Inside The Morrow Hotel in NoMa, Marcus Samuelson’s newest project, Marcus DC, offers guests a full-sensory experience even before they taste the food: bold artwork by Derrick Adams and vibrant uniforms designed by fashion duo BruceGlen, the dynamic sounds of a globally influenced chef’s playlist, and fragrant ingredients wafting from the open kitchen. The energy of the space open, colorful, and full of life instantly conveys the chef’s philosophy that dining out should be joyful and an opportunity to learn something.

“It’s very important that you come in and be inspired,” says Chef Samuelsson about his first restaurant in DC. “If you don’t feel something after you’ve come in, we haven’t done a good job.”

Born in Ethiopia, Samuelssón lost his mother to tuberculosis before he and his sister were adopted by a Swedish family. He speaks of his Swedish grandmother Helga as his first food teacher her lessons in seasonality, foraging, and preservation formed his earliest connection to craft. Trained in top kitchens in Japan, France, and Switzerland, he later built his name in Harlem, where he helped define a new vision of Black cooking rooted in both tradition and innovation. He has since created more than a dozen destination restaurants across the United States and around the world, along the way picking up eight James Beard nominations and becoming the youngest chef ever to receive three Michelin stars.

At the table, guests encounter dishes that reflect that journey.

Samuelsson brings together Southern and African Black diaspora with local regional ingredients Chesapeake fluke, crab, sweet corn, and mambo sauce, for example. One dish honors local food royalty Virginia Ali of Ben’s Chili Bowl.
“Just like Edible DC, I wanted to tell local stories,” Samuelsson says. “We look at this menu as a way to share those stories in the most delicious personal way.”