On a recent Friday evening at Astoria, the new Dupont bar from the team behind Copycat Co., a 30-something man—standing flush against the stainless steel section of the bar—remarked to his companion, “Did you see the article on the Aperol spritz?” Receiving silence in response (perhaps she was munching on the complimentary Goldfish crackers), he went on, “It was really polarizing.”
There weren’t spritzes on the menu that night: At that point, Astoria’s cocktail menu featured tiki drinks. But, as at Copycat, Astoria’s drink menu will change frequently. “Our goal is to have all the previous menus from Copycat printed [for Astoria], in addition to the new menus that we’ll be making here,” says managing owner and head chef Devin Gong, referencing Copycat’s hand-drawn chalkboard cocktail menus.
Go within the next few weeks to choose from variations on influential lawyer/author David Embury’s six basic drinks—order a Little Italy, a take on the Manhattan, to get a mix of sweet vermouth, cynar, and bourbon. Or if the slightly sour daiquiri is more your speed, try a Detroit Daisy with lime, grenadine, rum, and mint. They’re all classic cocktails, explains Gong. And their next theme might be something completely different. “We don’t want people to think we’re a tiki bar, because we’re not.”
Since bartenders are currently in training, the menu will change every couple of weeks or so. But after training’s over? “Then it’s really up to whoever is working to decide what they want to run,” Gong says. Eventually bartenders will choose from the collection of drink menus, picking which one to run based on ingredients they have on hand or even their mood. “That’s just to keep your repertoire fresh, to switch it up, so you’re not making the same drink over and over,” says Gong.
Nestled in between Agora and JR’s on 17th street NW, Astoria is quite compact, which is a polite way of saying prone to be packed and loud. (But then again, so is its sister, Copycat on H street NE, which we promise to stop referencing now.)
The narrowness presented some design challenges, says Valerie Cupp, an owner and the CFO. But Gong, who grew up in New York City, worked with Core Architecture + Design to channel an old New York-meets-luxury train vibe. The name Astoria comes from New York’s most classic of hotels, the Waldorf Astoria, with design influence from the hotel’s old (dearly departed) bar, the Brass Rail.
On a busy night, you might hope for an empty seat in one of the two-person tables or the larger booths, or lurk near the two seats at either end of the bar. Otherwise, once all the booths and front window seats are taken, add your name to a waitlist and you’ll be summoned via phone when your spot is available. (Large parties can ask to reserve via email.)
“Originally we did not intend people to stand at the bar,” says Gong—that’s why there are no seats there—“But people end up standing there anyways.” This can lead, as I heard one patron observe to his friend that same bustling night, to feeling a bit like a sardine crammed into a nightclub.
Or perhaps, like you’re on the New York City subway—another design influence seen in the tile work and logo. Booth seating, coat racks, bathroom luggage racks, and even decorative outlet fixtures call to mind luxury trains, another interest of Gong’s. The lattice work lining the exposed brick wall opposite the bar suggests the shape of a train car.
Cocktails and food items are $14 each—beer and wine range from $6 to $14. One dish per person is recommended as a snack, or two for a meal. Take that with the usual grain of salt about portions that comes with small plates—luckily, portions of rice help to tame the saucy spice that some dishes pack and can also fill you up.
While the mostly Sichuan menu skews meaty—you’ll see pork dan dan noodles, beef mapo tofu with lamb stock, and sweet and sour ribs, for example—there are two vegetarian options: a Northern Chinese-style stir fry of eggplant, bell pepper, and potato; and fried rice. Eventually the food menu will take a cue from the cocktails and expand with variations on styles of dishes. “In Sichuan cooking they categorize everything,” says Gong. An item prepared water-boiled style (poached and finished with a smoking hot oil) could be made with fish, beef, or lamb, for example. “You switch up the vegetables, maybe the stock, but the idea is the same.”
The frequent change makes Astoria a spot to return to, even if only to geek out about cocktails with a refreshing lack of snobbery. “For bartenders, you can’t have a bias to inflict on to people because ultimately it’s not your drink,” says Gong. “Have a couple. Find out what that drink is about.”
Astoria is located at 1521 17th St. NW. Hours are Monday to Friday, 5 p.m.-2 a.m., Saturday and Sunday 5 p.m.-3 a.m. Food is served until one hour prior to closing.
