Bar Pilar

Address: 1833 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009

Phone: 202-265-1751

Neighborhood: U Street/Shaw, Logan Circle

Cuisines: Tapas/Small Plates, Modern, American, Breakfast

Opening Hours: Open Monday through Friday for dinner, Saturday and Sunday for brunch and dinner.

Wheelchair Accessible: Yes

Nearby Metro Stops: U St./African-American Civil War Memorial/Cardozo

Price Range: Inexpensive

Dress: Informal

Noise Level: Chatty

Reservations: Not Accepted

Website: Click here to open in new window.

Best Dishes Buttermilk fried chicken; rice and beans with pickled pork; frisee salad with a fried egg; veal-sweetbread piccata.

Price Details: Small plates, $4 to $11.

Special Features:
Wheelchair Accessible

Happy Hour Details:
Monday-Sunday 5:00pm-7:00pm 5:00pm-6:00pm: half-price draft beers 6:00pm-7:00pm: $1 off draft beers

Happy Hour Days:
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays

This Hemingway-inspired den has always taken food as seriously as cocktails. But with chef Justin Bittner at the stoves, the simple small plates--coins of grilled zucchini with olive oil, salt, and pepper; radishes with butter--have made the brick-walled dining room one of the most satisfying in its casual-hangout class.

Bittner dabbles in the trendy offal and charcuterie worlds--fried pigs' ears, a house-made lamb hot dog--but his strength is more familiar comfort food. Meatballs are a blend of lamb, pork, and veal under a blanket of tomato sauce and a shower of pecorino. Chicken gets brined for 24 hours and fried in peanut oil. On the side? Coleslaw and potato salad.

Also good: Recent standouts on the changing menu have been roasted mushrooms with braised leeks; crispy potatoes with malt aïoli; honey-glazed carrots with shallots and thyme; strawberry-rhubarb crumb pie with vanilla ice cream; buttermilk pie with lemon sorbet.

Open Monday through Friday for dinner, Saturday and Sunday for brunch and dinner.