Reviews of Dan's Cafe (Restaurant)

Devin O. Stewart

A truly unique experience. Horrifying or wonderful depending on your perspective. This is a quintessential dive bar. Squeeze bottles of booze and cheap beer. Sticky floors, cramped booths and a ceiling that looks like it's about to fall in. Worth a visit.

Kelii Perkins

This bar can turn into a mad house! Especially with there filled ketchup bottle with liquor for 20$!! Good place to bring a large group of friends!

Chad Miller

Dive bar. Squeeze bottle drinks.

Steve Staley

Amazing dive bar, but it's now closed...

Isaac Allen

A dive bar for all dive bars. Drinks in a ketchup bottle what could go wrong.

DeAnna Burke

If you're looking for fancy and pretentious this is not a pave for you. Get a bottle of liquor with your favorite mixer and shot glasses for everyone in your party and you're good to go. It's always packed, so get there early if you want to find a seat.

Andrew Dee

Are you looking for a cash only bar with drinks in squirt bottles that require a deposit? Are you after getting drinks in you quickly and with minimal fuss? Do you plan on not wanting to use the bathroom here? Dan's cafe is for you! You pick your liquor, mixer, and they will plunk it down in front of you with some shot glasses. Don't expect the world but do expect that if you come with friends it's the perfect start, middle, or end to the night, but not all 3.

Xavier Heredia

Amazing. You can pour your own shots

brian brian

Certainly memorable...the shittiest bar I've ever been in. Mostly due to the bathroom. The toilet had no water and was filled with urine and vomit. The door had no knob to grab to get out of the bathroom. It is certainly an antithesis to the well manicured, rich, white DC you know. It got a little crowded with collegiate douche bags instagramming their foray into binge drinking in a bar that seems to actually be designed to give homeless alcoholics a shelter from the elements, so I bought a fifth, found some discarded furniture in a back alley, and drank in a cleaner, quieter environment.

Jamie Biglow

A DC institution and one of the best dive bar I've ever been to.

Mike Stefanelli

This is the best bar in DC and possibly on earth.

Gwyn Isabella

A fun little dive with unique serving methods. Cash only, and the ATMs on the street are super pricey so bring some cash.

Jose Mourinho

Cash only bar. Super cheap, you get what you pay for place. It's a fun spot and I always have a good time.

Maysa Bezerra

Only downsize is that they don't take cards.

Juan Montesinos

Restrooms are unbearably dirty.

Guido Danen

Loved this! Worn down furniture, jukebox, shots in a ketchup bottle, busy. Highly recommended!

Daniel Franco

Get your drink on. Great place for you and your friends to start the night.

Emmet O'Shaughnessy

Probably the best dive bar I've ever been in! Fantastic squeeze bottles and cheap drinks, great atmosphere and friendly staff. Great place to spend a weekend night in. Will definitely be back

Cole Smothers

Effing legit

Andrew Barrows

An iconic DC landmark, Dan’s cafe is a no frills dive bar that is always a great time! Hasn’t been renovated or deep cleaned since 1987, but that is all apart of the ambience. It’s a great bar to start your night off

John Pold

Go to get hammered

Alison Curtis

Dan's Cafe isn't a place that you just stumble into... it's a place you go to get your drink on. It's certainly an old school dive bar in every sense of the term. Just make sure you avoid it anytime after 9pm because it becomes a crowded hot box.

Joseph LaCava

Best dive bar, mixed drinks in a ketchup bottle.

Derek Pangallo

Dan's is not a Cafe at all, but a time machine that takes you back to a simpler time, when drinks were cheap and nobody minded the smell of urine wafting gently out from a communal pee corner.

Nick D

This is one of my favorite bad bars in the world. It smells like a toilet, everything is falling apart, and yet I love it. The only downside is that the word is out and there are lines (!) on a weekend.

Alex DiCaprio

Dan's is a DC staple. Go in and order a squeeze bottle. While the bartender is inevitably judging you, make sure to strike up a conversation with the friends host. Drinks here are dirt cheap...And the atmosphere stinks of a dive. But it's a must go to experience the epitome of a DC dive bar.

Hunter G

Great run down bar that's sure to be a good time. Drinks are super cheap and they let you pour your own if you buy a fifth ($26). Make sure to return the bottle for $5 back. Almost everything in the bar is broken but it adds to the culture of the establishment and you shouldn't fine it too bothersome after a couple shots. Great place to go and highly reccomend if your attempting to set a personal best for how inebriated one can get.

