Columbia Room

I went to the Columbia Room to celebrate a friend's birthday.  As other reviewers have noted, the atmosphere is incredible.  It's very relaxing and intimate.  There's a bar with 10 seats and a table with 3 seats--and you must make a reservation in advance.  You can do a la carte or prix fixe ($69 per person, including tax and tip).  We opted for the latter.

We were greeted and seated promptly, and our bartender immediately started making drinks.  There were three rounds: a gin rickey (made with a simple syrup with raspberries and served in a glass punch cup), their take on the caipirinha (they used clarified lemon juice, a product achieved by mixing the lemon juice with agar agar, which attaches to the lemon particles, and then straining it), and then choose-your-own.  Each one of us got our own drink, but I'm only going to talk about mine because it was the best drink I've ever had.  The bartender made me a Silver Gin Fizz with Hayman's Old Tom Gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, egg whites, and soda water.  It was the creamiest drink I've ever had, and yet fizzy at the same time.  I loved it!  

My friends all got different drinks through different descriptions.  The birthday girl said she wanted bourbon or St. Germaine.  Another friend said she liked citrus drinks.  Ultimately, they were all fantastic and adapted to our tastes.

One note: you really do leave hungry (hence the four stars).  The prix fixe menu includes only two tasting plates.  For us, one plate of shrimp ceviche (enough to cover two chips, literally, just two little chips on the plate) and a cup of delicious green olives.  They called the second plate a charcuterie plate, but I didn't see any meat.  They give you the option of ordering snacks (things like almonds and pickles), but you can't order off The Passenger menu.  The snacks were delicious, and I understand that the focus is on drinks--but let's face it.  I was probably going to go home and order Chinese food anyway.

Very cool ambiance & great bartenders.

This was quite possibly, by a fair margin, the best bar experience I've had in D.C. since I've been here.

I was familiar with the Columbia Room already, having been to the Passenger and reading food-and-drink blogs and articles about the city. The place kept popping up as an example of a great experience. A friend of mine was in the city this past week for work, so I thought capping the week off here would be fun and memorable.

First off, I want to congratulate myself for picking the correct door. It's way in the back, totally unmarked and with no signage. I knocked at first and then opened it, and we found ourselves in the little waiting room outside the bar. The host-bartender took note of our reservations and offered us water while we waited for the last seating to finish up. (Our reservations were at 11.)

The bar area is softly lit, with just about 10 chairs at the main bar and a few high-top tables behind. A few people were there for the tasting menu and others, like us, were there for a la carte. I'm planning to do the tasting menu eventually, just to say I did, but if you're comfortable with your alcohol preferences and want more control over your drinks, I recommend getting a la carte. It's no problem as long as you make a note of it online when you book.

The bartender, Matt, came over to us and asked what we were in the mood for. My friend asked for bourbon and I requested something with rum. And that was it; the guy nodded and was off and mixing. It's so amazing to be able to pick a type of liquor, a flavor profile or even a place or concept and be given something delicious. When you receive each drink, you're given a description of what it is, what's in it, how it's made and any particular story associated with it.

We were able to look at the ingredients in our drinks, the bottles of spirits and the bitters that went with them. My drink with rum ended up being a Getaway, and it had the most complex molasses flavor. I'm not normally a fan of molasses, but this was excellent. The rum was the darkest I've ever seen.

For our second drinks, my friend ordered a modified take on a Manhattan (yes, it came with a cherry) that had a lovely cherry-vanilla profile. I requested bourbon this time and was presented with a Gold Rush, delightfully citrus-y and smooth as butter. That's how I'd describe everything, and my friend noted it as he sipped on his bourbon drink (whose name eludes me but he liked it) -- "It's so smooth."

He bowed out after the Manhattan but I completed the hat trick. This time, instead of asking for a specific liquor, I asked the bartender to make me something like London. He smiled and said he had just the thing. He came back with something called a Meadow Zen, which had gin (of course, but as he explained it wasn't too dry), some citrus notes, honey and the barest hint of chamomile. It was meant to approximate tea and by golly it did. My friend also stole a few sips of it.

When we were done after about an hour and a half (you're allotted two hours), we stepped back into the waiting room, used the bar's private restroom (a nice touch and much appreciated) and paid up. It was quick, not fussy at all and, like everything else, smooth. Then we were out the door and back into the parallel universe of the Passenger. If you were in one area of the building, you'd never know the other even existed.

If you appreciate quality drinks and the process that goes into them (this is not a place to get a vodka cranberry or a can of beer), this place is a must-visit. It does not come cheap, but you get what you pay for. The speakeasy vibe with the back door and reservations just added to the mystique. It's more of a date place but would absolutely work for small groups of friends, four being an ideal group size.