This weekend a few friends and I checked out Park View Patio, a new bar that replaced the Blue Banana sports bar at 3632 Georgia Avenue NW, between the Looking Glass Lounge and DC Reynolds.
The bar has new owners and a new feel -- there are still a number of TVs, but the inside is a bit more hip with dark colors and mirrors. The main attraction to me though is the back patio, which is huge and filled with picnic tables. The Blue Banana never really utilized their patio area, while Park View Patio has expanded all the way back to the alley (the same depth as DC Reynolds) and took over the next door lot's back area. It's massive, with two bars, and I think it would be great for springtime. I chatted with Scott, one of the owners, and he said they also plan to install a 40 foot retractable tent with clear ceiling, plus heaters, so it could be a good place for the cold weather as well.
As for food, they're currently working on finding a chef and finalizing their selections, but they will have a full kitchen. They might work with a chef or two who has experience from various Food Network TV shows, like Diners, Drive-ins and Dives or one guy who won a show called Cutthroat Kitchen, but it's still up in the air. For now they'll have various food trucks or food vendors -- when we were there, they had Green Eggs Burger's truck set up in the back (you can see that above.)
They'll be open Thursday-Sunday at first and will have buy one-get one free happy hours from 6-9pm each of those days.
The interior space is similar to when it was the Blue Banana, though it looks more open -- they took out the wall that was on the side when you come in. They plan to have DJs often and I get the feeling it'll still be a good place to watch football on Saturdays and Sundays or other sporting events since they still have the TVs.
The owners also own a couple of places in Georgetown and Cleveland Park called George, Mason Inn and Capitale, with which I'm not familiar. Apparently George is members only, but Park View Patio sounds more laid-back than the other spots. Scott also mentioned that he didn't think competition between the bars in the area was a bad thing -- if anything, they have different themes and the more places, the more people will come to the area. I agree with that.
It'll be interesting to see how Park View Patio develops, and nice to see something replace the Blue Banana -- which I sort of liked, but it never really had an identity aside from a place to watch games. The patio and food should change that for this new place. It's a similar idea to DC Reynolds though, so we'll see.
What do you think? Excited? There are a few more photos below.
The inside
The second outdoor bar (third total) to be opened in big crowds. That's DC Reynolds through the slats.
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