Red Derby — Restaurant in Washington

I really wanted to like this place but had a horrible ending to my night because of terrible staff. I was enjoying a chill night and went out front with some friends for a cigarette. The bouncer informed us that we could not bring our beer outside so two of us with beer went back inside. I was at the door and trying to explain to the bouncer that I wanted to keep an eye on my friend outside because she was getting quite drunk and he had no intention of listening to me. He tried to grab my beer from me and ended up crushing it and spilling the beer all over my shirt. I was infuriated at being treated like this for no reason and we all left immediately. I would suggest anyone avoid this spot...

This place is the opposite of the plethora of overpriced snobby DC bars that seem to pop up all over town lately. They're cash only and have Natty Bo and a bunch of other Midwestern beers in cans for just a couple bucks. They also have a decent selection of other beers if you're willing to spend a few more bucks. Bring some friends, grab a few cheap beers, get a seat on the upstairs patio and maybe grab a board game from the stack downstairs. Food here is okay but it's typical bar food so don't expect too much. Oh and I think you can smoke on the patio upstairs but it wasn't too smoky when I was there.

I enjoyed this place and its light impact on my wallet so I'll be back...

Might be the ONLY charming place in DC. The prices are reasonable. The food does the job well. The help are incredibly nice and helpful. The music is good. Some of the help here will actually give you an alcohol education. It is not an alcohol aficionado place but the people working here know their alcohol. If you are sick and tired of the trust fund, entitled snobbery of DC (and IT IS THICK in this town) this might be the only place to get away from it all. Even coming here by yourself can lead to a fun interesting night. I nearly hated EVERYTHING about DC till I met this bar. It saves this city. THIS is where they are hiding the working class nice people...