Ceiba Knows ‘Best Bets’

Washingtonpost.com’s Readers Voted Ceiba for City’s Best Happy Hour and Margaritas

Where do the local experts who engage with Washingtonpost.com’s City Guide find the 2009 Best Bet for Happy Hour in metropolitan Washington, DC? Ceiba, the exciting pan-Latin restaurant at the corner of 14^th and G streets NW. But it’s not just a question of after-work abundance. Here, the cocktails are expertly made and with a nod to tradition. In fact, Washingtonpost.com’s reader’s also voted Ceiba as the 2009 Best Bet for Margaritas.

Convenient to Metro Center, the National Mall and K Street’s power corridor, Ceiba’s bar has been a sexy destination for happy hour food and drink specials ever since PassionFoodHospitality opened the spot in 2003. These days, with an enlarged bar and extended happy hour schedule, this joint really simmers. No wonder it nabbed two top spots.

How about those margaritas? Authentic Latin cocktails have always played a central part in Ceiba’s hospitality. Here, the house margaritas come in three traditional flavors: mango, tamarind or pomegranate. Of course, purists are welcome to be mellowed by the classic lime-based version made from Cuervo Gold, Citronge and the snappy house-made sour mix. Ceiba’s margaritas are extremely popular, especially Fridays when they are half-price.

Reader’s of Washingtonpost.com’s City Guide know another perk of kicking back in Ceiba’s sexy bar and lounge: daily specials. Every day, Ceiba’s team selects a signature cocktail from one of the countries from which the restaurants takes inspiration. From 11:30 a.m. until close, from Monday to Saturday, the cocktail of the day is available throughout the restaurant for $5. On Mondays, it’s Cuba’s Mojito; Tuesdays toast Brazil’s Caipirinha; Wednesdays beckon with Peru’s Pisco Sour; Thursday’s bring Spain’s Sangrias; and on Friday’s, the House Margarita – the one readers’ voted as the city’s best – gets shaken leaving customers stirred.

In the bar and lounge, all the signature cocktails are available from 3p.m.- 6p.m. and from 9:30p.m. until Ceiba closes for $5. Snag a stool or a lounge chair, and order a mini-feast: the bar food menu is always half-priced during this double happy hour. Among the offerings are sharable Guacamole de Molcajete, Caribbean Conch Fritters, Pulled Barbecue Pork Pupusas, as well as Ceiba “Hamburgesa con Chorizo Melt, Hot Pressed “Cubano” Sandwich and four versions of Ceviche. There are free bocaditos for all in the lounge and bar between 4p.m.-7p.m and again at 9:30p.m.-11p.m.

Your server will see that the meal is served with dispatch, but the dishes will make you want to return when you have more time to savor the flavors – and make Ceiba the star of the show.