Heads in the Cloud
It's one thing to open a new restaurant and lounge in Dupont Circle. It's another to transform a ho-hum restaurant-with-a-bar into some kind of sleek new nightspot with tapas. That's the challenge for restaurateur Savino Racine, who's remade his namesake Savino's Cafe and Lounge into Cloud.
Rhome and I went to check it out last Friday, and our first impression was that it's so ... white. White walls, white floors, white leather seats, even the hazy, translucent tables are white. It's supposed to look like a cloud, I know, but I got much more of a minimalist, IKEAfied "Clockwork Orange" vibe. Some elements of Savino's remain, including the metallic curtain near the front door and the older, European crowd; but the remodeling job has opened up the dining room, adding a DJ booth and a sunken VIP lounge called Cloud 9. Everything is far more welcoming.
Once you sit down and order, though, you'll remember that Cloud is new -- so new that they haven't finished creating the cocktail list yet, never mind printing one -- and while the food came out at a crawl, the bartender and servers tried their best. Eventually, if the place manages to avoid developing an attitude to match the enhanced decor, this could be an excellent early weeknight date spot, or a place to grab a drink after a movie.
Kinks with food and drinks are still being worked out, so as a salve, tapas are 50 percent off through March 6. Plates are kind of small, so order a few.
-- Fritz
By washingtonpost.com |
February 24, 2005; 3:40 PM ET
Bars and Clubs
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Posted by: Anon | February 28, 2005 12:59 PM
I walked in and walked out shortly thereafter. Sound system stinks and sounded like a tin can. There isn't much room to dance. I wanted to try it out and was unimpressed.
Posted by: anon | July 26, 2005 8:22 PM
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I went to Cloud last week. I mentioned the 50% off tapas and they were very reluctant to give me the discount. After some haggling I got the 50%. Hope others get the promotion without trouble.