Inside the visually stunning Wilson Hardware
Newly minted Wilson Hardware (2915 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va.) in Clarendon held a pregame celebration for National Vodka Day on Tuesday, and Parklife DC took the opportunity to sip a few drinks appropriate for the observance!
Owner Faris Ghareeb congenially hosted a party where the drink of the day was Wilson Hardware’s “Screw Him” with vodka, lychee, hibiscus, lemon, champagne, and marjoram. Undoubtedly folks are lining up already since Wilson Hardware’s opening on Sept. 9 for this absolutely delicious vodka and champagne cocktail (even if the name sounds a bit like you’re telling someone to get lost)!
Screw Him
Working with the design firm Swatchroom, Faris and his three partners have unveiled a delightfully beautiful space in which to drink cocktails. It has a large papier-mâché mural on one wall, an exposed brick design on another, and beautifully light chandeliers designed especially for the kitchen and bar, which encompasses 7,000 square feet! Those amazing chandeliers, with a hint of art deco in a post-modern design, truly make the room.
Jay Gatsby would have killed to throw a party in this place. The main room is dominated by a massive bar and a 16-person seating area. Another small group of people can relax in the smaller mezzanine lounge.
Owner Faris Ghareeb (left) and Wilson Hardware’s General Manager
For the best lounge experience, visit the patio, where banquette seating awaits around the corner from Wilson Blvd. You are still exposed to the sun and air in the heart of Clarendon without having to see or hear the traffic along Wilson. The rooftop bar stretches 17 feet and includes two flat-screen televisions.
Rooftop
You can have a full dining experience at Wilson Hardware, named for a hardware shop once at the location from the ‘60s until 2005 (whenabouts Irish pub Ri Ra inhabited the space). You can choose from bar bites such as Hardware fritters, crab dip, and panzerotti — crisp-fried pizza dough stuffed with cheeses and marinara sauce. We tried all three and we couldn’t get enough of the fritters, which were spicy and yummy. You may want to save some appetite for the panzerotti, however, as they are quite addictive and easy to eat.
A full menu also offers burgers, steak frites, salmon, and more. We plan to go back for the free-range chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, white truffle sauce, with mashed potatoes and asparagus.
But it’s really those lovely cocktails including the “Aisle” — consisting of rye whiskey, meletti, pineapple, lemon, and ginger — that win the day. That was our kind of drink! Hats off to Danilo Mihajlovic and Radovan Jankovic of UNIKO Consulting for designing the cocktail menu.
For more information, including a full cocktail list, dinner menu, and *happy hour* specials, visit www.wilsonhardwareva.com.
Parklife DC visited Wilson Hardware at the invitation of the bar to check it out! If you would like Parklife DC to visit your hospitality space, email us at parklifedc@gmail.com.