Thursday, February 6, 2025
Another culinary darling has made its Georgetown debut. Hakan Ilhan’s latest restaurant, Alara, opened Feb. 5 — but not after having a few private parties to celebrate.
Located in the long-shuttered Paolo’s Ristorante space, most recently High Street Grill, Alara means “beautiful water fairy” in Turkish and features seasonal menus and wines with a focus on modern Mediterranean cuisine.
“Alara is a modern Mediterranean culinary escape highlighting cuisine from Turkey, Greece and the Levant region,” says the restaurateur. “The restaurant transports guests from historic Georgetown, D.C., to the tavernas along the Aegean coastal towns, offering vibrant dishes rooted in the communal Mediterranean tradition of shared meals.”
The prime restaurant space at 1303 Wisconsin Ave. NW is next to Dig eatery, which took the smaller corner portion of the old Paolo’s, which closed in August 2018 after more than a 30-year run.
The 5,000-square-foot space — having undergone a $4 million renovation — boasts an interior, designed by Maggie O’Neill (who also did Brasserie Liberté), and has room for up to 120 guests in the dining and bar areas.
Chef Ahamet Aydogmusmus takes care of the extensive menu: hummus, karniyarik, roasted cauliflower with yogurt-garlic sauce, grilled halloumi and beyti kebab, for example. There’s also tzatziki and moussaka from Greece, fattoush and moutabal from the Levant — along with Turkish creme brûlée and coffee tiramisu.
“When you go back to the history, that part of the world having been under the Ottoman Empire for 600 years or so, all of the cuisines have intertwined,” Ilhan told Washingtonian. “We try to present that region as a whole, rather than just focusing on one country.”
Among Ilhan’s extensive portfolio is Brasserie Liberté, one block away on Prospect Street — along with Al Dente on New Mexico Avenue and Il Piatto on 16th Street at Black Lives Matter Plaza.