The Red and The Black

Review is just for beer & food — not for entertainment. Good priced beers, delicious burgers with great topping options, and FANTASTIC fries. As someone who usually hates fries, that’s saying a lot…

Rating math:
Appropriately priced beers + great selection + still able to snag bar stools at 12 on a Saturday on H Street? + CAT — think I may have contracted a disease from the bathroom — why did it merge with a super awk nightclub?

This bar is not for me.
There are bunch of broskis/​brohams/​brosephs with their North Face jackets, hanging around listening to D rated bands upstairs. And the bartender was not friendly. Only person that was friendly was the doorman.
WTF
$ 4 for a PB fucking R??? GTFO of here.
When did PBR become a premium beer? You guys are out of your fucking mind.
The bar was pretty damn empty (just the 6 of us) when I arrived. This bartender told me to move out of the «bartender entrance» bc it needs to be clear at all times. Fuck you, you stupid old hag look around you, I’m the only one sitting at the bar you blind bat!
That’s why you have to clean people’s piss off the bathroom floor, you stupid old hag. Who’s laughing now? THIS GUY.

very eclectic group of people. some sketchy, some not. I was DD so did not get a drink, but it was super crowded with people’s coats all over the chairs and a weird odor… if i had some drinks i’d probably give the place more stars since i am a dive bar junkie… but this place was just a tad. «off»

I am a local H St. resident and frequent restaurant/​bar patron. The Atlas District is known for its unique themes and different types of food, all within a few blocks. I’ve been to Red and Black plenty of times, and used to think of it as one of my fav’s on H St. It had such great potential, but has gown downhill FAST. The other bars offer such a better experience, trumping every quality the Red and Black ever had.
In addition to better places I’d rather be-I’ve never been treated with less respect in my entire life from the bartenders. I went last night (Saturday) again, hoping my impression would improve. It was not crowded at all, MAYBE 20 people at the downstairs bar. For some reason, the bartender, who noticed me right away, wanted to talk to his friends before serving me my drink. After about 15 minutes of waiting, I got a terrible drink that definitely wasn’t worth the $$. Both bartenders (male and female) were incredibly rude to their patrons and didn’t seem to care at all about the quality of their service. I highly recommend walking the extra block to the bars that care about their customers and offer a fun/​memorable experience.

This place just merged with Palace of Wonders, so it’s one in the same now. Back in the day I always preferred Red & Black over the Palace, which had bad burlesque shows and a mangy cat on the bar. Now that they’ve combined, it’s only fair to re-​assess. Went here on Friday for Geek Night, and I must say, it was worth it. The space upstairs is 2x width now (they took out a load bearing wall and reinforced with a massive steel beam). There’s a small bar upstairs and the main bars downstairs. The bathroom situation isn’t great (only 1 stall). The Palace side was dug down about a foot lower than the Red & Black next door, so the step up in the connecting doorway might be worrisome when you’re drunk, but aside from the possible OSHA violation, I do like this place.
Nothing pretentious and no popped collars.

A divey bar with basic set up — I was at the H St festival it was so crowded and sunny I was happy to be in there having an Abita Red Ale We had a booth seat right by the window it had a great view of the madness outside. The bar was crowded just enough but there were tables outside as well.

What do you do when you walk into a bar, you really have to pee, and the ladies room toilet is ready to overflow because (it looks like) someone didn’t get the memo that you’re not supposed to flush Kotex down a toilet? Really, ladies? Ugh. Well, the answer is you go in the men’s room. No big deal, but really gross nonetheless.
Once I had successfully diverted that little issue, I ordered a drink. We were at the Red and the Black to hear a band. At one point in my life, I decided to put my really short hair and tattoos to work and take electric guitar lessons. What’s the point in looking like you love rock and roll if you don’t actually know how to rock? Well, about a grand later (to include the price of the guitar I bought off Craig’s List, an amp, tuning, and several months of guitar lessons), I realized that I sucked at guitar and probably shouldn’t think about quitting my day job anytime soon. Or a part time job for that matter. However, my guitar teacher was really nice and thus, we stayed in touch. When the unexpected invitation came to hear his band play at The Red and the Black I thought, ‘why not?‘
The area where you hear the music (its upstairs, through the back) is very small. They offer ear plugs for $ 1.00 if you don’t want to be unnecessarily shouting the next day. There is also a full bar up there. As you might expect, the more crowded the space, the hotter you become. So if the band you came to hear isn’t playing right away, you’d be better off standing in the downstairs bar where it is cooler and less crowded.
The Red and the Black is dive-​y, but not uncomfortable. There are several booths lining the wall and then bar seating. The bartenders were friendly enough and the drinks were cheap. Minus the toilet incident, I really couldn’t find anything to complain about. It is not the type of place where there is a «scene» or you go to be seen. You just go, do your thing, and then leave. It was casual and there was a diverse swath of people … a random smattering of just about everyone.
There is a lot of road work being done in the H St corridor, so if you’re not familiar with the neighborhood (I wasn’t) just be aware of that. Parking was pretty easy to find down a side street (ie: off the main drag).

