the brig — Restaurant in Washington

This location has a great beer selection (including NA options) and bar food. It has a nice, clean, open, picnicky vibe. I wasn't impressed with the Nashville hot chicken sandwich which, although well-spiced, was an ill-conceived menu creation consisting of two breaded, spiced CHICKEN FINGERS inside a bun covered in coleslaw and pickles. This results in the loosely-assembled sandwich completely falling apart, coleslaw and pickles all over, on the first bite unless you're prepared. Using chicken fingers is a well-known kitchen shortcut to make a sandwich; at a locale like this I would have expected a breaded chicken breast. I lost 3/4 of my sandwich's fillers on to my plate in the first bite, only to be carried away by the attentive busboy. The fries were pretty decent, the first batch were well-prepared. The Old Bay fries were well spiced, but could have used a bottle of malt vinegar on the side. Many of the fries in the second batch were crispy husks, likely culled from the bottom of the fryer basket. That being said the service was very good and we were served all our drinks and food very quickly. I would say this is a great place to come have a drink and maybe get a basket of fries. To add to the review, my wife thought the wings were great, and again we had excellent (speedy) service. My final opinion is that this is primarily a beer garden and does well with that, but the food is almost an afterthought. With just a little more attention to the food, this place could be in 4-5...

It’s unfortunate to have to leave this review because I like the concept and biergartens in general tend to be a great vibe.

However, tonight I had one of the most condescending and disrespectful experiences of my life as a customer (no exaggeration) with the manager on duty (the GM was apparently out of the country, “several time zones away.” I was there for an alumni Oktoberfest event, and I was socializing with them for a while before going up to the bar to order a beer. I checked in on Yelp and asked if I could redeem the 15% check-in offer, and I never could have predicted that simply trying to place an order with an offer that the business’s active Yelp page is promoting would lead to being verbally harassed and yelled at condescendingly by the manager on duty, who was not aware of the Yelp check-in offer but offered no solutions Ans instead went the route of blaming the customer and taking her frustration (from something else perhaps?) out on me, an eager-to-order customer who didn’t want any trouble, but was instead lectured rudely about how little I know about how the F&B industry works, despite having worked at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant, and very much being knowledgeable about the field. After being shouted at several times for no reason, I swallowed my pride and left, and I will certainly never return, which is a shame because this all could have been avoided by simply honoring the 15% off offer that The Brig had on their...

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There's truth in The Brig calling itself Capitol Hill's hidden beer garden. Since it's just north of Navy Yard and just further south down Barracks Row than most venture, many Hill residents haven't noticed it. However, once they do, they'll make this spot their regular hang out. Here's why:

1. The space: It's a large entirely outside beer garden that's open year round. You'll pass through the gate flanked by two lions in blue and white checkered clothes into the beer garden. There are plenty of large tables outside and a bar that is covered, but still outside. Don't worry. There are plenty of umbrellas to keep the sun from roasting you (or drying up your beer). There's a large bar with seats if you want to by the three large TVs. Since its dog and kid friendly, there's a space off to the side for both to play in.

2. Beer list: They have 20 on tap (with a good local selection), many in bottles/can, and even have a cocktail list. What impressed me is having not one, but TWO, hard ciders on tap. All drinks from the tap come in all glass options including a massive beer stein.

The prices are decent for expensive DC and the food menu growing bigger each month. They sell burgers, brats...a lot of beer garden food. Nothing is out of this world good, but it gets the job done if you come expecting beer and then find...