Acclaimed Persian restaurant Joon celebrates its first anniversary in Tysons this month and recently added a more casual lounge and patio destination.
MayBar offers cocktails, wine, non-alcoholic beverages, and a selection of light bites.
“We’ve got everything from Turkish flatbreads, focaccia-style sandwiches to beautiful tuna tartar, so we’ve got your bases covered culinarily,” says Michelin-starred chef owner Chris Morgan.
The casual 2,000-square-foot lounge and 1,500-square-foot patio are connected to the formal Joon restaurant but offer a more approachable spot for diners to visit. The hours for the 80-seat lounge and patio that seats 44 are the same as Joon’s.
“Not everyone wakes up saying, ‘I want Middle Eastern foods or Iranian foods,’” Morgan says. “We wanted to kind of widen our offerings and serve some food that allows me to rotate specials in and out, be super playful, and utilize locally sourced ingredients.”
To celebrate Joon’s first anniversary on Friday, June 7, Morgan will cook dishes over a custom wood-fired grill on MayBar’s patio. Formerly the executive chef at Maydan, where he famously cooked over a hearth, Morgan brings the experience of his live fire cooking to Joon.
“For me my ultimate passion is live fire cooking,” says Morgan, who was named a 2024 James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic for Joon. “It’s a beautiful opportunity for me to get back out on the grill.”
At the June 7 anniversary event from 6 to 9 p.m., Morgan will cook over the open flame. His grilled menu includes whole bone-in ribeyes to serve two to three guests, beef liver kebabs, and a smaller ribeye steak for one guest. There will be live music on the patio, and the flamed menu items will be available for Joon diners.
“It’s a beautiful experience to come in and be able to enjoy beautifully grilled meats or vegetables and all the different sauces and flavors that come with food from that part of the world,” he says.
A native of McLean, Morgan notes Iranian cuisine is appealing for its freshness and combinations of flavors.
“I am in love with the beautiful flavors from that part of the world and the usage of herbs,” he says. “For me, it’s just a really beautiful, beautiful food culture in Iran and throughout the Middle East.”
MayBar plans to schedule live fire activation at least once a month, on Fridays, and likely expand to additional events. 8045 Leesburg Pk., Vienna
Feature image by Marj Suarez of Lair Collective
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