Dacha Beer Garden (Navy Yard) — Restaurant in Washington

TLDR: Do NOT have an event here!! A "last minute" policy change cost us thousands of dollars, and the event manager Siobhan would not reply to emails or phone calls. (However the entire service staff the night of our event was wonderful)

So we were planning on having a no-host gathering at Jackie Bar at Dacha Navy Yard the night before our wedding. When we signed the contract, we were assured that would be fine, we could hit the food & beverage minimum with multiple credit cards. The original event manager had confirmed via email that the only thing we would need to pay up front was any food/drinks we pre-ordered.

One week before our event, the new event manager Siobhan emailed us to say their policy had changed and the entire event had to be on one credit card, paid in advance. I reached out to see if there was anything we could do - perhaps get a refund if we hit a certain amount, or lower the minimum, given that we didn't budget for this. Three emails over the course of 6 days were ignored, a phone call and voice mail was ignored, and we tried to reach out to any other manager that worked there and never got a response. We finally paid the remaining balance because we were worried they'd cancel if we didn't, and we'd lose our deposit.

Built into the price is a 25% service fee, and our original contract showed that would be added to whatever we purchased to hit our minimum. Dacha uses a living contract, so that if you don't download a copy, they can change it at any time and it still shows your signature. My mistake, I had not downloaded, and at that time they changed our contract so that the 25% was on top of the minimum, instead of beforehand.

Finally, on our tour of the event, the original event manager said that if we wanted to bring a slide show, they'd show that on the TVs they have at the bar. We hadn't been planning on doing that in advance, but since they offered, we decided to do so. When we got there, the staff said the TVs are not set up to support that and never have been. So essentially that first event manager flat out lied to us, and we wasted a lot of time putting that together.

All of that said, the staff working that night was great, the drinks and were nothing special but fine, and everything turned out well. It just cost us thousands we hadn't budgeted for, and was an incredibly frustrating experience being ignored by the management.

I very much regret giving this place my business and I hope...

This isn't Dacha 2.0.

To describe Dacha Docks as another Biergarten would be a vast underestimation of what Dmitri & Co. have accomplished here. Dacha Shaw, with its humble yet polished beginnings - luxury porta potties and all - was akin to the Mercury Program's Redstone rocket. What we have here at Docks is a Saturn V.

What we have here is potentially one of the best top tier restaurants in DC!

Resting in the shadows of Nats Field, Dacha Docks simply offers a modern, yet cozy dining experience, polished and presented to an extent that has no peer on the DC restaurant scene. Just look at the sexy curves of the wooden ceiling and it's obvious they spared no expense! It looks straight out of a German concert hall whose benefits extend to the dining enjoyment of those gathered under it. From the lighting to the artwork to the modern Scandinavian furniture, the ambiance is reason enough to come here! And yes, the famous Dacha urinals reprise their supporting role!

And the food? Throw all your Biergarten expectations off the table! While the Bier menu remains clearly original Dacha, boots and all, the food in the restaurant is no Biergarten fare!

(The massive Biergarten in front of Docks is scheduled to open by mid May 2019 and will continue to serve a limited menu of Dacha Shaw favorites like Brats and Burgers.)

The restaurant menu simply rivals the best DC has to offer. For starters, I sampled the mussels & beer, confit duck, cassoulet, tuna crudo, and the asparagus salad. For the mains, I sampled the scallops and grits, honey glazed chicken, and the Berkshire pork chop. All amazing and would reorder every one! The wasabi spread on the tuna crudo is pure culinary genius! (I'll have to return to try the steaks as they were unavailable while I was there.) Additional menu items of note include the pork rillette, cauliflower tartine, mushroom risotto, and cauliflower steak, all before you get to the "king" and "queen" of the menu: a 32 oz. dry aged bone in prime ribeye and a crown of Muscovy duck!

This is not Dacha 2.0. This is the creators of Dacha at an entirely new level of design and culinary expression. What they've done - along with the chefs and staff, both in front and behind the scenes - is nothing short of astounding.

Congratulations and...

My spouse, our small dog, and I live within walking distance of this location. We usually visit 2-3 times a week, sometimes more depending on the weather. I appreciate that the establishment is dog friendly, and the food is delicious. The burgers taste like they were cooked at a cookout - they're that good. The kitchen and service are both excellent, with accommodating waitstaff. I have given this place 4 stars because of my encounters with Ella, the lady at the door. She has been consistently rude and dismissive, showing annoyance even during friendly conversations. When requesting a specific table, she never seems willing, and never polite. On two occasions on two different visits, I overheard her speaking to the Spanish male about not seating us at his table with a hostile look in our direction. However, today Ilia who have served us before in the area we always request made our experience easier after the unfriendly greeting from Ella. Ilia recognized that we were regular patrons of Dacha and went above and beyond to ensure our satisfaction and very apologetic for Ella manners. Lila even went out his way with checking up on us even though we seated outside of his designated section. Ilia has also served us in the area we always requested in the past. We always tip generously, beyond the standard 20%, and I empathize with the importance of providing exceptional customer service as I work in the industry myself. Mia who was our server today and has been before in the past was always great as always. Mia too was very apologetic for Ella rudeness. These servers shouldn’t have to be apologetic for Ella manners as they have nothing to do with it, but I do appreciate awareness of what happen and wanted to make right....