Inside F1 Arcade’s Flashy D.C. Debut

The new F1 Arcade in Union Market starts its engines over the long weekend. Even if you’ve never watched a Formula 1 race, the 17,300-square-foot arcade, event space, and bar has something for everyone. The D.C. arcade is the London-born racing brand’s second locale in the U.S., starting with Boston this spring, and this is the first to collaborate with local talent. A respected D.C. chef and bartender contribute locally distilled liquors and a famous Ethiopian fried chicken sandwich to the gaming chain’s high-end menu (420 Penn Street NE).

“The food and drink are just as important as the sim racing. So for us, we hope people will use this as a bar and a restaurant,” says Liz Norris, the marketing lead for the four F1 locations. “It’s not what you expect at all from an arcade.”

It’s definitely more refined and futuristic than your usual Dave & Buster’s, with a gold-covered 42-foot main bar, high chairs covered in different wacky patterns, and 83 sleek driving simulators with wraparound screens lining every inch of the former warehouse. Those simulators lend an electric energy to the open, industrial space with the ongoing realistic hum and real-time shaking of race cars.

The iconic international courses you can traverse digitally with friends are integrated into design details, with amorphous neon racetrack chandeliers and yellow speedway arrows along the ground.

The menu reflects the refined but playfully raceway-themed aesthetic, with dishes like a smoky seared scallops and crispy pork belly served on pickled British piccalilli sauce ($27) and a pricy seafood tower ($129), along with signature cocktails with Formula 1-themed names, like the spiced rum-based Sparks Will Fly ($18) and non-alcoholic Green Flag ($12) made with matcha, mint, and lemon soda.

Chef Elias Taddesse brings some competitive heat to the menu with the famous “the National” sandwich he’s known for at Doro Soul Food, his fried chicken carryout spot in Shaw. The spicy fried chicken sandwich was originally conceived at Mélange, where it almost outshined his gourmet burgers.

The Ethiopian chef evokes the flavors of doro wat, the warming chicken stew that serves as Ethiopia’s national dish, with a berebere-marinated fried chicken topped with a runny egg. An aioli made with niter kibbeh, clarified butter seasoned with aromatics, herbs, and spices, and turmeric slaw balance out the flavorful dish. The collaborative dish for F1 Arcade also includes a crunchy onion-topped bun from nearby Pluma Bakery. Taddesse says the beloved sandwich is the perfect definition of umami flavors.

“When you cook onions for hours and hours and hours with like 13, 15 different spices blended into it, and niter kibbeh, like, that’s super umami,” he explains. “There’s a third, you know, palette that picks up on it.”

The National ($20) replaces the original F1 fried chicken sandwich in the handheld section of the menu, listed with a classic chuck brisket burger ($18) topped with aged cheddar and homemade pickles plus a wagyu beef burger ($28) with multiple truffle-infused toppings and grilled mushrooms.

There are also an array of F1-themed drinks exclusively on the D.C. cocktail menu overseen by mixologist Lauren “LP” O’Brien, who’s worked at revered bars like Silver Lyan and won the first season of Netflix’s “Drink Masters.”

“She has looked at our entire drinks menu that launched in Boston, and just said, ‘This is great. This could be better. This could be all me,’” says Norris. “And she’s made some amazing tweaks, but then we asked her to go a bit more wild and do some signatures.”

Taking tips from a pina colada, O’Brien created a clarified milk punch drink, which she was known for on the mixology competition, called Chicane Colada ($20) with wild Thai banana protein and a house blend of Dominican aged rums. She also uses local distiller Cotton & Reed’s rums in two of her original drinks, a carajillo and espresso-fueled Racer’s Refuel and a twist on a boulevardier called Box Box Box ($20). Even the “designated drivers,” the non-alcoholic cocktail list, was reworked by O’Brien, who has been sober for a year and says she wants “to be able to come in and have a good drink too.”

“We always had designated drivers on the menu, but they really weren’t ordered that much. And I think maybe they weren’t as thoughtful as what she’s produced,” says Norris.

One of those drinks for real-life drivers, the Mule in the Paddock ($12), spotlights a nonalcoholic blue agave spirit called Almave that was created by prolific Formula 1 racer Lewis Hamilton, who loves the taste of tequila but tries to stay clear-headed for his constant driving practice.

Fans trying to emulate the seven-time F1 champ can rent racing time blocks with three to five simulated races included, with packages starting at $22 during non-peak hours. Racers can also choose to race head-to-head with up to three drivers or compete together as a team with four or more people.

The over-the-top arcade will also host Grand Prix watch parties in the future, including the upcoming U.S. event in Austin and a live recording of the F1 Explains podcast covering the Mexican Grand Prix.