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Scotts offers seating for 70 in the main dining room, with room for another 45 at the Long Bar. 
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

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Inside Penn Quarter’s Cozy Newcomer, Scotts Restaurant and Bar

The English-style venue, which includes a private whiskey club, opens November 15

by Tierney Plumb
All photos by Rey Lopez

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Seasoned chef Will Artley is back in a D.C. kitchen this week with the opening of Scotts Restaurant & Bar, which will serve roasted meats tableside off a vintage trolley while surrounding patrons with walls of literature. There’s also an adjoining members-only drinking club.

Scotts Restaurant & Bar (927 F Street NW), the first stateside venture from British hospitality vet Simon Lowe, is scheduled to kick off lunch and dinner service this Thursday, November 15.

Customers will have a hard time remembering the space’s former life as the dimly lit chocolate-centric eatery Co Co. Sala: Lowe’s color-soaked overhaul of the 3,500-square-foot restaurant adds inviting orange and blue seating and murals showcasing what diners are eating and drinking in the restaurant.

The restaurant is divided into three rooms: a dining room, a bar, and a club. To enforce its strict membership model, access requires a fingerprint scan from a private entrance on F Street. Once inside the intimate library-style setup, 35 members at a time can sample hard-to-find spirits from the associated Scotch Malt Whisky Society. The separate 850-square-foot venture is open to those who pay a $495 annual fee.

Weekend brunch will start right out of the gate and will feature live jazz. Eater will share more details about the menu before opening night. For now, here’s a first look at the exclusive space:

Owner Simon Lowe says he’s aiming to create a “relaxed and convivial atmosphere” at Scotts.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
Simon Lowe flew in a longtime friend from the Caribbean, artist Rosey Cameron, to splash murals across the space.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
Some of the same cocktails served behind the bar are depicted on Scotts’ walls.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
A look inside Scotts’ private members-only club.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
Members can cozy up to a roaring fire with scotch in hand. For now, flickering candles are placeholders until the fireplace starts functioning.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
Members at the club can sip single-cask spirits from the Scotch Malt Whiskey Society. The collection will grow to include single-cask cognac, armagnac, rum, gin, and bourbon.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
One large-scale mural of a carving trolley housing roast beef and roast potatoes is an ode to the Sunday meals Lowe had at the Savoy Hotel in London as a child. That style of eating “went out of fashion. Now it’s come back,” he says.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC
Scotts’ book collection includes a “politically incorrect” section Simon Lowe notes is “particularly suitable” for Washington: “We are totally nonpartisan — we aren’t going to get involved in any politics whatsoever,” he says.
Rey Lopez/Eater DC

Scotts Restaurant

927 F Street Northwest, , DC 20004 (202) 628-7000 Visit Website
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