Red Derby

AMAZING !! Service was so laid back but waitresses were very helpful. I visited from jersey and felt right at home, drinks were very strong and affordable. Went on 90s night had a great time

came here just for the some drinks
nice bar, cheap liquor, terrible beer
if you are in the hood and want some dive bar scene, this is your place

Still my favorite bar. Anybody who doesn’t like the Derby is not a person I want to hang out with. Objectively the best bar in DC. First date? Derby. Birthday? Derby. Monday night and forgot to grocery shop? Derby.
Cheap, great vibe, friendly service. The staff makes you feel like family. Get into it or get out.

The food was okay, but I mostly enjoyed the environment and the inexpensive drinks. It’s definitely good for brunch.

Went here with friends last night. The place is ok, I mean nothing extraordinary, I think if you want to be somewhere where you can have a good time with a nice ambiance, this place does the job.
The customer service is good and they have a huge variety of beers, I liked that because lately I’ve been very interested in tasting new beers.
When it comes to food, I don’t know if I am always the lucky one, but it took them over an hour to get our food on the table, the waiter was very apologetic, said the kitchen was a little behind and bought us a round, while we waited, but this was only after half an hour of waiting for the food, come on! We only ordered chicken tenders, beef tacos and a bunch of raw veggies, how long could take to put those three together, pleaaaaase! After we decided to cancel the food order he came with the food anyway and said it was on the house. This was cool, I mean at least they did that. But having to wait over an hour for three simple things, is unacceptable. We stayed there because we were very engaged with our conversation but we were also starving and asking from time to time what was going on with the food. Oh it was ok, bar food, tasted good and presented ok, again nothing extraordinary.
I might go back just for the bar, because I realized there are a lot of latin restaurants around the area and I must check them out!

I could give 5 stars for the rooftop but 2 stars for the food. And 4 for the drinks.
I had their egg and bacon bowl and it was pretty boring besides the fresh tomato chop above.
But the terrace is as hipster as you would love it to be on a Sunday morning.

We went here for brunch post-​party last night. Rooftop is good– very refreshing. The menus were photocopy but who cares. Free bread was cold– not sure if fresh. My roommate got breakfast sausage burrito. She loved it. I got BLT with egg sandwich. It was good too. Meals came with Tater Tots. Overall, nice brunch place to try. I had other brunch places that I loved. So Red Derby might just be a one time deal and not amazed enough to be a regular here.

This place is great. I went on a Monday for happy hour and we sat up at the roof level. There is an extensive beer selection and during happy hour it is $ 1 off all beers. There are also cool beer/​shot combos available if you are going for that kind of night.
On Mondays they have ½ off all burgers which is an awesome deal. Most of their burgers are in the $ 10 – 12 range and they are a good size and come with a side of fries. The menu also lists ½ off food specials for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday nights as well. In my experience, awesome bars don’t always have good food but Red Derby hits the mark on both. If you come with friends and cash in hand (as it is cash only), you are destined to have a good time.

Red Derby is your quintessential neighborhood dive bar. Yes, it’s one of those dive bars that is purposely so, not your grandad’s bar per se, but still gives that authentic and local vibe. The upstairs is always the happening area — they’ve got a quasi roof deck up there, think uninsulated attic space — I’m honestly not sure why though. The «roof deck» is freezing in the winter (despite heat lamps), and through some loophole they’re able to allow smoking up there, even though there’s definitely no outdoor air flow. If you can’t abide cigarette smoke, like me, I’d just stick to the downstairs.
Derby has happy hour specials nearly every day of the week, a great list of beers and mixed drinks, and some house-​made food as well as occasional Mexican fare from Manny’s. Manny’s burritos (available on Wednesday nights) are decent, and Derby’s fries were perfection (crispy on the outside, soft on the inside). Brunch however, is pretty underwhelming. We’re talking tater tots and some weak scrambled eggs in a plastic bowl. If you’re doing brunch here, come for the drink specials, not for the gourmet fare.
Bartenders and servers have always been super kick-​ass, helpful and accommodating. Definitely a good place to put on regular rotation.

