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Party Earth Review Built into a flat, square building with no exterior windows or lights, the most prominent evidence of the dive hiding behind the boarded-up façade of Dan’s Café is the string of rowdy frat boys usually careening out its... ... read full review
2315 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
Red Line: Woodley Park- Zoo/Adams Morgan
202–265–0299
Tu–Th 7pm–2am, F–Sa 7pm–3am
Adams Morgan, Washington, DC –
Built into a flat, square building with no exterior windows or lights, the most prominent evidence of the dive hiding behind the boarded-up façade of Dan’s Café is the string of rowdy frat boys usually careening out its door.
A dozen shelves of booze stacked behind the sticky bar glitter like lost treasure, drawing a crowd of college grads gearing up for a bleary-eyed night of hard liquor doled out in Dan’s special style – tall glasses, a bucket of ice, and a mixer ready for DIY drinks.
Old-school neon signs, slowly dying plants, and drink prices scribbled on a piece of paper and nailed to the wall make up most of the décor, but after a few shots served in condiment squeeze bottles that could drop a small elephant, no one is really looking at the furniture.
When not crowded around the electric fans trying to catch a breeze when the air conditioner-free bar heats up, those budget-conscious partiers still standing can try and find entertainment on the probably broken pool table or at the old jukebox that boasts music from an era when compact discs were a radical technological achievement.
With a maximum capacity of about sixty and a reputation for being a small and gritty pre-game dive, Dan’s Café fills up early on Friday and Saturday nights as guys with an agenda stop in for a quickie before stumbling to another neighborhood locale.
Budget-conscious young professionals, recent college grads, and pre-game partiers, early 20s to early30s.
Jukebox featuring hits from the 90s and before. Pool table.
No food. Cash only.
Beer $3–$4, mixed drinks $5–$13, squeeze bottle shots $12–$23 w/$5 deposit, chasers and mixers $1.
Casual: jeans, t-shirts, shorts, sandals.
Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays for a good pre-game crowd.
Bedrock Billiards (1841 Columbia Road NW) has seven pool tables, Skeeball, and Happy Hour deals every night of the week.
Dan's Café User Reviews