It wouldn’t be December without an end-of-the-year listicle. And while the pace of bar openings has started to slow, there are plenty of new District drinking establishments to get excited about, particularly in the more easterly parts of the city. (Bloomingdale, your time has come.) So get a jump start on the holiday party season with our favorite new spots to throw back a drink or three.
Photo courtesy of The Royal’s Facebook page.
BRICK & MORTAR: The basement bar of Prequel has a cocktail menu that swings toward potent classics, and locally sourced and unique spirits and wines. Since opening, Brick & Mortar’s cocktail menu has branched out to include seasonal libations like the Rosemary Smash, a light, sparkling drink with rosemary infused vodka and rosemary syrup. They also serve American cuisine, including lobster rolls and BLT sandwiches. The bar’s name is appropriate to the space it occupies beneath the brick arches of the building’s first floor catwalk. Patrons descend a black spiral staircase to this subterranean hideout where the black walls, ceiling, and floor give the space a speakeasy feel. —Nathan Wilkinson
Brick & Mortar is located at 918 F Street NW.
DEW DROP INN: The Dew Drop Inn moved into the space over what was once Chocolate City Brewery in June. It’s a triangular industrial building with a view of the MARC tracks, which you can appreciate from the roof deck. Owned by the guys behind Wonderland Ballroom and Looking Glass Lounge, the vibe is similar: relaxed, unfussy, the anti-scene. It’s the kind of place you can feel equally comfortable bringing your crew or your baby (this being Edgewood/Brookland, after all). With a 7-day-a-week happy hour that runs until 7:30 pm, a small but satisfying menu of snacks and sandwiches, no TVs, and some of the friendliest bartenders around, The Dew Drop Inn is the best spot in town to watch those trains roll by—and strike up a conversation with someone new while you’re at it.—Jenny Holm
The Dew Drop Inn is located at 2801 8th St NE.
Photo courtesy of Jug and Table’s Facebook page.
JUG AND TABLE: Jug and Table is trying to break down the pretentious wine bar image, one gigantic decanter of fermented grape juice at a time. The name not only refers to the large jugs of wine available during happy hour, but also to the record player (turntable) spinning tunes behind the bar. The chill, industrial-chic vibe also means there’s no reason to feel embarrassed about not knowing diddly squat about wine; the staff is more than happy to recommend something off the menu, which includes 30 wines by the glass and eight on tap. There’s also plenty to please non-oeneophiles, from the craft beer list and bar bites curated by upstairs sister restaurant Roofers Union, to a respectable cocktail list that leans heavily on fortified wines like oh-so-trendy sherry and vermouth. For folks complaining that Adams Morgan is all 22-year-olds puking up Jumbo Slice on 18th Street…well, that does still happen on Saturday night. But Jug and Table is definitely evidence that the neighborhood has started to grow up.—Alicia Mazzara
Jug and Table is located at 2446 18th St NW.
MAD FOX TAP ROOM: Mad Fox Brewery’s journey from Falls Church to Glover Park was a long time coming. But the bar and restaurant finally opened this summer, pouring fresh beers like Orange Whip IPA and Kellerbier Kolsch alongside a menu of tasty bar fare. The space includes two bars, each with 16 taps featuring fresh Mad Fox beer—both standard favorites and seasonal options—along with a few local selections. Menu highlights include the Mad Fox Burger 6.0, which is topped with bacon jam, Tillamook cheddar cheese, and smoked garlic aioli. The mumbo sauce wings and fried pickles are great for sharing, too. —Travis Mitchell
Mad Fox Tap Room is located at 2218 Wisconsin Ave NW.
Photo courtesy of Mad Fox Tap Room’s Facebook page.
PROVISION NO. 14: Provision won me over the minute I saw “gin press” on its menu—a fun take on sharing a round of drinks with friends that sees your cocktail come ready-to-serve in a French press. Many of the drinks (and bites) here are a spin on more traditional offerings. The frozen Moscow Mule is a decidedly adult spin on slushies (and more than perfect for our brutally sticky summers). Should you want to stretch drinks into dinner, Provision boasts an expansive menu. Don’t miss the lamb sugo hot pockets. And after? The upstairs bar turns into a veritable club on weekend nights, with dancing and IPA cocktails extending into the wee hours of the morning. —Elizabeth Traynor
Provision 14 is located at 2100 14th St NW.
RIGHT PROPER TASTING ROOM:
Right Proper’s Shaw location has become a go-to for quality beer and better food—its blueberry-jalapeno corn muffins are a consistent order&mash;and in December they opened a brewery and tasting room in Brookland. The expansion is going to allow Right Proper’s team the ability to make a significantly larger amount of beer (15,000 barrels per year as opposed to 1,000, per City Paper). While tours of the facilities are offered on weekends, the tasting room is so good you may not want to leave. You can do a flight of every beer they’ve got, as well as the traditional growler fills and pints. On opening weekend, the two porters on the menu were favorites among my crowd, with just the right mix of creamy start and bitter finish we’ve come to expect from Right Proper beers.
—Elizabeth Traynor
Right Proper Tasting Room is located at 920 Girard St NE.
