Yes, this is a gay bar. No, I am not gay. Those 2 facts are probably pretty critical to 2 different subsets of readers considering this bar is brand new. That led to my mistake, of not doing thorough reading and research before deciding to go to happy hour here yesterday. I admit it, I skimmed right past the 5 star reviews and headed over to their stylish website advertising a happy hour that runs an exceptionally long 5 to 9pm, and includes 2 for 1 of any drink that entire time. The drink menu actually sounded quite appealing too, as it consisted of more than just rail liquor, house wine and crap beer at places I would normally associate such a happy hour deal with. So, in all my excitement to get a nice buzz worked up prior to a dinner date with my good friend I headed over to Number 9 to see what it was all about.
They were just opening up the huge windows that let in the outside light as I walked up, and I'm pretty sure I was the first patron of the day, which precluded me from realizing what type of establishment I was entering. The décor here is superb, and the ambiance is one that really lends itself to sitting down and sipping a cocktail. Dim lights, clean lines, dark and manly brown hues throughout, it's like they took the inside of an old ship and made it modern. So I pulled up one of the barstools and took a look through the drink list, full of top shelf liquors, a nice surprise. It was a nice warm Spring afternoon, so I thought a mojito would be the perfect way to cool down and get refreshed. Carlos makes a mean mojito, seriously one of the best I've had in DC, if not the best. I would honestly come back here and endure the slight awkwardness just to have him mix me some more drinks. The price is $10, but considering you get a second one free, a $5 mojito of this girth (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/IDoVOdOnrKiEq61y6zH95Q?select=88NEX8RqgflGj7-3az1Vaw) with that much booze is pretty impressive.
About 20 minutes in it was clear to me that I was the odd man out here, although to either my luck or my misfortune I usually dress the part during the day, so nobody really noticed. Luckily for me I can hang with just about anyone, and have had many gay friends most of my entire life, so either way it doesn't really bother me in the slightest. An hour in and there's more meat in here than Wagshal's, and I'm working on my second drink, a Dark & Stormy, that while made extra strong, wasn't as tasty as the mojito. I probably would have actually ordered a gimlet, since they do it with Hendricks by default, but I was a bit worried about carrying around a martini glass here. I probably could have hung around another hour an downed another 2 drinks while waiting on Ashley to make it over to Logan Circle, but with the ratio of men to women already hovering around 50 to 2 I decided to take my tipsy ass next door to Logan Tavern and have a snack while I wondered who I probably knew in 9 that was likely curious what I was doing there.
If I was a gay dude, this would easily be a 5 star bar (for me anyway, I can't profess to say what qualifies as good from that side), but considering that I can only take advantage of part of the appeal of Number 9, it falls just shy of that. (Just to be clear, as I keep getting messages from gay guys complaining: No, I am not REDUCING my rating BECAUSE it's a gay bar, I just have no idea what a "good" gay scene is in DC, so I can't evaluate whether it's a 5 star experience based on that. To put it another way, would you take your steakhouse advice from someone who's only eaten out at Outback?) The staff is incredibly friendly (and a bit flirtatious with the regular customers, but not in an overly aggressive way), makes killer drinks, and you can't beat that happy hour special. I would actually return here, but probably with a few of my lesbian friends next time, just to feel a little more comfortable. read more