This year saw the opening of many significant event and meeting venues in Washington. Here's a look at the best restaurants, party rooms, hotels, corporate event venues, conference centers, and private rooms to open in 2013. These new and renovated Washington venues can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, business dinners, cocktail parties, conferences, weddings, and more.
Opened in mid-January, Powerhouse is a raw event space with 30-foot ceilings in Georgetown that has become a popular venue for a variety of events. A brick-and-steel structure originally built in 1917, the two-level space has a 6,500-square-foot interior and 3,000-square-foot patio.
Bluejacket, an ambitious craft brewery and its sister restaurant, the Arsenal, from Neighborhood Restaurant Group, opened in late October on the Capitol Riverfront in the renovated historic Boilermaker Building. The Arsenal, located inside the brewery, seats approximately 200 and has a semiprivate area on the second floor that accommodates as many as 20 guests. In the coming months, the brewery will host tours.
Smithsonian's National Postal Museum completed renovations to its historic lobby as well as a major expansion with the new William H. Gross Stamp Gallery in September. The museum now has the world’s largest gallery dedicated to philately. Located next to Union Station, the Beaux-Arts museum’s front exterior is newly accented with a glowing wall of windows illustrated with reproduction of 54 historic United States stamps, plus an outdoor terrace that stretches along Massachusetts Avenue with dramatic views of Capitol Hill. In the lobby, four programmable video screens can display presentations during events. The lobby seats 300 or holds 800 for receptions, while the full museum seats 450 or hosts receptions for 1,100. The museum’s atrium and two small meeting spaces are also available for rental.
Located alongside the C&O Canal, the new 49-room luxury hotel Capella Washington D.C., Georgetown opened in April. The hotel's elegant 70-seat restaurant, the Grill Room, serves organic, seasonal entrées. Its private dining room, the Board Room, seats 16 guests. An outdoor patio holds as many as 30 guests. The hotel's Rye Bar specializes in rare rye whiskey and cocktails. Hotel amenities include an executive boardroom for 14 people and a rooftop pool and bar exclusively for hotel guests with vistas of Georgetown, the Washington Monument, the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, and the Potomac River.
Philadelphia restaurateur Stephen Starr landed in D.C. in April, bringing a bit of Paris to 14th Street with his bistro Le Diplomate, which specializes in classic French dishes. The 200-seat restaurant includes a light-filled Garden room and an outdoor dining area with seats for 60. The bistro’s Francophile decor includes wicker, red awnings, subway tile, antiques, and Tour de France memorabilia.
Dupont Circle lounge Kabin brings alpine Aspen chic to Washington with a 1970s-era ski-culture-inspired interiors. The 3,200-square-foot venue accommodates 250 guests and includes chalet-esque design details like charcoal-finished wood walls, skiing murals, mirrored ceilings, tanned-leather banquettes, herringbone floors, and a virtual fire box.
Salamander Resort and Spa, Sheila C. Johnson's 168-room luxury resort located on 340 acres in Middleburg, Virginia, opened in August. In addition to two restaurants from Equinox's Todd Gray, the resort includes conference and event spaces like the 5,000-square-foot divisible Middleburg ballroom, a 1,800-square-foot Bluemont ballroom, and a 1,000-square-foot hospitality suite with an outdoor terrace, as well as two boardrooms with additional breakout rooms. Events can also be held in the 160-year-old converted Stallion Barn, poolside, or in the culinary gardens. Amenities include a sprawling equestrian program, a spa with 14 treatment rooms, a cooking studio, tennis courts, and walking and biking trails.
Malmaison, a lounge and eatery on the Georgetown waterfront, opened this spring from the owners behind Cafe Bonaparte and Napoleon. The open-concept warehouse space has a sophisticated yet industrial aesthetic with three large garage doors on the façade and a covered outdoor area. The 4,200-square-foot space includes a 1,406-square-foot upper-level bar and lounge area and a 980-square-foot lower-level dining and bar area. The venue holds around 600 for receptions.
Donovan House, the downtown Washington hotel from Kimpton, renovated its rooftop pool deck, DNV Rooftop, in time for summer. With design from GrizForm, the space features dark woods, glass, and chrome and has seating at banquettes, cocktail tables, and a drink rail. Along with the $300,000 renovation, DNV debuted new cocktail and Asian tapas menus. The rooftop holds 100 people for events and can add a satellite bar.
Daikaya Izakaya, the much-anticipated Japanese tavern and grill, opened in Chinatown in late March. Located on the second floor above Daikaya’s more informal, walk-in-only ramen shop, the 90-seat izakaya is available for party packages and partial buyouts. Designed by Edit Lab at Streetsense, the restaurant’s eclectic, layered look includes glazed mosaic tiles, vintage pendant lights, Japanese fabrics, tour bills for Japanese bands, movie posters, and custom manga wallpaper.
