The bar that bought The Passenger and made it something else entirely

The bar that bought The Passenger and made it something else entirely

The story of how The Grace came to exist on the corner of 7th Street NW in Shaw is, at its core, a regular's story. Sanjay Mandhaiya - the chef and restaurateur behind Pappe on 14th Street and the Silk Road-inspired Karravaan at Union Market - was simply a customer at The Passenger, the beloved, unpretentious Shaw bar that ran for years on cocktail credibility and good company. A year ago, Passenger owner Tom Brown sold his Shaw bar to Mandhaiya, one of his regulars. What Mandhaiya did with it is something that reads, on paper, like a contradiction: he took a spot that thrived on being nothing fancy and turned it into somewhere you go for black truffle fritters and a tamarind daiquiri.

The Grace opened July 1 at 1539 Seventh Street NW. Mandhaiya completely transformed the space and reopened it as a modern American 'saloon' with cheffy pub food. 'Even though it's elevated, it's not pretentious,' he says. 'It's just a place where people can come in and be themselves and get great customer service.'

The bones of that ambition show in the design. The longtime Passenger space was revamped with touches by CORE architecture + design. Think neighborhood tavern meets polished cocktail bar - rich wood and hand-blown chandeliers, plus artwork from DC artist Maggie O'Neill. The two-story space now has a 'female forward' look, with purple velvet walls, floral bathrooms, upstairs lounge seating, and one of O'Neill's pieces depicting two women riding a horse. It is a departure. Passenger fans who remember the old mismatched stools and the cocktail-nerd energy will feel it immediately.

Who's cooking

The kitchen belongs to executive chef Courtney Evans. Evans came to DC from Charlotte, competed on the Netflix show Next Gen Chef, and was briefly a sous chef at Rose's Luxury. Before that, she was chef de cuisine at Charlotte's acclaimed Leah & Louise, and she brings Southern influences to the menu.

Those influences show up in specific, concrete ways. Evans brings African diasporic flavors and Southern touches to dishes including Maryland crab and roasted corn hush puppies, mango coconut shrimp, a sweet-and-spicy fried chicken sandwich, and grilled oysters with smoked collard greens butter. Then there are the fritters. Black truffle fritters with tomato jam draw inspiration from grilled cheese and tomato soup, while a 'French-ish' onion soup swaps croutons for a soufflé puff pastry layered with aged white cheddar. The steam comes up and the cheese pull happens. 'I just love food that you can have fun with,' Evans says.

Entrees range from seafood linguine with a riesling cream sauce to bone-in pork schnitzel garnished with dollops of bacon jam, garlic aioli, and apricot jus, served with herb-roasted fingerling potatoes. Prices run from an $18 Cuban to a $50 butter-basted tavern ribeye. There is, refreshingly, a lot of ground in between.

The menu origin story matters here. Before opening upscale Indian restaurants like Pappe and Karravaan, Mandhaiya cut his teeth cooking in hotel kitchens and high-volume American restaurants. 'Afterwards, all I wanted was a cold beer and a sandwich,' he tells Axios. That post-shift craving inspired much of The Grace's menu, including an English club sandwich he first made at the Hyatt three decades ago - piled high with grilled chicken, avocado, bacon, tarragon mayo, and fried eggs.

The drinks

Cocktails include a tamarind and banana daiquiri, coconut ranch water spiked with tequila, and an espresso martini. Easy sippers like coconut ranch water with house-pressed cane juice run mostly around $15. There's still a $19 espresso martini if that's your thing. The daiquiri program is deliberate - Mandhaiya wanted a drinks list that didn't intimidate, one that met people where they are on a Tuesday.

Why Shaw, why now

Shaw's restaurant corridor on 7th Street has gotten more competitive and more expensive to operate in over the past decade. With gentle ambient lighting, chic textiles, and art, The Grace positions itself as the place to settle in for dinner before games at Capital One Arena or after a show at the 9:30 Club or Lincoln Theatre. Recognizing a need in DC for more late-night dining, the kitchen also runs a concise late-night bar menu so guests can linger longer.

That late-night piece matters more than it sounds. Few kitchens in Shaw stay open past 11 p.m. with real food on the menu. The Grace is betting that the post-concert and post-game crowd - the people who just watched something at Lincoln Theatre two blocks away and want something substantial - have been underserved.

The timing also lines up with DC Restaurant Week. Dinner here is three courses for $40 - one of the more affordable Restaurant Week options - and there's also a $35 three-course brunch menu. Both offer choices including grilled oysters with suya spice and collard butter, mango/coconut shrimp with peppercorn aioli, and roast chicken with sauce choron. For dessert: peach bread pudding. The menus run through September 6.

The Passenger had a long, loyal run. What Mandhaiya and Evans have put in its place is quieter in some ways, more ambitious in others. The truffle fritters are $18 and the music is turned down enough to have a conversation. The cheese pull is, by all accounts, real.

Sources

• The Grace - official site (thegracedc.com)
• Axios Washington D.C. - 'The Grace opens in Shaw in the former Passenger space,' July 1, 2026
• Washingtonian - 'The Grace Transforms The Passenger Into a Modern American Saloon,' July 6, 2026
• PoPville - 'The Grace opens July 1, bringing elevated American tavern favorites to Shaw,' June 24, 2026
• Fine Dining Lovers - 'Best Restaurant Openings in Washington, D.C. - July 2026'
• Washingtonian - '11 Hot New Dining Spots to Try for Summer Restaurant Week,' August 10, 2026
• District of Columbia Times - 'The Grace Opens in Shaw: DC Saloon Revival'