Neighborhood Happy Hour Crawl: Barracks Row
This week’s Neighborhood Happy Hour Crawl focuses one of the city’s liveliest streets–Southeast’s Barracks Row–located just south of the popular-for-weekend strolling Eastern Market. Taking its name from the Marine Barracks at the nearby Navy Yard, this National Historic Trust-designated area has seen a remarkable revitalization within the last decade and is now home to a dense multitude of hip bars, restaurants and stores.
The area is easily accessed by Eastern Market metro (blue & orange) or a short walk from the Navy Yard metro (green).
Our bar crawl focuses exclusively on a small five block stretch on 8th St NE, moving north to south, and highlights the variety of world cuisines you can find in such a small area. We’ll start you off with some delicious, worldly happy hours and have you back home in time for dinner.
Banana Cafe & Piano Bar (500 8th St SE; 202-543-5906)
We’ll kick off the international part of our crawl at the northeast corner of 8th St NE and E St, home to this fun and lively spot that serves Cuban, Puerto Rican and Tex Mex dishes. Start off your night with tropical house cocktails like the Dirty Banana or a pitcher of Puerto Rican Pina Coladas.
Happy Hour Everyday, 4 PM–7:30 PM
$1 off Rail Drinks & Bottled Beer
$2 off Wine & Cocktails
Beer buckets: $15 Domestics/$20 Imports
$5 Food Specials
Belga Café (514 8th St SE; 202-544 0100)
Belga is one of the best Belgian restaurants in the city and a great place for waffles, mussels and of course, Belgian beer, which is half off during Happy Hour. The beer selection can be overwhelming, but try a citrusy Saison Dupont (6.5% ABV) on a warm DC night.
Happy Hour Monday–Friday, 4 PM–7 PM
½ Price Draft Beer and Beer Flights
$5 Glasses of Wine
$6 Cocktails
$4 Tapas
Ambar (523 8th St. SE; 202-813-3039)
Continuing on our international drinking tour, cross the street to head to Ambar, Richard Sandoval’s cozy and rustic place specializing in Balkan cuisine. Grab a beer or classic cocktail (happy hour includes cheap mojitos and margaritas) and enjoy southeastern Europe-inspired snacks like kebabs and aged cheeses.
Happy Hour Monday–Friday, 4 PM–7 PM
$4 Beers
$4 Wines
$4 Cocktails
$4 Small Plates
Cava Mezze (527 8th St SE; 202-543-9090)
Our last international stop on the Row is this always popular Greek mezes/tapas restaurant with a huge, global wine list and extensive cocktail selection. Try some of their famous spreads like the taramosalata, crazy feta or the tzatziki, and a crisp glass of red or white from the Greek winery, Nikiforou.
Happy Hour Monday–Friday, 5 PM–7 PM
$4 Wines
$5 Margaritas
$6 Mojitos
$4-7 Draft Beers
Molly Malone’s Capitol Hill Saloon (713 8th St SE; 202-547-1222)
From far abroad to hyperlocal: though styled as an Irish pub, Malone’s is the quintessential neighborhood bar (and one of best places to catch a Nat’s game) with plenty of local brews on tap, like DC Brau, Flying Dog, Heavy Seas and Charlottesville’s Starr Hill.
Happy Hour Sunday–Friday, 3 PM–7 PM
$1 off Drafts
$1 off Rail Drinks
$2 off Wine
The Ugly Mug (723 8th St SE; 202-547-8459)
Another great local pub, the Ugly Mug is a laid-back sports bar with zero pretension. It can get rowdy with young Hill staffers, but you can’t beat the super cheap draft beers and classic pub fare like fried pickles, poppers and tater tots.
Happy Hour Monday–Friday, 4 PM–7 PM
$3 Drafts
$3 Rail drinks
$1 off Wine;
$5-$7 Bar Appetizers
Zest American Bistro (735 8th St SE; 202-544-7171)
Sadly, every good bar crawl must come to an end. Our last stop on Barracks Row is this fresh and tasty bistro serving up new American classics like kale salads, cured pork belly and fried blue catfish. If you want to keep your evening going, we recommend stopping here for dinner and then resuming your drinking after dessert–after 9 PM, bottles of wine are half off.
Happy Hour Everyday, 3 PM–7 PM and 9 PM to close
$4 Draft Beer
$5 Wines, Rail Drinks and Appetizers
$6 Burgers
Photo via Cava Mezze
