Imbibe 75 Place to Watch: Bar Chinois

When Bar Chinois opened in Washington, D.C., last October, international cooperation was the game plan. “Our chef, Tim Ma, is Chinese, and the whole food concept was dim sum—we thought, ‘How cool to do a French bar with a Chinese kitchen,’ combining these two cultures with so many opportunities for creativity and flavor,” says Margaux Donati, the bar’s general manager.

The kitchen turns out plates of dumplings and spring rolls, while wine glasses are filled from selections from an exclusively French list. Bar manager Jacob Simpson brings Chinese flavors and French spirits to the cocktail menu, too, via drinks such as the Lapsang Rob Roy, mixed with a smoked tea–infused vermouth and a French single malt; a Vieux Carre riff combining Cognac with a Sichuan liqueur from Baltimore; and a Calvados Daiquiri from fellow Washington, D.C., bartender Jacob Flores. “It turns out, unsurprisingly, that there are loads of delicious options in the world of French booze,” Simpson says.