A review of Relic, a Bethesda, Maryland hideaway that is equal parts restaurant, bar, and lounge.

...Relic's interior décor weaves anachronistic fables of a parlor to which 16th-century English monarchs and American frontiersmen of the 1800s might have applied their collaborative aesthetic, were they not separated by Mother Earth and Father Time. That this is carried out with a twist of modern Manhattan chic is no small feat, particularly since the room of which I speak is not in New York City, but in Maryland. Here, light fixtures constructed of faux moose antlers share the room with massive painted renderings of Henry VIII and poor, ill-fated Anne Boleyn. There, sheer, exquisitely-detailed draperies forming alcoves around the luxurious loveseats hang opposite sofas upholstered in leather and faux zebra hide, opposite barstools made of real equestrian saddles. These inject into the room a vibrant sense of whimsy from which it reaps large benefits...