1/2 Good Love cute spot, good drinks, questionable food situation…read more Stopped by Good Love for happy hour after work and I have to say... the vibe is definitely vibing! It's advertised as a lounge/speakeasy, and the space is beautiful. The decor is very picture-esque and feels like a spot you could easily post up for a cute night out. Service was on point, and they have a nice variety of cocktails to choose from. Happy hour is definitely worth mentioning because drinks are half off my basic espresso martini was only $10, which I can absolutely get behind. Now...the food. The menu has very few options, which I'm guessing ties into the whole speakeasy/lounge concept. But if I'm being honest, I was disappointed with the food selection.The oxtail patties (which weren't listed on the menu) were tasty, though! Overall, I'd give Good Love a 3.5/5. It's probably a one-and-done for me as a dining destination, but I can definitely see myself recommending it as a **pit stop after dinner when you want a cute atmosphere, good service, and a crafted cocktail. Come for the vibe. Stay for the drinks. Maybe eat somewhere else first.

Cool little bar next to isla. While its being referred to as a Speakeasy, its really just a cool…read morelowkey cocktail lounge. They have a very small food menu but the drinks are why you come here. They have an ok list of cocktails but have a plethora of different liquors of try by region. The DJ comes in around 9/930pm but even before he arrived the music they were playing was on point! I'd recommend this spot but you should try for a reservation in the late evening

Realm Rooftop & Lounge is truly a hidden gem in DC! The atmosphere is elevated, stylish, and…read morewelcoming, with a beautiful rooftop setting and a great vibe. The brunch was a highlight! I had the shrimp and grits and really appreciated that they were able to accommodate me by substituting chicken sausage. The French toast was delicious, the breakfast potatoes were perfectly prepared, and the breakfast salad added a fresh touch to the meal. The cinnamon roll topped with blueberries and the lemon cream from my french toast was a mouth party. Definitely a standout! Between the food, atmosphere, service, and overall experience, Realm is a great destination for brunch, a celebration, date day, or simply enjoying DC from a rooftop. I'll definitely be back!

3/5 Realm Rooftop…read moreLounge is one of those places where the ambiance is doing some very heavy lifting. The views are stunning, the music is on point, and the vibe has all the ingredients for a great night out. Unfortunately, the service and operations left a lot to be desired. We stopped by after dinner for a nightcap, and honestly, the experience got off to a rocky start before we even made it upstairs. One member of our group was denied entry because his denim shorts were cut off, which is fair enough if that's the dress code. He went home, changed, and returned, so crisis averted. Once we got upstairs, however, the confusion continued. We asked both the bar back and a server whether we could seat ourselves in the bar area, and neither person seemed to know the answer. After a brief game of "Who's on First?" , we tracked down the hostess, who informed us that yes, we could sit wherever we wanted. Great! Or so we thought. After taking a seat, we spent several minutes watching our server walk past us repeatedly without acknowledging our existence. At some point, the men in our group decided to do what apparently needed to be done and headed to the bar to order drinks themselves. Now, here's where I have to give credit where it's due: the drinks were excellent. We ordered the Purple Rain, Island Spritz, Casa del Fuego, and a tequila soda water, and every single one delivered. The bartender clearly knows how to make a cocktail. Unfortunately, she also seemed like she'd rather have been literally anywhere else. The drinks were enthusiastically slammed onto the bar with an energy that suggested we'd personally inconvenienced her by ordering them. Despite all of that, the ambiance truly is fantastic. The DJ was spinning an excellent set and created the perfect soundtrack for a summer night in DC. The rooftop views are gorgeous and absolutely worth experiencing at least once. Unfortunately, Mother Nature was operating on "surface of the sun" settings that evening, so spending too much time outside wasn't an option. At the end of the day, Realm has all the makings of a great rooftop destination: beautiful views, strong cocktails, and good music. What it's missing is a smooth operational flow and staff who seem interested in providing hospitality. Would I return? Yes--but I'd give them some time to work out the kinks. The potential is absolutely there. As I always say: I'm not difficult to please. I just have standards.

This was a fun addition to U Street! I love love the cocktails at Alchemist so I was very excited…read moreto try The Craft. We were there for Happy Hour on Thursday. The bartenders were all super capable and friendly, offering great recommendations and answering questions we had. They also made sure our water glasses were never empty! My one complaint about the menu is that I wish the drink descriptions were inclusive of all ingredients in the drink. I ordered the Burned At The Stake and was surprised to find it had blue curaçao in it, because it wasn't mentioned in the drink description. It's a personal preference for me, but I really don't care for it and would've ordered something else if I'd known. They have karaoke on Thursdays and it was really fun to watch folks sing and get really theatrical with it. I also love the moody, tarot-themed decor.

The Craft is a fun little place! In a great location close to the metro and right above The…read moreAlchemist. The menu is neat, with all the drinks on the first page but the rest of the pages tell more about each drink. Service was so fast! We enjoyed rolling the dice to create a drink concoction and picking a card to see what flavor espresso martini we got. I will definitely be returning to The Craft when I'm in the area!

