He’s hosted nearly 240 episodes of “Bar Rescue,” first on Spike TV, now on Paramount+.
On Thursday night, Jon Taffer hosts a special ribbon-cutting for the grand opening of Taffer’s Tavern near Capitol One Arena in the Gallery Place-Chinatown area.
“I could line up the red carpet if I wanted to, but that’s not my style,” Taffer told WTOP. “I’m gonna cut the ribbon, let our customers in, then I’m gonna go all around the restaurant, shake everybody’s hands, meet as many people as I can and welcome everyone.”
The tavern is located near Bar Deco at 700 6th St. NW where Penn Commons closed in 2019. It’s the third Taffer’s Tavern location. The original opened in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta, Georgia. The second is in the Boston suburb of Watertown, Massachusetts.
“We love D.C., it’s a great restaurant town,” Taffer said. “It’s just a great part of the city, it has a vibrancy and an energy to it that we really, really love. … As a Vegas guy, I still have a little tough feelings about the Caps — you guys creamed us in that Stanley Cup!”
The interior features “colorful fabrics, bricks, a lot of woods, very high-end finishes,” Taffer said. “Everything is customized from the booths to the chairs to the stools to the bar tops, all the custom woodwork. You’ll see a video wall with curated video content throughout the tavern. … Our music system is highly curated both in beats per minute and dynamics.”
As for the menu, Taffer wants to “provide a $75 dining experience for half the price,” insisting, “Our short rib is to die for, our fish and chips are to die for, we have one of the finest Au Jus beef sandwiches in the country. … We have some great pastas, we have a salmon to die for. Probably my favorite appetizer on the menu is our pork belly.”
While he insists that the menu looks, feels and tastes upscale, Taffer wants the experience to feel accessible. “We’re not trendy, so we don’t throw goat cheese on veal Parmesan. We like mainstream foods, mainstream products, mainstream flavor profiles,” he said.
As for drinks, “our cocktails are as beautiful and well-presented as any you’ve seen: the colors, the bubbles, the smoking, all of the garnishing,” Taffer said. “Our cocktail program is outstanding and we believe will rapidly become recognized as the best in the city.”
Listen to our full conversation here.
