Bar Pilar Bar / Restaurant

U Street Corridor, Washington, DC –

A Hemingway-inspired haunt in the heart of the bustling U Street Corridor, Bar Pilar is a go-to neighborhood hotspot for its hipster-heavy regulars who come for small plates, strong drinks, and lots of “Ernest” references.

Exposed pipes and glass chandeliers hover above the groups of laid-back young professionals who crowd the narrow dining area, surrounded by the motley collection of hanging mermaids, swordfish, and vintage posters that covers much of the ruddy yellow walls.

Those lucky enough to snag a seat – a monumental task most Friday and Saturday nights – dine on an always-rotating menu of tapas-style American cuisine like crispy duck confit, pork roll with eggs, and exotic mushrooms.

Tattooed urbanites and blazer-clad professionals unite at the dining room’s long copper bar, where they test their wits by matching the paintings of matadors and captains’ hats to their respective Hemingway novels.

Next to a crumbling exposed brick wall toward the back, a large portrait of the famed author watches over the bustle, as if to subtly remind patrons sipping Bar Pilar’s signature bacon Bloody Marys that “an intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.”