Black owned business…read more I've been wanting to try this place for a long time and I'm glad that I finally did. First, don't expect table side service, you have to use a QR code to order your meal and put in an "order" to speak with someone. While this wasn't the best, it worked for what we needed which was to ask questions about the menu. Next, you cannot get a glass of wine during the weekend brunch/lunch but you can purchase a bottle and take the rest home. Lastly, there was nobody at the front door so we simply walked into the restaurant and sat ourselves. Beautiful restaurant however, more on the speakeasy/rustic side. Now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's get into why I gave this place a good rating. Well, the wine selection and pasta were enough to make me beyond happy. But the cost was a bit questionable. Pasta- shrimp and caviar (can't remember the sauce) but know this dish was hearty, bursting with flavor, and freshly prepared. It was absolutely delicious with every bite. Wine selection- I ordered a remarkable bottle of 2022 white wine and the citrus and stone fruits made it perfect for the shrimp and caviar. The prices for both the bottle and pasta were really expensive but honestly, I didn't feel bad because I enjoyed both. Now, I do plan on visiting during hours when I can order a glass of wine because with the cost of the food and the cost of the bottles, it wasn't cost-effective for a single diner at all. Hope to be back soon!

The wine is good and the food is good. But I find the fact that they don't let you order wine by…read morethe glass (or even by the half bottle or carafe) in much of the seating areas to be extremely irritating and obnoxious. It's a wine bar! God forbid you'd like to try something without spending at least $50 on a bottle. More annoyingly, I think they do offer wine by the glass but you can only get it from the bar. Now, you can order cocktails from the bar and you can order food from the kitchen, but somehow wine by the glass is an impossible ask. I understand it's probably a business decision to maximize revenue but there are plenty of wine bars in the area that aren't this annoying and I'd encourage people to go there rather than here.

I've been to the restaurant next door on several occasions, so I finally decided to give this local…read morerestaurant a chance. I decided to order off the restaurant week menu for variety. The food was excellent and I was so excited to have another option so close. Then we got the bill, which really wasn't a bill, as it didn't have the line item amounts, just what was due. The amount seemed high so I asked the waitress if tip was included. Her response was a small service fee was included, but it's not a tip. To my surprise, when I got home, I looked at the bill that was emailed to me and realized I paid a 20% tip on top of a 20% service charge. I don't know if I'll be back.

I've had Era on my list for about a year now and I'm so excited that my partner brought me for a…read moredate night. We had a 6:30pm reservation and upon arrival we were promptly seated at lovely window table near the front. The ambiance is great it's spacious with beautiful tables, chairs, and a decent sized wine display. Our first server was great she offered suggestions for wine and the menu and she had a friendly personality. We started with the Era 75 and a glass in the Spanish , red that was on "wine o' clock", we also ordered the shrimp and avocado tostini's and truffle fries. The wine was ok it wasn't as full bodied as I expected it to be but my partner really like the era75. The crostini's were a 10/10 and the truffle fries were a miss as I think they could have been cooked for a few more minutes. The servers switched at some point so we got someone new and I think she was only person there. We both ordered the linguine with the first server but the second came right before our dishes came and we shared we wanted a white to pair with the pasta. She seemed a little less knowledgeable but she made a suggestion that I liked the Alvarinho. The wine didn't come out, I had to stop eating and wait. She came back after about 12-15 minutes to check on us and I shared we still had not received the wine. Another person came to check on us I'm not sure who he was but possibly the owner. The linguine was well prepared although a bit salty for my liking. We were warned about the spice level but it wasn't spicy in my opinion. Overall the dish was good. For dessert my partner ordered cheesecake. The reason I'm giving a 4 is because of the slow service after the servers switched out and because the kitchen became quite smoky a few times and I smelt like smoke when we left. I will definitely return and I'm looking forward to the patio when it gets warmer out.

Great customer service and a good variety of options. They staff seem to love what they do and…read morealways have a positive and welcoming attitude

Drinks were tasty and the bartender was knowledgeable. Happy hour was too expensive though. Drink…read moresize was small.

A really solid cocktail bar - I am not even a rum lover and all the drinks were so well made, you…read morealmost forgot it was a rum bar. We loved the redbeard - it was refreshing and light, something I could drink by the pool all summer. The coconut rickey felt "healthy" and light as well and of course, the cocomotion was the star of the show. Bartenders were quick, and the space was trendy with clean restrooms. Overall good selection and we enjoyed all drinks we tried.

Located in Union Market, this is a great place to grab a drink after a nearby dinner or snack. It's…read morea little hidden from the other restaurants, but I promise the drink I tried was worth it. The cocomotion was genuinely one of my favorite rum drinks I have tried in dc and is perfectly worth the hype it has gotten. I would be interested to go back and try some of their other drinks as well. It seems like they also have nice happy hour specials, so I will be back to test that out too. There seemed to be a birthday party or something happening in the back room when I went, so it was pretty crowded. I think the front room has some great spaces to sit, as well as a bar along one of the other walls to rest a drink on while talking to people. My main feedback is that it could use a little more seating, but overall is very fun and easy to mingle.

Pls go for happy hour and get those sliders! Excellent staff and ambiance. I've already been back…read moretwice! And I can't stop thinking about that golden hour drink. Check them out

The place was nice and the food was 7/10. However I would recommend going elsewhere for a brunch. I…read morewill say the service was very slow. It's nothing on the actual bartender but they are very understaffed. There were about 7 tables and i had a party of 9 in one. We waited about 40 mins for the food. I recommended getting a pitcher for the bottomless mimosas so that the bartender can attend to others more but that shouldn't even be something for a customer to say. It was just ridiculously understaffed for a brunch on a Sunday in Labor Day weekend. The di was really good tho!