About Restaurant Openings Around DC
A guide to the newest places to eat and drink.
Bar Angie. 2300 N St., NW.
Balos founders Stefanos Vouvoudakis, Joe Ragonese, and Tom Tsiplakos have always been fans of New York City’s ritziest and most exclusive restaurants—like 4 Charles Prime Rib, the Polo Bar, and the Corner Store, which each have months-long waitlists and reservations that book out in seconds. Now, the New York restaurateurs are aspiring to create a similar kind of high-end vibe in DC’s West End neighborhood, but with tables that are hopefully a little easier to snag.
Bar Angie, opening Friday April 11, will fuse Mediterranean and Western European cuisines with the swanky feeling of a New York bistro. Expect moody, deep emerald accent walls, live music, hearty plates of Italian classics (including a vegetarian chicken parmesan), and an entire martini menu.
“We thought, ‘Where would we want to go? What type of food do we want to eat? What kind of atmosphere do we want to be in?'” says Ragonese. “We just hope others enjoy that also.”
The upscale bistro’s menu covers a good deal of ground. Expect seafood towers and caviar service, flatbread pizzelles made in a specialized oven, and a “Bolognaise Blanc” pasta featuring wagyu beef ragu. Some of Vouvoudakis’s favorites are the wagyu-filled French dip (inspired by the ubiquitous 4 Charles sandwich) and a Caesar salad topped with everything-bagel croutons.
Vouvoudakis also gets a glint in his eyes when he talks about the “Angie Chop Martini,” which is not a cocktail but a pan-fried, bone-in pork chop served with cherry peppers and parmesan cheese.
“You can’t find that dish anywhere in DC, and that’s how we curated the menu,” says Vouvoudakis. “This is something that DC needs, and they don’t have it right now.”
When it comes to Bar Angie’s cocktail menu, Vouvoudakis says that they have not “reinvented the wheel.” The lineup features classic cocktails with creative left turns, like a banana espresso martini, a lychee margarita, and a mezcal mule with passionfruit.
“The traditional cocktails are back in, and that’s what people want,” says Ragonese. “We’re not getting too crazy, because people like what they like. I’m a Negroni drinker, and when I see a crazy Negroni somewhere, I just ask for one with the best ingredients.”
The ambiance of Bar Angie, says team Balos, will be a part of the experience—from zinc countertops and low lighting to occasional live performances of pop, rock, and hip-hop songs played in jazz styles.
“We’re bringing that hospitality of New York down here, as well a the sense of urgency from New York,” says Ragonese. “The high pace that goes on makes things faster and more efficient.”
Despite the New York City inspiration, Ragonese believes that they’ve tailored the Bar Angie experience to the DC client.
“It’s very office driven in this area, and people want to find that place where they can eat once, twice, or three times a week,” Ragonese says. “This is a menu where you can come back and have something different.”