On the weekdays, this place is moratorium. Come to this bar around 6pm on a Wed and you’ll find a longhaired rockster with facial locks to his navel making a personal playlist of the seedy institution’s jukebox with the best of Motorhead and Hawkwind. In other words, I loved it.
On the weekends, you’ll find homely clad indie rocker bands from N. Virginia crooning out the best that the Tyson’s Corner foodcourt and their mother’s basement has to offer. When the bartender has never heard of them, than you know you’re in for a milktoast minstrel show. Avoid weekends like the clap.

Nothin spesh. Decent beers available, but the food? I’ve had the red beans and rice and the jambalaya and they both seemed like they had just been heated up in the microwave.
The plus is that it’s usually not too crowded, but that’s because it’s the least cool bar on the street. Still not bad, just not good.

Very small space for all the hipsters but at least you can pack them in 10 deep cuz they are so slim in their skinny jeans. Didn’t go upstairs cuz there was a cover. Music was a paradox of sorts, a mixture of old and new, angst and apathy — just like hipsters. I agree it’s ironic to play thrash metal and like it. Gah! Had a few PBRs but in bottles. Ugh. Seemed like I was not in my element when I got pushed into a hipster couple and they just glared at me harshly. Oh hipster couple with black rimmed glasses… I am sorry. You are too cool to be bothered, go on talking about how the world is so very ironic.

So many people harshing on this place and I can’t figure out why. Maybe they had set their expectations too high. The Red and the Black (named after a Stendhal book) is a tiny New Orleans themed live music venue in the «Atlas District» of H Street, NE (music upstairs, bar downstairs). In my opinion, it’s much more appealing than the similarly sized Velvet Lounge over on U Street. I love décor: walls covered chock a block with pictures (wonder how much they spent on framing?) and a great dark wood bar. Although there’s no kitchen, they do serve a few previously prepared obligatory New Orleans dishes such as gumbo, red beans and rice and muffulettas, but you’re not really here for the food, are you? No draft beers, but naturally they have a range of Abita products in the bottle, including the Restoration Ale and Turbo Dog.

The idea is this is some kind of New Orleans themed bar. Apparently it’s also named after a book which is so bad that my fiancée won’t go to this bar because it’s named after that book. Weird, right?
They’ve got a lot of people with tattoos and piercings and all black clothes running the place. They are, of course, completely friendly, because tattoos and piercings and all black clothes is more of a uniform for a social group nowadays than any sort of self expression. I’m a polo shirt blue jean kid, but we all manage to get along.
They’ve got Abita beers here, which is the New Orleans microbrew. I’ve always enjoyed them. They are $ 5. I recommend the Restoration Ale. If you like ales, I guess. If you don’t you should probably get something else. I don’t really know what you like.
They also make a shot called a Leila (sp?) Shot. I think it’s actually something called a Prairiefire but I think they way they do it is significantly spicier. It’s a great thing to do if you’re running out of gas towards the end of an evening. Remember when Roger Rabbit takes the shot of bourbon? It’s almost exactly like that. Watch out for dip.
Basically, I only come here to take that shot. Otherwise, it’s almost always empty. You can get a table though, no problem.
I would go to H Street Country Club or Rock and Roll Hotel. They are nearby, similarly priced, and more fun.

There are a lot of bad reviews for this place, and I’m not really sure why. I mean, I’m not dropping 4 or 5 stars on this place, but its definitely not bad.
It wasn’t too crowded, and our group staked out a nice area at the bar. They have a decent selection of bottled beers including Bells Oberson/​2 Hearterd, among others.
Everyone seems to be hard on the bartenders, when they were nothing but nice and quick the whole night. Oh well, guess you can’t please everyone.

