With a growing number of Rosslyn suits on the prowl for wagyu burgers and barrel-aged Old Fashioneds, the hospitality group behind the Circa bistros, Open Road grill, and El Bebe is introducing a cocktail bar that looks to be its most mature-feeling business to date.
Salt (1201 Wilson Boulevard) opens today at 4 p.m. at the base of JBG’s Central Place Plaza development, across the street from Nestle’s headquarters. A second location of Open Road, which follows the Rammy Award-winning original in Merrifield, opens simultaneously above Salt. It will open at 11 a.m. starting tomorrow.
Matthew Carlin, president of Metropolitan Hospitality Group, envisions the bar as an “escape” from the bustling 9-to-5 streets above ground.
A short menu includes 12 shareable items such as oysters on the half shell, shrimp cocktail, and a platter of tinned Ortiz fish (sardines or anchovies) that comes with sesame crackers, butter, pickled mustard seeds, and cornichons. Entrees include two large-format dishes: a whole grilled branzino and a 24-ounce cowboy ribeye with with roasted mushrooms and red wine jus. There’s also a wagyu burger with mushrooms, gruyere cheese, crispy onions, and white truffle aioli.
An eight-seat granite bar is the stage for MHG beverage director Paul Williams, who came up with cocktails like the Silly Rabbit (Roku gin, yellow Chartreuse, carrot-star anise juice, almond orgeat, ginger and fresh lemon) and Savor The Moment (shiitake-infused Toki Suntory whiskey, yellow Chartreuse, maple and Angostura bitters). A seasonal Into The Woods stirs Maximo mezcal, Salers aperitif, Zirbenz pine liqueur, honey, and Angostura bitters.
“We found Rosslyn is up and coming, thriving and busy and vibrant,” Carlin says. “Salt it something unique to Rosslyn, for date night, execs, or business meetings.”
Carlin says Open Road and Salt are meant to represent a “night and day” difference. Dramatic photographs of the Bolivian salt flats at sunset and sunrise help set the mood at the cocktail bar.
At Open Road, an Americana theme takes shape across 80 seats with reclaimed wood, an American flag mural, a suspended Harley Davidson Fatboy motorcycle, and paintings of Nationals slugger Ryan Zimmerman and rocker Bruce Springsteen from local artist Jack Labadie. Weekday happy hour from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. calls for $5 draft beers, $7 house wines and $8 small plates, with 10 TVs.
Aside from a months-old location of the Sfoglina pasta shop, there’s also not a lot of full-service restaurants able to accommodate the area’s ballooning daytime crowd, Carlin says.
This isn’t the first time MHG has opened restaurants in tandem. Carlin says landlords like it because it diversifies dining options. Last year, the group opened a two-part Navy Yard complex with El Bebe and Circa. The group learned during the World Series that two restaurants shouldn’t share bathrooms. The group is planning to open an Open Road-El Bebe pairing at the Boro in Tysons Corner in 2020.
Opening hours for Salt are 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with a 1 a.m. close on Friday and Saturday. It’s closed Sunday. Open Road will open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and close at midnight on Friday. Saturday hours run from 10 a.m. to midnight, and it will open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Sundays.
Salt BWL - Ordered by Tierney Plumb on Scribd