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Devin Gong's tiki bar is about to take over the most storied basement on 17th Street

Astro Zombie, opening around Halloween at the former Little Serow and Komi address in Dupont, brings scorpion bowls, pu pu platters, and a "spaceship diner" concept to a block that once defined Washington fine dining.

Devin Gong's tiki bar is about to take over the most storied basement on 17th Street

The address at 1509 17th Street NW carries a lot of weight in this city. For nearly two decades it was the home of Komi, Johnny Monis's Michelin-starred Greek tasting room that Washingtonian placed at the very top of its 100 Best Restaurants list year after year. Next door at 1511, Monis opened Little Serow in 2011, a no-reservations northern Thai subterranean room where people would line up on the sidewalk before 5 p.m. just for the chance to eat. Both are gone now. Komi quietly disappeared during the pandemic, Little Serow's "temporary hiatus" became permanent in 2022, and the two adjacent spaces have sat waiting ever since.

They won't be waiting much longer. Devin Gong, the man behind Astoria and Copycat Co., two of the most consistently good cocktail bars in Dupont and on H Street respectively, is absorbing both spaces into a single new bar called Astro Zombie. He's targeting late October, right around Halloween, for the opening. The timing is not accidental.

Astro Zombie is a tiki bar, a 45-seat room that Gong describes as a "spaceship diner," and the concept is exactly as committed as that phrase implies. The drink list leans hard on classics: zombie cocktails, mai tais, fog cutters, scorpion bowls. The bar's name itself nods to a Misfits song and to the Zombie itself, a potent combination of rums, lime, grapefruit, and a few other things that tend to go down easier than they should. Gong has also spent time trying to reverse-engineer a specific version of the drink served at a bar called Mothership, which declined to share its recipe. His recreation runs lighter and fruitier than a standard Zombie, with tart cherry grenadine pulling the whole thing into focus.

The food is Chinese-American, and it does not try to be anything other than what it is. Pu pu platters served on lazy Susans. Orange chicken. Crab rangoon. Wings finished with mumbo sauce. Gong told Washingtonian he's not interested in a twist: "Nothing fancy and not a twist. This is just classics, and we do it with good ingredients." Anyone who has eaten at Astoria or Copycat Co. knows he means it. His Sichuan menus there never overreached, and the cocktails were always dialed in.

The design reflects the same sensibility. Gong and a friend made punk rock-style collages that cover the tables of the 45-seat room. The Zombie cocktail comes in a custom zombie-brains mug designed by former Copycat bartender and tattoo artist Josh Divins. There will be merch: mugs, swizzle sticks, screen-printed limited-edition T-shirts and prints. This is the kind of bar that wants regulars to leave with something to remember it by.

The Dupont location is a meaningful one for Gong. Astoria opened just up the block at 1521 17th Street in 2019, and tiki drinks were part of its menu from the beginning. Gong has long believed the two formats, tropical, spirit-forward cocktails and spice-forward Chinese food, share the same logic. "Just as you might find five different rums in a tiki drink, you might have five different chilies in a Szechuan dish," he told Washingtonian at the time of Astoria's opening.

Astro Zombie, in a way, is the version of that idea taken to its natural conclusion. Rather than tiki as one section of a larger cocktail menu, tiki gets the whole room. The laundromat that previously occupied the ground-level portion of the space under Gemini, the restaurant above, has been folded into the footprint, giving Gong more square footage than either Komi or Little Serow ever had at the address.

The liquor license application filed with the DC Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration lists a seating capacity of 75 and a total occupancy load of 99, with the request for alcohol carryout and delivery endorsements included. Hours, per the bar's stated plan, run until 1:30 a.m. on weekdays and 2:30 a.m. on weekends.

For people who mourned the end of the Monis era on this block, and there are a lot of them, given that Komi and Little Serow together represented a kind of benchmark for what a neighborhood restaurant block could feel like, Astro Zombie is not a replacement. It's not meant to be. A scorpion bowl and crab rangoon are not a multi-course northern Thai set menu. But a bar operator with a genuine track record, a specific concept, and an actual point of view taking over a space that has been dark for years? That's a fair trade.

The custom zombie-brains mug, served alongside whatever rum concoction Gong lands on for the signature drink, seems like the right object for a bar arriving on a block that has been holding its breath.

