A towering black metal fence encircles the British Embassy in Washington. Guests normally need to check in through one of the bunker-like guardhouses to gain entry to the premises. But tonight, a special gate was open.
“It’s too tall to jump,” the security guard said, chuckling about the fence’s height, as she checked in guests.
Each was headed to the newest and the most fortified pub in D.C.
On Thursday night, the British Embassy officially opened its new on-site pub, called “The Two Georges,” a reference to George Washington and King George III — two men who famously never shared a pint.
Inside the four-story brick house that night, billionaire Stephen Schwarzman pulled a pint of beer from the authentic English taps as Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) threw a dart at the board next to the bar. “I did not embarrass myself,” Schiff joked about his aim. Mehmet Oz, known as Dr. Oz, the television personality and administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, at one point stepped up to try his hand at the beer taps.
Embassies in Washington look for ways of entertaining guests and invite them into their culture. Alcohol is oftentimes involved. The Finnish Embassy has the “Diplomatic Sauna Society.” The Mexican Cultural Institute hosts concerts. The French ambassador has a newly landscaped poolside garden.
At the British Embassy, there is a long-standing tradition of boasting a designated pub space.
“It plays lots of roles and it’s something that is very dear to a lot of people in the embassy,” says Sam Clark, head of news at the British Embassy. “It’s a soft power tool where we’re able to get together with contacts, people from across D.C. in a much more informal setting and share a pint and have a chat and develop relationships between the U.K. and U.S.”
Earlier this year, the British government’s deal with the Trump administration to lift the tariffs on Scotch whisky was partially brokered at the embassy. Over a glass of Scotch, says Mungo Woodifield, minister counsellor for trade and global issues. “We may have pulled out the finest bottles we own,” he says.
While embassy staff don’t have precise records, Clark estimates it was in the late ’80s or early ’90s when the first pub, named “Union Tap,” was built. That was replaced in a 2008 renovation by “Bar 3100.” But after a successive renovation in 2019, the embassy was left pub-less.
“Some of the staff at the embassy and the military at the embassy said this will not stand,” Clark says, “and so with their own two hands, they went and built the shed onto the existing garden shed.”
The new ad hoc space, erected in 2020, was lovingly dubbed “The Shed.” It looked like a greenhouse had been converted into a speakeasy. Wooden window sashes were patchworked together into a floor-to-ceiling wall of glass. Strings of lights and international flags festooned across the ceiling, above a hodgepodge of British-themed artwork, plaid and leather lounge chairs. The front door was painted blue to look like the TARDIS from the British TV series “Doctor Who.”
The Shed had minimal air conditioning in the summer. Minimal heat in the winter. And no indoor toilet year-round. “It was a portaloo that was outside,” as Clark explains, to which guests had to be escorted by embassy staff for security reasons. “Neither was a comfortable experience,” he laughs.
All pub-related affairs have long been managed by the embassy’s “pub committee,” explains Chris Wilcock, embassy counselor on the home affairs team as well as the head of the committee. “Everything about this place is volunteers,” he says, “from the staffing of it, the committee, the running, the building, all this work has been done by volunteers.”
Wilcock and the other seven members of the committee set upon identifying a more suitable location — preferably one with indoor plumbing. They eventually settled on a vacant brick building on the northwest end of the six-acre embassy estate, which previously served as the consulate services office and post office. The Georgian-style house was originally built in 1926 by real estate developer Harry Wardman, who also built the British Embassy four years later.
The embassy says the remodel has cost between $15,000 and $20,000, which was raised entirely through proceeds from patrons at The Shed in years past. But according to Wilcock and others, the cost is much more if you also calculate the sweat equity. A team of volunteers has poured its free time into bringing the new pub to life. Designing rooms, moving furniture, woodworking, painting. Even the ambassador pitched in by painting the coat closet.
The new space is much larger. The floor is tiled brown. The walls are painted green with white trim. The drop ceiling is mocha. A brass foot rail has been added to the bar, more for the aesthetics than any functional purpose. Wilcock spent a lot of time trying to distill exactly what makes a pub look like a pub.
“I’d go back for Christmas to my parents’ house, down to their local pub and sit there and just put the hours in,” Wilcock said, laughing. “You’re just trying to pick out all the little bits that kind of feel like, very pub-like.” Small touches like the mirror behind the bar, the electric fireplace, the dartboard and pool table, and the painstakingly hand-painted stained glass.
A lot of the kitsch of The Shed has been preserved. “We were really aware that The Shed has such a legacy, everyone loved it,” Wilcock says. “We said go grab what you think represents The Shed and bring it up here.”
The strings of lights and flags have made the transition. Same with the furniture. The old TARDIS door has been mounted on a wall, although it doesn’t open to anything. They even preserved a large piece of a wall from The Shed, where former embassy staff had signed their names before rotating out.
Wilcock says they made sure to leave plenty of empty space in The Two Georges for new artwork to be added over time. They’ve created a new signing wall to continue the tradition. “I will end my posting, move on, and others will go, and as we rotate through, it should evolve and grow,” Wilcock says.
The Two George’s has added new amenities. There’s now a pool room. A family room for guests with children in the back. “We’re just excited to have bathrooms,” says Francesca McCallister, a member of the British Defense staff as well as the pub committee.
There are two bathrooms, in fact, surrealistically decorated with faux seagulls, looping audio recordings, multicolored lights and a disco ball.
Ambassador Christian Turner walked into the pub sporting a morning coat and an impressive looking medal around his neck. He had just come from another more formal event.
“Wearing a morning suit to a pub is really not getting the vibe right,” he joked. “The whole point of the pub is everyone is equal, you relax, everyone can talk to everybody.”
He spoke to the crowd and thanked people for coming to the opening. “Most of you will know that drinking and diplomacy kind of go right the way back,” he remarked as he unveiled a mock-up of the new outdoor sign. It featured caricatures of the two Georges — Washington and the King — in profile staring at one another.
“It is all the amazing work of volunteers,” he said, pausing, as the crowd applauded. “It is going to be a legend for many, many, many decades of diplomacy to come.”
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