‘Buddha Bar 16’
courtesy of ‘maxedaperture’

Downtown Buddha-Bar has announced a new executive chef, Simon Volante, who officially joined the restaurant last week.

While Volante most recently worked as the executive chef at RED Restaurant & Bar in Los Angeles, he has also worked at DC’s Willard Room Restaurant, Jeffrey’s at the Watergate, Aquarelle and The Jefferson Hotel. At RED, Volante focused on an Asian-fusion dining concept, which he’ll undoubtedly carry over to Buddha-Bar.

Mikhail Don, co-owner of Buddha-Bar said in a statement, “Chef Volante is a natural fit to lead Buddha-Bar DC’s culinary team, and we are thrilled that he accepted our offer. You can expect inspiring things from us this year, as I’m confident that Chef Volante will take our innovative, fresh cuisine to even greater heights.”

Buddha-Bar’s previous executive chef, Greg Fortunato, left on good terms with Buddha-Bar and moved back to Las Vegas to be closer to his family, according to a public relations representative for the restaurant.

Marissa Bialecki

Marissa was born and bred in New Jersey, but moved to DC for undergrad at GWU (Go Colonials, go!), fell in love with the District and learned that there was life and civilization beyond New York City. She loves eating at white-tablecloth-three-forks-at-your-place-setting restaurants, but she’ll also be the first to suggest we scarf down some chili dogs at 2 am. Simply put, she loves all things food. You can also read about why she loves DC. Follow her on Twitter and email her at mbialecki (at) welovedc.com.