Hawk & Dove

One of the most anticipated renovations on Capitol Hill is finally finished. The Hawk & Dove, closed since October 2011, will reopen to the public Thursday at 5 p.m. If you were a fan of the old Hawk — the warren of small rooms on two floors, the damp and musty smell, pitchers of beer priced for an intern’s budget — then you won’t recognize the place.

Xavier Cervera, the owner of six nearby bars, including Molly Malone’s, the Chesapeake Room and Boxcar Tavern, has turned the rambling 1967 saloon into a wide-open room with 18-foot ceilings, a 40-foot bar and sets of French windows that open onto Pennsylvania Avenue. A long mezzanine upstairs adds additional seats, another bar, and a raised lounge area with a working fireplace. (It can also be turned into a stage for live music.)

Chef Jeremy Magnanelli of Senart’s will be cooking flatbreads and sandwiches in a wood-burning oven, and the bar has 18 beers on tap, including locals Chocolate City, Lost Rhino and Flying Dog.

This sounds like a lot of change, but regulars from the old place will welcome the sight of Hawk & Dove fixture Paul Meagher, who will be behind the bar Monday through Wednesday and also working at Sunday brunch.

-- Fritz Hahn (Jan. 15, 2013)