Brookland Pint — Restaurant in Washington

For those still feeling the need to leave reviews after pint’s doors have shut, I’d like to offer a different perspective. In an age where online criticism gives the vengeful guest far too much power, I’d like to remember what this place really was.

Here’s to Brookland Pint, my second home. To me and to many others, this place was not just a restaurant, but a safe haven. A heartbeat in the neighborhood, a warm light spilling out onto Monroe Street, drawing in people from every walk of life.

I got to watch lives unfold here, year after year.. I got to serve a couple on their very first date and later pour their celebratory shots on the night of their engagement. I learned the standing order of the parents whose newborn was in the hospital down the street. I poured beer for the man who had just lost his wife, and I got to offer a quiet space to those who simply needed somewhere to sit and not be alone. I got to celebrate birthdays, graduations, baby showers, new jobs, and all the little milestones that deserved a cheer. And I shared in the heartbreaks too..stories of loss, divorce, and loneliness told across the bar with the kind of trust only a stranger can sometimes hold.

I also got to meet people I never would have otherwise! Neighbors, students, professors, artists, families, even celebrities(!)all of whom somehow found common ground in a pint glass or a shared meal. Many of them I now get to call family.

Of course, it wasn’t always smooth. The inevitable angry crowds when the wait was too long, taps that kicked in the middle of a pour, and guests who forgot that the people serving them were human too. There were nights of exhaustion, sticky floors, and jokes traded in the service alley just to keep each other going. And when something (inevitably) went wrong, we’d laugh and shrug and also joke about well.. Pint!

Brookland Pint was never about perfection, it was about people. About a small staff who poured their hearts into this place, about regulars who claimed their favorite seats, about strangers who walked in alone and left feeling just a little less lonely.

That’s the beauty of a small business: it doesn’t run on efficiency, but on love, chaos, and the fragile, extraordinary work of creating a space where anyone could belong.

So many lives passed through those doors, leaving pieces of themselves behind, taking pieces of us with them. Though the lights are out now and the barstools empty, its spirit lingers..in memory, in community, in every story told over a pint.

And if people cannot appreciate places like Pint because they expect them to run like a Cheesecake Factory or some polished corporate chain, then one day we’ll only be left with restaurants where you order through a screen bolted to the table.

So slow down. Take your dining experiences a little less seriously. Be kind to the people serving you. Notice the imperfections and love them for what they are. Appreciate your surroundings, the people across from you, and the humanity happening all around.

Lastly, a reminder to thank your local bar for quietly holding so much of your joy, your grief, and your...

The service here has really taken a turn for the worse in the last year or so. The university community often hosts events at Brookland Pint that would, by their nature, involve large groups. The last few times I've attended events here have been very disappointing. Recently, I came as part of a large party with 10 guests confirmed. They sat us at a table set for only 8 and when we asked about it we were met with an unkind attitude. The server simply said "I know it's only set for 8," and walked away.

When more arrived, we had to shuffle and add seats in an uncomfortable manner and it was incredibly awkward and rude to the rest of the party who were en route.

On another note, we never received any offer of refills of drinks and it seemed as though our presence was a great inconvenience to the waitstaff. When they were negotiating seating our large group at the completely empty patio, we were informed we would only be allowed to pay one check and that it could not be broken up among the group. We agreed this time but I found this to be completely out of order for an establishment that has previously allowed large parties and separate checks on many occasions. Busboys and Poets, across the street, has always allowed us to pay individual checks with no issue.

I don't often leave reviews and I would let this experience go except for the fact that this has become the norm at Brookland Pint and I am loathe to attend any events hosted here because of the hostile attitude I continuously encounter from staff, especially servers. As a customer, I understand that being short staffed and serving large parties is taxing and grace should be extended to servers; however, that does not justify treating the customer as a complete imposition rather than a patron who is paying for service as well as for their food and drinks.

If we had felt welcome, we would have bought more but we left shortly after finishing our drinks because we felt the server was trying to get...

Management is rude. A big group of teachers came to happy hour after the last day of school. The server didn’t come to our table so we used the bar to order drinks and food. 3 hours later a hostess/server came over to tell us to scoot over because there were guests coming in. We filled the table with a few of us standing, there was nowhere to go. She kept arguing with us to “just make room.” We asked for the manager he came over and told us we weren’t actual diners despite ordering drinks and food- because we had used the bar instead of the server. Then he said fine you can have the table with so much attitude and no apology for making us feel like garbage human beings (meanwhile every other table is a quarter full at best and there’s literally an empty smaller table). He came back to tell us the couple needed a high chair, so that’s why he needed the edge of our table, I don’t know, to guilt us? He came back to tell us we can’t have dogs on the patio- we’ve been here 3-4 hours at this point and not a single person has said anything and there are 0 signs that dictate this. But he didn’t just say that, he said, “Oh, AND you have a dog? There are no dogs on the patio, nobody told you that?” Throws up his hands and scoffs “A customer got bit by a dog, that’s why!” This tiny sleepy puppy had been in someone’s lap the whole time and was not going anywhere near other people. Needless to say, we will never be choosing this establishment again and we will be sharing our experiences...