Chief Ike’s Mambo Room

The diviest of dive bars and always a good time.

Daniel was the best bartender! Definitely go see him on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. He will not disappoint!

I normally like this dump, because the bar tenders are friendly and it’s a conveniently located. The bathroom and the disgusting fish tank behind the bar are only trumped by the smell of the rather butch woman bartender that light pours every cocktail. Thank goodness I only drink beer in a can at this lounge, because I’m sure bottle service here would be divine. Alas, they don’t have private spaces. However, some of the team can make you feel VIP. One message to the management: HOT barbacks. Worth a stop, if you’re in the hood. Peace.

This review is for TRIVIA on Monday nights at 8:30pm.
Love it! Chief Ike’s Trivia is hilarious — this place is a total dive – the diviest place I’ve hung out at in DC, but its great. The trivia announce, Chandler McNasty, is hilarious – he heckles the audience and sprinkles in all sorts of inappropriate humour throughout the night. Also the food is pretty decent — better than dive-​bar food for sure.
I wholeheartedly recommend.

Oh Chief Ike’s. Oh Mr. Bartender Chaos. Oh Chandler Nasty. Things got real weird.
Came here randomly on a Monday night for ONE beer to send off a friend moving back to Cali. When we strolled into this neon lit dilapidated cave, someone on the mic belted out an 80’s porno voiced «ohhh yeah.» Little did we know this was probably the least weird thing that would happen all night.
You get a free «special Ike’s shot» if you check in on the Unilocal app. The bartender had no idea what that was (management should probably notify staff of promotions), but still played along and was super nice about giving our entire huge group shots of some raspberry vodka mix even though only 1 of us checked in.
Total divebar — really sticky and icky bathrooms with no doorknobs — so you actually have to poke your finger in and try to hook the door open. *insert sexual innuendo here* $ 10 draft pitchers (of some generic Ike’s ale which just tastes like bud lite) were a good deal but could’ve been a bit more chilled. The kitchen brought out some free chicken wings which my friends all said were delicious and garlicky. Ended up staying til closing. Let’s just say the next day at work was not great.
Fun trivia questions, awesome prizes, and a really creepy but hilarious Monday night duo. I would definitely recommend this place to people looking for a weird+good trivia night. Just don’t shout out the answer.

Update: Alan, thanks for the reply. Would you mind posting pictures for us to see of all these great changes, especially the bathroom situation and the wild and crazy trivia crowds you’re drawing now? It’s a bit of a trek to get there for me, so I’d like to know it’s worth it first. Thanks!

Chief Ike’s is unabashedly an Adams Morgan dive bar. It has everything you would imagine a dive bar to be – dark, a bit dingy, serving up cheap beers – and it works. If you’re looking for a craft cocktail and a sleek, loungy environment, walk the few blocks down to the 14^th St corridor, because you won’t get that at Chief Ike’s.
But if you’re game to just hang out with the regulars, enjoy some music (they have plenty of live shows), and drink on the cheap, then Chief Ike’s is the place for you. With it being so close to home, I’m much more likely to swing by these days, though typically when my coworker’s band is playing. But you shouldn’t be like me and only go when there’s an excuse… you should just go.

This is my favorite bar in D.C.
I’ve popped in a few times randomly and ALWAYS enjoyed what I’ve found. Comfie atmosphere, petite stage that on any given night could be hosting live music, stand-​up comedy or burlesque (often for Free!) and welcoming/​homey vibe. GOOD DRINK PRICES ALL THE TIME.
DO IT.
Or don’t, because I prefer to keep it to myself.

Chief Ike’s is the definition of a DC dive bar, and I love it!
Grungy atmosphere, cheap pbr and fantastic dance music — everything you need on a Saturday night. My friends and I have made Chief Ike’s one of our go to destinations for drunken shenanigans. This is the place to let your hair down, slam a couple of drinks and dance till the sun comes up.
While the bathrooms leave something to be desired, did you really come here to critique the bathrooms? It is a dive bar. Don’t worry, the Saturday night DJ will make up for it on the dance floor with an amazing playlist that will make you want to dance till your feet fall off.
Make sure to take a break from dancing and admire the fish tank behind the bar — theres a shark in it!
Only downside, the high minimum on credit card tabs and the occasional $ 5 cover. In the end, totally worth it.

