Hospitality Consultancy & OperatorEst. MMXXIII

We elevate every aspect of the restaurant experience.

MHG Consulting is a hospitality consultancy and operator for hotels, resorts, and independent restaurants — bringing operating discipline, culinary depth, and team culture to properties that demand more from their food & beverage program.

Hotels·Resorts·Restaurants

Plate IThe bar at Heirloom, Reston.

Our Philosophy

Hospitality, fanatically detailed.

Memorable guest experiences are built on the discipline of a thousand small decisions, executed consistently — every shift, every cover, every season.

We partner with hotels, resorts, and independent restaurant owners to elevate every aspect of the guest experience — from concept and culinary direction to service standards, team culture, and the operating systems that hold it all together.

Our work begins with a complete diagnostic of the business: brand positioning, P&L health, kitchen and front-of-house operations, hiring practices, and market opportunity. From there we build a strategic plan and stay engaged through implementation — accountable to outcomes, not deliverables.

The result is a restaurant that performs commercially and feels essential to the property and community it serves.

75⁺

Combined years of hospitality leadership across owner, operator & culinary roles

4.9^★

Google rating at our flagship — Locket Rosslyn — within first months of opening

100^%

Founder-led engagement — never handed off to junior staff

Plate IIService, mise en place.

Bartender serving cocktails across the bar

Plate IIIThe pass, six o'clock.

Plate IVOf the kitchen, plated.

Services

A complete practice, delivered with discipline.

We work with hotels, resorts, and independent restaurant owners across the full lifecycle of a hospitality business — from a single strategic engagement to a long-term management agreement.

Design session — floor plan markup — No. 01Drawings & concept.

Signature cocktail in vintage coupe — No. 02Behind the bar.

Focaccia with ricotta, salsa, and onion jam — No. 03Of the kitchen.

No. 04Unique brand design.

01 · Property

Hotels

Branded and independent properties seeking a restaurant program that elevates the guest experience and contributes meaningfully to RevPAR.

02 · Property

Resorts

Multi-outlet F&B environments — signature dining, all-day, banquets, in-room — operated as a coherent program rather than a collection of disconnected venues.

03 · Property

Restaurants

Independent owners and entrepreneurial operators ready to optimize a restaurant's potential — top-line sales, bottom-line profit, team culture, and brand position.

IRestaurant Management AgreementsFull-service operation of a hotel, resort, or independent restaurant under a long-term management contract — concept, team, systems, P&L. The owner keeps the asset; we run the business.IIStrategic Planning & OperationsComplete restaurant analysis, strategic planning, and implementation of operations best practices — increasing top-line sales and bottom-line profitability through disciplined execution.IIIConcept Development & RepositioningFrom greenfield design to repositioning an existing concept, we author the food, beverage, and service narrative end to end — built for the property's audience, not a template.IVPre-Opening & ActivationRecruiting, training, supplier networks, and operating procedures stood up before doors open. A measured, calm path from construction handover to soft launch.VTalent & Culture DevelopmentHiring frameworks, training manuals, and leadership coaching that build teams who stay. Culture is the highest-leverage line item on any restaurant P&L.VIBanquets, Events & In-Room DiningPrivate events and in-room programs that hotels actually want to sell — coherent menus, trained teams, and pricing models that work for the property and the guest.

Featured Project · Inaugural Opening

Our first chapter, Locket.

A modern American restaurant attached to the Hilton Arlington Rosslyn — and the first property to launch under MHG Consulting management. Within months of opening, the dining room had earned a 4.9-star Google rating across hundreds of reviews.

Now Open · 2025

Locket Rosslyn — pan-seared fish with risotto

Plate VLocket · Rosslyn, Virginia

★★★★★

4.9

Google Reviews

Within first months of opening

Property

Hilton Arlington Rosslyn

Location

1900 Fort Myer Drive

Concept

Modern American · All-day

Service

Breakfast · Lunch · Dinner · Events

A neighborhood restaurant that happens to live inside a hotel.

Locket is built to draw the Rosslyn community in as much as it serves the hotel's guests — a full all-day program with the freshest seafood, hand-cut steaks, hand-crafted cocktails, and a wine list with depth.

Two private dining rooms and a full-service bar make it a setting for board dinners, open happy hours, and quiet weeknight tables alike — and the consistency that comes from a 4.9-star average review is the standard we hold every engagement to.

Visit Locket Rosslyn

The Metropolitan Hospitality Group Portfolio

Concepts our founders have launched.

Eight independent restaurants and a craft distillery, built from the ground up by our founders under Metropolitan Hospitality Group — concept, buildout, opening team, and ongoing operations.

Four locations

Three locations

Two locations

Distillery

Merrifield, VA

Rosslyn, VA

Reston, VA

Rosslyn, VA

Recognition

A track record of awards & accolades.

Across the Metropolitan Hospitality Group portfolio, our founders have earned recognition from regional press and workplace surveys alike — for the food on the plate, the cocktails behind the bar, and the team that makes it all possible.

Top Workplaces awards from The Washington Post

20+

Best of NoVA accolades across categories and years

Independent concepts in the MHG family

Craft distillery — Open Road Distilling Co.

Washington Post

Top Workplaces

20182019202020212022

Workplace Culture

Recognized for the team culture and operating standards behind every MHG concept.

Northern Virginia Magazine

Best of NoVA

20192020202120222023

Best Restaurant · Best Burger · Best Cocktails

Multi-year recognition across CIRCA, Open Road, Trio Grill, SALT, and Heirloom.

Arlington Magazine

Best of Arlington

202020222023

Best Neighborhood Restaurant · Best Brunch

Reader and editor recognition across the Arlington portfolio.

Washingtonian

100 Very Best Restaurants

20212023

Editorial Recognition

Featured for culinary direction, hospitality, and value across multiple concepts.

A selection from the Metropolitan Hospitality Group press archive.

The Founders

Three operators, one practice.

MHG Consulting is founder-led by design. Every engagement is staffed and stewarded by the three of us — never handed off.

Plate VI

Matt Carlin

Co-Founder · Operations

Matt is a co-founder and partner of Metropolitan Hospitality Group, where he has led restaurant operations across more than a dozen openings — bringing two decades of disciplined financial management and growth across hotels and full-service properties.

Plate VII

Aaron Rentfrew

Managing Director · Partner

Aaron leads concept development and owner relations, drawing on a background in hospitality strategy and food & beverage repositioning for hotel groups.

Plate VIII

Vince Spinoso

Co-Founder · Culinary

Vince is a co-founder and partner of Metropolitan Hospitality Group, directing culinary operations across the portfolio — menu development, sourcing, costing, and the kitchen culture that quietly defines a restaurant's reputation.

Inquiries

Let's talk.

We work with a small number of properties at any given time. If you're evaluating an operator for a new opening or a repositioning, we'd be glad to learn more about your property.

EngageRestaurant Management Agreements for Hotels & Resorts
ResponseA founder will reply within two business days.
PrivacyAll inquiries are held in confidence.