishes are smoked trout roe, purple flowers, sprigs of dill and red and green dots of Calabrian chili oil and parsley oil. The juxtaposition of colors and textures is a hallmark of Tsekouras’ refined cooking. I’m less a fan of a 1-pound meatball perched on tomato sauce and draped with Parmesan cream. It’s tasty but feels out of place and gimmicky among all the finery.
Tsekouras plays with steakhouse stalwarts. Wedge salad has some usual suspects—bacon bits, avocado, cherry tomatoes and sour cream dressing—but gets elevated with tender chunks of poached lobster and halved jammy eggs. It’s a smashing rendition. A loaded baked potato side dish I order for the table as a starter to share with cocktails looks loaded, but the toppings are little more than skin deep. This is where Bouboulina seems to have a bit of an identity crisis. If it wants to be a steakhouse, there are certain things diners expect of those places, one being a creamy, fluffy potato loaded with vulgar amounts of sour cream, bacon, chives and cheese. The potato here is ultra flavorful and smoky from the charcoal oven but cold and undercooked on two occasions. Fancy adornments—cheddar powder and a pool of cheddar cream sauce—don’t rescue it.
For entrees, the Ora King salmon (a breed that’s farm-raised in New Zealand) has been dry-aged (a trend taking D.C.-area restaurants by storm) and cured with salt, sugar, coriander and citrus zest before being pan-seared and roasted to medium, its flesh custardy and rife with umami. It rests crispy skin side up atop tarragon-specked beurre blanc. The half chicken, deboned except for a wing joint, is cured for several hours, charcoal grilled, sliced and fanned over a rich chicken stock-based sauce enhanced with roasted garlic, lemon, thyme and chives. It succeeds in its succulence and restraint. Tsekouras’ version of lasagna, four pinwheel roulades of housemade noodles, veal Bolognese sauce, Parmesan and bechamel sauce baked in tomato sauce and topped with more Parmesan, is rich and indulgent.
There are four steaks on Bouboulina’s menu, including a filet mignon with peppercorn sauce and a 32-ounce dry-aged tomahawk steak for two. My 14-ounce dry-aged New York strip is perfectly grilled to medium-rare and served with a full-bodied red wine and rosemary sauce and a whole roasted head of garlic. The meat, sourced from Kansas, has fine flavor but is tough, making it hard to swallow at $68. A wiser option is the $40 Australian wagyu picanha, a cut also known as sirloin cap or culotte steak. It’s served the same way as the strip but is sublimely tender and richer in flavor, thanks to more marbling.
Don’t miss side dishes here, such as the roasted head of cauliflower with parsley pesto, panko and black garlic; it’s plenty for four people to share. Also wonderful are carrots that have been placed in a metal basket and roasted in the charcoal grill’s embers. The combination of smoke and caramelization takes the humble vegetable—served with whipped ricotta cheese and a verdant pistachio and guajillo pepper salsa—and turns it into something royal.
There are only three desserts at Bouboulina, all winners. Smoked blueberries and hazelnut crumble top silken housemade soft-serve vanilla ice cream. Espresso syrup-soaked chocolate sponge cake that’s layered with ganache and crowned with espresso ice cream and Maldon salt satisfies the chocolate craving with a buzz. The must-have, though, is a generous wedge of Basque cheesecake, baked at high heat to achieve a creamy, barely set interior and deeply caramelized top crust and served with raspberry sauce and fresh berries. It’s a sumptuous ending that lives up to its surroundings.
Bouboulina
921 Meeting St. (Pike & Rose), North Bethesda, 301-857-9090, eatbouboulina.com
FAVORITE DISHES: The Coldest Martini in DC; Bouboulina bread; lobster wedge salad; Ora King salmon with beurre blanc; picanha steak with rosemary red wine sauce; lasagna; side of roasted carrots; Basque cheesecake
PRICES: Starters: $12 to $29; Entrees: $31 to $75; Tomahawk steak for two: $160; Sides: $13 to $18; Desserts: $14 to $16
LIBATIONS: Bouboulina’s beverage list includes nine innovative craft cocktails ($14 to $17), including a yuzu spritz with chamomile-infused tequila, fermented honey and Licor 43, and a spicy margarita made with grilled pineapple syrup, chili liquor and parsley oil. The regular wine list has 18 offerings (two sparkling, eight whites, eight reds) available by the glass ($14 to $30) and bottle ($56 to $120). The reserve wine list (two champagnes, three whites, 18 reds) ranges from $93 to $270; 14 of them are from California and the rest are mostly French and Italian.
SERVICE: Polished (mostly) and knowledgeable
This appears in the July/August 2025 issue of Bethesda Magazine.
