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Barmini, Cocktail Bar Attached to Minibar with Beautiful, Modern Decor, Great Cocktails, and Excellent Bar Snacks


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A few thoughts on my visit last night to barmini:

  • The price issue is a bit overblown. I believe that every drink ordered by anyone in our party last night (group of four) was $14 or $15. This is certainly expensive, but also very much in line with Fiola, Bourbon Steak, the Willard's Round Robin Bar, and many other "high end" spots.
  • They are in the process of transitioning from "reservations required" to a "reservations recommended" policy. I believe this is because they've found that going on reservations alone they're not keeping the place as consistently filled as they'd like. Last night, for example, the place was full (you must have a seat to be there, so the place was certainly not crowded or overwhelmingly full) when we arrived at 7 pm, but by the time we left a little after 9 pm it was at most half full. Our host indicated that, similarly, later in the evening on weekends it was also very possible to secure a seat for a post-dinner drink.
  • You're supposed to ring the buzzer five times for them to let you in. I have no idea why.
  • The menu, at 100 drinks in total, encompassing about half classic cocktails and about half inventions or riffs that they are working on, is way too big. Our bartender admitted as much, and said that he wished they would cut it down substantially, but this is what the owners wanted. Mitigating this somewhat, however, is the fact that the bartenders wait on you, whether or not you're sitting at the bar (seemed to be limited to groups of two or three). And they really know their stuff, helping you to navigate through the many choices, or to take you off menu if you so desire. While this was certainly helpful, I know that at least one of our party of four was so overwhelmed by the sheer size of the menu that it took away from the overall experience.
  • barmini makes really great drinks. Among the best in the entire city. They use great ingredients, including great ice. every drink that came to our table was perfectly balanced, and the bartenders are really fantastic.
  • The bar snacks available are good, although I don't believe you can put together a full meal out of them (or at least we weren't able, YMMV). The grilled cheese sandwich, which was bread stuffed with blue cheese, Cowgirl Creamery's Mt. Tam and truffles was ridiculously good. The "bagels and cream cheese," which is the tiny ice cream cone filled with cream cheese and salmon roe that anybody who's been to minibar would recognize is good, but probably not worth the price tag. The pork rinds are pretty fantastic.

Anyhow, I'd definitely stop back in for a drink.

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I wish. This, actually, was the only off thing about the evening from my perspective. Unlike some faux speakeasy places they do have a sign (understated though it may be). But the door is locked, and our instructions were to ring five times. To be fair, we didn't test things out by only ringing the buzzer one, two or three times (or six!).

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I've been to barmini twice, and I missed the instructions about ringing five times. The first time (soon after they opened), I rang once and someone answered immediately. The second time (a couple of weeks ago), I rang maybe 3 times? Someone still answered the door. The doorbell translates into a flashing light in the main room so a possible explanation for the request to ring five times is that it could take a few times for a staff person to see the flashing light.

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The doorbell translates into a flashing light in the main room so a possible explanation for the request to ring five times is that it could take a few times for a staff person to see the flashing light.

Either that, or it's a variation on the Milgram experiment.

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I've been to barmini twice, and I missed the instructions about ringing five times. The first time (soon after they opened), I rang once and someone answered immediately. The second time (a couple of weeks ago), I rang maybe 3 times? Someone still answered the door. The doorbell translates into a flashing light in the main room so a possible explanation for the request to ring five times is that it could take a few times for a staff person to see the flashing light.

This makes sense to me. There was a couple there ahead of us waiting when we arrived, they had just rang once and nobody had come to the door. We rang the required (suggested?) five times and somebody answered immediately.

For what it's worth, the host recommended that in the future if we don't want to plan so far in advance we either check the website (City Eats) the day of for last minute cancellations, or just stop in and see if something might be available.

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Please, oh please, tell me you're kidding.

Sadly, I don't think you are.

Be glad it's not someone leaning against the wall reading a paper who says out loud, never taking his eyes off the page: "The hummingbirds have arrived", to which you're supposed to reply "The glaciers are melting" before being granted admittance.

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Walked in tonight, three months after being kicked out of a near-empty bar (somewhat comically) when we walked in during their "reservation only" period. We were seated right away on the infamous "cactus couch" (which reputedly cost as much as a car). We received two small dark and stormy-like "amuse" cocktails (free) when we sat down. We ordered a Caipirinha (a refined version, but tasted identical to the original) and a Brooklyn cocktail, which were $24 total with tax and tip. It's not cheap, but not out of line with every other decent place in DC these days, and the free amuse made it a respectable deal. The room is gorgeous if you like modern design, and the service was friendly. This is a great place to wander into if you like cocktails (the list is huge), but they're not doing anything Earth-shattering.

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Walked in tonight, three months after being kicked out of a near-empty bar (somewhat comically) when we walked in during their "reservation only" period. We were seated right away on the infamous "cactus couch" (which reputedly cost as much as a car). We received two small dark and stormy-like "amuse" cocktails (free) when we sat down. We ordered a Caipirinha (a refined version, but tasted identical to the original) and a Brooklyn cocktail, which were $24 total with tax and tip. It's not cheap, but not out of line with every other decent place in DC these days, and the free amuse made it a respectable deal. The room is gorgeous if you like modern design, and the service was friendly. This is a great place to wander into if you like cocktails (the list is huge), but they're not doing anything Earth-shattering.

