Not to be confused with Free State Distillery in Upper Marlboro (though many also call it Arthur…read moreWheeler Spirits haha), this place is located just off of the main street in chinatown, and it's surprisingly lowkey. It's a basement bar with a bit of a dive vibe, but it's hard to ignore the nautical, blue crab theme throughout. Turns out that one of the owners is a Marylander, which is cool to see reflected in the decor in a place in dc, even though it is next door. They have a happy hour and they have a great variety of drinks in general. It's bring-your-own-food (BYOF) and there are a bunch of delicious looking Asian spots nearby, including upstairs. It didn't start getting crowded until closer to 10, which, as I said, is surprising for this part of town to me. Everywhere in Chinatown is not going to be packed and busy, and this place is here to remind you of that. Stop by if you're looking for a more chill vibe. Staff are pretty cool.

Free State is perfect for a chill bar in the Downtown area. It's exactly the kind of place you want…read moreto share a few drinks and be able to hear the person in front of you. I had a delicious orange crush drink and my friend had a sangria. The bartenders are extremely chill and nice; they only come up when you need it which is nice for good conversation. I'll easily be back when I want to catch up with friends without a speaker blaring in our ears. Great place to introduce to more people!

Great beer selection and a nice environment. Our servers were very friendly and I like when there…read moreis a QR code AND you can place orders as you go. Pretzel: These were amazing! The pimento cheese dip was great. Pulled pork nachos: Huge portion! These were also exceptional. BLT w/ tomato soup: "This hit the spot". Nashville Fried chicken sandwhich: I was quite disappointed in this, considering how good everything else was. The chicken was very dry and overly salty IMO. Not at all spicy either. Thyme fries: Loved these! Really cool flavor profile. I would happily come back and try a different entree.

I won't be back unfortunately and you should probably keep walking and find something else. Didn't…read morerealize what kind of restaurant this was until I was told to order off an app and then my food would be ran out to me...and that's all you get for customer service. Runners just do that. Run around the restaurant throwing food down on tables and run back to the kitchen. Never checking on anyone to see if they need anything and how the food is. I ordered the SW Salad ($16.50) with a steak add on ($9.00) at medium temp. I also ordered a cup of Clam Chowder ($5.95) as an appetizer. Chowder came out pretty much right on top of my salad, but no big deal. Chowder was decent taste, but only found one clam. Ok whatever. Salad came out looking like a side salad on a large plate with five slices of rare, tough steak. It was so rare, that it was extremely hard to cut through, but again, who was I going to talk to about it. No wait staff would even look my way. I couldn't even get a refill on my water and there is no place in the app to order a glass of water...so that's that. Unfortunately it was just an extremely bad experience for $40. I'll be looking for dinner somewhere else tomorrow night.

Henceforth is a gem of an institution within the H St corridor. There's plenty of good vibes to go…read morearound here. I came here for trivia in particular. I enjoyed the format of the trivia while enjoying my drink. I also thought the service was pretty decent. I will definitely come back!

Came for a live music session over the weekend. First time in the place and it's so cute! Only…read morereally saw the second level in its fullness but the vibes were great. Servers were visible and around, but moving. I was able to grab one to order the lamb pops and the fries, both of which were amazing and so flavorful! I had a strawberry spritz to drink (I think, as it was ordered for me) and it was pretty good. Overall would come back again for an event or nice date night stop!

As you will read across many reviews you can see online this is a great place for both wine…read moreconnoisseurs and the everyday consumer of wines and spirits. Cordial At The Wharf at 70 District Square is a newly expanded store in a new location. Very approachable friendly staff . The whole establishment well over doubled their previous offerings in both wines and spirits. The owner is obviously passionate about his craft and has an attention to ensuring your experience is a great one. White wines ,Champagnes , and Craft Beer at the rear of the store in coolers ready to go . Frequent wine tasting events ,sometimes even spirits included .I follow them on Instagram for the latest in tasting offerings ,fun tasting events to find new flavors, and learn something new about wine and spirits .

I visited this store looking for Dekuyper Red Apple Schnapps, as Google indicated it was sold here…read more While the item wasn't currently in stock, the sales associate went above and beyond to assist me. They took the time to check the ordering system and even mentioned they would speak with the store owner about possibly getting it in and following up with me. That level of effort and care--regardless of the outcome--is what true customer service looks like, and I genuinely appreciated it. Note: The store is tucked away in an alley, so if you're using Google Maps, be cautious when navigating to the location--it's easy to miss or drive past.

