Thursday, August 6, 2026
By Callie Solomon
A month after opening their doors, the Oak Room and Bernadette’s are settling into Georgetown’s dining scene, with a combination of elevated dining, cocktails and live entertainment.
Located at 1218 Wisconsin Ave. NW, the Oak Room draws inspiration from the Gilded Age private clubs of New York and London, offering a menu of steaks, seafood and other classic American dishes. Upstairs, the supper club Bernadette’s features red velvet-draped furniture and live entertainment. Both spots come from the hospitality group Ten Five Hospitality, which is behind Union Market’s Desert 5 Spot.
Ten Five Managing Partner Dan Daley emphasized the ability of the Oak Room and Bernadette’s to transport guests. “There’s something powerful about stepping off a busy street corner and walking into an entirely different world, a different era, a different pace, for a few hours,” he told The Georgetowner. “People want that experience. They want to escape their day-to-day, even if it’s just for a night.”
The Oak Room builds its menu around elevated versions of classic American dishes, such as prime rib, seafood towers, steak cuts and Dover sole. Leading the kitchen is James Beard Award-winning chef Tim Hollingsworth, previously chef de cuisine at the French Laundry.
“Our mantra with Chef Tim when we built the menu was simple: the best version of your favorite dish,” said Daley. “We tried to stick to that all the way through — take the dishes everyone already knows and loves, and execute them at the highest level.”
The Oak Room interior features dark wood paneling and plush leather seating. It creates a refined yet comfortable atmosphere suitable for celebrations, date nights and gatherings with friends and family.
The walls are lined with a variety of landscape paintings and portraits. According to Daley, Ten Five Chief Marketing Officer Kim Walker handpicked every art piece, sourcing them from antique shops and dealers herself. “The idea is that these rooms should feel collected over decades, not decorated in a month,” Daley said.
Above the Oak Room, accessed through a separate entrance, is Bernadette’s. Inspired by chic European locales, such as Hôtel Costes in Paris and Harry’s Bar in Venice, it features red velvet drapery, warm lighting and a grand piano. Its menu is smaller than but similar to the Oak Room’s, with a raw bar, appetizers, house signatures and desserts — along with extensive cocktail and champagne options.
Bernadette’s, the supper club upstairs at the Oak Room. Courtesy Ten Five Hospitality.
Bernadette’s features live music Thursday through Saturday. As the evening progresses, the room becomes livelier as the music picks up.
“Bernadette’s works at any hour, but really, it’s dinner and theater. You eat well, and then the night turns into something else entirely,” Daley said.
A Georgetown University graduate, Daley noted that the neighborhood experienced hardship after the Covid pandemic, as many storefronts sat empty. Although retail has recovered, he said much of Georgetown’s dynamism comes from its bars and restaurants.
“A lot of M Street today is commoditized retail. That’s fine during the day, but neighborhoods need a real mix of businesses to have energy, culture, character,” he said. “We wanted to bring some of those qualities back.”