Colonel Brooks’ Tavern

I’ve passed by this restaurant several times. Today, I decided to go in. There really is not anything special to the décor, and the seating booths are somewhat cramped for my liking. The food was average. The service was poor. I waited five minutes to be seated by a gentleman dressed in sweat pants who appeared to be hanging out with his friends. The waitress was more interested in checking her cellphone messages than she was in providing service. It could’ve been an off night for the restaurant because it always looks crowded. I’m sure they couldn’t remain in business if service is always this bad.

Okay, so looking for a nice spot to watch the ‘Skins game, have a few drinks, a friend suggested Col. Brooks’. Never, ever again!
The place is not clean! The bartender, Trish, was particularly unfriendly and she was texting almost the whole time we were there. Goodness, there is a cabinet behind the bar and you can see the greasy fingerprints. So the bartender goes in that cabinet and then fixes a drink?! I think not! Ewww!
One good thing, the food was pretty good. Had the Reuben Sandwich, which came with cole slaw. The sandwich and slaw were both good (after I ordered my dressing for the sandwich).

Sitting here at the bar and the bar tender is texting. Everyone likes to text, but texting at work in front of the customer is unprofessional.
The food is good, tho, and my barmates are entertaining.

COL Brooks has got decent food for the NE DC Brookland/​CUA area. The prices are decent — a popular college tavern.

Those who attended CUA/​work at CUA/​live in Brookland will probably call me a blasphemer for this review.
I’m sorry, but this place is terrible.
The food is terribly sub-​par, even for bar food, which is mega-​disappointing. I love Creole-​inspired dishes, but this place just misses the mark. I’ve been here multiple times and tried multiple foods in case I was ordered the «wrong thing» but I am yet to find a dish that has even the tiniest bit of «wow» to it.
But hey, you say, Col. Brooks is supposed to be one of those places you go for good drinks and good atmosphere! Oh, really? What makes the drinks here better than drinks anywhere else? The drinks a few blocks away at Brookland Café far outshine the drinks here. Oh, they have a great beer selection? Have you ever been to Churchkey? Now that’s a great beer selection. And that atmosphere? I love dive bars, but this place just doesn’t cut it. The seats are horribly uncomfortable, leading to butt-​numbness in a matter of minutes. If I’m planning to spend a few hours throwing a few drinks back, I’d at least like to be comfortable.
I know, I know. To each their own. And as I said, many people scoff at my dislike of the Colonel. But there are just so many better options out there.

I’ve been here several times over several years. Unfortunately, right now it’s about the only place in the neighborhood for a sit down meal… so a capitve audience. Every time, I am taken aback by the mediocrity. Each time I try to pick a simpler and simpler menu item hoping for success, but this time, even the buffalo chicken sandwich was disappointing (no sauce! not even mayo without asking!) I am not one of the neighborhood residents who are upset this is being replaced by a development… at least that’s supposed to have a new restaurant!
I do want to dispute the comments about the neighborhood being sketcky. it’s really not. And if you take the metro, it’s barely a half block from the top pf the escalators to the front door of the place, I think you’ll be okay.

What can I say about Colonel Brooks that hasn’t already been said? You’ve heard the good: solid American food, a hangout spot for locals that gives it an authentic neighborhood bar type feel… and the bad: slow service, inconsistent food, unfriendly staff. It’s all true, and not true, and it depends on who’s there, when you go and where you sit.
If you’re in the neighborhood check it out, if you’re not from around Brookland I’d only consider checking out brunch. Also, it’s been said here before, sit at the bar. Trish is one of the greatest local bartenders of all time in my humble opinion. Service is generally better at the bar anyway regardless of who the bartender is. I do love this place because it reminds me of my grandparent’s restaurant in West Virginia. I will miss this place when they eventually tear it down for the Condoplex that’s going in.

It’s a Brookland tradition and quite frankly one of only a few places to eat in Brookland. So, everyone goes here to eat and it’s pretty good. It’s not my favorite food and there is nothing truly special about it, but it’s pretty good. I will go back, but only because I have to if I want to stay close.
The burgers are good, the turkey burger was quite well seasoned. The service is usually pretty good, not the best… they are a bit on the slower side. I am giving this restaurant a 3 star because overall, it’s not bad. It’s just there is so much better that DC has to offer.
They do have a full bar and make good drinks ;-)

I ran into Jennifer P. after my mani-​pedi and trip to the shoe repair. We decided to have a «we survived the earthquake» cocktail. Unfortunately, it was probably my last time here. A grocery store and condo unit is slated to take the place of this historic tavern.
We had the white wine and the Rose Kennedys and caught up on the events of the day. The alcohol kicked in and we made tracks for some food in another spot I’ve wanted to try.

