Huge indoor/outdoor Park View bar Hook Hall goes all-in on a new theme each season, and is just coming off a summery island oasis. For the first (and hopefully last) pandemic winter, owner Anna Valero is channeling something a little more fierce: a “viking village” decked out with wooden huts, roaring fire pits, pelts, and all the mead you can swill.
“Last year, we had a Swiss chalet theme—but we’re not exactly feeling apres ski,” says Hook Hall owner Anna Valero. “Primal is the best way to describe what we’re feeling right now.”
The outdoor setup is theatrically designed to accommodate a range of prices and small party sizes (max numbers are still limited to six seated guests per area). Patrons can book fire pit seats with blankets for $15, or go all-out and reserve themed huts for $125 that come with a bottle of Champagne, heaters, and retractable curtains. The groups can opt for special food and drink packages filled with items like warm Bavarian pretzels, beef stew, meats and cheeses, and Scandinavian beers. Those looking to stay inside can post up in the lofty interior, transformed into a viking hall.
In addition to immersive viking decor, the a la carte menu reads a little Nordic, a little Renaissance Festival. Behold: a giant smoked turkey leg, which you can wash down with Baltimore’s Charm City Mead in a massive horn-shaped cup. You’ll also find smoked seafood, cauldrons of mulled wine, forager-inspired salads, and three sizes of specialty drinking vessels that one can take home: a wooden tankard ($24), a viking mug ($36), and a drinking horn with a decorative stand ($42). And since we all know the seafaring Norse tribes were big on brunch, there’s that on weekends.
Viking Village at Hook Hall. 3400 Georgia Ave., NW
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.
