Food

5 Things to Look for at Upcoming Cocktail Bar Twisted Horn

Mac 'n' cheese fritters and a patio for roasting marshmallows come to Petworth.

A new bar is headed to Petworth, thanks to Jamie Leeds, the chef/owner of Hank’s Oyster Bar in Dupont, Alexandria, and Capitol Hill. The cocktail-and-snack spot is slated to open in the spring of this year. Here’re a few early details about the watering hole.

Chef Jamie Leeds will open Petworth bar Twisted Horn. Photograph courtesy of Hank’s Oyster Bar.

A big patio with live fire: Everyone loves to drink outdoors. There’s a roomy patio planned for 40 revelers, which will be equipped with a wood-burning fire pit for roasting marshmallows and cozying up to in cooler weather.

Drinks with unusual ingredients: Barkeep Megan Coyle, who’s also behind the beverages at Hank’s Dupont, already has cocktails in mind for the opening list. While bourbon on the rocks is always an option, more unusual concoctions include a mezcal-based libation with orange-oil jam, a whole egg, and saffron, or another mixed with gin, port, and Scandinavian Fernet.

Escargot on a stick: Leeds goes old-school-with-a-twist for the small bites menu. Think mac ‘n’ cheesy fritters, tuna-melt crostini, and herb-puff snails on a stick. There will also be more straightforward cheese and charcuterie boards. Neighboring businesses like Gordy’s Pickle Jar and Qualia Coffee will have products on the menu.

A religious fun-fact: The 40-seat space was once a church, but is being redesigned with industrial touches and plenty of candles. Local designers Lauren Winter and Brian Miller of Edit Lab at Streetsense (behind Daikaya, Red Hen, and many more) are in charge of creating the look.

Late-night, every night: The bar will be open seven days a week, welcoming drinkers from 5 to 2 nightly.

Food Editor

Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.