This was an example of poor execution. I read the Unilocal reviews that said how bad the service was and how the area around the restaurant was terrifying and I thought «well, not everyone can have bad service.»
The waitress that sat us was extremely nice and I had a flash that the Unilocalers were wrong… but nope, dead on as this was basically the last time we saw her besides giving us the check.
I got the BBQ Rib Sandwich and it was a huge slab of meat — with a tiny spoonful of BBQ sauce on top making it the driest sandwich known to man. On top of that, the fries they served us were not edible by human beings. As a restaurant, I would be embarrassed to serve gummy, cold, nasty fries that had clearly been sitting out for hours.
Lastly, and I promise I am not making this up — as we were leaving and walking towards the car, someone driving by yelled at us from a car window «DON’T GO THERE THAT PLACE SUCKS.» Too late — that would have been nice to know BEFORE we went inside…

The food here is not good.
Add to the fact that people were murdered here a few years ago and it gets even worse.
Stab’em Up Brooks, as we like to call it (even though the people were murdered with guns), where the ketchup is organic.
Their brunch is decent though — I was surprised to be honest, considering I don’t think I’ve had a dish from Stab’em Up that was remotely edible during their lunch or dinner service.
I think Colonel Brooks is closing though? .condos?

Went here last night with a couple friends who love this place, but can’t say I’d ever go outta my way to do it again. It was… meh. Just your average pub. If I lived closer, I’d probably be there fairly often.
Good prices, and the food ain’t bad (not wow, but not bad). My only suggestion would be to kick service up a notch. It was slow as heck in there on a weekday, so it shouldn’t have taken as long as it did to get refills. And definitely a little more personality from the wait staff. I mean I only saw like 2 servers, so I can’t say the whole staff is that way. But the chick that waited on our table was friggin BLAND. I don’t need dinner and a show, but I’d like a little charisma, ya know?

If I could rate lower I would. While in the Brookland neighborhood on Sunday afternoon my husband and I decided to try out the tavern. What a mistake.
We were seated promptly by a nice young man. The waitress asked us for our drink order. We both ordered Cape Cods. The drinks were terrible. The drinks arrived in water glasses. When the waitress came over for our order we explained the drinks were bad. There was a glass of cranberry juice with one shot of vodka. Well her response was «Well we can’t take out the juice». My husband then told her to start over with new drinks, one shot less juice.
The waitress proceeded over to the bar area and begin to talk very loud about us and complaints on the drinks. And of course the comments were not good. Unfortunately this was not the first time she could be heard throughout the tavern shouting. She was rude and loud to everyone that worked in the place. Then she returned to the table trying to be sweet. Well its too late you were just blasting us out.
The food was just okay. The customer service was terrible. A tavern with free parking in the city should be overflowing not we know why not.

I just moved back to Brookland a few months ago and happened upon this place after a long day of painting. it was great. Service was quick, food was good, servers are nice.
This certainly is no gourmet meal, but I’ve been back a few times. The different burgers and other sandwiches I’ve had have always been good as have the desserts. For the price, this is definitely the best place around here I’ve found. Very chill and relaxing.

I’ve definitely been here a few times in my 20+ years in D.C. I keep expecting it not to be there when I go. There were so many rumors of it going.
It’s a great quaint and cozy place. The staff service is usually good. I enjoy the small booths and the neighborhood feel. There are usually regulars watching the game. The food is solid american food. They used to have mussels but they took those off the menu. I usually have a burger, a shirmp dish or the cheese steak. I had the cheese steak this time. It’s one of few places that also serves pinot grigio.

This was quite a weird experience for my husband and I. We live in Brookland but hadn’t been to this place in quite some time. We should have stayed away.
First, the server told us we couldn’t sit by the light because it was «reserved for groups» (it was just the two of us) so we didn’t argue. Five minutes later, two different parties of two people each sat in the booths we originally wanted. No one said anything.
Whatevs. We stopped sucking our thumbs 30 years ago and we’re wearing our big people underwear. Got over that weirdness right away.
Drinks came after a moderate amount of time but whoever pulled my Guinness screwed it up. They obviously don’t know how to do a proper Guinness.
Whatevs again. This is America. No one died for screwing up a Guinness. Goes to the same place anyway.
The food was meh. The crap dip appetizer was too salty and the bread accompaniment was the wrong choice. The calamari was semi-​good and the dipping sauce was interesting.
And finally — the coup de grace: the peach cobbler. It is very hard to mess up a peach cobbler. They did. The dumpling was raw and there was too much whipped cream on the cobbler as if they were trying to cover up the rawness of the dough as well as the obvious granules of flour all over the plate. The peaches were piping hot — how could the dough be raw and the fruit hot?
This isn’t even the weird part. The weird part was the same server who told us about the seating claimed that the manager told him the cobbler was ready and he told the manager the cobbler was raw. He also said the manager never listens to him when he tells him the cobbler is raw but the manager makes him serve the cobbler anyway. When we asked to speak to the manager, the server gave us some vague reason why the manager wasn’t available. The server did give us the option of ordering another dessert but at that point we weren’t really interested in staying any longer than necessary.
We weren’t charged for the cobbler which scored Colonel Brooks an extra star — they were originally in the running for one star.
If you’re in the mood for arbitrary seating arrangements, over-​salted food, screwed up beer, and the potential for a disease from raw foods — this will do the trick for you. Otherwise, save your money and go to H St.

