RESTAURANT MARVIN

Marvin, located on 14th Street, NW, is a neighborhood restaurant and roof deck bar in the heart of Washington, D.C.

Marvin is at once a small neighborhood restaurant and a mainstay of DC’s eclectic bar and club scene. From the time of its founding in 2007, it has provided common ground—both literal and figurative—for members of the vibrant and diverse community it serves. Its patrons congregate within its walls to rub elbows, break bread, exchange ideas, and illuminate its dance floors.

While developing the concept for the space, owner Eric Hilton (of Eighteenth Street Lounge and Thievery Corporation) drew inspiration from soul singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye’s period of self-imposed exile in Belgium. In the winter of 1981, Gaye traveled to Ostend where he entered a period of asceticism, rehabilitation, and reflection. Many close to him attributed the surge of clarity and creativity he experienced upon his return to his time spent abroad. Marvin’s menu is an ode to both the culinary landscape that defined Gaye’s formative years in the Shaw neighborhood of DC, and the regional cuisine he encountered during his travels.