New Bars Keep Springing Up at the Wharf

Now that several of the big name restaurants have finally opened at the hospitality-packed Wharf, it’s time to focus on the the smaller operations that have also taken flight.

Here’s the latest on three new bars that are mixing things up on the drinking front:

Canopy Central

This all-day lounge, which occupies most of the second floor of Hilton’s new Canopy hotel, has a lot going for it. First off, it serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner (think: pastries, gourmet flatbreads, and savory snacks such as lamb meatballs) — making it a useful alternative while other restaurants on the mile-long strip continue to work out their respective kinks. There’s also seating on an open-air balcony that faces Recreation Pier, a prime perch for people watching.

The drink list features mostly local beers ($7 drafts, $9 cans and bottles), prosecco on draft ($10), nearly a dozen cocktails ($13 each), and assorted wines by the glass ($10 to $14).

Watering Hole

Photo by Warren Rojas / Eater DC

This new bar is right on the water, opposite sibling establishment Kith and Kin. A bartender tells Eater that the Intercontinental hotel installed the breezy drinking spot — there’s just two beers on tap (Miller Lite - $8; Peroni - $9), plus chardonnay, rosé and pinot noir by the glass ($10 each) — to capture some of the pedestrian traffic. Anyone is welcome to rest a spell at the handful of covered seats. But make sure to pack plastic; the bar only accepts credit or debit cards.

Staff says the bar typically opens in the early afternoon and shuts down around 10 p.m.

Whiskey Charlie

Photo by Warren Rojas / Eater DC

The rooftop bar atop the Canopy hotel is tentatively scheduled to open Friday, November 17. The interior, which features a bar, a wraparound rail, and some cocktail tables, is mostly complete. A satellite bar on the roof deck remains a work in progress, as does additional seating options.

The menu sticks with bar snacks, including potato chips with pimento dip ($10), cheese empanadas with barbecue sauce ( $11), and cheeseburger sliders ($13). The drinks list focuses on familiar cocktails (think: dark and stormies, vodka martinis, and amaretto sours) pegged at $13 a pop. Some drinks can be supersized for two ($26), or served by the liter in “tankard” form ($52).

Meanwhile, the spectacularly warm weather has prompted recently shuttered Cantina Marina to reopen for another farewell happy hour (the last one?) Friday, November 3.