Skewered grilled crispy chicken skin, an imported whiskey carbonation machine, and Godzilla all walk into a karaoke bar. That’s Zeppelin, the latest restaurant from restaurateur-mixologist brothers Ari and Micah Wilder and partner Adrian Williams. Their new, 3,000-square-foot spot takes over the former home of The Shaw Bijou and French Quarter Brasserie (both short-lived), and is just down the street from their other Japanese restaurant Chaplin’s.
Yet while their first Shaw spot is a ramen-focused restaurant, Zeppelin is a massive sushi-centric hotspot with spaces for intimate chef-driven dining experiences and for casual karaoke.
Enter on the first floor to the bar, which was packed to overflowing on a recent Wednesday night when DCist attended a media event. Handsome booths line the walls in a room of custom metalwork and vintage Japanese silk cast in resin.
The raucous bar is stocked not only with liquor, but also a Suntory Whisky bubble machine. The patented system laces whiskey cocktails with tiny “baller” bubbles, producing Champagne-style carbonation for its highballs. “It’s one of those fancy toys,” the Wilders tell DCist via email.
Zeppelin’s cocktail program is focused on “Japanese spirits, bubbles, ice, and simplicity,” they say.
In fact, every single spirit is Japanese, even the gin and vodka. The signature “HI BALLERS” cocktails infuse specialty spirits with housemade triple-sour vinegars using ingredients like yuzu. The Tiger Milk, for example, is a bright green tropical concoction of Japanese rum, rye, coconut, turmeric, pineapple, pandan, and lime. The bar also features sake from small-production, multi-generation producers, and range from $7-$30 by glass to up to $600 for a bottle. Diners can also test out 40 kinds of wine ($6-$12 per glass, $25-$300 for the bottle), plus a handful of Japanese beers.
Highly recommended: Snag one of the six scarce standing table spots to eat in the kitchen, where chefs prepare yakitori—meat and vegetable skewers. The nearly two dozen options run $3-$15, and include waygu beef, kalbi (beef short rib), sunagimo (chicken gizzard), ebi shumai (shrimp dumpling), and kawa (chicken skin), and other items. Zeppelin’s menu also includes traditional Japanese appetizers, such as tempura, edamame, seaweed salad, and takoyaki. Larger dishes include donburi ($12-$22).
Behind the kitchen, the space opens up to a 65-seat patio. Be sure to look up: An enormous, two-story black-and-white Godzilla mural stands tall, flanked by zeppelins rising over the horizon. Joining Godzilla is an octopus sliming down a cityscape, as well as Mothra, a fellow monster whose inclusion came from a suggestion from a young Shaw resident.
Upstairs is the intimate 12-seat omakase (a Japanese phrase meaning “leave it up to you” that refers to a chef’s tasting menu) bar, helmed by chef Minoru Ogawa. Ogawa operated the Mandarin Oriental sushi programs, and currently runs his own D.C. restaurant, Sushi Ogawa.
The bar offers three meal options for $65, $85, and $100. Ogawa’s fish—flown in daily from the Pacific—is served simply (no extraneous wasabi or ginger to ruin the Insta) and uncluttered. Fish arrivals move swiftly: various types of mackerel, snapper, salmon, tuna, and deep-fried octopus.
Beyond the omakase oasis is the dining room for about 65 centered around a large communal table. Come 10:30 p.m. every night, metal panels transform into screens, as the dining room turns into a karaoke bar. 30,000 songs are available to sushi-sated crooners. The full menu is available here, as in the bar, patio, and kitchen seats.
The brothers envision Zeppelin as a way of transporting guests on a getaway. “We like to go big in everything,” the Wilders say.
Zeppelin is located at 1544 9th Street, NW. Open for dinner Sunday-Thursday 5 p.m.-1 a.m. and Friday-Saturday 4p.m.-2 a.m. Bar is open Sunday-Thursday 5 p.m.-1:45 a.m. and Friday and Saturday 4 p.m.-2:45 a.m.
Zeppelin Apps Donburi Yakatori 2-22-19 by Lori McCue on Scribd
Sushi Page 1 2.25.19 by Lori McCue on Scribd
Sushi Page 2 2.25.19 by Lori McCue on Scribd
