The minute I turned the corner, I spotted a long corridor framed by marbled tabletops and sleek black high chairs with netted rattan seats. The Venus is located right at the corner of South Bridge Road and Upper Cross Street, and it’s certainly hard to miss. Opened in June 2022, The Venus offers contemporary French cuisine with an Asian twist, so if you’re looking to impress a date, this is the place! “When Biden was vice president,” Bank says, “he just came in the front door.You’d never expect it, but hidden right within the heart of Chinatown is a new gorgeous French restaurant that oozes romantic date night vibes. Consider the highest-ranking government official to eat at Carmines. “Usually, there’s not been any kind of drama.”Īnd a longer motorcade does not always mean a more secretive entrance. “Most of the people that dine with us are not shy in dealing with the public,” he says. According to RPM Italian general manager Boo Kim, their high-profile political clientele tends to use the regular entrance, even when they’re controversial figures like congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Meanwhile, Washington’s resident celebrities-politicians-aren’t usually as secretive as the pop-stars. One of their dining companions-Coldplay frontman Chris Martin-also used the back entrance, but was slightly less covert, entering the office building from K Street. That’s where Escalades dropped off K-pop superstars BTS so they could enjoy some chicken parm after a White House meeting. Vernon Square, has an entrance from an underground parking garage to an office building lobby to a back hallway to a private dining room. It’s used at least once a week by high-profile guests: royalty, heads of state, major CEOs, famous athletes, international celebrities.Īnother celeb fave, RPM Italian in Mt. “I can’t give too many details, but it stops at several floors,” says the hotel’s director of public relations, Anina Belle Giannini. But the most exclusive of all goes from the parking lot to guest suites with its own private elevator and a red carpet. The Four Seasons in Georgetown has five VIP private entrances-including direct access to its restaurants Seasons and Bourbon Steak-with special locks that only the security team and Secret Service can open. “And we all laugh-we’re like, Carmine’s is not really known as the party place.”
“She didn’t want to look like she was out partying in town,” Bank says.
Another is Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan, who came for dinner with family after her swearing-in ceremony.
One he will share: former Speaker of the House John Boehner, who has used the secret door at least 30 times. And while his other restaurants in New York and Las Vegas also have back entrances, none are as secure as the DC one.īank is hush-hush on most of the bold-faced names who’ve passed through, for obvious reasons, but most are political-think Cabinet secretaries and members of Congress. “We sent the plans to the Secret Service for comment and review, and I’m going to stop at that point about what transpired after that,” owner Jeff Bank says.Įxactly how you get to the door, he won’t say, but he does reveal it’s not just one door-it’s technically three.
Italian-American behemoth Carmine’s, another political fundraiser hotspot in Penn Quarter, was also designed to have a covert entrance into one of its nine private dining rooms. But because of all the fans, he left out the back. After performing at the Something In the Water festival in June, he rolled up with his entourage through the front door. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is among those to make a sneaky exit from the margarita destination. The back door gets put to use once or twice a month, often by security for political types who appreciate that they don’t have to idle their black SUVs in front of Nationals Park. Now, a back staircase leads to a back hallway, which leads directly into Mission’s “Cactus Room,” a private event space with its own bar, bathroom, and balcony.
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“Part of our design process was to make sure we had an area that we could bring VIPs in, or allow them to leave privately if they needed to.” As a former political operative, he had a good handle on how to design the space for easy VIP access-after all, he’d been an advance guy for the likes of George W. “We knew that a big part of our business model would be doing events for Capitol Hill, political fundraisers,” says restaurateur Fritz Brogan about the Navy Yard location of his Mexican spot Mission.
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