This article originally appeared on April 19, 2021, published by Washingtonian.
Most restaurateurs visit their businesses by car or foot. It’s only fitting that Greg Casten, co-founder of the seafood-centric Fish & Fire Food Group, commutes to his brand-new Southwest DC waterfront venture, The Point, by Boston Whaler (and he hopes other river-faring guests will do the same). The massive indoor/outdoor, 500-seat seafood restaurant—the first to open at the burgeoning Buzzard Point development—is perched at the intersection of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers and flanks a large marina. It’s a quick hop by water or land from Navy Yard, the Wharf, and further down the way, the Georgetown waterfront, where Casten and uncle/business partner Tony Cibel have operated Tony & Joe’s and Nick’s Riverside Grill for over 30 years.
Casten’s philosophy: “You can’t go wrong being on the water, unless you serve bad food.”
The Point, which just opened with a limited menu, is the most ambitious project to date for the Fish & Fire—not to mention the biggest restaurant to open recently in DC. The group also operates The Tavern at Ivy City Smokehouse, home to some of our favorite smoked fish in the city, and sustainable seafood wholesale business, ProFish. Seafood is naturally at the heart of the sprawling restaurant, whether diners are slurping local oysters on the 150-seat patio, sampling Maryland crab rolls at the indoor sushi bar (slated to open this week), or grabbing cones of fried calamari or lobster rolls from Beside the Point, an adjoining takeout and market near the Anacostia Riverwalk.
