Tom Tom

1.5−2 stars.
The music was okay. I could see it being an okay dive bar, but it was pretty dead on a Friday night and the people that were there were kinda meh.

If you like Dive bars, then this is your type of place. We dropped by here as we bar hopped. We stayed for a total of 5 minutes because we found out we lost one of our people. Oops.

I’ve been here once on a bar crawl in Ad Mo, and once was enough for me! VERY packed, no cover, it didn’t appear there was a dress code. Difficult to walk from the entrance to the dancefloor because it was so crowded… I ended up feeling odd bc I had to rub my butt and boobs on people just so I could get through. Good for them, awkward for me!
Not only to mention that, it was so hot, you could feel the moisture in the air. There needs to be better AC or more fans circulating air or something!
The plus side was that the DJ was great, I liked the music… just couldn’t find room on the dance floor.

Most sleazy place imaginable, best time you’ll have wasted. Yes, it’s a bunch of crazy fratty guys and some foreign dudes with Armani belts but if you get drunk and want to dance, this is the place. I have been going here since I was 21 and I’m 25, and yes, it’s still drunk fun.
Do not go here sober though. Your life might be ruined.

I recently had one hell of a night at Tom Tom. Shoutout to Vladimir and Oleg. Quick breakdown:
Bartenders: Really cool. A bunch of them are from Kazakhstan.
Bouncers: Also pretty cool. When I was there the night actually ended with a massive bar fight but nobody got arrested, they just cleared the place out and had a shattered window replaced in like under 15 minutes. They clearly cared more about damage control and their image than getting back at the drunk beligerant slobs that attacked the entrance like the Taliban in Kabul.
Clientele: The straight girls are not a plus as they’re almost never smokingly attractive and usually the terrible 4 S’s: Sloppy, Skanky, Sick on your Shoes. The gay guys are a plus, I didn’t get hit on in any way that made me uncomfortable but I think I could bring my gay friends here if they wanted to flirt. The straight guys are mostly annoying and drawn to this bar like sharks to chum. Besides that; college kids, DC regulars — basically the AMo crowd. Also see above: drunk belligerant slobs.

I mean, what’s not to like about Tom Tom? Drunk frat boys pawning all over you, drunk sorority girls dancing badly and trying to make out with you, and strong drinks that will probably make you vom at the end of the night…
Besides the extra strong drinks, what I like about Tom Tom is the fact that the music is always great: mashups, house, and «up to date» hip-​hop music. When I come to Tom Tom, I come to get drunk and dance. Tom Tom is definitely my go-​to bar in Adams Morgan.

So, foursquare qualifies this as a «fratastic» bar. I don’t particularly agree with that assesment, although, I’ve only been on Saturday night, and only a few times. Now, I detest what I like to call «Abercrombie frat boy» kinda places, and this most definitely is not one. The music on Saturdays is great for a night out. I was there pretty late the last time, and it was like reliving my college days and nights soonafter with the music, but my date and I enjoyed it. We got served quickly at the bar, and just kind of hung back people watching. Good times.
It is most definitely a dive kinda place, but quite frankly, sometimes that’s where you have the most fun (Hong Kong in Fanueil Hall in Boston, I’m lookin’ at you)! So I didn’t have any kind of expectations going in, and just had myself a good time.
The first time I went it was pretty early at first, and my friends and I grabbed a table and chatted, it was a nice chill atmosphere.

My friends and I wandered into this place just looking for a place to chill out and have a few drinks. However, we stayed about a half an hour.
We walked upstairs to an area with couches and took seats. The music was really good — they were playing contemporary hip-​hop and I was really enjoying myself. Then this loud goofy DJ comes over the speakers and just starts BLARING techno, which was basically our cue to leave. Why did they have to ruin a good thing?

Wow, even when I was still in college I’ve never went to a bar like this! It was so dirty and very sketchy.
My friends and I were dancing when shady-​looking guys kept approaching, and would not take no for an answer. There were a lot of bumping and grinding dancing around us. Security had to step in a few times.
I won’t be back to this place, that’s for sure!

Conditions:
Huge southwesterly swell of 21 year old suburban patrons forecast for weekend. Swell peaking with the jumbo slice tide push around 2:30am Friday night. Conditions look similar for Saturday.
Watch out for hazards such as projectile vomit, angry post college frat bros, and drunk crying girls if you decide to paddle out.
Rad:
Serves Nevada pitchers for ten bucks on week nights.
Semi cheap drinks other nights.
Relive the best years of college.
Bad:
Relive the worst years of college.