Nathan Wellsfry

Dirty, packed, cash only dive bar. They have an old school jukebox filled with classic rock.

Steven Olsen

Cultivates a good clientele.

Rosie HK

What my friends and I call the black out bar. Be prepared to drink and pace yourself when you come here. You'll be firing down shots and not realize how much you've had but the squeeze bottles are so much fun! It is very cramped when it gets poppin'

Haroon Popal

The bathroom reminded me of kabul <3

Frederick Short

Good dive bar with fun drinks

Betty P

Cool place for Friday

Eduardo Roca

It was lit. And you can squirt whiskey sour from a ketchup bottle for $20.

Ryan Meskill

Shittiest dive ever. And totally worth it! Just make sure you don't have to use the toilet...

Jon

Very unique. Very. Def a dive too. Smells lke sweat. It's the whole experience.

William Symionow

Such a dive. Mega dive. Ultra dive bar. Cash only and really only if you want to get hammered FAST. Its a hell of a dive. Love it.

Nathanael Martin

Super dive bar.

Philip Scranage

Grittiest place in NW DC.

Stephen McFall

A nice place to meet up with friends.

Benjamin Sun

Great place for night of drinking. Cash only.

Olivia Morgan

Great place, loved it M.

Jonny Newburgh

Be nice to Rick (the bouncer)! He's a great dude. If you get on Tracey's bad side, good luck getting anything from the bar.

face kiya

Nice bar

Michael Berliner

Place looks like a shack on the outside, but inside, drink in some frat-like atmosphere, tight spaces, and bad choices, and by that I mean great choice, and did I mention the ketchup squeeze bottle liquore deal. Get rowdy, start at Dan's Cafe.

Cory Drenta

Cash only. Aside from that prepared to have a lot of fun!

Bill Mall

One of the most unique and best small bars I have ever been to. For a little.over $20, they fill fill the squirt bottle with the liquor of your choosing, add a splash of whatever soda, juice, etc you want in it, and hand it over with shot glasses and the remaining juice or soda (to "cut" your shots so to speak). The bartender was awesome. No food, but there are plenty of nearby options and you can bring the food into the bar.

Jack Gallagher

Best dive bar in DC. Cash only so make sure to be aware of that. Very fun idea and concept with the ketchup bottles, a great place to start or end the night.

Mohit Chatlani

A small, cash only,, tucked in spot that has no name on the outside but will definitely convince you to walk in because of its fantastic vibes. This bar does not close until you're the last to leave. They serve you liquor shots with a twist - emptying a quarter bottle of your poison into a squeeze bottle filled with ice and topping it off with your choice of soda and served with a smile be the best bartenders you'll ever come across. This spot is the real deal and calling this a "Must visit" would be an understatement.

Daniel Klionsky

Classic dive. Great pregame spot

Erin Kelly

Dans Cafe is a hidden DC gem. So much fun an a different, unique experience than typical DC bars.

na na

All class. I love it.

Daniel Farinella

Great spot

Jenny Sabol

What did I just walk into? This place is cash only. It is crowded with young people pouring their own shots out of condiment squirt bottles. The bathroom was surprisingly clean (for a dive bar), the AC was leaking but functioning, and there are no windows!

matt hoban

Kinda hate this place.

Eric Waguespack

Terrible. Poor service and lack of concern about basic service issues.

Tara Ann Carroll

Great place for cheap drinks in the city. Gross hole in the wall, so if you can handle it, it's a good spot!

laura stange

Best bar I've ever been to

JR Magruder

If you haven't been you need to!

Antone Gerich

I do not understand people complaining about service. Business clearly states you are serving yourself. If people are buying fifths and squeezing condoment bottles to make their own drinks. Well obviously the counters would get sticky in spots. I like this place but you should not be surprised of lack of service or sticky counters at a self service establishment such as this. Maybe learning to read and the applying cause and effect in your mind before entering would help individuals have a better time and they would comprehend what they are getting themselves into. However, I guess there is just not much common sense anymore these days.

Pat Dougherty

Squirt bottles are the way to go

Chris Miller

Authentic dive bar

Charlotte Slaiman

This place is objectively the worst. Even the people giving it five stars know this. It's just a funny joke to enjoy terrible service and disgusting environs, but make no mistake this is literally the worst service you can imagine and every surface is sticky with grime. Totally fine if that's like a fun adventure for you but just don't be fooled by the fact that it has a 4.2 rating.

