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!

At my recommendation, my son and his girlfriend went here after a day of touring in D.C…read more. Apparently, they ordered the blue crab, mac & cheese, and chicken wings. Both reported, it was an outstanding choice. They enjoy the time before they took the Metro back home. There are no complaints about the service, and they didn't really mention what the place looks like. But it could not have been too bad. They did say, it was clean and nice in the 22-year-olds that's a compliment. They also said it was convenient to get to the metro from there.

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.

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!

Some of the best finds require a little searching and The Unforgiving Minute was worth every step…read more A hidden speakeasy affiliated with a local gem the Henceforth. My date found this gem on TikTok and it became the second stop on my birthday celebration. We left Daru and a short drive later we were on the hunt. Hidden in an alley behind Henceforth we stopped to ask someone working at a nearby spot for directions. We found the alley, spotted the blue light, and rang the bell. The door opened and we were whisked inside. Up the stairs a hallway lined with smaller parlor style rooms set the tone before we even reached the bar. Velvet fabric draped the ceiling over a grand bar decked out with bottles and dim lighting. Bar seating up front and high top tables arranged along the wall. We had not even ordered yet and the atmosphere had already delivered. To our surprise our escort to our seats was also one of the bartenders. Around 10pm there was only one other gentleman at the bar. No drink menu so we went with a staple old fashioned. Watching the bartender chisel ice and lower it into the glass with with a bar spoon was a talent worth watching. It was so memorable it made me want to chisel ice myself. The old fashioned was great. The no photography rule was listed and we followed it without question. No one around us had their phones out taking pictures and my date and I were not about to be the ones to break the code. A party of women came in looking incredible, clearly there to celebrate something special. Black girl magic was fully in the building!! The couple seated at the high top to our right came in after us and we quickly became their guides. They lucked up on this place as first timers just like us and we balanced the experience together comparing drinks and sharing what we had learned. That kind of spontaneous connection is always the best part of a new space. And that is the honest note worth sharing. The bartender was clearly more in tune with the creation of drinks than creating an experience for guests. For a new visitor on a birthday celebration that gap was felt. We never even got to share what we were celebrating. It may have been an off night, but we can see how given the right inviting bartender those in the space would engage more, which feels like exactly the vibe they are going for. For a cocktail experience that elevates the night or a chance to extend it somewhere unexpected this place delivers. We would certainly go back with a group and a more inviting bartender to show us the ropes. Next time we may start at the Henceforth before coming over. The Unforgiving Minute is a gathering place worth coming back to.

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.

If you're looking for a home bar, this is it. If you're passing through or live here, they make it…read morefamiliar. That's why I keep coming back They're all phenomenal-- but the weekend bartender always has your back

The Greatest Bartender in the History of Our Country - if the Country were just the Navy Yard…read more Let me tell you, I've been to a lot of bars. Beautiful bars. But nobody, and I mean nobody pours a drink like Elle at Suzie Q's. People are always coming up to me, very smart people, and they say, "Sir, where do I get a tremendous cocktail?" I say: You go see Elle. Other bartenders, they give you a weak pour. Very sad, frankly. They don't know what they're doing. Total disasters. But Elle? She gives you a beautiful pour. The best pours ever. Big, strong guys come up to her at the bar with tears in their eyes and say, "Thank you, Elle, for saving my happy hour." Her drinks are huge. Fantasticly flavorful. The absolute best ingredients. Other places want you to drink terrible, watery drinks. Not on Elle's watch! She is a winner, I know winners, and she's one of them, and she is making mixology great again. If you want a bad drink, go somewhere else. If you want perfection, you go see Elle at Suzie Q's . Five stars. Believe me!

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.