The chef behind Taco Bamba is expanding his presence at Vienna Shopping Center with a new steakhouse.
Electric Bull, which is described as an “upscale neighborhood spot,” will open in summer 2025 at 176 Maple Avenue West, just a couple of doors away from Taco Bamba’s Vienna restaurant. The 2,488-square-foot space was occupied by Cava until the fast-casual Mediterranean chain relocated to 418 Maple Avenue East in 2023.
Chef Victor Albisu says Electric Bull will build on his history as a steakhouse chef, a craft he learned while growing up around Argentinian butcher shops. In addition to founding Taco Bamba, he worked as an executive chef at BLT Steak and owned Del Campo, an Argentine grill, in D.C.
“I’m ready to challenge expectations for what a neighborhood steakhouse can be, and I believe Vienna is the perfect place to do it,” Albisu said in a press release. “It’s been home to my family and my businesses for more than 15 years. The dining room will be a lunch and dinner destination, and we’ll have a small butcher counter for guests to order and pick up meats and accompaniments for nights when they want to grill at home, as I often do.”
Designed by Peter Hapstack, who worked on Taco Bamba’s Vienna location and its original site in Idylwood, Electric Bull will have 80 seats for dine-in service, a full-service bar, an outdoor patio, and a carryout counter where customers can pick up orders from both the restaurant and an online butcher shop.
More from the press release on Electric Bull’s menu:
Electric Bull will showcase a full-service steakhouse experience, beginning with a raw bar featuring crudos, ceviches, carpaccios, and tartares. Oysters will be available dressed raw or grilled. Decadent fugazetta pizza, a double-crusted Argentine specialty piled high with caramelized onions and mozzarella, will stand out as an option for bread service. Eggs will be available throughout the day, in indulgent omelets, scrambles, fried egg platters, and steak and eggs, with elevated toppings like caviar and truffles.
Naturally, red meat will be at the heart of the Electric Bull menu, with an array of both classic and non-traditional steakhouse cuts such as hanger steaks, teres major, picaña, flank and flat iron steaks, South American-style short ribs, and a family-recipe house-made chorizo. Lamb ribs, sweetbreads, and other cuts round out the selection. For longtime fans of Albisu’s cooking, two signature items will stand out: the return of his celebrated burger and his iconic rolled skirt steak. The latter used to beat Bobby Flay at his namesake cooking competition on Food Network.
Guests wishing to enjoy Electric Bull at home will find most items on the menu as carryout options, along with a selection of meats, dressings, marinades, and dry rubs from the online butcher counter. Raw and cooked items, like simple salads and roasted vegetables, will also be available for carryout from the restaurant’s rear entrance.
Albisu founded Taco Bamba in 2013, opening the first location at 2190 Pimmit Drive near Plaza Latina Market, the grocery store that his mother still owns. The taqueria chain now has 15 locations across the D.C. area, North Carolina and Tennessee, most recently opening sites in Fair Lakes and Richmond.
He was honored as Chef of the Year by the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) in 2015 and got nominated for James Beard Foundation awards in 2016 and 2020. Albisu has also appeared in the competitive cooking shows “Beat Bobby Flay” and “Hell’s Kitchen.”