Scott Grindrod

I love this place. This is where you go for serious drinking, it's a great dive bar. Communal seating with a couple booths, cheap liquor and fun. First off, this is cash only, so come prepared. Second, pee before you get there, you're going to want to be drunk before using the bathroom. The drinks, when you order a rum and coke, they pour a small bottle of rum into a glass, stick it into an ice bucket with a couple cans of coke and give you some glasses. What more can you ask for. I also highly recommend the shooters, or should I say squeeze bottles. Order any kind of shot like a kamikaze and you can get it in made up in a squeeze bottle like an old ketchup bottle with a couple of shot glasses. Again, I love this place, just write down where you live on a piece of paper first, you might not remember at the end of the night.

Stacy S

If you like dive bars, definitely check this place out! Cash only

Thomas Miller

DC iconic dive bar. Rum in a squeezy bottle.

Erik Price

Pretty much the most awesome place in D.C. Its loud, it smells, and its usually packed during the "pre-game" hours from about 8pm until midnight. Super cheap shots, bottled beer only, and my personal favorite: a can of soda, a bottle of your choice of hard liquor, and a bucket of ice for about $20. Just be careful after the first one. The only must-see Dive bar in D.C. Most bars say Dive bar and they just mean that like they don't have polished hardwood floors or decorative lighting for their liquor cabinet, this is a real dive.

Shing Yu

A terrible decision bar.

Andrew Sorrento

A hidden gem.

Reeves Hollar

Fun place to drink but the last two to three times I’ve been it has been a sweaty frat boy playground

Greg Davis

One of the best Dive bars I’ve ever been too. They specialise in ketchup bottle cocktails. $28 for half a of bottle of spirits and mixer. But you get $5 back when you return the bottle. Great value beers here too. Love the hanging plants from the ceiling and faded browning walls, it’s just a fab place. Don’t miss it! And the miniature spirits bar is fantastic!! It’s cash only - ATM next door is pricey, so come prepared! The staff are really funny and friendly too!

David Palmer

The bouncers and bartenders were friendly, jukebox had excellent selections, ketchup challenge was fun

Jackson Geller

Affordable and friendly neighborhood dive bar. Highly recommend for a first date or getting together with a couple of close friends.

Katie Willard

As with any dive bar, you go with friends and you relish the inexpensive prices.

Rol J

Greatest place to grab a drink in DC. Be prepared to be hungover the next day.

Gigi Bae

We had a bad time here. They were busy but our server was just

Kena C

I've been coming here for about a decade...hole in the wall, Black owned, cash only, very chill...

Thomas Beyea

Oh my goodness, Dan's Cafe. What is there to be said? Just lower your expectations for cleanliness, bring a big pile of cash, multiple friends, and get drunk! It's definitely a unique experience, but one I have never had ANYWHERE else in the world. Just remember to return your squeeze bottles each time for a $5 deposit back!

Thomas Blankenship

Good food and great people.

Brian Simpson

It's like Walt Disney opened a dive bar and it's magical.

Kyle Ogilvie

Haven't been here in a while

Veronica Ferris

This is a fun place with great drinks. However when a customer sexually harrassed multiple women the bouncers were unresponsive and this was unacceptable.

Scott Abernathy

Squeeze bottles, cheap alcohol, dive bar. What's not to love?

Parth Kapoor

Squeeze bottles of fifths. Need I say more?

Camille Kaynor

I'm genuinely confused how this bar has such a good rating. Yes, the drinks are cheap. But the bartender was INCREDIBLY rude and disrespectful. I watched him be mean and demeaning to one customer after another. it was pretty sad to see how much this guy hated his job and all the people in his bar..

Sebastian Rivera

If date rape was a bar it would be this.

Jennifer Richards

A place you go to say you have experienced it. The dive of all dive bars.

Jacob Alexander

I love this place. Its all you need, nothing fancy.

Michael Weingartner

Want to get wasted for next to nothing? Dan's Cafe is the place to go. It's dirty and disgusting, but that makes it what it is. No sign, so it can be hard to find.

Caroline Anderson

Best dive in DC

Sarah Steinke

Cheep, dark, and fun! Dan's is a great place to go early if you looking for a fun and wild night!

Nick K

This is the best bar not just in DC, but the world.

Lars Os

Super place to get started, but skithuset needs some cleaning...

Jai Rathore

Dopeee

Derek Sands

Fun dive bar in Adams Morgan.