Cathal Armstrong will open an Asian restaurant near the Southwest Waterfront. In 2018.

Chef Cathal Armstrong is crossing the river. The Northern Virginia chef has plans to open his first D.C. restaurant in the Wharf development in Southwest -- but fans will have to wait a while, as it's not expected to open until 2018.

The chef announced the news at a media dinner last night, and said that the future restaurant will be more casual than his flagship, Restaurant Eve. But the concept will borrow from his current menu -- a tasting menu of mostly Filipino food (so hot right now) -- a promotion that he recently decided to make permanent. The new restaurant will draw heavily from Filipino cuisine, but will feature food from all over Asia.

By the time it opens, D.C. will have several other Filipino restaurants to choose from: The opening of the Purple Patch in Mount Pleasant is imminent, and Bad Saint in Columbia Heights is forthcoming.

So how did this Irish-born chef become so interested in Filipino food? His wife, Meshelle, is of Filipino descent. It's also what he eats when he's off the clock: "When I go out to eat, my first choice is always going to be Asian," Armstrong told The Post's Becky Krystal last week. 

For now, you can try Armstrong's tasting menu nightly at Restaurant Eve for $65, with an optional $40 beverage pairing.