Off The Record

We had an excellent experience at the Hay Adams on Friday night. The cocktails were terrific but it was the excellent service and great food that made our time there so terrific. Freddie did a great job of taking care of our needs in a friendly and timely fashion. Antonio was also terrific — he was the floor manager and made sure our compliments to Freddie were passed along.
The food we ordered were the sliders and lettuce wraps, but the olives and peanuts that came with the table were actually fantastic. The food is definitely better than I thought it would be, since often places like this get by on their location and historicity, but not the actual product.
I wouldn’t go here every weekend — it’s too expensive for that, but for a fun change of pace, I’d highly recommend Off The Record.

Basement, whiskey-​bar style with a decent tap selection.
Olives, Asian cucumber salad and warm peanuts are complimentary and keep coming.
Really a nice spot to relax and strike up some good conversation.
A hop away from the white house.
A bit pricey for sandwiches and the entrees. Not the case for the beer (market price). Cocktails are a little steep but are large and pack a punch.

This is a downtown gem, it is an ideal spot for drinks after a long day at the office. When entering the building, ask the front desk to direct you to the bar as it can be a bit hard to locate.
From political caricatures lining the walls and adorning coasters, this bar offers the quintessential DC vibe. Dim lighting, bronze fixtures, and stiff drinks. Enjoy.

Good was good, nothing incredible, prices were a bit high for what the quality was, and staff was very inattentive and disorganized. Service was slow as well

Great place to visit, very up scale, great bar tender, great drinks, and great sliders. People were all dressed in ties and up scale, we meet some very nice people there, which was funny as I was way under dressed with shorts and flip flops on. If you are in DC, got to go here.

My husband and I love taking guests here. The atmosphere is really great and we always have a wonderful time.

Very classy spot. I was way underdressed with jeans and a sweater on. That didn’t bother me though, but most everyone else were dressed in suits/​business attire. The manhatten was one of the best I ever had. A bit pricey, but this isn’t a dollar-​well-​drinks kind of place. The food looked great, but I had already eaten. That didn’t stop me from enjoying the complimentary little snack plate of olives, nuts, and sesame marinated cukes.

Dark place with good drinks. Service was a bit lackluster, and the place can get loud. Nice bathrooms. The reputation and political cartoons make a visit worth it.

Went during the Day. Mostly tourists or people who stay at the hotel at this time. The drinks were great and stiff. Had a Gin and Tonic and a Vodka Martini. Food was typical of the price $$$ and enjoyed the steak. Not much variety of the menu for lunch but that was expected.
Definitely went for the atmosphere and the drinks.

Michel makes the best Cosmo I have ever had. And I have had many many a Cosmo.
Busy bar, great people watching, I recommend sitting at the bar not a table.
And a side note for the ladies, all the servers are men and good looking!

Popular spot for after work cocktails.
Often Off The Record is full up and you have to wait for a spot at the bar or a table. The host and waiters are helpful in clearing tables and finding spots.
The bar serves up well mixed drinks and has a great bar menu with burgers, mac and cheese fritters etc. Also a good spot for a late night snack.

Great first night back in D.C. Drinks were strong, food was fresh and atmosphere was perfect. Would definitely come back!

This cool bar in the basement of the Hay-​Adams Hotel is just a stone’s throw from the White House, but feels like the epicenter of the political universe. Slip inside, grab a corner table, and watch the room — you never know who’s gonna show up. It’s the ultimate D.C. insider spot, with a speakeasy feel and Jazz-​era décor that pulls you in and doesn’t let go. So even if you don’t run into Karl Rove on your visit, you’ll want to come back for another try.

Off the Record is a really cool spot to take out of town guests, but not somewhere I’d hang out on the regular.
The complimentary olives, cucumbers and peanuts are delicious and one of the best things about this place, after the ultra-​luxe ambiance and hilarious political caricatures that cover the walls and coasters (I always steal these as souvenirs).
The drinks are extremely pricey and not that great. Their liquor menu is pretty limited and definitely overpriced for what they offer, even for a $$$ in DC. It’s a pretty standard, incredibly boring bar menu with beyond craft cocktail prices ($ 15+ for a mixed drink). The waiters and bartenders serving us the last time didn’t really seem to know much beyond what was on the menu. Pretty disappointing, but something that I think could be improved with the right management/​direction.
On the other hand, my out of town friends have really enjoyed the kitsch of this place and the location, «so DCII!».

Off the record is off the chain. Don’t take the steps on the side, instead walk into the hotel lobby down the steps and get a fill for old school. This place is soft yet hard, dark yet light, and corny yet cool. The bar is not overly big however, it feels large. Bar bites are nuts and pickled veggies. Top shelf liquors on full display with experienced mixologists. Micheal is the man with the heavy hand, for sure wit da pour.
Food is pretty good I had the burger, the one with the juice that runs down the side of your hand. Sausage pizza was hot and very good, everything was fresh. FYI don’t come in here with a budget, it’s grown folks business.

