When dining at Coconut Club, the first solo venture from Food Network darling Adam Greenberg, cell phones at the table are not just permissible—they’re encouraged. That’s because the five-time winner of Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay curated every detail of the tropical-themed warehouse with Instagram in mind.
“If you ever go to a restaurant that poo poos the idea of taking your phone out for photos, you’re not speaking to an audience of people that exists today,” Greenberg says. “The entire restaurant is wrapped in USB cords. If you forgot your own, there are extras at the hostess stand.”
Located in an electric building’s former loading docks near Union Market, Coconut Club has no shortage of photo ops. A vast ceiling is strung end to end with twinkling lights; a blue and baby pink mural adorned in palm fronds by local artist Meg Biram envelopes one wall; disco balls line the bar’s edge; and hanging basket chairs outfit a reading nook.
Greenberg, who spent nearly a decade with the Barteca restaurant group, emerged on the D.C. scene as executive chef of 14th Street wine bar Barcelona. His experience at Barteca provided a “blueprint,” he says, for striking out on his own. After dreaming up Coconut Club’s concept while on a Hawaiian vacation, Greenberg hopes to create a “build-your-own experience” where fun and silliness are at an all-time high—from the pineapple-shaped water glasses to the ‘90s hip-hop soundtrack.
Bar manager Dave Lanzalone, formerly of Hank’s Oyster Bar, followed suit with a lighthearted cocktail menu. The Yas Queen’s Park Swizzle uses Cotton & Reed’s rum infused with mango, coconut water syrup, and allspice dram. A frozen strawberry daiquiri flavored by chartreuse is whipped smooth and not too sweet. Drinks for two ($19-$24) are served in disco ball cups or in fresh coconuts. The Is That Thing On Fire, a mixture of rum, mezcal, and tropical juices, does indeed come to the table aflame.
The menu, which Greenberg will cook up alongside chef Kyle Henderson, is built to share and heavy on island flavors: fresh coconuts served sweet and savory, pineapple and mango accents, fish flown overnight from Honolulu, and plenty of rum and tequila.
Tuna and salmon poke are served with lotus root chips, black walnut vinaigrette is drizzled into a coconut and butternut squash salad, and crispy brussels sprouts top yuzu-coconut yogurt and pickled carrots. Seafood options include kimchi butter clams, oysters on the half shell, fish tacos, and calamari with a citrus chimichurri. Spam, another Hawaiian favorite, flavors a patty melt, fried rice served with a runny egg and charred pineapple, and the bourbon for the restaurant’s namesake old fashioned.
Brunch will roll out starting in March. Happy hour is also in the works, for small plates only. The only downside: At 13, cocktails remain standard price around the clock.
“My passion is food, no question about that,” Greenberg says. “But hospitality, how to relate what we do to how we make people happy, changed how I look at my job. I like to joke around that at Coconut Club, I’m sort of the cruise director without all the cheesy games. I facilitate people having fun.”
Coconut Club is located at 540 Penn St. NE. The restaurant is open with limited hours for now, Tuesday-Thursday 5 p.m.-10 p.m. and Friday-Saturday 5 p.m.-11 p.m.
This post has been updated.