I was at BarMini on Sunday evening, and was immensely impressed. Jeffrey John Barrientos (of CityZen) is a charismatic AGM, and the talented, unheralded, and completely, unjustifiably shafted Johnny Spero is doing the petits fours. We had that same cocktail, about ten others, and a bunch of food that ranged from excellent to outstanding - I haven't been to the new MiniBar yet, but BarMini is *by far*, and I mean, *no* *comparison*, my favorite ThinkFoodGroup establishment (not including the obvious next-door neighbor which, yes, I need to try again (well, so much for that round-trip ticket to Paris)). The drinks are *not* that expensive - certainly not what the unfair, initial reputation was made out to be - the interior is beautiful, and the food is not getting the press it deserves.

This is going to jolt people to the point of involuntary defecation, but the cocktails are BarMini are a much better value than the wildly overpriced page of luxury liquors (some of which are not all that luxurious) at the ... are you ready for this? ... at the Merrifield Matchbox.

Yes, I just said that, and if you don't believe me, then go and see for yourselves, and do use the restroom before leaving home.

About the buzzer: it's a tongue-in-cheek joke. The sign says (I don't remember the exact words) to push it enthusiastically and many times, as if you're excited to be coming in. I like it!

Forget all the early posts in this thread, including my own which were admittedly dismissive, and focus on the posts by people who have been - the title has been changed (for now) to reflect the unanimous opinion (for now) of our members who have tried BarMini. I don't see how it would be possible not to have fun here unless you were in a really crummy mood. Yes, it's expensive, but it's not *that* expensive, and I think it's money well-spent on a quality product. The "amuse-aperitif" (I guess that's what you'd call it) really sets the tone for a great evening, and is a thoughtful touch surely designed to get people primed and in a good mood - and it works.

Sooner or later, BarMini will get a bad review, maybe because it's gone downhill, or maybe because someone feels it's just too much money or too much pretense. At that point, I'll change things to reflect our members' opinions as a whole. If you've thought about trying it, I suggest going now and not waiting.

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I was kicked out of Barmini shortly after it opened, and I can personally attest that it was the pretentious nightmare that everyone feared an/or preemptively mocked. It was a different place tonight, and fun -- in an understated sort of way. But I read the cocktail list rather deeply, and they aren't doing ANYTHING new. It's more that there are . . . so . . . many . . . of . . . them. And it's a great room.

I want to go back, both for the excellent cocktails and for the food. which I didn't try.

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I believe that I went once right when they were starting to transition from "Reservations Only" to "Reservations Possible." The feeling I got from talking with the manager as he was describing how they were just starting to take walk-ins was twofold. One, that they wanted to be able to control the number of people coming in when they first started to make sure they were putting out the quality of product that they wanted; and two, that they didn't believe that they would be able to keep the room as consistently full as they would like with only reservations.

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I was there recently for a birthday celebration and thought it was great fun. I agree that the drinks weren't any pricier than anywhere else in town (which my two kids- who know this far better than I- confirmed. I thoroughly enjoyed the banh mi burger and the grilled cheese. Extra bonus was getting a chance to chat with Johnny Spero, who was cooking in MiniBar but passed through. I would happily go back for cocktails and to sample more of the snacks.

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Attached is a picture of the food section of the menu that I took earlier this week (I think I was there the same night as RWBooneJr! And, like him I think, I went to NoPa that night too!). The sweets section of the menu is different from when they first opened.

The banh mi burger used to be served in a cute fast food type cardboard box, but at some point they switched so it now comes wrapped with a paper band instead.

post-889-0-79936200-1372545090_thumb.jpg

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I was at BarMini on Sunday evening, and was immensely impressed. Jeffrey John Barrientos (of CityZen) is a charismatic AGM, and the talented, unheralded, and completely, unjustifiably shafted Johnny Spero is doing the petits fours...

Jeffrey Barrientos has left Barmini/Minibar to go to the upcoming Eno Wine Bar at the Four Seasons in Georgetown (EaterDC article).

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I went to barmini this week.  They have some new drinks on their cocktail menu including a pumpkin flip and a pumpkin manhattan.

I had the caipirinha which was frozen into a soft sorbet consistency using liquid nitrogen.  I also had the pumpkin flip (pumpkin bourbon, allspice, dram, maple syrup, Galliano, and egg).  Both were great.  I also had the mini banh mi burger again.  It was as delicious as before, and this time it was served in the little cardboard burger box.

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5 and a half years later.  Admittedly I haven't been to barMini, as all in all I'm not a cocktail hound, though I have downed my fair share.

I did recently speak with a grad of the Arlington Bar school who has worked there and MiniBar in the not too distant past:  (now working elsewhere).

Interestingly he said the places are consistently busy.  Mini Bar is completely full virtually every evening with 3 full seatings.  BarMini is virtually always busy.  He further described it in sort of working conditions/bar language.  Reviewing the comments above; there were not many commentators who seemed to set foot in BarMini, but those that did universally enjoyed and spoke well of it. 

Evidently a healthy number of people are going there...they just aren't writing about it here.   The bartender with whom I spoke was always and consistently busy.

(Oh...and he enjoyed it)

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