Boy — this is tough. I see a lot of glowing reviews for this place, and when I had a meeting in the Hays-​Adams hotel, it was the perfect excuse to go down and hang out for a bit. This is a classic case of having expectations raised too much, as I have to admit that I wasn’t blown away or even overly impressed.
Don’t get me wrong — it is very old-​school with a heavy dose of red everywhere and very soft seats, the food looked decent and the beverage selection was good (fever tree ginger ale is a big plus), but I wasn’t that impressed, and honestly was a little disappointed after reading some of the other reviews. The bartender was friendly and the cucumbers and spicy nuts at the bar are nice, but let me put it this way: If I never come back, I’ll be just fine. I won’t miss this place or wish I could come back, so it’s hard to give it more than a 3-​star review.
Basically, it’s a regular bar in a basement with nice seats, and I saw a Congressman who I won’t name because I’m not sure if he was with his wife or not, but at the price point, it just seems ok. It was crowded at happy hour (don’t expect happy hour specials this close to the White House) so there is an appeal to a very «DC» crowd. Maybe you will love it, but I am just ok.

Red and posh. This one and Co Co Sala are the two bars you should bring your date to impress! Located across from the White House and inside of a hotel, Off The Record feels like a saloon with plushy red velvet and classic white décor everywhere.
The cocktails are quite delicious. My company had a vodka infused drink and I had a bourbon one. Both were well balanced and strong. We just came from dinner so we didn’t partake in any food items, but Off The Record offers olives, pickled cucumbers, and nuts on the house for light nibbles!

Inside the Hay-​Adams Hotel.
Right across the lawn from the White House. :salutes:
Dope interior décor and ambiance.
Packed on Fridays… with suits, upon suits… and dresses.
Once you get a bar seat, it’s magical.
Marteen, the barman, is the man. Quick and efficient with the drinks and eats.
On the record: The mac n cheese fritters and pork buns were hella tasty.

Off the Record really does take you back to a bygone era, like a place I would imagine drinking at in the 1950s. It has dim lighting and lots of deep red walls/​carpet/​table cloths. I went with a small group on a Wednesday night, and there was lots of room, though the place is quite small. It is located in the basement of the Hay-​Adams.
They have limited food options, which I did not try, but they have Asian inspired dishes such as shrimp dumplings and pork «buns,» which I saw and looked more like tacos. Anyway, I was there to drink. They have a large assortment of classic cocktails, which went for $ 13 apiece, and about 10 beers for $ 7-​$ 8. They have Guinness extra and Weiphestaupher Hefeweizen, which both hit the spot. It’s a quiet, low-​key place, so it was perfect for a group looking to catch up and chat. Other places might have been difficult for people to hear each other comfortably, so this is a perfect spot for a nice visit.
The real perk is that they bring you complimentary bar snacks, including spiced cucumbers, olives, and warm, salty mixed nuts that were delicious. And, after 3 – 4 drinks apiece, they were happy to replenish them for us upon request. These are probably the best complimentary bar snacks I have ever had, so kudos to them.
Bonus points for the coolest coasters in town, featuring caricatures of famous faces in DC history (mostly presidents). Good stuff.

I was so excited to visit Off the Record after hearing so much about it, but the service was just awful! From the moment I walked in, I was ignored. There was no one to greet me or seat me. I had plans with a friend and arrived before she did and awkwardly stood around the posh bar area until a waiter finally acknowledged my presence. He proceeded to seat me at a table next to a large plant, which was covered by a wall on one side. My friend arrived and we proceeded to place drink orders once the waiters finally acknowledged our presence (after 20 – 30 minutes), only to be told that the menu they had provided us with was outdated. Ok, why even place the outdated menu on our table in the first place? They seemed upset that we had ordered off the outdated menu, as if it was somehow our fault. They brought out another menu and we placed our order when we were finally able to flag the waiter down again. I ordered a peach martini and my friend ordered a margarita.
My peach martini WAS DELICIOUS, which is why I wish I could give this place more stars than I am, but the service just really doesn’t warrant more than 2 stars. I also did really like the accompaniments that came with our drink — peanuts (very good with our drinks), cucumbers with an Asian dressing on them, and olives. But alas, the drinks and food did not make up for the lackluster service.
The bar is quite swanky, but seems more like a tourist trap or a trap for DC’s numerous giddy summer interns than a place that actual policymakers frequent. It’s a bit hard to find when you first walk in to the Hay Adams hotel. It’s downstairs and I had to ask someone to direct me to the bar.
Bottom Line: I loved my Peach Martini, but the service was awful and I don’t think I’m going to visit again anytime soon. DC has plenty of other swanky, old-​world, pretentious bars that would serve the same purpose and probably be less annoying.