Navy Yard’s Osteria Morini, Ice Cream Jubilee, and Agua 301 have a new neighbor called Due South. The Southern restaurant opened on Aug. 14 with a limited menu for dinner only. The food offerings will double or triple in size and the hours will expand to lunch beginning on Sept. 8 with the grand opening.

Due South comes from Georgetown Events, headed by restaurateur Bo Blair, which is also behind Bayou, Jetties, Surfside, and the Fairgrounds at Nats Park. Chef and partner Rusty Holman, who also oversees the kitchen at Bayou, hails from South Carolina, and the restaurant was designed around his style of cooking.

Although the menu will have a lot of barbecue staples utilizing a giant smoker in the kitchen, co-owner Jason York is quick to point out that Due South is more of an “upscale Southern” than a barbecue spot. Willie’s Brew & Que is only a block away. “We’re a different market than them,” York says.

For now, the menu includes starters like squash hush puppies and Brunswick stew plus oyster po boys, smoked pulled pork sandwiches, smoked St. Louis-style ribs, and Nashville hot chicken—somewhat of a rarity in D.C. After the grand opening, expect a lot more entrees and seafood. Holman is still tinkering with the menu.

There are 13 beers on tap, including some Southern brews (Abita, Terrapin, Shiner) plus a Due South-branded lager and IPA. The bar also serves about 80 bourbons as well as cocktails like a Hurricane and a bloody mary with okra, olives, and pickled green beans. Happy hour will launch after the restaurant’s grand opening.

The 96-seat restaurant (with 120-seat patio and private dining room) with has a generic barn-wood-and-raw-metal aesthetic. Two flat-screen TVs above the bar will air Nationals games and college football. Take a virtual tour below.

Due South, 301 Water St. SE; (202) 479-4616; duesouthdc.com

Photo by Jessica Sidman