SLASH RUN: The Prince of Petworth described Slash Run as an early Red Derby, and I have to agree that there are strong similarities between the two. Located off the beaten path in Petworth, the latest effort from Jackie Greenbaum and Gordon Banks of El Chucho and Bar Charley is a bit rough around the edges—let’s just say the bathroom is screaming for its own Dear John column—but the burgers and beer list are solid as hell. Wacky touches infuse the space with all sorts of personality, from a huge powder blue wrap-around booth to a mural of Marion Barry riding a lion lifted from the now-shuttered Chief Ike’s Mambo Room. A deep whiskey selection and old school jukebox help seal Slash Run’s place as one of the coolest new “dive” bars in town. —Alicia Mazzara
Slash Run is located at 201 Upshur St NW.
Photo courtesy of Sotto’s Facebook page.
SOTTO: I still carry a big ol’ nostalgia torch for the Jazz Age, and Sotto’s got a bit of a speakeasy thing going on: live music, classic cocktails, and a gorgeous wooden bar that looks like it walked out of an issue of Architectural Digest. Say what you will about the trend, Sotto wears it well, complete with an easy-to-miss subterranean location on bustling 14th Street. It’s also a fitting use of the space, which used to house jazz club HR-57. But where HR-57 was BYOB, Sotto has a carefully curated food and drink selection from the team behind the helm of Ghibellina and Denson Liquor Bar. Stop in Thursday, Friday, or Saturday to take in some live jazz or stake out a spot at the bar on weeknight for an intimate date. —Alicia Mazzara
Sotto is located at 1610 14th St NW.
STANTON & GREENE: Stanton & Greene opened in February in the space that Pour House once occupied. The remodeled interior gives off a speakeasy vibe with café-style chairs and soft lighting. Happy hour is served at the bar and in the upstairs dining lounge in comfy couch seating. Stanton & Greene’s cocktail list and knowledgeable bartenders earn the highest praise from guests. Cocktails are strong on alcohol and flavor, and yet simple enough that they can be prepared quickly. The bar staff is known for experimenting with rare amari and aromatic liqueurs that will surely expand your flavor palate. Happy hour runs 3 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and offers $4 dollar house beer, $5 dollar wines, and craft beer. The smothered fries are the most popular bar bites, and you can choose between a list of chip dips like spinach and artichoke, smoked trout, and blue cheese and tomato jam. —Nathan Wilkinson
Stanton & Greene is located at 319 Pennsylvania Avenue SE.
THE PUB AND THE PEOPLE:My first trip at The Pub and The People was a knockout. Upon hearing I liked gin, the bartender told me to trust him and created a drink before my eyes that he lit on fire (?!) before pushing it toward me. It was delicious. Since then, all subsequent experiences have been consistently great, and I can confidently award it the title of my favorite new bar in 2015. The beverage menu is expansive, though the craft cocktails are not to be missed. “All Thai’d Up,” a mix of thyme-infused Green Hat Gin (sensing a trend here?), Sriracha, pineapple, honey, and lime is the spicy sweet one-two punch I’ve been seeking in my drinks since I graduated from watered-down beer in basements. Speaking of beer, the draft list skews local and reasonable. The food stands out, too, with a particularly memorable brunch burger on the weekends that, alongside a crisp pint, was the perfect way to pass lazy fall afternoons on The Pub & The People’s patio. —Elizabeth Traynor
The Pub and the People is located at 1648 North Capitol St NW.
Photo courtesy of The Pub and the People’s Facebook page.
THE ROYAL: The Royal in Shaw/LeDroit Park brings a warm and comfortably charming vibe to the corner of 5th and Florida Avenue NW. In this new café and bar by Paul Carlson of Vinoteca, The Royal manages to find the sweet spot before high quality and eclectic turn into stuffy. The décor is nice but not overly so; the food is fresh and simply delicious (with South American influences like the arepa and the grilled avocado); the bartenders are welcoming; and the cocktails are top-notch. Ask the staff behind the bar for a drink recommendation and they’re sure to come up with something unique off-menu. The layout of the space doesn’t leave a ton of room for standing, which tends to keep the insane crowds away and makes the space a relaxed spot for good conversation and tasty libations with friends. Just remember to go to the bar to order your food and drinks as The Royal doesn’t have table service, no matter where you’re sitting.—Lynne Venart
The Royal is located at 501 Florida Ave NW.
WICKED BLOOM SOCIAL CLUB: Any bar that combines BBQ and whiskey has unlocked the keys to my heart. Wicked Bloom goes above and beyond in both categories. Veer around the corner of Florida Ave from inarguably the best BBQ in the city, at least according to me—DCity Smokehouse—and you’ll discover Wicked Bloom Social Club. The next project from the same minds behind DCity opened in September, and immediately solidified itself as a great spot for laid-back food and drinks with the mother of all bar snacks: a mac n’ cheese waffle topped with brisket chili, cheese sauce, and chopped pork. It’s real, and it’s spectacular. The rest of the bar menu delivers solid hits as well, like a smoky fire-roasted pimento cheese dip. The drink menu, created by Eat The Rich alum Ben Matz, often features a rotating cast of cocktails that are as delicious as they are strong—don’t skip a Mezcal offering while there.
—Elizabeth Traynor
Wicked Bloom Social Club is located at 1540 North Capitol St NW.
