Ellipse Rooftop Bar — Restaurant in Washington

Earlier tonight I met some friends at Ellipse, which is the rooftop bar above the Hyatt hotel.

The picture I’ve added to this review is the hours of operation posted at Ellipse. Around 9:15pm I had stepped out of the bar to use the restroom and take a phone call. I was surprised when I came back 10 minutes later to find the bar entrance locked. The bartender opened the door after my knocking, but told me the bar was now closed. I had asked him why the bar was closed when the hours posted right next to where he was standing said Ellipse was open for at least another hour and a half. I was told by the staff “we don’t go by those hours” to which I asked “so then why are they posted otherwise right here?” The bartender was extremely rude to me in response and told me he would only serve me a drink if I was a guest at the hotel. Eventually I had to be let back in because the rest of my party was still inside, with my belongings, and I hadn’t even yet paid my tab.

Long story short, don’t trust the hours of operation posted on this venue’s description, as it seems they will close for the night at any given time, and don’t try to be served a drink unless you are a guest...

the bartender was absolutely terrible. we waited over 20 minutes for two drinks (not busy at the time) because the bartender decided to have a conversation rather than make drinks. additionally she proceeded to have a completely inappropriate conversation with a customer referring to white people as “colonizers” and stated “the world would be better without white people.” say what you want about politics but this is absolutely unacceptable and inappropriate words to say as a bartender to your own customers. on top of our drinks taking 20 minutes and the most insensitive comments from the bartender, they charged an automatic 20% tip. drinks were not even good. i spent $40 on 2 drinks with a tip where it was not even remotely deserved. i was upset, disappointed, and felt robbed leaving here. go to literally any other rooftop bar in the city...

If you are looking for a rooftop bar in DC once the weather stays nice, check out Ellipse Rooftop Bar. It is a little tricky to find, because it is inside of a hotel, but if you go into the hotel and straight back to the elevator, you will see a selection for the rooftop bar. The ambiance is nice, but it is a little hard to find seating when it gets crowded so you may end up standing for a while. I would recommend going during their happy hour (Monday to Friday 4pm - 8pm) because the food and drinks are pricey. All of their specialty cocktails and bar bites are $12 and over when it is not happy hour. Overall, i think it is a decent place to relax and chill...