New Clarendon Restaurant to Resemble Australian Outback House

Oz, a new Clarendon bar and restaurant with modern Australian cuisine, is planning to open its doors next month.

The restaurant, located at 2950 Clarendon Blvd., is currently under construction, but Oz’s grand opening is planned for Sept. 10 for media and invited guests.

After its grand opening, the restaurant will open to the public, said co-owner Ashley Darby, a former Miss D.C.

The restaurant’s interior is meant to feel like a house on the Australian outback and can seat 150 guests, Darby said.

The back dining area will be decorated like the inside of a house, the bar is meant to feel like a back porch of a house and the front dining area will look a front patio, she said. The restaurant will also have outdoor seating for 50 guests.

Darby said she wants the Oz to be a place that guests can come to relax with friends, enjoy a beer and taste authentic Australian food. The menu will feature dishes served in Australia, such as rissoles and eggs, a typical Australian brunch dish, and an Australian version of a s’more.

Darby’s husband and Oz co-owner, Michael, is an Australian native.

“It’ll offer a different perspective on some cuts of meat and plates we have in America,” Darby said.

The Darbys have lived in Arlington for four years, and the area’s young and diverse population made it the ideal location for the restaurant, she said.

“We just loved it so much that it seemed to be the natural thing,” Darby said.

Bar photo courtesy of Ashley Darby