Photo by Joy Asico.
This post has been updated to remove a reference to an $8 cocktail special. Only non-alcoholic cocktails are $8.
D.C. might be something of a bar and restaurant boomtown, but cocktail fans took a hit when Derek Brown’s well-regarded speakeasy Columbia Room (formerly at 1021 7th Street NW) closed at the start of 2015. While its sister bar The Passenger has not yet been resurrected, the good news is that Columbia Room is now officially slated to reopen on February 9th in a space located above Jeremiah Langhorn’s restaurant The Dabney (124 Blagden Alley NW).
“We’re so excited that we get to expand on our original idea” Brown said in a release. “It means that we get to add bells and whistles, but it also means that we get to bring a new perspective, a more confident perspective.”
The drinks are very likely to be delicious (in 2014 they were nominated for two James Beard awards) and it will definitely be expensive, but seats will (hopefully) be a bit easier to come by than before. Unlike the previous iteration of the Columbia Room, which captured the “speakeasy” spirit by being tiny and almost impossible to get into, the new location has allowed for a dramatic expansion, including more than one room in which to drink.
Guests of the reborn Columbia Room can choose between the 20-seat Spirits Library, which features an a la carte menu with drinks currently priced between $12 and $17, or the more exclusive Tasting Room, which requires tickets that can be purchased online through Tock. A $75 per-person ticket for the 14-seat room will get you access to a “three course omakase cocktail tasting menu with food pairings” while a $100 per-person ticket (which requires a group of 4-6 people) will reserve you a private booth and a “guided tasting of three spirits chosen by our spirits sommelier and paired with snacks.”
An outdoor terrace, called the Punch Garden, is also in the works, and it is slated for this coming spring.
In addition to the larger space and the accompanying swanky digs, it’s worth pointing out that The Columbia Room’s FAQ also makes note of the cocktail bar’s flexibility, albeit with some strings attached.
Dietary restrictions (and even not being able to imbibe alcohol at all) are not a barrier if you give them 48 hours notice. Walk-ins also aren’t impossible, but given that tickets are sold online for the tasting room, and what is sure to be catchfire popularity, you’ll need to consult with a bartender upon arrival to see if you can be accommodated.
Finally, despite their suggestion of “why not dress to the nines?”, there’s no actual dress code other than the requirement that you be “reasonably covered and wearing shoes.” So try not to dress like a total slob (and, you know, wear shoes) and you’ll probably be fine.