TomTom is a dive bar in every sense of the word. The cast of the Real World DC hung out here, and it seems fitting as drinks are relatively cheap, and the place is a meat market.
I found the place to be dirty and the service to be slow, but that’s what you’d expect at a dive bar. So TomTom met my expectations.

Fun place to go on the weekends. Typically dead during the week. The place doesn’t have heat. Period.
The dance floor is small but adequate.

–Summary–
Pros: Cheap, not a ghost town.
Cons: Dirty, Smelly, Shady.
This bar was like a combination of the dirtiest college bars I’ve ever been to mixed with the shadiest frat basement parties one can experience.
I mean, if you’re looking for a dive playing music from 6 years ago with smelly shady looking guys who obviously came to take someone home with them, while regrettably forgetting to shower beforehand, then by all means, go for it. The drinks were cheap if I remember correctly, and there is DEFINETLY value to be had by going to bars like this. It’s tough to rate places like this. It sucked, but I’d still go back. I love dive bars, but this one doesn’t get it quite right.

Pretty fun bar. No line and no cover on Friday night. Bouncers check IDs under a black light. It’s two floors with a few areas to sit but for the most part, everyone is standing. The first floor had a dance floor in the back that seemed pretty packed. $ 17 for 2 cran vodkas — I think. don’t remember what I ordered but my credit card charge was $ 17 from Tom Tom haha

Weirrrrd.
A group of us got here at around 6, settled in at an outside table, and parked it til around 8pm. Nice and low-​key, the staff didn’t seem to be tooo bothered to take our orders (they weren’t all too enthused either), but hey, I got my food and drink.
Wandered back at around 10pm and said low-​key had turned into quite the night club. Huge bouncers at the door, two cop cars positioned smack in front of the place, and a bunch of overdressed boys and underdressed girls were lined up down the street.
The music sounded pretty fun and there was a decent sized dance floor in the back.
Quite the change — but at least you have options…

This place is fun. By far my favorite haunt in Adams Morgan. I have been here several times so I think that I can give a pretty accurate review of what this spot. In fact, I can sum up Tom-​Tom in 2 words: drunks dancing. Hmm… ok maybe I should give it a little more depth. Downstairs you have drunks dancing to top 40, you’ll hear Katy Perry, then Drake, then Miley Cyrus, and some old school Cali hip-​hop like Snoop. Yay! Upstairs is a little more laid back, its not generally too crowded up there, and if you meet someone who in your drunken stupor seems nice there are lots of couches upstairs to umm… (nudge nudge wink wink) on, haha only kidding.
If you want a drink, head upstairs so you can avoid the mass of people downstairs.
Ultimately, you don’t really go anywhere in Adams Morgan for a super classy evening out (except perhaps Savour, which is left for another review). But if you are in AM and just want to dance and have fun, this is the place to go. Its a casual, comfortable, no frills bar.
Oh and ladies, for aforementioned reasons, wearing your new satin shoes here is probably not a good idea. ;-)

My review is a little skewed because I was waaaasted by the time I got here after bar hopping. I do remember the Hooegarden (on tap!!!), rum and coke, Red Bull vodka, Tom Collins was only $ 26 w/​o tip. Nice! And I got my drinks pretty fast. However, it took my boyfriend forever and a day to get our drinks from the bar upstairs. That bartender had no idea what he was doing. Typical top 40 music, drunk college kids grinding each other, but whatever, I’m happy about the cheap drinks.
P. S. The girl who dropped her digital camera into the toilet and left it there which led to the clogged toilet and long line needs to GET. IT. TOGETHER. The end.

The music is w/​e. Nice to see that reggaeton is popular in DC like it is in California. O wait. not it isn’t.
anyways good beer selection. 4 – 6 bucks for all of it. Not bad prices. I can dig it. Crowd is friendly enough.
I really never give bars very good ratings and there’s no cover so you should still check it out

Jen H hits it on the head: this place is like a big wooden wet frat house. Soo many meathead dudes, meathead dudes, meathead dudes…
the drinks aren’t too bad, the music is halfway decent, but there is NO ONE dancing. Seriously. When we got there, there was a girl passed out drunk next to the stairwell, two other girls talking to a hulk of a man in a leather jacket, dudes all standing around… you get the point.
top that with a bouncer kicking the dude in front of us out of line… no idea what he did.

WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY? WHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY???
It’s hot. It’s packed with «wink wink» 21 year-​olds. It’s loud. There are four guys to every one girl. It takes twenty minutes to use the restroom.
But at least the Bud Lights are four bucks.
Please, people.