The jealousy I feel whenever I pass this deck is excruciating. I mean, I’m happy for the owners and all but there’s just so much envy. Then I feel bad about coveting it. Anyway, beautiful beautiful deck.
903 N Street, NW
Table opened up at 903 N St, NW back in January. And now they’ve opened the roof deck. It is of the covered variety but still pretty sweet. You can see their menus here. Anyone try them out yet?
Photos courtesy of Josh Berner
Ed. Note: Here is the comprehensive Map of DC’s Rooftop Bars.
From a press release:
Donovan House and Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants are pleased to announce the opening of DNV, an urban rooftop retreat 14 floors above downtown D.C., after a $300,000 revamp. Opening in late May, this newly-updated poolside oasis was reimagined by local design firm, GrizForm, and features stunning views of the Nation’s Capital, framed by sleek dark wood, glass, and chrome. Intimate tables for two and four and inviting lounge seating, upholstered in a soothing shade of green surrounds the pool, creating the perfect setting to join friends and neighbors to sip and savor the new menu of craft cocktails from Zentan’s bar manager Josh Berner and Asian tapas from Executive Chef Jennifer Nguyen in a communal atmosphere. Officially, the name DNV stems from the abbreviation for the Donovan House Hotel and provides a little mystery with being named after former CIA operative Bill Donovan, but informally it also represents a “Damn Nice View.”
Newly appointed Chef Nguyen, from the ground floor restaurant, Zentan, has created a menu of Asian tapas, inspired by her food and cooking style at Zentan. Guests can expect refreshing, shareable plates like Rock Shrimp Tempura, paired with a Kochojun aioli and candied walnuts; Watermelon Salad featuring Maryland blue crab, shaved hearts of palm and pink peppercorns; and Shuimai Dumplings with a pork filling, served with chili ponzu dipping sauce. Nguyen will also feature a shrimp ceviche, with betel leaf, toasted coconut, cashews and grapefruit. In the opening weeks, the food offerings will be limited, but will eventually expand to include the full menu.
Berner’s cocktail menu centers around inventive seasonal refreshments, including his “Tea Lights” – cocktails incorporating freshly brewed teas. Served in glass jars, the Tea Lights include sophisticated combinations such as Basil Hayden bourbon, house-made lemon bitters, and black tea syrup; Beefeater gin infused with citrus-chamomile tea, mixed with Aperol and Blanco Vermouth; and strawberry-infused Tequila Real, combined with lemon juice and verbena-mint tea. Guests can also indulge in a popular British-inspired refresher, Pimm’s Cup, offered on tap. DNV’s bar menu also features a signature spiced rum punch and a specialty punch updated weekly, which will be inspired by fresh flavors of the season. Sangrias and classic cocktails will round out the menu.
Happy hour will be available daily from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m., with special pricing on punches, sangrias, cocktails on tap, frozen beverages and specialty cocktails. Special pricing during happy hour will only apply to single servings of drinks, many of which are also available in shareable options for groups of 4-6 and 8-12 people. For example, happy hour drinks will include Butternuts Pork Slap Ale and Jack’s Cider for $5, select sangria, cocktails on tap and frozen drinks for $6 and spiced rum for $7.
DNV is located at 1155 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC, 20005. Operating hours are Monday to Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. and Saturday to Sunday from 7:00 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Here’s our final awesome roof deck from Columbia Heights:
“The cost was about $15000 (8 years ago) it took about a week to build. The access is an outdoor spiral staircase (which I bought online!) and is on a second floor balcony.”
Going Roof Deck Green (16th Street Heights!) Nestled between a green roof and ten solar PV panels, the deck is the coolest and most mosquito-free space to be on hot summer nights and is the warmest spot on those occasional warm days over winter when sitting out in the sun would normally still be months away. It was added as part of a larger project that included an attic bump up, roof stair access, rear eave extensions and a new metal roof beyond the green roof. The whole project took about five weeks and was competently designed, engineered and well constructed by Noel Design Build based in DC.
You can see Vol. 3 here.
Our roofdeck in Columbia Heights. It took approximately a week to build, and uses a stairwell from the main floor up to a small loft area for access. Instead of using wood, which must be treated and can stress the roof unevenly, it uses VAST composite permeable pavers and Shoreline vinyl railings, which weigh less and are easier to maintain. Because the roof is nearly flat, we have two in-roof drains installed, which carry water under the decking to downspouts.
You can see Vol. 2 here.
Hard to say just how much this cost or how long it took as this was part of a much larger renovation project over a period of several months. The deck occupies the back of our house (a new master bedroom suite that opens to the deck occupies the front half). Heat & sun are major issues so we had a 6′ overhang built out from the roof, and thank goodness we did. We love the deck and since we have direct access from a main living area we get a lot of use out of it.
My husband and I purchased a Columbia Heights row house in 2009 that came with a detached garage but no green space, so we applied for a green roof rebate from the District Department of the Environment and worked with DC Greenworks to design and install a living roof deck on top of our garage. See the attached photos for a look at the garage before and after the roof deck installation.
The 600 square foot living roof deck includes a flagstone seating area (perfect for coffee and mojitos), 300 square feet of perennial beds, an herb garden, extensive sedum ground cover, and a LOT of happy wildlife. This once unused and ugly garage roof is now actively employed as our back yard, while at the same time reducing storm water runoff by nearly 400 gallons in a typical rain storm.
Apply for a green roof rebate from the District Department of the Environment here.
Learn more about DC Greenworks’ green roof design and installation services here.
A readers sends this one from Petworth:
“Finished this on the 4th of July last year, time to watch the awesome PW fireworks. Took 1 week, with 2 people, when it was in the high 90s every day. At night we see bats flying through the big oaks in the alley, eating mosquitos that seem so far away. During the day peregrine falcons swoop down overhead. It’s like another world.”
