"This wasn't a restaurant before, but we worked really hard to make this place feel like it had been here for 40 or 50 years."

Chef Alex McCoy said that to Washingtonian about Alfie's, his Northern Thai restaurant and natural wine bar, and The Georgetowner reprinted it in its September roundup of openings. Alfie's address is 1228½ 31st Street NW, and you reach the door from an alley. The "½" in the address is the useful detail. For most of this fall, Georgetown's new sit-down dining has opened in spaces behind and between existing buildings, while the street-facing storefronts on M Street have mostly gone to retailers.

1228½ 31st Street, and the alley behind it

The Georgetowner calls this stretch "the Congress Court alley." Alfie's sits between Flora Pizzeria and Two Nine. In the same August roundup, the paper quoted earlier Washington Business Journal reporting that McCoy had signed for space in Hamilton Court, which developers Ezra and Jessica Glass were giving a major renovation. McCoy is partnered on this version of Alfie's with chef Justin Ahn of Incheon in Annandale.

Here are the three businesses that line the alley now:

• Alfie's opened Wednesday, September 2, according to Eater DC's October heatmap. The current menu on its site includes cockles and mussels with 'nduja chili jam, sai ua pork sausage, lamb laap, fish curry, gai yang and a green-peppercorn-curry steak.
• Flora Pizzeria is a Pluma by Bluebird Bakery project, PoPville reported in June. It opened next to Alfie's on September 14, The Georgetowner reported. Its dough uses a natural leaven, organic flour and Sicilian sea salt. Flora's own site lists the address as 1228.5 31st Street NW, so it shares the half-address with Alfie's.
• Two Nine was the first of the three. Washingtonian covered it at 1218 31st Street NW in May 2025, with an omakase counter upstairs and a takeout cafe downstairs. The cafe served its last customers on Saturday, August 1, PoPville reported. Two Nine's website currently lists evening omakase and à la carte dining, plus a lunch service called "Afternoon at 29."

The alley's hours run in shifts

Flora and Alfie's are next-door neighbors, but their schedules overlap only partly. Over a week, the alley's hours look like this:

Flora's hours come from the Georgetown BID, and Alfie's hours from Resy's August profile. Both can change, so check before you go. On Monday and Tuesday nights, Flora is the only one of the two open. On Sunday, only Alfie's is. From Wednesday through Saturday, the two run side by side from 5pm until Flora closes at 11pm, and Alfie's stays open another hour.

Reservations work differently at each. Resy says Alfie's opens bookings 60 days ahead and holds half its tables for walk-ins. So if you live close by and decide on dinner at 6pm, you can still try for a table.

The next one is behind 3246 Prospect Street

The second alley opening is a few blocks west. Michael Rafidi owns Albi, La' Shukran and Yellow, the cafe on Wisconsin Avenue known for its "(not) pizza." He is bringing Bizzeria to the back of 3246 Prospect Street NW, according to The Georgetowner. Skillette, Kelly Singer's upcoming cooking school, has the same address, and Bizzeria's entrance will be on the alley off Potomac Street. PoPville found the sign in the alley next to Georgetown Seafood at 1211 Potomac Street NW.

Washingtonian's fall preview describes Bizzeria as a permanent home for Yellow's wood-fired pies. The menu will include sourdough fermented for 48 hours, mezze, charcuterie and natural wine. The Georgetowner lists it for fall 2026, with no opening day announced yet.

There is also a third back-street spot. Café Tulúm opened in August with tacos, tostadas, oysters and ceviche. It joined the Grace Street Collective at 3210 Grace Street NW, south of M Street near the canal.

What went into the M Street storefronts instead

While the alley restaurants were opening, the main street changed in a different way. Pizzeria Paradiso closed its Georgetown location at 3282 M Street NW after Sunday, July 26, ending a 24-year run, PoPville reported. The M Street storefronts announced over the same months are mostly retail:

• UNIQLO announced an August 28 opening at 3262 M Street NW.
• POP MART was announced for 3221 M Street NW.
• Jones Road Beauty is coming to 3207 M Street NW.
• Thursday Boot Company and Thursday Cafe were announced for the former Sprinkles space at 3015 M Street NW.
• Kith, the sneaker and streetwear brand, has plans filed with the Old Georgetown Board for 3040 M Street NW, next to Barnes & Noble, according to UrbanTurf reporting quoted by The Georgetowner.

The new food on M Street fits the pattern too. Flavor Hive, the Northern Virginia food truck, opened its first storefront at 3287½ M Street NW in the former Harmony Café space. Like Alfie's and Flora, it has a half-address.

Wisconsin Avenue added more food than M Street did, mostly counters, cafes and shops. Bombas opened its first DC store at 1400 Wisconsin Avenue NW with an August 14 opening date. Purée Juice Bar announced an October 8 opening at 1511 Wisconsin. Delhi Belly opened in August at 1560 Wisconsin, at the corner of Q Street. That corner was Dolcezza Gelato's first home, and it has had several tenants since. Dolcezza is now coming back a few blocks south, to the former Pressed Juicery space at 1300 Wisconsin Avenue NW. The Georgetowner says it should open in late fall or early winter.

Spicewalla opens Friday, and the alley is a short walk downhill

The next fixed date on Wisconsin is close. Spicewalla, the small-batch spice brand from James Beard Award–winning chef Meherwan Irani, will open its Georgetown store at 1317 Wisconsin Avenue NW on Friday, November 6, PoPville reported. It is the brand's second store, after its flagship in Asheville's Grove Arcade. It will sell individual spices, house blends, gift collections and pantry goods from DMV makers.

Spicewalla's opening day is a Friday, when both Congress Court restaurants are open. That makes for an easy evening:

1. Start at Spicewalla, 1317 Wisconsin Avenue NW, on opening day.
2. Walk south on Wisconsin, past the future Dolcezza at 1300, toward M Street.
3. Turn east to 31st Street and find the Congress Court alley at 1228½.
4. Order pizza at Flora before its 11pm close, or put your name in for one of Alfie's walk-in tables after 5pm.
5. On the way out, look down the alley off Potomac Street behind 3246 Prospect for any sign that Bizzeria has opened.

At Canopy Property Group, we track Georgetown block by block, including the half-addresses and the alley doors that main-street listings don't show. If your home is near one of these new pockets and you'd like to know what that's worth today, get your instant home valuation, and James Buckley will follow up with a market read for your block.