We’ve been eagerly awaiting the opening of Room 11 Wine and Dessert Bar in Columbia Heights for some time now, and tracking their progress on their blog. The bar is situated on the corner of 11th and Lamont Streets NW and features an outdoor patio. The owners held a soft opening last night for media and friends of the bar, with the official opening set for August 10. Room 11 is the brain child of a collection of 20 investors with strong ties in the D.C. arts, music, and food communities. The decor represents those affiliations with art work and various knick knacks, like popover pans.

Bar manager Dan Searing previously was in charge of the bar at Looking Glass Lounge. More recently he was the mixing brains behind the Punch Club event held sporadically at the Warehouse Theater, which served as a testing ground for some Room 11 concepts. Searing is mixing up a list of six cocktails with a variety of liquors that include whisky, applejack, brandy, rum, pisco and gin. He also plans to institute a weekly Punch Club at Room 11 once things get settled.