Modern Italian restaurant M Cafe Bar will open on 14th Street NW in one or two weeks. The restaurant comes from retail developer Iraklis Krabassis, who also owns Sette Osteria and co-founded Cafe Milano (though is no longer involved). M Cafe Bar previously had a location in Chevy Chase, which closed in April 2011.

Chef Nico Amroune, who worked at the other location of M Cafe as well as the adjacent Famoso Restaurant, will oversee the kitchen alongside pastry chef Francis Chanal, who was recruited from France. The menu will feature handmade pastas, pizzas, flatbreads, and salads as well entrees ranging from duck to salt-encrusted fish to lamb. (Stay tuned for the full menu, which is still being finalized.)

General manager Mehdi Zorgani says there will be 35 wines by the glass as well as carafes and bottles plus six draft beers, about 10 cocktails, and more than 20 types of grappa. Non-alcoholic options will include Italian soft drinks like Chinotto (Italy’s answer to Coke) and Gassosa (kind of like Sprite).

The 100-seat spot has a large bar that’ll have happy hour, as well as white tablecloths and hip chandeliers. Paintings of Marilyn Monroe, Sophia Loren, and Marcello Mastroianni are splashed on the walls. There’s also an outdoor patio that can seat 56.

M Cafe Bar will offer only dinner to start, but look for brunch to follow.

CORRECTION: This story initially misspelled the name of M Cafe Bar’s pastry chef. It’s Francis Chanal, not Chanel. 

M Cafe Bar, 1634 14th St. NW; (202) 290-1178; mcafebar.com