Public Bar
Dupont Circle 1214 18th St NW(between N M St & N Connecticut Ave)
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 223-2200
I begin this post with a major caveat- New York is filled with boring, run of the mill, after work sports bars that attract all of the ex-Lehman employees and their would-be girlfriends. I hate these bars- no creativity, no innovation, always crowded, and filled with the type of people who have faces you just want to slap.
On the other hand, I am totally cool with a bar that is laid back, fun, non-gimmicky, and attracts a clientele that isn’t so obsessed with their coolness that they are unable to enjoy anything mainstream. Public Bar is…a bar. It has three levels, a roof (that, incidentally, is unable to serve glass bottles because some jackass kept throwing them off the balcony last summer. Way to go, you’ve ruined EVERYTHING) plasma TV’s for sports enthusiasts, etc etc.
Why I like it:
Location, location, location. If you’re like me, your friends, co-workers and past cell mates live everywhere from Bethesda, to Capitol Hill to Arlington. Forcing Arlington-ers out to Capitol Hill or vice versa is, in short, annoying to them. Public Bar serves as a great middle ground. 2 blocks from Dupont Circle metro, its also located in a good area to bar-hop.
Clientele. In my experience, there are normal people hanging out here who look like they may have a checking account and probably don’t want to talk to you about their antique sword collection. Really, this is all you can ask for.
As well…. they play good music, it’s reasonably non-crowded on weekdays, the bartenders are nice and they have a weekday happy hour. Do it up.
Big Apple To The Beltway 