KABIN Opens, An Alpine Nightlife Escape in the Heart & Heat of DC

No, Lincoln didn’t live here OR build it with his own logs.  This is KABIN — the nightclub — which invites city slickers to an apres-ski scene nestled above bustling Connecticut Avenue.

“It’s unlike anything else in the District,” according to co-owner Vinoda Basnayake, formerly of Eden.  Discotheque met après-ski chalet Saturday night in Dupont Circle as DC’s newest nightspot, KABIN, opened with such notables in attendance as pop star Jay Sean, the Celtics’ Jeff Green, Top Chef’s Spike Mendelsohn, Former DC Mayor Marion Barry Jr., DC Councilmember Muriel Bowser, Sen. Paul Strauss (D-DC) and Carlos Gray alongside owners Basnayake, Kunal Shah, Dustin Huynh and Rajeev Subramanian (all above).

“At KABIN we wanted to create something… reminiscent of destinations like the French Alps and Aspen.”  It’s supposed to offer guests a “chilly reprieve from the impending summer heat,” though reports suggest attendees in the first few nights since Kabin’s soft opening have been “smokin’ hot,” a reference to both looks and body temperature.

Sampling the lounge’s signature spirit — a Three Pins shot: traditional mountain villa herbal liqueur named for the three pins telemark skiers used to lock their boots onto their skis — amongst the 1970s alpine culture inspired interior, Kabin goers may be only missing the giant mounted moose head as its old world charm gives way to mountain modern.

“It’s a 360-degree departure from DC social life,” claims Kabin designer Brien Z. Watson of Invironment Design.

This is no heavy handed replica of a log cabin.  But it just may be the only spot in DC where one feels like he should be hankering for a hot toddy at the peak of summer’s swelter.

*Photo credit: Travis Vaughn