The team behind the popular D.C. burger joint Duke’s Grocery is bringing Korean barbecue to Shaw.
Gogi Yogi (pronounced with a hard G) opens later this week at 1921 8th St. NW at the Shay development.
As is traditional, diners will cook their food on an open-air grill embedded in each dining table. The main menu is meat-heavy, focused on poultry, pork, beef, duck and seafood, but also includes banchan, the assortment of Korean appetizers traditionally served with the meal.
The bar menu includes some Korean beers.
‘We’re happy to finally bring Korean barbecue into Washington,” said Gogi Yogi partner Daniel Kramer, who grew up near the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles.
“Tabletop grilling is ubiquitous there. I could never understand why we didn’t have KBBQ here in Washington,” he said.
Gogi Yogi has been more than a year in the making. Kramer and his partners first announced plans for such a restaurant in March 2018.
The Gogi Yogi kitchen is led by Patrice Cunningham, a Korean/African-American born and raised in Washington who previously launched a kimchi and catering business at Union Kitchen in Ivy City.
“Everyone says their mom makes the best Korean food, and I’m the same way,” Cunningham said. “She taught me early on to respect the ingredients and methods, because it makes the food taste better.”
Kramer opened the first Duke’s Grocery, at 1513 17th St. NW, in 2013. There is also a Duke’s Counter in Woodley Park, which opened in 2016, and a third Duke’s location in Foggy Bottom, which opened this summer.
