This Dupont Circle Wine Bar Is Back With a Swanky Speakeasy | Eater DC
"The Roman emperor–themed wine bar and lounge has reopened in a new Dupont Circle space that opened in September, with a big patio out front and a full event space upstairs that fits up to 60 people. Pieces of the original operation appear on the main floor, including the same floating orb light fixtures casting warm light off a shining copper bar, while more upscale touches such as marble tabletops and comfy upholstered booths have been added. The food menu blends reimagined favorites—tandoori chicken pops, pizzas, and a creamy burrata platter—with new dishes like sausage-and-pepper–studded gnocchi and grilled octopus served on a white bean salad. The self-serve wine dispensers, where patrons use a rechargeable tab card to choose different-sized pours of rare and expensive wines, live in the rentable upstairs space alongside extra tables and a small bar that will host DJ sets on weekends when it’s not booked. The three-story venue also hides a speakeasy accessed by a secret door downstairs carved out of the painted brick exterior; an out-of-place water spigot functions as a secret door handle, swinging open to a candle-lit cocktail lounge with original aged brick walls. Sabina, named after the emperor’s second wife, is filled with plush warm-toned chairs and couches, golden vintage mirrors, and alcoves filled with waxy layers of candles. The speakeasy's cocktail menu was created by John Sinclair, a bartender from the national Death and Co. who "touched down in D.C. last year"; Sinclair, who began his bartending career at the original location, remembers "building up that confidence behind a bar." He’s producing drinks such as a fig-and-thyme–flavored whiskey sour, a watermelon Lambrusco spritz, and a chai espresso martini, and he’s also experimenting with clarified and smoked drinks on the new menu, which really diverge from the kinds of drinks served at Death and Co. As Sinclair puts it, "For me, it’s about having the agency to produce a single cocktail and put everything into telling a whole story in one drink," and "And here was an opportunity to kind of have a little bit more of ebb and flow and have different styles of drinks, and play with the structure a bit more." The speakeasy operates Thursday through Saturday from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.; the wine bar opens at 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and offers brunch 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends." - Emily Venezky
