• It doesn't feel like the Red Palace. Where that nightspot was clearly cobbled together from two adjacent buildings, Vendetta is a more wide open space. Several walls were removed, including the first floor wall behind what was the Palace of Wonders bar, and another staircase was opened to improve crowd flow.
• There are two indoor bocce courts. There's one full-sized court on each floor, covered with a surface of gravel and crushed oyster shells. There are plans for charity tournaments and eventual league nights, but otherwise, the courts will be open on a first-come, first-served basis.
• Twenty wines by the glass will be offered, with 17 from Italy. (These will sell for $5 at the daily happy hour.) The draft options include Peroni and Montelvini Prosecco.
• James Figueroa-Perez, formerly the chef at the Sofitel Hotel in Miami, is behind the menu of "traditional, not-high end Italian dishes." This isn't 'inspired-by' Italian food or something like that," he says. "This is what average Italians eat." His menu is based around a mix-and-match concept: Pick one of seven pastas, including house-made gnocchi and pappardelle, and then one of nine sauces, such as walnut-kale pesto, pancetta carbonara, or a pork jowl ragu. Figueroa-Perez stresses that these with be "hearty, not small plates," with each combo costing $16.
• Three or four flavors of sorbet will be made in-house. Selections for the opening include lemon-mint and blood orange and cocoa.
• Not on the menu, but available: Bar snacks, including spiced almonds, house-marinated olives and pickled veggies. Plates are $5 each.
• The upstairs bar features two-and-a-half Vespas. Two hang from the ceiling (their engines were removed to lessen the weight), and the front half of a third is mounted behind the bar.
• Downstairs, the bar has a darker and clubbier feel, with much more wood and taxidermied animals on display. The window booth looks like a great place to sit and watch H Street go by on a weekend night.
• Other decorations: Vintage Italian posters, including ads for the 1936 world trap-shooting championship and 1960s clothing (downstairs) and shelves of mid-century Italian cameras (upstairs).
• The cathedral lights and stained glass came from churches in upstate New York; the floors, bars and tables are made of reclaimed wood from local farms.
Vendetta, 1212 H St. NE. vendettadc.com. Opens Tuesday, May 21.