Meet Your New Union Market Go-To for Standout Drinking Snacks

A new communal cocktail bar opened inside the Union Market district’s Latin market La Cosecha in February, with backing from a big Hollywood name. Elegancia is co-founded by actor, activist, and entrepreneur Wilmer Valderrama, best known for his role as Fez on hit TV sitcom That ’ 70 s Show (and currently, NCIS), as well as Daniella Senior, the female force behind the decade-old Cuban cafe Colada Shop with locations spread across D.C. and Virginia. For a first-and-foremost cocktail spot that doesn’t have a full-blown kitchen, the bar bites ($12-$17) are a sleeper hit.

What to eat

• Plantain chips are the vessels for an abundant bowl of poached shrimp ceviche, punched up with sofrito salsa rosada, red onion, tomatoes, and cilantro.
• Add a caviar bump (+$10) to any dish, because, why not.

What to drink

• Almost every bar does an espresso martini these days, but not all are created equal. Its Espresso de Olla Martini is exceptional, built with vodka and mezcal, créme de cacao, espresso, and cafe de olla spices, all served in sexy stiletto stemware.
• Other excellent riffs on classics ($15-$18) include a freezer-cold mezcal Negroni, pineapple-infused Aperol spritz, and a 24-hour frozen strawberry daiquiri with a lime twist.
• Ask to sip and shoot the pretty bottle of Kleos Mastiha, a hard-to-get, low-cal, low-ABV botanical spirit made with mastiha, widely regarded as an ancient Greek superfood.

The vibe

• Wrapped in murals of native South American animals like iguanas and hummingbirds, this curved bar puts you in plain sight in the middle of the food hall, so be prepared for sensory overload.
• On my recent visit, there was an audibly loud salsa class going on upstairs, Donisima doughnuts had opened its stall that same day steps away, and there’s plenty of post-cocktail retail therapy to be had (I sprang for paprika on the shelf at longtime wine bar and market Grand Cata).

Insider tip

Like what you ate and drank? Then you’ll be happy to know the same Senior-led team is gearing up to open Navy Yard’s Euro-chic Bar Nuestro this summer.