Sources

--- Here's the fully formatted article with citations: --- PUBLISH: yes SECTION: Food & Drink TITLE: Devin Gong's tiki bar is about to take over the most storied basement on 17th Street EXCERPT: Astro Zombie, opening around Halloween at the former Little Serow and Komi address in Dupont, brings scorpion bowls, pu pu platters, and a "spaceship diner" concept to a block that once defined Washington fine dining. META: Astro Zombie, a new tiki bar from Devin Gong of Astoria and Copycat Co., opens in late October at 1509 17th St NW in Dupont Circle with tiki classics, Chinese-American food, and a space-age vibe. VENUE: Astro Zombie VENUE_SITE: none SUBJECT: Astro Zombie tiki bar interior 1509 17th Street NW Dupont Circle Washington DC ALT: The interior of Astro Zombie tiki bar at 1509 17th Street NW in Dupont Circle, Washington DC, decorated with punk rock collages and custom zombie mugs ---HTML---

Devin Gong's tiki bar is about to take over the most storied basement on 17th Street

The address at 1509 17th Street NW carries a lot of weight in this city. For nearly two decades it was home to Komi, Johnny Monis's Michelin-starred Greek tasting room that Washingtonian placed at the very top of its 100 Best Restaurants list for years running. Next door at 1511, Monis opened Little Serow in 2011, a Thai-inspired restaurant in the basement space next door. No reservations. A line forming on the sidewalk before 5 p.m. Six courses of fiery northern Thai cooking in a room that felt like a secret. Both are gone now. Monis and co-owner Anne Marler paused in-person dining when Covid hit; Komi morphed into Happy Gyro, a Greek deli-style takeout, and though the couple never openly confirmed Komi's closure, it lost its Michelin star. Little Serow permanently closed in September 2022, leaving behind a legacy of culinary innovation and a devoted fan base.

The two adjacent spaces have sat waiting ever since. They won't be waiting much longer.

Sister bars Astoria and Copycat Co. have long offered tiki drinks alongside their usual classic cocktails and Sichuan-style food. Finally, owner Devin Gong decided it was time to give tiki the spotlight. His new spot, Astro Zombie, will offer tiki favorites and a Chinese-American menu focused around pu pu platters in a space he describes as a "spaceship diner."

It's taking over the adjoining Dupont Circle spaces formerly home to Little Serow and a laundromat under Gemini sometime around Halloween. The timing is not accidental.

The bar's name is a reference to a Misfits song but also the Zombie cocktail, a potent blend of rums, lime, grapefruit, and more, which will be served alongside mai tais, fog cutters, and scorpion bowls. Although Mothership would not reveal its secret "Astro Zombie" recipe, Gong has tried to recreate it as an homage to the bar. He describes the drink as a lighter, fruitier version of a Zombie with a tart cherry grenadine. The bar's classic Zombie cocktail will be served in a custom zombie brains mug designed by former Copycat bartender and tattoo artist Josh Divins.

The food is Chinese-American, and it does not try to be anything other than what it is. Pu pu platters on lazy Susans, orange chicken, crab rangoon, and wings with mumbo sauce. Gong has been direct about his ambitions for the menu: "Nothing fancy and not a twist," he says. "This is just classics, and we do it with good ingredients." Anyone who has eaten at Astoria or Copycat Co. knows he means it. Neither bar overreaches, and the cocktails are always dialed in.

He and a friend also made their own punk rock-style collages to cover the tables of the 45-seat bar. Gong is going hard on merch with mugs, swizzle sticks, and custom-made limited-edition T-shirts and prints. This is the kind of bar that wants regulars to leave with something to remember it by.

The Dupont location is meaningful for Gong on a personal level. He and Chu Yi quietly built out Astoria near Dupont Circle, pouring classics and tiki drinks alongside Szechuan fare. Tiki was always part of the DNA at Astoria. He has long argued that the two formats share the same logic: the two have a similar style of "the more the merrier." Just as you might find five different rums in a tiki drink, you might have five different chilies in a Szechuan dish.

Astro Zombie is that idea taken to its logical end. Rather than tiki as one section of a larger cocktail menu, tiki gets the whole room. The former laundromat at street level, previously tucked beneath Gemini restaurant, is folded into the footprint, giving Gong more square footage than either Komi or Little Serow ever had at the address.

The liquor license for Astro Zombie lists a seating capacity of 75 and a total occupancy load of 99. The bar will be open late-night, with last call at 1:30 a.m. on weekdays and 2:30 a.m. on weekends.

For the many people who still mourn the Monis era on this block, Astro Zombie is not a replacement and isn't trying to be. A scorpion bowl and crab rangoon are not a multi-course northern Thai set menu. But a bar operator with a genuine track record, a specific concept, and a room that can hold 99 people taking over a pair of spaces that have been dark for years is its own kind of good news. The custom zombie-brains mug, filled with Gong's recreation of a cocktail recipe he couldn't even get in writing, seems like the right object for a bar arriving on a block that has been holding its breath.

Sources

WDCM Editorial
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WDCM Editorial is the byline on news and feature stories produced through Washington DC Magazine's editorial process — AI-assisted research, reviewed and approved by Editor-in-Chief Rod Wright.

EDITOR IN CHIEF: RODRIQUEZ WRIGHT II

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