Duke’s Counter, 3000 Connecticut Ave., NW.
What’s better than seeing the new giant pandas at the Zoo? Seeing the new giant pandas at the Zoo and having a Panda-Colada. On Friday, January 10–the day bears Bao Li and Qing Bao go on view to Zoo members—Woodley Park gastropub Duke’s Counter will debut its panda-themed pop-up, Bamboo Bar. Also on the menu: “Bao-zy” hot chocolate with cayenne and Amaretto, a bamboo mule, and some kid-friendly drinks, too.
The bar will be decked out as a proper panda’s paradise, adorned with floor-to-ceiling forest backdrops, a ton of bamboo, and a neon panda eating a burger. Some drinks will arrive in custom-made panda-themed glassware.
Duke’s managing partner Daniel Kramer says planning for the bar started immediately after the Zoo’s May announcement that a new set of bears would soon be on the way from China:“We knew that we wanted to have a big welcoming party and a full embrace of the pandas and everything they mean in the city.”
The Bamboo Bar will be open during Duke’s Counter’s regular hours—Monday through Thursday from 11:30 AM to 9 PM; Saturday from 10 AM to 10 PM; and Sunday from 10 AM to 9 PM—and run indefinitely. The bamboo theme stops at food: the restaurant will serve its regular menu (including its tasty burgers).
