I Spy Zola

This D.C. restaurant offers a perfect spot to rendezvous with friends or dine with your own James Bond.

By now you've probably heard that there's a swanky restaurant next door to D.C.'s popular International Spy Museum. You may have even considered stopping by to check out the buzz. Here's all you really need to know about Zola. It's exactly the kind of place you would expect to find James hanging out with a Bond girl.

Located in D.C.'s trendy Penn Quarter area, Zola boasts influential neighbors including the National Portrait Gallery, MCI Center, and Hotel Monaco. It has garnered an impressive list of awards since opening in late 2002, becoming an instant hot spot for celebrities and politicians. The restaurant's bar has even gained status as a local watering hole, a place to see and be seen.

A Is for Attitude

One of the things that makes dining at Zola so satisfying is the ambience. It's sleek and modern, sophisticated without being stuffy. Instead of being over the top, the restaurant's decor merely hints at the world inhabited by spies and double agents.

Wall dividers feature shadowy figures from old movies. Light fixtures project secret codes on the walls. Portals in the floor let you peek into the Spy Museum's gift shop. Declassified government documents have even been transformed into artwork.

The best seats in the house are the coveted red-velvet booths, each offering diners a view of the kitchen. They're cushy, spacious, and more comfortable than the stand-alone tables that sit a little too close together. Those in the know arrive just a tad early, leaving time to linger in the restaurant's trendy bar. Specialty cocktails include the Spy-Tini (a blend of vodka and mandarin Napoleon brandy with a twist of orange) and the Zola (a lethal mixture of vodka, Citronge, white cranberries, and crushed limes).

Simple Menu, Satisfying Taste

Chef Frank Morales dubs his menu "straightforward American cuisine," which seems a tad ironic because spying is anything but straightforward. Still, the offerings on both the lunch and dinner menus are solid and often quite tasty. The wine list, perhaps the most impressive part of the menu, wows with more than 250 selections.

At lunch, the handmade hamburger arrives on a sweet potato roll. A seemingly simple grilled ham-and-cheese sandwich features smoked Gouda and Drunken Mayonnaise. The meat loaf, made with veal and wild mushrooms, comes wrapped in bacon.

Dinner entrees tend toward comfort foods, such as pork chops and herb-roasted chicken. The sides are simple, too, with twice-creamed corn, green beans with crispy onions, and a smack-your-mama dish called Really Buttery Mashed Potatoes. Be sure to save room for dessert. The warm-from-the-kitchen pineapple upsidedown cake and Chocolate Fondue for 2 served with marshmallow-crisp rice cereal treats, cookie dough, and fruit are worth the splurge.

CASSANDRA M. VANHOOSER

Zola: 800 F Street NW., Washington, DC 20004; (202) 654-0999 or www.zoladc.com. Lunch entrees: $6-$ 17. Dinner entrees: $7-$24.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation May 2004
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