I already mentioned Shelter in my Roost review, but it also deserves its own review for being the…read morebest beer bar that I ever visited inside a food court. Its a pretty easy feat to achieve for the minds behind spots like Church Key and The Sovereign (and I'll get to those places later). But from showcasing a well-rounded list of around 1000 beers annually including some exclusive brews in 50 taps, to having equipment like a temperature controlled tap system, side-pull taps for lagers, and a cask engine system for ales and ciders, it shows that they have features that many non-food court beer bars could only dream of! With it being Snallygaster weekend I was on cloud nine sipping and savoring a satisfying preview of the breweries that I'd be enjoying over the weekend. But I also enjoyed some of their regular harder to find brews while conversing and geeking out about good beers with the bartender. Another standout plus to the bar being in a food court that's very tech savvy was the ability to order from any restaurant in the court while sitting at the bar! Toss in plenty of cocktails, whiskey pours, a well-rounded wine list, and non-alcoholic options, and this bar is a good spot for anyone to Shelter in place in. Especially during their happy hour and special events!

Excellent selection of beers and they have guest taps! There is something for everyone, which we…read morefound out after we saw the frozen drinks they had in the corner and decided instead of have frozen pina coladas instead of craft beer. Glad we did - these were really good! And a good size, too. Service was quick and helpful as counter service only.

Amazing service and incredible drinks! Graham is the best bartender in the city…read more Also the creativity is unmatched! Order what you want from the menu but they are also willing to make you specialized drinks to your liking.

Love this place because it's such a casual spot to drink after dinner or if you're in the area. I…read morehad never been before to a place that allowed outside food and now I think more should!

Such a fun place! Right next to the Nationals Stadium, great place to try whatever beer/cider/wine…read moreyou might be interested in - just tap the card and serve however little or large amount you want. The food was great, we loved the mozzarella bites. The marinara tasted super watery. Service was super friendly and great. It was really busy and crowded - was also game day so it was expected. Would go back again!

If you want a place with a good beer selection and fun vibes, then this is the spot. If you're…read morehungry, then maybe try another place first then come here for drinks.... We ordered the Mac and cheese bites but they did not have any Mac.. it was just fried cut up mozzarella sticks. Which is great.. if that's what it was called on the menu. We also ordered a fried chicken sandwich and a pub burger. The chicken sandwich was fine. The pub burger was ... meh. The pretzel bun they brought out was over toasted and looked like it was pretty dry before that. Like it was HARD. No one came to check on us after the food arrived so I had to take my plate to the check out desk to address the issue. Cait took care of it right away; I asked for just a new bun - I don't mind swapping it out myself. But in the end the burger was still just meh. Almost forgot to mention the fries .. not great. They were salted well but the fries themselves were almost chewy. When we checked out, Cait said apologized and mentioned some staffing issues. She offered to get in touch with some sort of compensation but didn't offer to waive our one beer. We left paying full price for everything. Again, fine spot if you just wanted to hang out and drink beer.

Decent beer garden, we stopped in very close to closing time so we only got to enjoy the atmosphere…read morefor about half an hour. Bartenders were quick and knowledgeable. I can see this being a fun place to hang out in the evenings, especially with the open air seating! Good vibes!

Reasonably priced, easy QR code ordering, awesome giant pretzel and loaded hot dog. Basically all…read moreoutdoors. Theres a tent, but dress for the weather. Gets pretty loud. Good as a beer garden.

Nemo was amazing! Best bartender in DC. So kind and always treats us like royalty. Takoda is always…read morethe place I go for an event with me and my friends.

We stopped in here on the way to the Springsteen concert and enjoyed their Negroni very much. The…read moreroom had a really good vibe that night. Got to chat with some people that we didn't know who came to see the concert as well. All in all a great stop offering good cocktails, and a friendly environment.

Okay okay, calling all young DMV folks!…read more The Cove is located in Navy Yard, advertised as a water front social club. What is it? I'd say it's has a SMALL "replication of a beach" transformed within a large gathering spot. Has a bar and to me it reminded me of a tailgate. Corn hole, games, younger crowd drinking beers. Demographic is younger crowd 21-35. Me personally, I would not rent their cabanas or come hang out here, not my vibe. Literally an out door bar. I like dressing in heels and well this is a casual spot. There is a "gate guy" checking ID's so make sure to have it ready. It appears that The Cove was short lived. This place will not reopen this summer! Not at this location at least. They are trying to relocate! Good luck!

Amazing views, great vibes, good music and drinks. Visited The Cove for happy hour on my birthday…read moreand had such a good time. It was a perfect day in October, so it felt like I was on a sandy beach on a tropical island. They offer happy hour from 4-7pm Tuesday to Friday's. Add a little hookah and a DJ and the vibes were great. While we didn't eat, they do offer a rotating variety of food trucks. Just a heads up they don't allow you to keep your tab open at the bar and they add a 20% gratuity to every check.