Mad Rose Tavern general manager Seamus Phillips is ready for his new bar to open. (Photo: TBD Staff)

It's been a long process, but Mad Rose Tavern is hoping to open in Clarendon sometime in early February, according to general manager Seamus Phillips.

The spacious restaurant and lounge at the corner of Wilson and Washington Boulevards in Clarendon has been under construction since August. It's been a long road converting the space, which used to house a medical equipment and services store, into a restaurant. 

It also hasn't been cheap. "We're talking more than a million dollars at this point," Phillips says.

Mad Rose is billing itself as a gastro pub, and Phillips says Chef Johnny Nielsen (formerly of now-shuttered Enology, and before that Dino) has a menu planned that's probably 70 percent American fare, and 30 percent European-influenced fusion.

There will be more than 100 wines available by the bottle, at some of the "best prices in Clarendon" according to Phillips. The bar will have 20 beers on tap, most of them microbrews, as well as several dozen Scotch and Irish whiskeys.

The front section of Mad Rose Tavern, soon to open in Clarendon. (Photo: TBD Staff)

The restaurant, in the front of the house closer to the street, will serve lunch and dinner. The back bar, which will have more of a lounge feel, will open up to patio seating that faces the interior courtyard of the building, Phillips says. (Neighboring restaurant SoBe Bar and Bistro also has seating in that area.)

They're expecting to finish up work on the interior of Mad Rose early next week, and then will just be waiting on final inspections. Phillips is hoping for an early February opening, but stay tuned to the bar's Facebook page for the exact date.