April 2, 2012
Located in the basement of a row house near the 13th St. exit of the U St. Metro. Cramped and adorned modestly. Service at my table was decent, and the bartenders seemed friendly. However, the owner has a bunch of entirely unnecessary rules, such as you can not order food until after receiving your first beer, etc, which can slow things down (and are generally ridiculous). The selection is primarily Germans and Belgians, mostly crap though a few quality breweries are there. Prices are on the higher end, though standard for DC. My hamburger was okay though probably below average by DC pub standards. Overall, don’t waste your time, there are better bars with better selections nearby (Policy, Marvin, to name a few). I have no idea why the reviews for this place are so high.

March 21, 2012
I’d come back

December 21, 2009
Siobhan and I stopped in at this bar to have a beer after a day in D.C. The selection offered some good, imported beers, but was not too diverse overall. The bar had a fairly nice ambiance and we had good service; we did not try any of the food. However, the beers were expensive and came in smaller glasses, so I was disappointed with that aspect of the visit. Overall it was a decent bar with some interesting beers to offer, but nothing that I would be too excited to visit.

April 27, 2009
I loved the vibe of this place: no tvs or music, and long German-style benches that they cram you in with other patrons, enjoying a great selection of German draught beer and Belgian bottles. All over-priced. I can see how the atmosphere might turn some people off, but this is place is all about socializing over good beer, in a somewhat lively setting. I only made it here once while in DC, mostly due to their high prices, but I would definitely come back if i found myself up on U Street in the future.

November 30, 2008 [ Updated April 10, 2010 ]
Small neighborhood joint with strict rules: no standing, no TVs, no martinis. Good food with frequent specials (NY strip on Tues, spicy chicken on Monday). Most folks stick to the tap selection, which is decent esp if you like German beers. Good range of Belgian bottle, mostly in proper glassware. Very friendly staff. Top 2 floors available for parties.

November 20, 2008 [ Updated July 1, 2010 ]
So i rated a different bar as this place at first. Having been there, the bar is pretty awesome. The bartender was great and had been doing the job for a long time. There were funny signs and a good atmosphere. The beers were pretty much belgian and german and it was expensive. The food was good, i had the boied potatoes, cheese, and salsa plate.

June 8, 2008
Great little place. Wood, drark, dank, sunken down, etc. No TV, no standing, lots of beer. German, Belgium, etc. I’m confused as to what the exclusive Spaten Red they had on tap really was, oh well. Nice selection and good times.

January 21, 2008 [ Updated August 24, 2008 ]
One of the nicer places I’ve been that offers some good German/Austrian/Belgian beers both on tap and in the bottle. Beers can be a little expensive and the food is so so, but it’s a nice atmosphere and metro accessible.

January 13, 2008 [ Updated January 19, 2008 ]
Hey, cool place! Feels a bit like a grotto, sunken down a few steps from street level, it’s a lot of red brick and brown wood. A small joint, it’s cozy and comfortable without being pretentious and faux high class. They don’t allow standing, have no TVs, and the music isn’t too loud, making it a very sociable place to drink. Draft offerings are mostly German and Austrian selections, with Spaten Dunkel, Oktoberfest and Maibock, a couple of US micro drafts, and Hacker-Schorr Hefe-Dunkel and Eggenberg dunkel and Urkbock 23, and Belgian bottles. Prices range between $6-8 per glass, a little spendy but it is U Street. It’s walkable from Bar Pilar/Cafe St Ex, and it’s Metro accessible, right across U St from the 13st Metro exit. Food menu was mostly American pub grub, which didn’t seem to match the whole Bavarian feel of the place.

June 13, 2007
Really a solid beer bar. Strong on draft German and Austrian beers, usually with a surprise or two. The impressive list of Belgians is overpriced in my book. Had a spicy corned beef sandwich of some kind that was damn tasty. An enjoyable evening, but the final tab was on the scary side.