Mount Vernon is teeming with lounges and bars that cater to young professionals.
The stretch of Eager Street between Charles and Cathedral has Eden's Lounge and City Cafe. Right around the corner, there's Red Maple. And now, there's E-Villa, which has more in common than just a neighborhood with Eden's.
The two lounges share a kitchen, which puts out an Ethiopian-flavored menu; an owner — Harold Edwards — and some decor. It also has a purely decorative velvet rope, which seems like an aspirational affectation. On a recent late Saturday night, there was no line to get inside E-Villa, and its two floors were sparsely crowded.
Perhaps the two lounges have too much in common. There's also bottle service — $300 bottles of Dom Perignon are available — and regular DJ sets. After a recent visit, it doesn't look like the new lounge has much to offer that will set it apart from nearby businesses. Except, maybe, its funny name, which sounds like an early dating website.
E-Villa benefits from being tucked away in a quiet corner of Mount Vernon. On a recent Saturday, the street could not have been more deserted. At least, the lull outside E-Villa was a welcome reprieve from the usual clatter of Eager Street.
Located in a tony rowhouse that, according to Edwards, used to host a bar called Gaslight, the lounge takes up the second and third floors of the building. The first floor is a lobby used, it seems, mainly by a hostess and a bouncer.
Though Edwards said the building had been in disrepair since the 1980s, it is now handsome and mature; it features arched doorways, exposed-brick walls, hardwood floors and several boutique chandeliers that provide accent lighting.
Edwards has said the decor was