Round Robin Bar

Very cool scene, gorgeous place, quite classic. BUT the bartender had no idea how to make a sazerac. Instead of asking he, turned an epic man drink into something much less. Otherwise, nice small plates.

If you are looking to see a part of history, this is a great place! It might feel a little stuffy at first, but don’t let that bother you. Walk right in and take a seat! Tracy and Erich, the bartenders will make you feel right at home. My husband and I were in town just for a day, and wanted a unique place that we could relax, avoid the crowds and enjoy good food and drinks together. This was perfect! The menu is limited so don’t expect a full dinner, think tapas/​appetizers so could be a start or end to your night. The drinks are authentic and awesome! Fun fact, every president since Abraham Lincoln has been to the Willard Intercontinental Hotel and up until Gerald Ford, every President had been to the Round Robin, but because there is only one entry/​exit, the Secret Service has not allowed another sitting President to go there… and all the furniture/​décor/​bar has been there since 1901!

I have to admit I was intimidated to go into this bar given its history and opulence. We went as part of a Haunted Pub Crawl, so at least I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t necessarily dressed as one might expect when entering a hotel of this stature, but I didn’t feel unwelcomed and had no problem ordering a drink. Perhaps they’re used to tourists.
The bar itself is round, hence the name, with seats all around. The room looked like it was from another time. There are tables as well in what is a fairly small room. I ordered what I believe was a Presidential Pink Lemonade with vodka, which was quite good and pretty strong. There was also some bar mix to snack on, which was tasty.
You can ask to see a copy of the presidential «menu» which is a listing of the past (and current) Presidents’ favorite drinks. Keep in mind it’s not a traditional menu and you cannot order drinks from it, unfortunately. If I was in D.C. again, I think I would stop here for a drink, if for nothing else than the intrigue.

I would love to give this bar a 5 but the drinks just aren’t good enough, especially with the steep price tag. However, the atmosphere if you go at the right time, the history and the location just can’t be beat. It’s not as much fun if you’re here when there’s no one or if it’s so crowded that you can’t find a seat. The best time my husband and I had was when we could sit around the bar. We had a great bartender and it was neat to be in a bar full of so much history. We always order the mint juleps since that’s what they are known for, but I was disappointed that they were served in a glass last time! After so many work trips to Kentucky, you know that these are served in stainless steel. I do love how much mint they add though. Go for a drink before dinner out in the city but remember that most drinks are $ 12-​$ 16 each.

A Very nice little bar. When it is busy… go elsewhere. Service is top notch when the bartender has a moment, but when busy good luck. The prices are a tad high but their Hot buttered Rum is fantastic. Definitely go check it out!

History and décor grants this place a second star. Beyond that, I’m continually unimpressed. What was once one of the most iconic bars in America has become a round room with a serious personality deficit behind the bar.
A good bartender is not just a robot who stares at the customer blankly and pours drinks like a machine. This place has fallen into the worst type of complacency when it comes to historic eateries. They are clearly relying on past glory and location to get bodies in the door and have fallen below the level of acceptable customer service in the process. Bartenders are there to create an experience for the patron, anyone can learn to pour a martini. The basics aren’t even there anymore. For example, how about a smile? Eye contact? Maybe ask your customers where they are from? These are softballs.
Pull it together and start hiring properly, you guys are desecrating an icon through lackluster personnel uniformity.

Posh, secluded, and ensconced in the safety and beauty of the historic Willard Hotel, the round robin bar oozes old-​Washington style. It’s small. It’s round. And, it’s beautiful.
This is among the best of the best.

Very cool traditional bar. It’s rather small with perhaps eight tables and the circular bar that seats about thirty. A favorite haunt of government leaders for decades, the Round Robin Bar is a great place for a drink. Terrific service and reat cocktails.
One of the iconic places you owe yourself to stop in.

I like the Round Robin bar for its historical significance. I like to imagine all of the old DC big wigs gathered around the round bar talking policy. It is in the Willard Hotel, after all, where the term lobbyist was coined (or so the story goes).
In the end, their drinks aren’t worth the price tag; I’ve had better moscow mules elsewhere. I enjoyed the fried calamari, but again, not worth the price. The bar has been modernized– there are a couple TVs to catch the game on. A cool place to check off the DC bucket list, especially with people from out of town, but not somewhere I’d go regularly.

Expensive, but great service and they do a great job with classic cocktails. It’s usually either very busy or empty. Most the customers are dressed up, nearly formal, but the staff is still courteous to customers dressed in jeans and polo shirts. The location inside the Willard might scare people off, but it’s a bit of a hidden gem in this area.

This is my Toby Keith, «I Love this Bar» bar. Located in the ultra posh Willard Hotel it oozes history, class, sophistication and is Washingtonian personified.
It is always a treat for me to walk through the Willard Hotel’s lobby to get to the Round Robin and I love turning the corner into this dark paneled, leather rich, round (yes, the room is actually round) room. The bar is center stage, surrounded by ample bar seating. There are a few small intimate tables as well and seats by the windows are coveted spots and make for great people watching.
As ridiculous as this may sound, the Round Robin feels good to me. I love the vibe and the warmth that this room exudes. The service is exemplary and the ambiance is stellar. Impressive place for a date night, night cap.

