

Antonio Porras and Shadi Sadeghi take in happy hour in the lounge at Sakerum. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)

It’s my second date with Sakerum, the dewy Asian-Latin hangout, and I’m hoping to find better than what I encountered during Round One: sushi rolls so freighted with accessories that I couldn’t taste the fish, one-note beef skewers and cocktails that smacked of amateur hour. (With a straight face, my server recommended a drink similar to a Manhattan, “but it’s better, because a mixologist is making it.”)

Timing was off on that maiden visit, too. Although I’m used to being told, seemingly in every other restaurant, that my food will come out as it’s ready, the speed with which my order arrived at Sakerum suggested a cheetah was making the delivery.

Maybe, I think on a return trip, tonight will be different. A hostess at the door dazzles us with her Grand Canyon-wide smile. When I tell her two of us want to scope out the rooftop lounge, she says, “Sure! It’s first-come, first-served upstairs.”



Osaka Kanikama Roll combines shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, crab, scallion, rice cracker, tobiko and unagi sauce. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)

We climb a set of stairs, passing a gaggle of cute young things on the way, and find ourselves in a bar with the bonus of a skylight and windows that capture a bird’s-eye view of neighboring buildings. It’s elbow-to-elbow at a ledge along one wall, so we head to one of two free tables that aren’t sporting a “reserved” sign. Several minutes go by before a young server approaches and says we can’t sit there.

“The hostess told us it was first-come, first-served,” I tell him.

He raises an eyebrow and asks, “Who said you could?” Then, “What color dress was she wearing?”

The reception is so off-putting, we vacate the table for a few inches at the corner of the ledge, where we order a round of drinks and some Latin-inspired small plates.

Again, the drinks are unbalanced. One of them, I Think I’m Turning Japanese, I Really Think So, is a blast of rum and orange bitters. This all comes as a curiosity; the drinks were designed for the restaurant by Gina Chersevani, among the city’s leading cocktailmakers (and a presence behind the second-floor bar on Wednesday nights). I can only believe that her recipes aren’t being followed by Sakerum’s bartenders.



Sakerum’s Double Fried Shrimp Tempura, with shiso-chipotle aioli, fresh wasabi and bonito flakes. (Dixie D. Vereen/For The Washington Post)

The food, on the other hand, is marginally better tonight. Hot, twice-fried shrimp are complemented with a cool, shiso-chipotle aioli brushed inside their bowl, while saucer-size tostones perch atop a grilled corn salsa that signals high summer. Salmon ceviche, however, drowns beneath a sauce trumpeting chili paste.

Sakerum is the creation of Stephanos Andreou, a co-owner of Barcode downtown. What transpires at his new place suggests lounges are his comfort zone.

To his credit, a general manager swoops in to apologize for the “miscommunication” regarding the Vacant Table That’s Not Really Vacant and offers to buy my companion and me dinner. I decline the invitation but let him know that a new restaurant, in particular, can’t afford to be rude.

Dozens of nearby choices are beckoning for our business, I say. What I resist adding is this: Most of them show up Sakerum.

2204 14th St. NW. 202-518-2222. sakerum.com. Sushi rolls and small plates, $6 to $42