Solset, a new rooftop bar in Clarendon, has opened for business this week, joining the neighborhood’s bustling happy hour scene.
The bar, situated atop the new “supper club“-inspired restaurant, The Boulevard, offers cocktails and “modern American food with a little bit of Asian fusion,” co-owner Nico Karagounis told ARLnow. The restaurant and bar replaced Wilson Hardware, refreshing the 8,000-square-foot space at 2915 Wilson Blvd with a revamped interior and new menu.
The rooftop is introducing a new happy hour from 4-7 p.m. daily with $10 appetizers, $5 beers and a $10 watermelon-topped margarita sandia, made with blanco tequila, Cointreau, watermelon and lime.
The beverage program is directed by Glendon Hartley, known for venues including Service Bar and Amazonia in the District. Cocktails start at $14, including the matcha coco, made with blanco tequila, Cointreau and matcha, topped with a coconut lime whip and matcha dusting. The bar also pours sake, wines, beer and a zero-proof watermelon paloma.
These are joined on the rooftop menu by a variety of appetizers, sushi rolls, salads and entrees, including fried chicken bao buns, grilled octopus and the Boulevard Burger, topped with taleggio cheese, caramelized onions, shititake mushrooms and a black garlic sauce.
Solset can seat about 60 guests on the rooftop, which is covered by a retractable awning. It’s connected by stairs to a lower-level patio along Garfield Street, which opens next week.
Below Solset, The Boulevard opened late last month, offering a larger selection of starters and entrees with similar fusion flair. Dishes include a selection of maki and sushi, as well as a beetroot risotto, pork chop milanese and cavatelli with king mushrooms.
Created by prolific D.C. nightlife entrepreneur Antonis Karagounis, the restaurant aims to bring “D.C. energy into a sophisticated, but lively and fun Arlington setting,” with plans to host DJs on the weekends.
“It’s not a nightclub, dance floor kind of a situation,” Antonis Karagounis previously told ARLnow. “[It’s] more of, like, a supper club vibe, where it’s dinner and goes into a DJ later on, and people can hang out and get their cocktails and some food, some appetizers.”
Solset is open 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday, 11:30-2 a.m. Saturday and 11:30-1 a.m. Sunday. Below, The Boulevard is open from 5 p.m. to midnight Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and 5 p.m.-2 a.m. Friday and Saturday.