Chief Ike’s is my favorite dive in all of DC. They have the best music and dance floor, cheap drinks and always friendly bar staff.
My friends and I choose Chief Ike’s as our late-​night dance spot 100% of the time.
The bathrooms are not clean, and sometimes the $ 5 cover seems a bit much but it’s what you can expect from an Adams Morgan establishment. Oh, and their fish tank behind the bar has a shark!
Chief Ike’s! Chief Ike’s!

Boy howdy. Chief Ike’s is a magical place, I’m convinced. It’s like Brigadoon, appearing around midnight on those Saturday nights where you should probably head home but aren’t quite ready yet. Sometimes I end up here and I don’t even remember making the conscious choice to go – we just seem to gravitate there. Apparently it is operational all other days of the week, but it doesn’t have that same seedy sparkle.
The drinks here sometimes come in plastic cups. Perfect. They also have sweet tea vodka smoothies, my downfall many times. Has the same sickly-​sweet concoction been churning in those gross-​looking machines for months? Most likely. But I heard alcohol kills germs.
The point of Chief Ike’s is not to hang out and grab a drink in a dingy bar. It’s to dance like a gremlin, while drinking to forget your name. The crowd is always spectacularly strange. You walk into most bars in DC and you know the crowd. They look like people you share a common friend with. This place is completely random. But delightfully so. I have run into more people I know in this tiny place than any other bar in DC, despite it having the homogeneity of your average airport gate.
My favorite Chief Ike memory: a couple years ago some December weekend, I ended up here with a friend. Apparently everyone else who had attended a Christmas party in the DMV area was also pulled in by Chief Ike’s siren song. The room was filled with ugly sweaters, sequin dresses, men in suits, a girl with a feather boa, everything. Despite not attending the same parties, we all managed to find the best after party in DC, and I swear, by 4am, Chief Ike’s disappeared until the next Saturday.

I wouldn’t say I’d actually eat anything that comes out of this kitchen. but i do love my dives and this is definitely a dive. However it has no charm! I’ve been here about 5 times and if you ask me what type of décor they have, I can’t tell you and I’ve been here in broad daylight. There’s only 1 bathroom per sex, so on a busy weekend night, you’re assed out. The beers are the usual, and affordable during happy hour so can’t complain. Its just a little hard for me to justify going all the way here, given it’s not really that close to any metro. The outdoor seating is nice for the summer, but… that’s about it. $ 4 for brew is not that cheap.

Whoever said, «any random night of the week» is good here, didn’t go on the recent random Tuesday night in the middle of summer.
Maybe after the band comes on at 10pm it might of kicked up a bit, but I wasn’t sticking around to see if that worked out.
$ 4 bottles for a lengthy happy hour, but check what’s going on first, and/​or come toward the end of the week or weekend.

Chief Ike’s is a great dive bar. They often feature good drink specials and they have pretty good food, which you wouldn’t expect by the looks of the place. The space itself is adorned with various murals (including an awesome Day of the Dead inspired part) and other bits of randomness.
As far as food goes, I can recommend their pizza. There are some reviews on here saying that Chief Ike’s has the best pizza in the city and I have to admit that is a stretch, it’s good but best pizza in the city isn’t quite right.
I sometimes find myself just walking by Chief Ike’s on my way to the grocery store and deciding to go in because maybe that night I do need a $ 7 frozen margarita before facing the hell that is the grocery store after work!

This place is not only the best dive bar in DC, but also forgot Jumbo slice — hands down the best pizza in Adams Morgan and possibly all of DC. I am disappointed more reviews don’t mention the pizza because its so good I barely have to get my paleo-​diet/​gluten-​free friends drunk to crave this pizza. You have to get there before 10 to experience the pizza, but if you do, you definitely won’t regret it. High quality pizza, top notch ingredients, great flavors, and wash it down with a PBR because no one is judging you.
I lived around the corner from this place and is a great place to grab a drink any night of the week. The dancing is amazing — sometimes on Fridays they have a cover for guys (like the 3^rd Friday of every month is a lesbian dance party — epic, check it out!)

