Come to the dark side – we have cocktails. Share a drink with Darth Vader while watching sexy Rebel Pilot dance at the Star Wars bar, The Dark Side, located on H Street NE in Washington D.C. Now is the perfect time to go on a fun costume adventure since Star Wars Last Jedi is now in theaters. Plus, who doesn’t want to play with Darth Vader and his big? Thick lightsaber? Let’s say the force is strong with him in more ways than one. He was a bit shorter than we remember from the movies. Maybe it’s LukeSkywalker in disguise since Darth Vader is quite tall. We got to meet and drink with some very fun Imperial officers and even a few rebels. Maybe someone did a Jedi trick on them. You know, these are not the rebels you are looking for ;).
Just in case you are wondering, the Dark Side Bar is not put on by the same people who did the Game of Thrones Pop Up Bar. What set this place apart was that you didn’t need to wait in line for two hours. Here, you can reserve a time slot for $30 or walk-in for $40. Drinks are also very different at the Star Wars Bar, where most drinks will either bubble, smoke, or light up for that extra power of the Force. Even though you pay an entry fee, it comes with two complimentary drinks per person. It’s worth it because you would pay that much for them anyway. Unlike other themed pop-up bars this, one has food. Don’t get too excited, though, because the menu includes mostly regular bar food renamed with Star Wars names. Watch our video below for the full walkthrough and featured drinks and footage of a dancing Vader. We love the fact we had a set time, so we could be inside within a few minutes of arriving. We did arrive on an earlier side, right as they open at 6 p.m., because we wanted to grab a table.
Inside of Dark Side Bar
Blue Force Cocktail (5/5 NOMs)
Forget the light or dark side of the force, and it’s all about the blue with this Blue Force Cocktail. What a great combination of gin, blue curacao, and lemonade. This was one of our favorite drinks at this fun Star Wars Bar. Just in case you were wondering (because we were), the blue curacao is a liqueur made with dried peels of bitter orange fruit from Curaçao in the Caribbean Sea near Venezuela. The presentation alone was amazing: the drink was a beautiful blue, complete with lights and mist coming out of it. You might just get drunk off this one glass, as it’s the size of our hand, and we have huge hands. Do you know what they say about people with large hands? Something about large lightsabers!!! We felt the power of the force in how sweet and very nomnom this drink was.
Red Force Cocktail (5/5 NOMs)
Here’s a drink that Darth Vader would enjoy at his lava castle on Mustafar. The Red Force Cocktail is glowing with the power of the Sith, combining cherry vodka, peach schnapps, grenadine, and pineapple juice. Many drinks have this smoky mist, but this drink is more bubbly. It was bubbling so much that our table got a bit wet, and we needed an extra napkin or two. The big question we had: how would Vader drink this through his helmet? The combination of strong liquor and sweet flavors made this our second favorite drink.
The Imperial Cocktail (3/5 NOMs)
This drink is on fire! Just like the enemies of the empire, bye-bye Alderon. The strong drink is perfect for every soldier fighting the rebels and making the galaxy a safer place. The Imperial Cocktail will give you the kick of the Empire. This drink is much heavier on the rum, which very much dominated the drink. It was as strong as the Star Destroyer. This wasn’t our favorite drink as it was a bit too heavy on the liquor side, but we think rum fans will enjoy it. You’ll want to slowly sip this drink as you share the war stories of fighting Ewoks.
Dark Side Cocktail (2/5 NOMs)
The Dark Side rules the galaxy, and if you can’t beat them, join them, at least for this drink. The dark side always has this mysterious allure. Sadly, this drink didn’t bring that, as it just tasted like whiskey and coke drink. The presentation with smoky mist was nice, but the flavor did not deliver for us. This drink is a combination of whiskey, blackberry schnapps, and lime juice. We tend to like more sweet and fun drinks, so for us, it was more of a storm trooper’s aim kind of a drink. It could just be that the dark side has no power over us.
Bantha Fodder Sliders (3/5 NOMs)
Join the Sand People of Tatooine for the meaty goodness of Bantha Fodder Sliders. Banthas are the Star Wars galaxy; this is the creature that makes the blue milk that Luke drinks in New Hope. The most memorable instances are the ones used as mounts by sand people on Tatooine. These sliders are pretty standard bar food with short rib beef, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, and black pepper mayo. They are also served with fries. The sliders were very meaty and had a very nice kick to them. We especially liked the jalapeno and black pepper mayo that balanced out the other flavors. These almost left us wanting a bit more star warsy elements, Maybe something blue or just more out there. They are good for a regular bar but not quite enough for the Star Wars Bar.
Force Sabers Skewers (3 NOMs)
Every Jedi and Sith need a lightsaber to channel the force just like these Force Sabers Skewers do. Did you know that Sith used synthetic kyber crystals in their sabers? Similarly, these skewers left us feeling like the force was missing. Overall, they were good with a nice lemon yogurt sauce, but they were missing that geeky fun of Star Wars like the sliders. It was a lightsaber, but it might have been missing its kyber crystal. This wasn’t a bad dish, but you need to up the food game when you do a themed bar.
816 H St North East 2nd Floor, Washington DC