Post #69339 by Turbogod on Tue, Jan 13, 2004 3:55 PM

ikitnrev, from the MD.VA.DC area went right around it's grand opening.

Here's his review>

I did stop at the new Continental Lounge, to get a look at the place. It is much bigger and wide open then I had expected. The main thing I noticed when I walked inside were the pool tables ...... it looked like the hippest and best designed pool hall I've ever seen. Most of the tables had an unusual purple, almost glow in the dark surface on them.

The main bar is neat looking, acrylic with 40 pounds of glitter underneath. The tiki bar is on the back row - much smaller, but it does have the two large Moai heads on either side. What was strange is directly over this bar is a wide-screened television screen .... which made me realize one reason why I like the Honolulu -- no television sets inside.

To the left of the tiki bar is a small lounge area - with another large pool table smack in the middle - this is the one area which feels the most tiki to me - the pool table had a light green surface, there were large bamboo abstract characters on the wall, and a chair that looked somewhat Witco-ish.

Along the windows are the multiple hanging globe lights, which provide a nice touch ... with the reflection in the glass, they present a somewhat pleantary look. I was told these lamps also serve a practical outdoor identifying function, as there is a limit of how big a sign could be placed outside .... these lights can be seen easily as you drive by.

They do have a food menu - taps and snadwhiches of the panina (sp?) type. I looked at their specialty drink menu, and the only tiki-ish sounding one was a mai-tai. It was served in a clear glass (no tiki mugs here) , but I thought it tasted fine ... not as good as the Honolulus, but still good. At $7, it was also $2.50 more than the Honolulus. I expect that beer will be the most popular drink ordered here.

There was a 100 CD jukebox, which conatined 6 of the Ultra-Lounge CDs, but most of the other music seemed to be more mainstream rock. I think they hope to get much of their clientele from the students at Georgetown University on the other side of Key Bridge.

Parking in Rosslyn can be tight, but the Continental does have an open parking garage located on the opposite side of the front door - it holds 70 cars, I think. The garge located right next to the front door closes at 9:00 pm.

Overall, I would say that although there are elements of tiki at the Continental, the main aesthetic is of a giant modern design Shag-like pool hall - not a bad thing.

Vern

[ Edited by: Turbogod on 2004-01-13 15:58 ]