Yeah, no.
Maybe it was because I’ve only been there once, but I was not impressed. I think this place is supposed to be punk maybe (?) but it just sucks. The lights are too bright; The bartenders are rude (btw, being rude is not punk, contrary to popular opinion); the drinks are crap; and the door guys are rude too.
Apparently the place attracts some pretty good music, but I didn’t attend the night I was there, so I can’t testify to that.

Not impressed.
Pretty typical selection of beers, nothing out of the ordinary. My boyfriend tried to order a mojito and was shot down by the bartender. Who doesn’t have mojitos on hand?! Sheesh. My mixed drinks were fine, but not outstanding.
The music scene here has a pretty solid following — a great (albeit small) venue to see some bands. Loud bands. I laughed out loud when I saw one guy walking into the upstairs with bright green earplugs… but soon understood the wisdom in his decision.
The food is catered in from Argonaut. If you’re looking to eat, just head over there and grab a table.

I didn’t know that The Red and The Black existed or much about the H St. corridor until Saturday night when I went to see my friend open for another friend’s band’s CD release show. There is so much divey-​goodness to behold at The Red and The Black. The place is small and cramped or if you want a positive spin, cozy and intimate. I didn’t pick up at all on the New Orleans theme.
I spent most of the evening upstairs in the show venue. It’s not a bad space for a concert but I can see how it can reach capacity very quickly. There’s some noise ordinance and bands have to stop playing at 12:30am.
Some observations, related and otherwise:
— Palace of Wonders is right next door. I wanted to check it out in between acts but they were charging $ 10 on Saturday night. A little too much since I just wanted to take a quick peek at all the creepy things I’ve heard and read about.
— The new sushi bar Sticky Rice is a few doors down (with 4 stars on Unilocal so far) so there’s at least one dinner option if you come out to H street — assuming you don’t eat at The Red and The Black, or according to Kevin L., Granville Moore’s (4.5 stars).
— The Tuesday night $ 12 shot and a haircut deal is no longer. We were chatting with the bartender and he said they couldn’t offer the service anymore because the establishment is not licensed to provide that service.

I have to admit, the New Orleans theme is not that in-​your-​face (or maybe I was just inattentive). In fact, I didn’t even notice the décor until I saw the food other folks were eating.
The gin and tonic was average, but the service was fairly prompt given how crowded the place was. I wanted to take a look upstairs, but there was an $ 8 cover due to a show (though I hear it’s even more cramped up there). I’d return to give this place a chance to make a more detailed impression on me if I know the show’s gonna be decent.

I don’t know about you but, there’s something about being called a bitch by bar management that makes me not want to return to an establishment.
I was pretty excited to see my friends in action. The first thing I thought upon entering the red+black, they don’t do hip hop/​black rock often. And who knew i would be correct in my assessment.
Some nonsense ensued over the capacity of the upstairs part of the venue. In addition to some cops being called on patrons.
I sought out a manager to request a refund. At which point I was answered to by a loud woman who professed, «I AM THE MANAGER!» Never once did I raise my voice at her. Her response,“Shut the fuck up bitch, you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” I was a flabbergasted. Not only did no one get a refund on their general admission, we were all told to leave. But that wasn’t before they made a few more bucks on drinks from people in our over 30+ party. A few moments later an employee came over to apologize, Bless his heart. He clearly saw that his manager was a fruity loop.
Never have I been to an establish that shut down a whole show because 1 or 2 people were out of line.
Needless to say I won’t ever be back and I somehow think the management and owners of the black+red won’t lose any sleep.
Enjoy at your own risk.
Also if you are paying with a credit card please be sure to tell the bartenders not to place tape on your card. It will pull your name and number paint off rendering your card useless.

Katrina blew a little bit of NOLA into Northeast — and that’s a good and welcome thing. A bit (ok a lot) off the beaten path The R & The B is part of a new slew of nightspots — Palace of Wonders, The Pug, The Rock N Roll Hotel (it ain’t a hotel, it’s the new Black Cat) the H Street Martini Lounge — holding sway on H Street between 11^th & 14^th — what is being called the Atlas District.

This bar is my fave of the lot, and the upstairs perfomance space is sweet– but I need to go back more, and with the diverse crowds and kind prices I will…
PS the bars all sponsor free cabs to get you to Union Station metro on the weekends