The Commodore, a self-described “five-star dive bar,” is now open for business in Old Town.
Owners Rob Van de Graaff and Steve Kim used a huge trident to pierce the ribbon on their new bar and restaurant at 220 N. Lee Street yesterday (Thursday). It was an on-brand move for the business, which is filled with nautical decor.
About a dozen people turned out to the ribbon cutting to celebrate Van de Graaff and Kim’s second Commodore location, joining their pub in D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood. The new bar replaces a vacancy left by Mystic BBQ & Grill in November.
“It means a lot for me, coming from D.C., running down for the last 10 years, to come down here and open one in Alexandria,” Van de Graaff said. “I want to say thank you so much [to] the City of Alexandria, the residents of Old Town, everybody, for being so welcoming and so excited for us to come down here. We’re just as excited to get going for you, and we really, really hope to impress with this.”
Cuisine at The Commodore is similar to the bar’s D.C. location, offering crispy, thin-crusted Chicago tavern-style pizzas and pub “shareables” like fried pickles and loaded “totchos.” The menu also offers salads, chicken, burgers and sandwiches.
There are two Old Town-exclusive pastas, as well: a spicy bucatini with spicy pork ragu, beurre monté and gremolata, and a Cajun seafood pasta with shrimp, scallops, cayenne cream and Calabrian chili.
The new location has two full-service bars, pool, darts and arcade games. It can seat about 114 guests indoors across a main dining room, a game room, a separate dining room for programming, and a family-friendly room with three arcade machines. Outside, there’s room for 32 more guests on a side-street patio.
At the bar, featured cocktails include the Navy Grog, made with a house rum blend, honey, lime, grapefruit and ginger ale, as well as Maya’s 75, which blends butterfly botanical liqueur with lavender syrup, lemon and bubbles. A selection of wines, draft and canned beers, and rotating beer-and-shot combos are also available.
The Commodore’s hours are 4 p.m. to midnight, Monday through Thursday; 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Friday; 11-1 a.m. Saturday; and 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday. Happy hour is from 3-6 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday, and brunch hours are expected soon.
