The Pug — Restaurant in Washington

I'm guessing that The Pug gets most of its business from Toki Underground customers as they're the focal point of many reviews due to Toki's lack of signage. Because we had a short wait to dine at Toki, we came here for some cocktails.

ATMOSPHERE: It's a gloomy, neighborhood-type hole-in-the-wall bar. Décor is a mishmash of anything goes and garage sale items, including the ripped booth cushions we sat on. It just felt dirty all over.

MENU: A small selection of beers, mixed drinks, canned wine and spirits. No food was served but a snack vending machine was available if you're desperate, which our friend was as he bought a spread for the table, LOL.

BEVERAGE: No bottle wine was served but they did have one canned wine left which was The Infinite Monkey Theorem's brand (based in Denver, CO and Austin, TX) of White Wine. No complaints here as it tasted like it came out of a bottle. Drinking it out of a can was very natural to the senses as well.

Because one drink wasn't enough for me, I went back and spotted the Fugu-brand of canned drinks on display. Excited, I asked for one of the two but they were both out. Come on!? Take it off the display shelf then! I ended up with a forgettable domestic-branded beer.

SERVICE: Oh boy, where do I start? The sole male bartender/waiter/bus boy had no personality or service mannerisms. While he wasn't mean, he just came across as unfriendly and really didn't want to be there. I'm sure he saw us eating our vending machine snacks and using coasters as plates in which he could've brought us some napkins, but no.

TIP: Unfinished drinks were okay to take upstairs to Toki Underground.

OVERALL: If Toki ever expands with a bar, this place would suffer, but I'm sure they have...

My girlfriend and I had a really amazing experience at the pug recently so I wanted to share because this place definitely deserves some praise! My girlfriend and I come in from time to time and it’s one of our favorite bars. Last night, there was a bar tender we hadn’t met before. We were the only patrons at first and we chatted a bit, he was very friendly but professional (I.e not creepy at all). Later, the bar filled up and we were surrounded by some older, weird men on both sides of us who would not stop talking to us. We were being polite but clearly disinterested and also clearly gay. When my girlfriend got up to go order us another round, the bartender whispered to her that they could have a code word if we needed the bartender to help us out or ask the men to leave. I had never had a bar tender intervene so early. I was amazed that even with a full bar he had clocked the situation and was watching out for our well-being. When we left, I thanked him. He said something like “of course, this is a safe space for everyone.” As people who experience both a lot of unwanted advances in bars and homophobia around dc, it was such a joy to feel like our safety and happiness was prioritized. Thank you very much to the kind bartender and the pug for creating a good...

Multiple men have been “banned” for being extremely creepy with women, but the bartenders let them come in anyway. This used to be such a great neighborhood spot, but keeping women—and all people—safe should be a priority at any bar, and it simply isn’t at the pug.

UPDATE: I've been banned from the pug for posting this review. So to recap: this bar allows very creepy men who are "banned" to come in and drink. The bartenders acknowledge that these men are dangerous, they acknowledge that these men are banned, and they acknowledge that these men are allowed in the bar because they've "threatened people" whenever the bartenders have tried to kick them out. Because I've gotten upset about this and tried to warn others about the possible environment they're walking into, I've been screamed at, spit on, and now banned. Do with this information what you will, but banning women who speak up about dangerous men who the bartenders admit are allowed in the bar because they threaten people is NOT...