I moved to the neighborhood six months ago and since then I’ve frequented Colonel Brooks at least once a week. It’s got a great atmosphere — lacquered wood pews, a solid bar, and historical photos from the bar’s past. The beer selection is great — the breakfast stout they had on tap for 6 bucks a pint was seriously good, an Allagash will run you 5 bucks, and they generally have some new beer on tap. You can get pints too.
The food is, well, hit or miss. The burger is OK. I’ve always had to salt it to give it some flavor but it’s always cooked to order. The beef stew and the mussels (this is off of the menu now) are great, hearty meals that will have you ignoring the somewhat high price tag. I’m happy to pay the price increase for such a good neighborhood bar. The desserts are delicious (the menu calls them Desserts by Jerome — who are you and where can I find more of your delicate confections?) and I highly recommend the warm bread pudding.
The service is a little spotty, a little inconsistent but it’s never put a damper on my experience. The patrons are my kind of people — neighborhood folks and Catholic students who’ve had a day and a half and need to unwind. Bring four people if you want a big booth. They usually have the games on as well and on Tuesday night you can hear live music from a Dixie Land style band. It’s good and the band can really wail.

3.75 Stars
A great neighborhood spot with one of the most diverse, well-​integrated clientele in the DMV area, with everything from Catholic U. students, professors, and clergy, to neighbors and local «characters».
There’s a nice long wooden bar with twelve draft handles serving a decent selection of rotating beers that have included Alagash White, Dogfish Head 60 Minute, Bell’s Two Hearted Ale and Clipper City’s Loose Cannon, in addition to your more pedestrian selections of Guiness/​Bass/​Sierra Nevada/​Yuengling (available in mug, pint, or pitcher).
While I would hardly describe this place as a gastropub, the food is a step above your standard pub fare. The burgers are good (I’m a fan of the Hickory Burger) and they make decent sandwiches, but they also get a bit more ambitious with crabcakes, steaks and mussels. The bar is connected to the late, lamented Island Jim’s (complete with sand beach!) which is used for additional seating; a great place to sit outside and make believe you’re in a tropical paradise!
Acting as it does as something of a community center for Brookland, Colonel Brook’s hosts Dixieland Jazz on Tuesday nights (previously the now defunct Federal Jazz Commission). An all-​around fantastic joint for over 30 years!

Cute little tavern that I’m surprised that I never heard of this place before. This is a nice little place to hang out with a friend or two for drinks and maybe some appetizers. I wish I could accurately explain how some of the seating arrangements are designed. You just have to come and look at them. I thought this was one cool think that set CBT apart from other taverns.
For some reason, I keep thinking that this is an Irish pub because most of their drinks were ales and lagers. Eh, not for me. I just stuck with my good ol’ trusty Long Island Tea, which was good.
Buffalo wings were ok. They just didn’t have that kick in the sauce. The mozzarella sticks is different that what we’re all used to. Instead of sticks, you actually get two clumps of breaded mozzarellas laid on a small platter of chunky mariana sauce. The chili con queso soup was the best of the appetizers ordered.
However, I do have to say that service was on the slow side. Drinks were not quickly refilled. The waitress seemed more interested in chatting with the bartender than servicing customers.
One good thing about this place is that CBT has its own private parking lot in the back. This is really good because you don’t have to deal with parking on the side of the street during rush hour.
If you’re lucky, you just might be able to spot the President of Gallaudet University dining there.

4 stars for a neighborhood bar with friendly staff, in an historic building, with an eccentric vibe, and decent food at reasonable prices.
I had no idea about the unfortunate history there before reading it here on Unilocal; that gives me pause about the neighborhood, but I’ve been there a number of times in the past year, including at night, and haven’t felt a sketchy vibe any more (or less) than, oh, 90% of the places on this planet that humans inhabit.
Anywho, they have some interesting menu items (spicy rockfish sandwich), friendly staff, and an oddly diverse clientele (one night it was mostly folks over 70 and live polka music) that makes for interesting people watching. [oh yeah, about that polka night? It was well after dark and there were lots of single little old ladies, none of whom seemed frightened, nor sketchy.]
Go get a beer there and support this neighborhood bar!