Jojo Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Washington

If the pay was good enough, I'd become a personal tour guide and take people on excursions about the town. I just love doing things like this for my guest and the DMV is the best metropolitan area to do this.

Moreover, I had family and friends visiting from Boston, MA for the weekend. We decided after a full day of sightseeing (they decided...I tried to warn them to take a nap before going out...) to bar-hop and explore the nightlife of DC. I said, are you guys sure? They were so Bostonian down! I said, oh, okay, well, let's start on U Street. One of the MUST DO things to do in addition to sightseeing, when visiting DC for the first time, is 'LIVE' music. JoJo's was the first thing that came to mind.

When we arrived, we received a warm welcome by hearing the music of Colin Chambers & Friends, just outside the spot and my friends were super excited. When we walked in, it was quite a few people inside, we weren't sure if we'd be seated right away but the host greeted us and was able to accommodate the three of us. The band played skillfully, and that's kinda rare these days. Sometimes you run into bands that attempt to play jazz and experiment too much, taking away from the melody and not following the jazz form. Needless to say, the band was a treat and helped my family and friends have a remarkable time.

We sat down in a great spot (not too close to the band) to peruse the menu... Lucky for me, I had just left a singing gig and I had a mixed set that involved some French tunes and it just so happened that one of my tunes was the La Vie En Rose. When I saw that this spot had that on its cocktail menu, I had to have it. LA VIE EN ROSE: House Infused Raspberry Rosewater infused Tito’s Vodka | House-made Raspberry Syrup | Lime ($13) My cousin ordered The Jungle Inn and her husband ordered the Henry Grant. The Jungle Inn: Malibu coconut rum | Lemon | Mango | Passion Fruit | House-made Pomegranate Syrup ($13). HENRY GRANT: House-infused Chai Bulleit Bourbon | House-made Ginger Syrup | Lemon | Carrot | Turmeric ($13)

My cousin enjoyed this drink so much that she thought she'd explore other flavors... I had to remind her that this was just the first stop for our bar-hopping. (smiles...) Moreover, she was feeling herself and requested another drink so I was "forced" to order another as well. (smiles...) For her second drink, she ordered the NIGHT OF PASSION: TWF Tequila, G03 Vodka, Passionfruit, Watermelon, Lime, Grapefruit Bitters ($14.50) and I ordered what she had earlier, The Jungle Inn.

We then decided we should get some food, just to be safe. We ordered JOJO WINGS: (by the way, we ordered all three flavors) Buffalo | Fiery Habanero | Sweet Bourbon Glazed | Blue Cheese | Celery ($13) GRILLED VEGGIES: Zucchini | Bell Peppers | Eggplant | Cherry Tomatoes | Mushrooms | Balsamic Vinaigrette ($13)

Everything was DELICIOUS!

Well, we were having such a great time, and they were totally feeling the music and the drinks, I had to break it off by sneaking away to pay the bill so that I could get them up. They got too comfortable and almost forgot about our Bar-hopping. So, when you think about it, that's a good thing.

So, keep JoJo's in mind when trying to make a DMV impression on your...

I tried to make a reservation, but there were none available for downstairs so I got on what I thought was a waitlist like a normal restaurant. When I arrived I was told that there is no waitlist and they are full. I guess the waitlist is to get a reservation if people cancel, but otherwise they are full until close. This was not clear on the website.

Came on a Saturday night around 8 pm. Took the metro so I'm unsure of parking, though it seemed to be expensive in the area. This place is a very small. It has two levels. The live music plays downstairs. Downstairs there is a small bar with about 8 seats and about 8 tables total. I did not go upstairs as we wanted to be near the music.

We were told to stand by the bar and wait until a spot opened up. I didn't like this because it was cramped and I felt like a vulture, but we didn't want to call it quits just yet so we decided to try it. We waited 17 minutes. This somehow felt quick and like an eternity. It passed because we were still able to enjoy the music while we waited, but I was anxious trying to get us a seat because we did not just want drinks, but food as well. I was able to snag a seat for myself first and then a second for my partner.

Drinks ordered: Athenas Kiss phenomenal!, an old fashioned, and local DC beer. (FYI: They don't have a great scotch selection.) Food ordered: wings, caprese, and herb pan seared salmon Dessert ordered: none

The food was good. I actually enjoyed the wings the most. We got a mixture of the spicy and sweet sauces at the bartenders recommendation. They were cooked well and the sauce combo was excellent. The caprese and salmon were yummy, but nothing phenomenal.

The bands playing was great. It was fun to listen to. There was a mixture of keys, drums, trumpet, bass, sax. The time passed and we enjoyed ourselves. We stayed until the band's set was over. Again, I felt bad that people were waiting for seats (I don't like to be rude or take up too much space) but I had to remind myself that I was a paying a customer (because after tips to both the bartender and band we spent over $200) and it was okay for me not to feel bad.

That being said, this place was definitely not cheap. It's not an every day, week, or month thing to drop $200 on dinner for one night, but in this case, it was a special treat that was worth it. It ended up being a romantic date night for my partner and I to feel connected.

Obviously they cannot change the size of the restaurant but after reading the reviews from the past year, I believe that the establishment does read and try to make improvements where possible.

Overall impression: a cozy, dark, exposed brick place. Because of this, it is loud and crowded. Come for a relaxed time to enjoy libations during the music and chit chat in between music as it is hard to carry on a conversation.

If you go in with the right expectations and overview of the place, I believe its a great time. I would recommend...

Great live music and amazing food. OWNER IS A CROOK. Not honest with the advertising and pricing. Not organized with the reservations. Tried to force us to pay a 20% gratuity

First I'm going to start by saying I had an amazing evening (for the most part) with my wife for valentine's day at this place with great live music and amazing food.

Now, here's what I didn't like. I bought my tickets for the valentine's day event like 3 weeks in advance, with the assumption that I had reservations for a certain time and all costs were fully paid for. I arrive on time and when i get to the door and tell them i had reservations, they told me i had to wait 20+ minutes for a table to open up. No biggie. So we finally get a table and the waiter takes our order for appetizers. We wait... and wait... and wait. The table next to us sat down after we dis but got their appetizers and entree before we did. Turns out our waiter left and nobody replaced our table. Whatever. So we finally get our food and enjoy our evening.

Here's what really got me. We are getting ready to leave and the waitress brings us a bill. I inform her that I already paid in advance. She takes it back and brings back another bill saying that I owe a 20% gratuity plus 10% tax. First of all, sales tax in DC is only 6% and second, gratuity is an option and the amount is decided by the guest. So I talked to the manager and asked him why was I being charged a 20% gratuity and 10% tax if it wasn't mentioned in the ad when I made my advance purchase. He claimed it was mentioned. So we both looked at the ad and it only said "gratuity and tax not included." It didnt specify a certain amount. But like I said, gratuity is OPTIONAL and the amount is decided by the guest. You can't force someone to make an exceptional tip for average service. And sales tax should have been included in the initial purchase anyways. So we keep going back and forth and he insists that I owe the money that he claims.

I ended up leaving a tip (not the 20%) because our waitress did deserve one. But the manager/owner is a crook. Not sure if he handles business like that on a regular basis but we'll never return.

Thanks...