Stopped in for drinks before a wedding, they were delicious. Quiet atmosphere, nice bartenders, and delicious drinks — can’t ask for more!

It’s really fun to sit here and think about all of the historic figures that have sat in the very same room, hundreds of years ago. The bar is so rich with history it’s amazing.
The bar is very cozy and intimate. It fills up quick. The great part is that turnover is high because most people only come in for one $ 15 drink to say they did it, and then leave. They are famous for their Mint Juleps, and after having one I know why.
Definitely a DC bucket-​list type place, but not a place I would frequent. I enjoyed getting an expensive drink, sipping it like I was a big shot, taking in the history, and then leaving.

There are some very very fat cats that hang around here, and I’m more of a kitten. I felt a bit naked without a giant cigar in my teeth and blonde pearl wearing trophy wife by my side. I received a one ounce rather stingy pour of Talisker 25 year scotch that cost a whopping $ 75 dollars. Yep, one 75 dollar drink. Ouch. Have you ever noticed that the places where people are dropping the most cash are the places where people seem to be having the least fun? 75 dollars’ worth of booze should get me table dancing wearing a lampshade as a hat, not yawning over a tax policy debate I’m eavesdropping on from the subdued older suits sitting adjacent. Ah, well. It has some history, the bartenders look sharp, and it’s certainly the type of place where everyone knows how to exercise «discretion», whatever that means. If you come here for people watching, be forewarned: you will certainly see «people», but you’ll get to «watch» them do… not much of anything really. Update legal forms while talking to their broker? Frown into their whiskey? Nod off in the middle of their own sentences?
So enjoy your one drink’s worth of 75 dollar snobbery. It won’t get you drunk, but it will get you sleepy.

It makes me sad to only give the Round Robin 3 stars, but yesterday was just a really disappointing day:
I have just landed in DC and wanted to get something to eat, relax and just people watch for a while before heading to two appointments. I love the Willard and everything about it, and would come here often with my boyfriend when I lived in DC from 2010 — 2011 (his expense account, not mine!). Yesterday’s bartender (James, maybe?) seemed to have a «I could care less» attitude and while the food was great, he was just «eh». And it isn’t as if there were a lot of other people to care for at 2PM either: there were three obnoxiously loud guys sitting at the bar, then two DC powerhouse type guys at another table. And me.
Will this prevent me from returning again? No, just not when he is there, or maybe I will sit elsewhere.

Decent drinks, but not really what we expected. We’d seen this place featured on the Travel Network as one of the best bars in America and were excited to try it out. The show we watched indicated that this bar is known for their presidential cocktails, but they didn’t feature any of that on their menu. When we asked about it, they simply said «whatever is on our menu is on our menu. It’s seasonal.» There was no mention of any presidents or presidential drinks on the menu… so we decided to go with the cherry blossom themed drinks instead (since they still had those as options in late April).
I ordered the Cherries Jubilee Julep (brandied cherries, bourbon, mint) and my fiancé ordered the Cherry Blossom Special (spiced rum, cointreau, sparkling). I liked my drink, as I love juleps generally, but my fiancé wasn’t a big fan of his. He ended up ordering a regular mint julep as a second drink and enjoyed it a bit more. We both agreed that they weren’t worth the prices charged.
We also ordered the calimari. This was actually really impressive. Decent portion for 2 to share and really delicious dipping sauces. It tasted very fresh!
Note that the place is a bit stuffy and service was not the friendliest. Our Calimari took forever to come out and we had to remind our waiter /​bartender that we had placed that order.
Overall, we weren’t too impressed and would likely not visit again. The bar is located in the Willard Intercontinental Hotel (to the right, as you walk in from the Pennsylvania Ave side) and I think I’ll stick with the Willard’s afternoon tea (an experience I truly enjoyed and separately reviewed) in the future.
Oh, and please note that this place doesn’t open until noon on Saturdays! We thought it opened at 11am and ended up sitting in the hotel lobby for a while.

Love this place, classic DC! The bar tenders are wonderful, they make fabulous drinks and have a great sense of humor! Great place to hangout after taking in all the DC area sites. Love the wood around the bar!

Fabulous place, small and cozy, staff is great and the drinks are fantastic! Recommend you to order the Cod Fish Salad along to your favorite drink! Highly recommended

Relaxing spot to drop by. My cousin lived her gin fizz and my champagne cocktail was just okay.
Free snacks at the table.
$ 11 – 12 cocktails.

I adore this place and always stop in for an afternoon buzz when I’m in D.C. The round bar, dark woods, green accents, low lighting and narrow glimpses of streetside Washington through the windows are very appealing. This is the quintessential historic hotel bar. When I was there recently, the President was at the Willard for something, so there were lots of very fit people in dark suits wandering around talking into their sleeves. It seems like you’re always right in the middle of it at the Round Robin, even though the place itself still manages to be relaxing.
This time, I had the Willard Cocktail, which was gin, apricot liqueur and lemon. Despite the generous amount of gin, the overall taste was apricot, which turned out to be quite dangerous since it encouraged me to have a second.