Learned how to play Mahjong. I am hooked! Fantastic cocktails and pretty tasty dim sum.
Mediocre overpriced cocktails. A sad attempt at “authentic” Chinese food with - yup - pieces of plastic in it. Boring and unattentive waitstaff that seems to be overwhelmed no matter how empty the place is. Which it usually is. Exactly the type of “speakeasy” you’d expect to find in a dull suburban strip mall. Time to hop over to Nighthawk, an amazing place with craft cocktails (or craft beer)or pizza or Eddie’s with great beef stew and drinks!
I loved the atmosphere and speakeasy feel, and the drinks were okay. But I was not impressed at all by the food. I found it very mediocre and overly salty.
Great ambience and above average drinks. Great place to have drinks and chat.Disclaimer: I grew up eating hk and vietanmese food.Mediocre at best food. Had the the ha gow, siu mai, and lo bak go (turnip cake). The siu mai was the best tasting overall, but still very salty. The turnip cake was the saltiest and had a odd texture. It was mushy and dough with bits of turnip. The ha go was cold and overcooked. The shrimp had a dry and grainy texture.
This place is magical, and easily my new favorite place in the entire D.C. area.Sparrow Room is a mahjong parlor and speakeasy-style dim sum bar in Crystal City. The vibe is very, very elegant - the kind of place you'd expect to see in a Wong Kar-Wai movie, in some shady street in Hong Kong or Singapore or something. Despite it being fairly centrally located, it's in a quiet little corner, so it feels more private than it is.The drinks here are absolutely superb. The Lychee Pearl is a nice light drink that I think everyone would like, but the real star is the Red Dragon's Tail that mixes some spice with anise. The Sparrow Sour and South Wind Spritz are also good and worth a try.In terms of food, the offerings aren't voluminous, but they're really solid. I tried the Salt Fish Eggplant, which was a nice little pick-me-up given all of the drinking. It reminds me of a lot of the authentic food I've tried in legit Asian dives in Hong Kong/Singapore/Shanghai, which is a good sign.That said, the real fun here is the mahjong. I tried a mahjong class here, which was a blast - the class went by fast, everyone in my group learned quickly, and we had an absolute blast. You're doing yourself a disservice if you don't try it at least once.
This is a wonderful speakeasy, where you can get delicious dim sum, play mahjong with three of your friends, and socialize over some wonderful craft cocktails that have some Asian inspired flavors. All the staff are wonderful and are willing to help out anyway they can. We were overall fresh players to the game but they were willing to offer quick tips and refreshers to make it the best experience possible. Definitely will be going back soon !
Love this place! Quaint little speak easy where you can play mahjong. Cocktails are good & so are the dum sum options I tried. Definitely a great option for a date night or 4 friends. (You need 4 people to play so if you don’t reserve for 4, they’ll pair you with 2 other guests).
Loved the food and the dining experience!
The service and the drinks were great, but the food was mediocre with extremely limited options. Paying nine dollars for two dumplings is outrageous.
What is a speakeasy? After dining at The Sparrow Room, I had a much better idea. I was thoroughly impressed from the moment I stepped inside, to my last bite of the tasty dimsum.The space has a cool, saloon type feel, with warm colors. The Mahjong tables gives off a fun, creative vibe (I am slowly learning the game and it made me want to watch Crazy Rich Asians again).The stars of the show: flavorful/ intricate cocktails and delicious food options! We tried almost everything on the menu and it was all great. My favorite cocktail was the Sparrow Sour. I enjoyed how it was finished with frozen melon balls. Food wise, you can’t go wrong with any of the Dimsum options. Hao Gao is one of my favorite dimsums, and it’s solid here. Mapu Tofu had great flavor, and if you like fish, definitely try the Salt Fish Eggplant. A very satisfying night to say the least.I will be coming back soon and best of luck Sparrow Room! I recommend giving this place a visit.