Two Nine

Two Nine at 1218 31st Street NW is on the 31st Street Georgetown dining block, in the section between M Street and the C and O Canal that has developed a concentration of restaurants and bars including Moby Dick House of Kabob, Bar a Vin, Chez Billy Sud, and Il Canale. The bar and restaurant at this address serves the 31st Street neighborhood dining community with the American bar format that complements the French and Italian fine dining that the block’s other restaurants provide.

The name Two Nine references the street number in the way that many urban bars and restaurants use the address as the name: the number is immediate, local, and identifies the place with precision. On the 31st Street block where the other restaurants tend toward the named and concept-driven format, the number name gives Two Nine a casual, street-level identity that distinguishes it from its neighbors.

The American bar format at Two Nine serves the 31st Street dining community with the drinks and the bar food that the neighborhood bar provides alongside the dining destination restaurants of the same block. For the customer who wants a drink before or after dinner at one of the 31st Street restaurants, or who wants the less formal American bar option rather than the French or Italian restaurant, Two Nine is the 31st Street gathering place in the casual register.

The 31st Street address runs between M Street above and the canal-adjacent K Street below, giving Two Nine access to the M Street foot traffic from the commercial district and the canal-level pedestrian traffic from the towpath and the waterfront park.

Hours run from 4pm weekdays and noon on weekends with late closing on Friday and Saturday. The 31st Street block where Two Nine operates has developed a character that is different from both the M Street commercial strip and the residential streets further into Georgetown. The canal proximity, the Federal-period residential buildings that line the street, and the concentration of dining and bar establishments make 31st Street one of the more specifically Georgetown street experiences in the neighborhood. The bar format at Two Nine provides the 31st Street dining community with the casual alternative to the fine dining that the block’s French and Italian restaurants supply. For the Georgetown customer who wants a drink and a light meal rather than the three-course dinner that Chez Billy Sud or Il Canale provides, Two Nine is the 31st Street option in the casual register. The cocktail program at a Georgetown bar of this type serves the customer who wants quality without ceremony: the well-made old fashioned, the gin and tonic with quality tonic, and the seasonal cocktail that uses the bartender’s current creative interest. The 31st Street setting, adjacent to the canal-level Georgetown that has a different character from M Street, creates the context for the bar evening that feels like the neighborhood rather than the commercial strip. The weekend brunch service at Two Nine from noon expands the 31st Street dining option into the midday period. Hours run from 4pm weekdays and noon on weekends.