Go to spot to grab drinks or a bite to eat. Prices for the drinks at any time of day (brunch/​dinner) are great and they have a good selection of beers.
Food is not amazing but very filling and not too bad. Your standard burger or chicken tenders. Only thing is that they can never seem to cook my burger the way I like it (medium rare); but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying the food!

Pretty good! Sat up in the roof area and found the staff friendly and attentive. Amanda behind the bar was great! Beer, for sure, but they did not hesitate when I asked for a Negroni. Solid drink, no fuss. Good work.
Drink here!

ive got nothing bad to say about red derby. the food is good, the beer is cheap (and they have a great selection), its walking distance from my house, they keep their bathrooms clean, and the roof deck is great on a warm evening.
i see a lot of comments about the crowd… hey, hipsters aren’t my cup of tea either. but who cares? come here with your friends and mind your own shit. i dont really care who’s around me as long as they aren’t actively bothering me.
its a good spot for catching up with friends over cheap canned beer and good bar food.

OK, I get it. Dive bars are cool. Drinking beer from cans is hip. Dim lights and dingy floors are your way of rebelling against gentrification. Maybe I just don’t wear enough skinny jeans and trucker caps, but this place doesn’t hold any special charm for me.
I do like getting far away from the chic madding crowd of downtown, but I also like a little ambiance and some food that doesn’t look like it came from a baseball concession stand. I appreciate that the craft beer industry’s move towards canning means they have a better than average beer list, but $ 7 – 9 for any 12-​oz. can of beer is too much, I don’t care if you’re pouring Rochefort 10 or Bourbon County stout into it. Oh, and who the heck carries cash anymore? Don’t make me run an errand before I come out drinking. I do have to give our server kudos, he was on the ball about constantly coming back to replenish our cans and a super friendly guy.
Call me an old crotchety coot, sitting in a rocker on my porch yelling at kids to get off my lawn, but Red Derby just swings a little too far towards the lo-​fi end of the hipster scale for me. If your top priority for a bar is that it feels divey, then sure this place will do you right. For me, there are too many happy mediums in DC where I can get good beer and cheap food without feeling like I’m back in the dark, grungy punk rock club of my misspent youth.

Came here for Saturday brunch. Place was a hip, casual bar/​daytime restaurant with intimate seating and nice view of 14^th street.
I had the lox bagel for 9 $, taste was good but needed a little more salmon for me personally. Also got the breakfast bowl which was amazing crisp tator tots and perfect scrambled eggs.
My girl got the huevos rancheros that they serve over a big tortilla instead of rice, so she skipped the tortilla on the bottom.
Awesome drink specials too, with mimosas, Bloody Mary’s, screwdrivers for 3 $!
THIS SPOT IS CASH ONLY!

Went here today for some brunch after a long, late night. Definitely a dive bar and offered solid food served with delicious tots. Wasn’t drinking today but the beer list was extensive and I look forward to coming back and indulging. Definitely wasn’t loving that they allowed smoking on the upstairs roof deck that was totally enclosed but luckily there wasn’t too many people participating. Loved that they offered water as «self service» in a huge gatorade cooler — perfect for my hangover! Look forward to getting back to Red Derby ASAP.

Great food, great selection of drinks.
That said, we had a rather bad experience with our waiter, who looked like a millennial version of Petyr Baelish. He approached us and asked if he could «buy [us] a drink if [we] vacated the table for a larger group who wanted seating.» We agreed and stood up. We then went to the bar, where he gave us our check. I tipped him 20% and then asked about the drinks. He feigned ignorance. I suppose I should have expected such a ruse from the Littlefinger.
⁵⁄₅ burgers and beer
⁵⁄₅ con from the master of coin

I’ve been here about 4 times and the last time was for a friend’s party on a Sunday. The owners of the bar really know how to treat their long-​time friends and definitely as an outsider it felt it had a cheers type atmosphere. Anyhow, this was my first time having their food since I’ve quit drinking altogether in preparation for my races and I must say their Po Boy sandwich is pretty good. It definitely hit the spot and I would go here if I’m in the area on sundays.

