Check out Wilmer Valderrama's D.C. cocktail bar — with free hangover soup
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Elegancia opens with creative cocktails and upscale Latin bar bites like these tequeños, Venezuelan cheese sticks. Photo: Courtesy LeadingDC
The only thing more intriguing than a famous actor opening a D.C. cocktail bar: A famous actor opening a D.C. cocktail bar with complimentary hangover soup.
State of play: Wilmer Valderrama (yes, from "That 70's Show" and "NCIS") teamed up with Colada Shop co-founder Daniella Senior on Elegancia, a Latin cocktail bar opening Feb. 8 inside La Cosecha at Union Market.
- Go for the cocktails. Stay for free sancocho (stew) at last call.
Why it matters: The bar — formerly Serenata — sits at the heart of La Cosecha, Union Market's Latin sister, and aims to re-energize the space with inventive drinks and dishes rooted in South American flavors and nostalgic traditions.
Context: Valderrama, who's Venezuelan-American and based in L.A., has ties to D.C. through more than two decades of Latino advocacy work with groups like Voto Latino and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute.
- He also knows hospitality firsthand: Valderrama started out bussing tables and later invested in buzzy early-2000s spots like Geisha House.
- He met Senior through mutual friends, and the partnership clicked fast. "She's just brilliant," Valderrama tells Axios. "I felt we could create something special together."
Zoom in: Elegancia is designed as an all-day-to-night hangout — equally suited for a quick cocktail and bite or a full sit-down meal.
- Colada co-founder Juan Coronado will work his cocktail magic. In the kitchen: Chef Jovana Urriola, whose rising-star résumé spans the Panamanian Embassy, "Top Chef" and cooking privately for Owen Wilson.
The intrigue: A blue corn cocktail made Valderrama "shed a tear."
- The goal, he says, is nostalgia. "There are items that will a million-percent take you back."
Case in point: The sancocho — a comforting stew popular across Latin America and beloved as a hangover cure.
- It'll be on the menu, and at last call, everyone gets a complimentary dose.
- "We want this to be our ritual — sending you away with a warm hug," Senior says.
The big picture: La Cosecha launched just before the pandemic with a mission to be a Latin cultural hub — a challenge given the time, but a vision its chefs and creators are still pushing forward.
- Food, culture and politics often overlap here. President Biden famously stopped by one of its taquerias during his pandemic-era restaurant relief push.
What's next: Valderrama plans to open a podcast studio at La Cosecha focused on elevating D.C. voices and unifying discourse, building on his pandemic-era podcast "Essential Voices."
Also: Another Elegancia. No location details yet — but Senior tells Axios, "This is just the start of the journey."
If you go: Elegancia (inside La Cosecha). 1280 4th Street NE.