Chief Ike’s Mambo Room is a hip-​hop dive bar of the highest order. And by that, I mean it’s grimy as shit and fun as all hell.
Like any respectable dive bar, it’s kitschy-​cool:
— There is a fish tank behind the bar featuring two small sharks
— A giant, dare I say, awesome, mural of skeletons boozing takes up a back wall
It’s sleazy-​sexy:
— A small alcove serves as the semi-​hidden, de facto make-​out room
— There is something called the «Hot Wall,» featuring photos of female patrons, which is, frankly speaking, an ode to cleavage and women squeezing/​licking said cleavage in a public place
It’s standard-​issue:
— Affordable, hangover-​inducing mixed drinks are served up by super-​salty, sarcastic bartenders
— A smoke machine and disco ball have been installed because, well, why the hell not?
People come here for two reasons — A) to lose their damn mind, or B) creep on people who came to lose their damn mind. OK, granted, it does double as a legit sports bar thanks to a handful of TVs, plus an on-​stage projector. But I’m really talking about a different kind of spectating for the moment.
You guessed it. People-​watching. I witnessed a young lady in a skin-​tight dress take off her heels and go barefoot on a dirty-​ass, dive bar floor for the remainder of the evening, all because being womanly and hygienic were severely preventing her from dancing her ass off as hard as she damn well pleased. For all intensive purposes, roughly 85% of Chief Ike’s clientele at any given time fall under this same species of fun-​loving, reckless nutjob.
And despite its name, I can assure you there is no mambo dancing goin’ on at Chief Ike’s. The official genre of choice is booty-​grindin’. This is thanks to both the aforementioned demographic and the non-​stop, hip-​hop DJing. Well, and the drinks. It’s a dangerous combination, but also a winning formula for one hell of a down-​and-​dirty night.

As far as dive bars are concerned, I have seen divier. I have also seen better drink specials, better beers on tap, and bathrooms that have paper towels and toilet paper.
I feel like Chief Ike’s is having an identity crisis. With a strong following from the Capitol Bocce league (which seems to be sponsoring the league), Chief Ike’s cannot decide if it wants to be a dive bar, or a late night discothèque (playing Prince’s Purple Rain to an empty dance floor).
Expect warm beer, the distinct smell of pee, and bar staff who don’t seem to want to help you. But for strange reason, the nachos are excellent. So, yeah.

I NEVER go to dive bars, and I think if I hadn’t been at the perfect point of drunk I would have cried. Número uno, you will find plastic cups here. I can only name a few places Ive been in dc with plastic cups, hm McFadden’s and FUR come to mind.
This is the funniest place ever. There were about 8 girls an 3 boys in the entire bar. All the ladies were dancing there asses off like they were dancing in their bedroom. Everyone was spread apart dancing kinda with themselves bouncing around to old hip hop. This reminds me of going out in a small town because the music was old, drinks are in plastic cups, and people dressed «up» in their best from target. There were really so few people we could leave our stuff on a chair and not worry about it. My friend and I had fun for a half hour dancing like dorks to old rap music before becoming bored. In a strange way it was freeing to be so un-​me and silly!
Okay, so this place is gross, but two stars for getting me to dance.

Chef Ike’s is literally the definition of a dive bar.
From the sketchy customers. to the dirty conditions, to the ugly staff, to the bathroom with the crude drawings in black marker of naked men and women on the walls, and the random dog walking through the eating area, Chef Ike’s is dive central.
My only issue with Chef Ike’s Mambo Room is that it is a dive bar to me that just isn’t divey enough. I like my dive bars gritty and grimy and Chef Ike’s with it’s flat screen TVs just isn’t divey enough. I want a dive bar with blacked out windows and glasses so flithy, any sane person wouldn’t dare drink out of it. Where you wouldn’t dare order any meat because you wouldn’t be sure what animal it exactly is you’re eating.
With that said, Chef Ike’s is a decent place to go watch the game, I did just watch the Super Bowl there but when it comes to down and dirty dive bars, Chef Ike’s need to take the place down another notch to meet my needs.

Gross.