Kwame Onwuachi has returned to Washington, D.C. The star chef, who was previously behind the city’s shortlived Shaw Bijou (2016) and the wildly popular Kith/Kin (2017), which closed during the pandemic, is back in the Chocolate City with the launch of his new restaurant, Dōgon. The latest addition to the capital’s restaurant scene is a tribute to D.C.’s rich Black history and culture through the lens of Afro-Caribbean food, drawing on the chef’s Nigerian, Jamaican, Trinidadian, and Creole background.
The 200-seat restaurant is tucked inside the luxury Salamander Washington D.C. hotel on the banks of the Potomac River. The hotel is owned by Sheila Johnson, luxury hospitality maven and co-founder of BET.
The restaurant’s name, Dōgon, pays homage to the Black auto-didactic astronomer and mathematician Benjamin Banneker, who played a crucial role in surveying and mapping the original borders of Washington D.C. The name, a nod to Banneker’s, has ancestral connections to the Dōgon Tribe of West Africa, a group renowned for their own profound knowledge of astronomy and mathematics.
“When I looked at where the restaurant is located and did more research, I knew Benjamin Banneker had a story worth retelling through food,” Onwuachi shared via email. “His ancestral connection to the West African Dōgon tribe, which is renowned for its knowledge of astronomy, and Banneker’s contributions to creating the borders of D.C. that we know today are worth celebrating.”
Onwuachi is a James Beard Award-winning chef and author whose culinary expertise is rooted in the flavors and stories of the African diaspora. He emerged on the culinary national stage after competing on Season 13 of Top Chef (2015). Onwuachi eventually opened Tatiana in New York City in 2022, hailed as the city’s best restaurant of the year for two consecutive years (2023 and 2024) by the New York Times. Dōgon is Onwuachi’s second restaurant opening in less than two years.
Dōgon’s menu features sharable dishes that amalgamate cultures and form the mosaic of Washington, D.C. The food draws on inspiration from West African and Caribbean cuisines with selections like the Hoe Crab, Mom Dukes Shrimp small plates, Steamed Branzino (which includes a coconut mussel curry, crispy okra, and callaloo) entrée, and shaved ice and rum cake for dessert.
“Like most chefs, I have certain dishes that are connected to me, like the Piri Piri salad. But during our research and development, our team was excited to explore and honor all the cultures that are represented within D.C.’s borders. For example, our Chicken and Rice dish pays homage to the large Ethiopian community in D.C. and features Ethiopian spices and lentils. But the chicken also sits on top of Nigerian-style jollof rice,” says Onwuachi.
This connection between food and community mirrors the rich Black history that runs through Washington, D.C.—home to institutions like the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and iconic neighborhoods like U Street, once known as “Black Broadway.”
“At Dōgon, we are telling the story of D.C. through an Afro-Caribbean lens but also through my lens as a chef. There are centuries of history to draw from, and we want people to feel connected to the food, Onwuachi says. “But, also importantly, we want people to feel connected to each other – that’s what restaurants do; they are gathering places where people celebrate each other.”
Dōgon is open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Visit the Salamander Washington D.C. website to learn more.