Mike Bramson says opening a restaurant is scarier than shark diving. He knows about both. The first-time restaurateur behind the forthcoming Provision No. 14 just returned from South Africa where several great whites gave his shark cage a bump. Mike, together with partners Alex Lopez and Naeem Mohd, is readying to open the new 14th Street hot spot next week in the former Diego space. We snapped Mike (right) with the kitchen team: executive chef James Duke (left) and chef de cuisine John Leavitt. They’ll serve dishes that can easily be shared including pastas, a whole dorade, and a Filipino dish called pata that involves braising a suckling pig overnight then deep-frying it.

More than the food will be designed for sharing. Provision No. 14’s bar program will star four communal cocktails served in French presses. We snapped “The Voyager,” which includes Irish whiskey, sherry, black tea and lemon. “Every table will have one because once one person sees it, everyone wants it,” Mike tells us. They’ll also serve draft cocktails by the glass or by the bottle, making you forget wine and beer even exist. The visually captivating, two-floor restaurant will soft open on April 27 (25% off everything!) before fully opening April 29. Find it at 2100 14th St NW.