“I WAS BLOWN AWAY,” said Sunny Seng as he used tweezers to garnish one of his Prohibition-style cocktails. Home for a visit from his job in New York City, he returned to find Washington, D.C.’s food and beverage scene booming and decided to move back to join it.
As head bartender at upscale Requin, one of 20 new restaurants and bars at The Wharf, Seng works at the heart of the single-largest development in the history of the capital. Stretching for a mile along the waterfront in formerly downtrodden Southwest D.C., the $2.5 billion mixed-use project officially opened last October and has quickly reshaped the city’s dining and entertainment landscape.
Live music has helped establish The Wharf as a major nightlife destination, with three new performance stages. The Foo Fighters helped launch The Anthem, a 6,000-capacity concert hall. At Pearl Street Warehouse, patrons are never more than 25 feet from the stage for rock, country, folk, soul and blues performances. Union Stage, which opened at the end of December, adds a 450-capacity venue to the mix. Nearby, the Mead Center—the city’s second-largest performing arts complex after the Kennedy Center—houses Arena Stage and a strong lineup of American theater.
The Wharf’s energetic bar scene complements its restaurants and hotels. Requin is noted for its contemporary take on classic French cuisine and Seng’s cocktail craftsmanship. Fire pits make the patio an inviting spot on cool evenings. Spanish seafood restaurant Del Mar offers a cocktail program with Spanish influences and plans to open three outdoor seating areas this spring. At The Brighton, garage-style doors lift onto the waterfront promenade at an English-style gastropub. Kith/Kin brings Afro-Caribbean flavors from its 27-year-old chef to the InterContinental Washington D.C. – The Wharf, one of three new hotels in the development.
These newer hotels join the long-established Mandarin Oriental, Washington D.C., which helped kick-start the redevelopment of Southwest D.C. when it opened in 2004. Its Empress Lounge continues to serve as a gathering place for Washington power brokers while The Wharf adds fresh venues and casual waterfront attractions.
The Wharf has also positioned itself as an inclusive neighborhood that welcomes the LGBTQ community, though it remains early to tell whether it will reach the same level of popularity as Washington’s longtime gay-friendly districts. Areas such as Adams Morgan—home to staples like the Duplex Diner and Songbyrd Record Café and Music House—Dupont Circle, known for bars like Cobalt and JR’s, and the U Street Corridor with venues such as Town Danceboutique and Nellie’s Sports Bar have long been established centers of gay nightlife and culture.
With its waterfront promenades, diverse dining options, robust live-music programming and a mix of hotels and public spaces, The Wharf is rapidly becoming a new focal point for locals and visitors alike. Whether seeking elevated dining, craft cocktails, outdoor seating by the water or lively concerts and theater, visitors now have more choices than ever before along this revitalized stretch of the nation’s capital.