A new cocktail lounge with a design inspired by the nightlife in Tokyo, Japan, has opened in Tysons, but it might take a little sleuthing to find its whereabouts.
The Naisho Room, whose name includes the Japanese word for “secret,” announced today (Wednesday) that it is now operating inside The Watermark Hotel (1825 Capital One Drive) at Capital One Center.
As implied by its name, the lounge wants to keep its exact location within the hotel on the downlow. It has no online menu, and access is limited to those lucky enough to be chosen for a reservation.
“Welcome to The Naisho Room, where sophistication, secrecy, and spirits soar,” the lounge said in a post on its Instagram page. “Our elusive Tokyo-inspired lounge is hidden away in Tysons, Virginia. Designed to feel like a secret worth keeping, this space is reserved for those who know where to look and how to ask.”
Renovation plans submitted to Fairfax County last year indicated that a “speakeasy” was in the works on the hotel’s top, 25th floor, adjacent to its fitness center.
The plans didn’t show how the bar would be disguised, but a clue on Naisho’s Instagram page suggests finding the entrance might involve going through the fitness center’s sauna.
Even if you can find the lounge, there’s no guarantee of getting in. Options for securing a spot include following Naisho on social media and tagging a friend, filling out a reservation request form that can be found through The Watermark Hotel’s amenities page, or finding origami invitations that will be “hidden” in the hotel and around Tysons each week.
Each request will be “personally reviewed,” according to a press release, and those who are selected will get a confirmation by email.
Elkrim Mebrek, director of restaurants and bars for The Watermark Hotel, declined to specify how many origami invitations are scattered around or where they might be found, noting only that their availability will mostly depend on how many spots are open for a particular week.
“Your best bet if you want to find the origami or the reservation link is to follow us on social media,” he told FFXnow.
Open from 9 p.m. to midnight on Wednesday and Thursday and from 9 p.m to 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, the lounge is accepting reservation requests up to 21 days in advance, with each party allowed up to five guests.
Per the press release, diners who manage to get an invite will be treated to an atmosphere described as “immersive and transportive” with views of the Tysons skyline, music by a live DJ, and drinks and food crafted by Hobin Kim, the executive sushi chef at The Watermark Hotel’s Japanese fusion restaurant Wren.
Mebrek describes the food offerings as “elevated,” Japanese-influenced bar bites, including a kanpachi foie gras, sushi hand rolls, and a version of chips and salsa involving wagyu tendon and a gravy dip.
The cocktail program focuses on Japanese spirits, putting unique takes on classic drinks. A martini called Pearl of the Orient, for instance, features Japanese lychee gin, nigori sake and St‑Germain liquor, while a bourbon-based cocktail called Kirakira — Mebrek’s personal favorite — blends Fernet-Branca, melon liquor, yuzu and ginger beer.
“It’s almost like East meets West, basically. That’s how we look at the cocktails,” Mebrek said. “There’s a lot of influence from the east, from Japan or southeast Asia in general, and then also a lot of North American or European touch to the cocktails as well.”
A spokesperson for Capital One Center previously told FFXnow that the development started exploring options for adding food and beverage concepts at The Watermark Hotel in response to the “demand and limited capacity at Wren.”
In addition to Wren, other dining options at Capital One’s headquarters campus include Sisters Thai, Stellina Pizzeria, Ometeo, Starr Hill Brewery and the food trucks supporting Perch Putt, the mini golf course just outside The Watermark Hotel’s front door.
However, Naisho will offer both hotel guests and local residents an “intimate” and exclusive experience that they currently can’t find at Capital One Center or elsewhere in Tysons, Mebrek says. The team doesn’t want to share too many details of the concept, preferring diners to discover its secrets for themselves.
“We want people to find out,” he said.
