Ox & Olive Is the Georgetown Steakhouse You Didn't Know You Were Missing

Georgetown's Best-Kept Secret Opened on a Cobblestone Alley

There is a particular kind of Washington restaurant that earns its reputation quietly — no sprawling press rollout, no velvet-rope theater, just a dim room, an honest cut of beef, and the immediate sense that you have found somewhere genuinely special. Ox & Olive, which opened this past May at 3201 Cherry Hill Lane NW in Georgetown, is exactly that restaurant. And the fact that it is helmed by one of the most decorated chefs in the country makes the whole endeavor feel almost improbably good.

The Georgetowner confirmed that Chef Ryan Ratino — the force behind one-Michelin-star Bresca and two-Michelin-star Jônt on 14th Street — officially opened his new Georgetown concept on May 7, 2026. Ratino and his Hive Hospitality group took over the 3201 Cherry Hill Lane space formerly home to Johnny Spero's celebrated Reverie. It is a continuation in a lineage of ambition — and, for Ratino's loyalists, a very welcome change of register.

A Temple of Beef, Defined

The tagline Ratino and his team have chosen — "Eat More Beef" — might read as a provocation from anyone else. From the chef who once plated foie gras as a "negroni" and built a living moss wall in a 14th Street bistro, it lands as a love letter. Self-described as "Moody by design, Indulgent by Nature," Ox & Olive presents itself as "a temple of Beef in Georgetown." But the concept is neither pompous nor preachy.

Ratino has gone for a "contemporary gothic-meets-neon" aesthetic, and the format is deliberately a la carte and intentionally approachable — "not a classic $95 steak" — designed to feel comfortable for regulars, guests, and families in an intimate setting. The space is dark, moody, and quietly seductive — polished and precise, yet never pretentious, where every detail is considered but never overdone. For a city accustomed to either marble-and-brass expense-account steakhouses or casual chophouse chains, Ox & Olive carves out a third lane: the grown-up neighborhood steakhouse with genuine culinary backbone.

The Beef Program Is the Story

What separates Ox & Olive from the growing crowd of DC steakhouses is Ratino's almost academic approach to sourcing. Helmed by Ratino, beef is the star of the show — sourced from over a dozen farms. The "beef program" runs deep: over 15 small producers, from farmers raising older Japanese wagyu (prized for "deeper flavor") to Australian Holsteins and an Ohio friend's farm. This is, in other words, a menu built not on commodity cuts but on relationships with producers who share Ratino's obsessive standards.

Cuts are presented tableside, with details on age (30 months to 10 years), marbling, and dry-aging (28 to 60 days). Steaks are broiled, then charcoal-finished for a crusty, smoky edge. Diners can order a large-format rotating cut, or choose from tenderloin, short rib, striploin, or wagyu flank steak — paired with a slew of martinis.

The supporting cast is just as considered. Black bass and Spanish turbot represent the sea, while sides include steak fries with sour cream ranch and a whipped potato loaded with beef jam, comté cheese, chive, and cultured butter. And in a nod to Ratino's Midwestern sensibility: the "small and tasty" section of the menu features mini brisket hot dogs, while desserts include carrot cake with cream cheese mousse, pineapple, pecan praline, and brown butter, or milk chocolate soft serve with a side of shoestring fries.

The Man Behind the Menu

Chef Ryan Ratino is the driving force behind two-Michelin-star Jônt and one-Michelin-star Bresca in the nation's capital. He opened his first solo restaurant at age 27, riding a wave of momentum from stints at DC's Ripple and New York's Dovetail and WD-50. By his early thirties, he had become the youngest chef in Washington DC history to earn two Michelin stars.

Ox & Olive is, in many ways, a conscious exhale — a return to something more personal. Ratino is channeling his Midwestern roots into something new with Ox & Olive. Unlike his tasting rooms, he says there's "very much a lack of tweezers here." The cuisine is still thoughtful and precise, but the mode is generosity rather than virtuosity — a room designed to be returned to, not just experienced once.

Hive Hospitality, the powerhouse behind the concept, also operates 14th Street's one-star Bresca, the two-star Jônt directly above it, Maass at the Four Seasons Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando's Ômo by Jônt. In that context, Ox & Olive is the group's most democratic offering — and perhaps its most revealing one.

Why Georgetown, Why Now

The location is no accident. Ratino had long identified Georgetown as the right market, and when the space became available, he moved fast. The intimate setting suits his vision perfectly. Cherry Hill Lane — a cobblestone alley that feels more London mews than American commercial corridor — lends the restaurant a sense of discovery that Ratino has clearly leaned into. You do not stumble upon Ox & Olive; you seek it out.

Ox & Olive lands in the middle of a citywide steakhouse resurgence that The Washington Post has charted as restaurateurs double down on familiar, high-demand formats in a tight market. But Ratino is not simply surfing a trend. His version of the steakhouse strips away the bombast and replaces it with restraint, craft, and a cocktail list that treats the martini as the rightful companion to a great piece of beef.

The Details

• Address: 3201 Cherry Hill Lane NW, Georgetown, Washington, DC
• Seats: 50 (intimate; reservations strongly recommended)
• Format: A la carte dinner service, nightly
• Reservations: Available via oxandolive.com and OpenTable
• Don't miss: The tableside cut presentation, the steak-tartare "éclair," and whatever martini riff the bar is running
• Pastry: Yoonjung Oh, Hive Hospitality's corporate pastry chef, oversees the dessert program

In a neighborhood that has seen steakhouses come and go with reliable frequency, Ox & Olive feels different — quieter, more personal, more genuinely earned. Book the table. Walk down the alley. Eat more beef.

Sources

• Ox & Olive official website (oxandolive.com)
• The Georgetowner: "Business Ins & Outs: Ox & Olive" (May 4, 2026)
• Georgetown DC BID: "New Steakhouse Opens in Georgetown" (May 2026)
• Axios Washington DC: "Ox & Olive Steakhouse Opens in Georgetown" (April 21, 2026)
• Hoodline: "Ratino Tucks Petite Steakhouse Ox & Olive Into Hidden Georgetown Alley" (April 22, 2026)
• K Street Magazine: "Ox & Olive Brings Steakhouse Swagger to Georgetown's Cherry Hill Lane"
• Michelin Guide: Jônt listing
• AFAR: Bresca, Washington DC