I’ve been looking forward to The Hilltop, the bar and restaurant coming to 2737 Sherman Ave NW: it’s from two guys from the Saloon, the relaxed beer spot on U Street with a focus on beer and wine, but it’s been a few years in the making.
Other blogs reported in 2013 that it would be open in a month, and since then we’ve heard about permit issues and delays, which are normal when it comes to restaurants. We also heard they would open in September, but no dice.
Some folks were worried it might not open, but I talked to co-owner Sam Jahanbeen about the spot, and he said they’re aiming at Spring 2016 for opening. It sounds like they’re on the home stretch, Jahanbeen said they have their liquor and zoning permits and are just working on their kitchen. They’ll spend the winter developing and testing their food menu.
According to their liquor license, heir hours will be 10am-1am Sun-Wed, 10am-2am Thurs-Sat, which suggests to me they’ll have brunch. The outdoor areas will be 10am-11pm every day.
Judging from their Facebook, the inside looks pretty far along.
They’ll be beer and wine focused, with probably most being American and European, and they’re working on their food menu, which will be casual and American-focused. There’s 36 seats inside and 40+ outside.
Jahanbeen is the nephew of the owner of the Saloon and his co-owner Kaleabe Getaneh is a long-time waiter and manager there, and a super nice guy. With that kind of bar pedigree, this place sounds like a great addition.
If you haven’t been, the Saloon on U Street is a relaxed German and Belgian-beer bar, a great place to have a conversation with friends. They also raise money and close down every year to build schools, which is pretty cool.
The before and after of the building is pretty nice too: it was a vacant building for a long time.
I’m looking forward to this spot, and hope they’re on track to open then.