$ 3 bloodies and mimosas during brunch. IN DC. Hi.
The drinks were delish. The bloodies come with an old bay rim, an olive, and a smidge of celery.
We sat on the rooftop which was definitely quite chilly even with some winterizing. But – there’s a few tables, a bar, and plenty of open, bright space. And some music to boot. Downstairs is a bit darker but they have all the TVs.
Food was OK… they overcooked my ‘medium’ burger to what we’ll call ‘well done’. So it was a tad dry. Everyone enjoyed their burgers and my friend liked her breakfast bowl. They all came with tots and I’m cool with that.
Our server was very sweet and attentive.

By far my favorite bar in DC. A no frills spot with excellent beer and excellent bar food at reasonable prices. Exactly what the people want.

Reporting live from #RedDerby! And I must say. good choice. A little «divey» but great. All beers see served in cans. Know what that means right?! Canned beers cost less for bars to buy which means they’re selling them to you at a cheaper price as well! Hungry? Grab a burger! They’re great! They could use another bartender behind the bar though. Oh! Wait! Did I mention!!! The music is all Motown!!! Check out the roof while your at it! Have fun!

This is one of my top dive bars in DC. I went to this place often when living in DC and just returned while visiting for the holidays.
Red Derby is easy to overlook as the exterior doesn’t advertise loudly that they are open or that they even exist. But once inside, you are almost always greeted by a friendly bartender and can look around to realize that this place is where the locals go. The bar rooftop is great, especially in summer for long weekend brunching and day drinking.
The food is nothing special, but it is warm, well-​priced, and hits the spot. The beer selection is extensive and affordable. There are also a lot of whiskey and beer combos for cheap.
Just a heads up, they are cash only!
You have my heart, Red Derby. See you next time.

Casual, no frills, low key place. Came here for brunch after an hour and a half of biking in hilly NW DC, so food and drinks were much needed. We sat on the rooftop, which is nice, sunny, and started with a mimosa (me) and a bloody (him), can’t pass those up at $ 3 a pop! I got the breakfast burrito, which was good, standard, and came with lots of tots, which was great! He got the burger with egg, bacon, cheese, and tots, also tasty! Only thing, we didn’t know it’s cash-​only, and we had none, so we had to take out cash at their ATM downstairs… obv, I get the reason to be cash-​only (for them) but it’s inconvenient for customers. With that said, still a nice casual place for a bite and a drink.

Cheap cheap cheap! Love this place because it’s a great dive. The waiters are nice and they have good specials. It is also right down the street from my house… A Columbia Heights staple!

I have walked by this place many a times on my weekly Target trips. I would have completely disregarded it had I not found it here first because honestly, the door doesn’t exactly scream, «Come in!»
BUT you should. A friend and I went for bunch this past weekend, and let me tell you, walking up to the closed back door and dim lighting from the windows, I thought it would be closed. But as soon as you get past the dark room of the first floor and up to the roof, you realize this place is like a hidden gem. Bars on the ground floor and roof, lots of light, and plenty of action.
They started us off with bread and butter (yes!). I had a breakfast basket with tater tots, eggs, cheese, bacon, tomatoes & onions (basically salsa) and it was pretty great. Surprisingly enough, it made sense that it was served in a small red diner-​style fries basket.
There must be a lot of popular events here, not least of which is the streaming of the last Republican debate. Hit this place up.

Awesome dive bar with cheap drinks and a good brunch. The service was great! The bartender was very friendly and chatty even though the patio was super busy. The patio is lovely, smoking is permitted on it so take note of that.
Cash only is annoying, but there is an ATM downstairs. It charges $ 3, I believe. Everything is super duper cheap though, so it is a worthy trade off.

I made a split decision (while on foot) to come for brunch based on the ⁴⁄₅ star rating. I was hosting some hungry sports spectators, so I had to be Unilocal savvy and find us somewhere to eat quickly. I guess I wasn’t being too savvy and failed to read the fine print description that this was a dive bar. Super divey. (Hey I didn’t have time to indulge in reviews or I would have realized.) I guess with the novelty beers concept and some rock music, this dive bar becomes hipster with 5 stars ?
I put my shock of dive bar culture behind me and just went in for the no frills experience. We dined rooftop. Tater tots were delicious (I hate that I’ve succumbed to a trend that was once rebuked by school children everywhere when they showed up on school breakfast plates.) I got Huevos Rancheros– decent with cheap morning libations, plus a Tokyo Black beer, but served on paper thin plates (come on, double up!) and watching the guy make them. .I saw him do a tired yawn and scratch in his shirt, over his chest and under arm made me a bit queasy. Sorry, maybe I couldn’t put the dive factor behind me.
Well until I started to feel my drinks… After that, it was all coming together nicely! I wouldn’t mind stopping by again if I’m ever in the neighborhood. Not in a rush to get back though.
Cash only. ATM in the back.

A coworker kept insisting I try this place so we went at midnight to celebrate his birthday. This place is past Columbia heights in a quieter block. They take the neighborhood quiet seriously and remove outdoor seating /​close the rooftop after a certain time.
Cash only and bottles only. To each their own I think.

I spent the last year teaching elementary school… molding soft clay into fortified minds, mining the fertile veins of curiosity for the riches of cognitive ores, and doing it all selflessly, not for money, but because I love what I do.
And friends, when you answer the calling to teach, there is no greater reward than to have the administration take you and all of your colleagues out to a bar at the end of the year so that you can drink… heavily…for many, many, many hours.
And so it was that we, the teachers of _​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​school all went out to drink at the rooftop terrace of Red Derby. We had a mini buffet of wraps, chicken tenders, fries, and even fried shrimp. Everything was great, although this is coming from the perspective of someone who eats leftover school lunches because… teacher.
Some complained about it being a cash-​only bar. I always carry a few bucks. The staff was great, the food was good, and, best of all, the summer is here.
GIVE US FREE!

On a recent trip to DC, we stayed with a friend who lives pretty close to Red Derby, so we ventured in one late morning for brunch. The place is super, super divey, which we in a weird way kind of love. When we were seated, the server let us know that we cold help ourselves to water and coffee, and we ordered a round of Bloody Marys. They were only $ 3 and were nothing fancy, but they did have just the right amount of spice. Because we enjoyed them and the price was just right, we ended up ordering another round. The brunch menu is pretty small and doesn’t have that many options.
I went with the breakfast burrito, which is served with tater tots, and I added bacon for an extra buck. My boyfriend got the Derby breakfast bowl and my friend got the smoked salmon on a toasted bagel. My burrito was pretty lackluster, and the tater tots were super greasy. The breakfast bowl seemed to be the highlight at our table – it was basically the same ingredients as the burrito minus the tortilla. This brunch would be perfect if you need a little hair of the dog and some greasy food to cure your hangover.
I would have liked to have known that this place was cash only upon being seated. And another downside, which may have been unique to our experience, was the discovery of hair in two of the three dishes. There are so many other great brunch places in DC, I don’t think I’d revisit Red Derby.

If you don’t like cash only joints, I suggest you stop reading now because this is CASH ONLY for everything. Despite the fact, this place is awesome and always lively even during the weekdays!
Don’t get me started with their food deals. ½ priced seafood meals on Sundays and burgers on Mondays! For the price their seafood and burgers are worth the 6 – 7 dollars you pay! Also, the fries are seriously sent from heaven! I just couldn’t stop myself. So crisp and effing good! Also, on Wednesday they do 6 dollar burritos. The burritos are a little skimpy on the meat, but for 6 dollars, can’t complain!
Canned beers? YES I CAN! With a wide selection of imports, trashy, classy – you can’t really go wrong. In the 2 – 10 dollar price range, it’s such a great deal. Also, did I mention their dollar off happy hour? Strohs and PBR are already 2 dollars… From 5 to 8, they are 1 dollar. I personally love their Tokyo Black – one of their more expensive ones – but so gahdamnn tasty and refreshing! If you into dark beers!
Add all of these great things with their lighted rooftop deck and you got PERFECTION! And if you find yourself adventurous, come play their board games! Their bar tenders or can openers should I say are really nice and chill. Found it awesome that the bar tender shook my hand and introduced himself before I talked to him. That’s what I call hospitality! Can’t wait to come back to red derby – especially after I go to an ATM!

Friendly staff. Complimentary bread & coffee. Self-​serve water & coffee. Huevos rancheros was delish! Wallbangers are good minty versions of screwdrivers. Rooftop is lovely. Brunch food less than $ 10/​plate.
Only disappointment were the French toast sticks & that they are cash only. I believe the French toast was a store brand: (