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Categories: Pubs, Restaurants [Edit]
Neighborhood: U Street Corridor
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Not so sure about the famous in its title, but Stetsons has definately had its bit of notoriety when it was popular with the Bush twins (and before that, word has it that Monica Lewinsky used to patronize it before she got run out of town, so I would say that it has no political affiliation).
Anyway, back to the bar: its a great, chill joint between the madness that is Adams Morgan and the hipness that has become U Street. Its been around at least 20 years, probably more. There are a couple of pool tables, dart boards and a small bar upstairs, but I prefer the downstairs with its long wooden bar and tiled floor. Sure, theres no natural light, but I kinda like it that way; pefect for daytime drinking. A dozen or so beers on tap including Shiner Bock (it was one of the first places in DC to carry the beer from the small Texas bewery) and a nice summer garden out back.
The menu has your typical bar fare and includes turkey burgers (who the hell serves turykey burgers anymore?) Throw in a real juke box, weekly trivia, and good bartenders and you have all the makings of a great neighborhood establishment!
Stutsons was my very first bar experience. I started going there 3 years ago and what I Love about it is that it's a very simple "come as you are, no cover charge" type of bar. I don't go to bars to meet people, I just go to have a good time with company, but otherwise I wouldn't be such a fan of Stetsons...
The first time I went, I asked for a Mohito and the Bartender along with my company laughed at me as if I were out of my fantcy little mind
and asked me if it looked like they had mint leafs there...I just shruged and took a Miller Light. Good ol' American Beer. I Love this Bar.
Stetson's is literally around the block from me and as a new kid in town I thought I would go there with a friend for a beer or two. It was also Trivia night which is apparently a big deal, except there were only 4 teams. So my thoughts:
Beer: This place isn't a dive. Dive's don't have the Guinness 350 and Dogfish 90 minute on tap. They have good beer.
Food: Had the wings and nachos after reading the reviews. Both good, however the wings were noticeably good as opposed to the nachos which were fine but forgettable.
Trivia: It hurt my head. I remember a lot of useless stuff, and those questions pantsed me at recess, took my money and then kissed my sister. And the trivia guy was a little much. He had this whole "disaffected air" about him which was a foil as obviously he spends lots of time thinking up these questions.
Cost: It's not cheap. Another reason this place isn't a dive. I drank a lot though and the bill for us was over $100. A little hazy on how much.
I'll be back. The bartender was nice. Even if she did make fun of me clearing my throat.
What a friggin' dump! This bar sucks, it is truly a dive bar. I would have been OK with it had the food been half way decent, but it wasn't. Don't look too carefully while you're in the men's room or you'll notice the plethora of dead bugs.
The patrons should be spending time in Results Gym next door instead of in Stetson's. Very disappointing bar!
Lots of similar looking guys packed together in the back, but the girls seemed alright, well-dressed and polite.
Waitress was either high or very tired, which is fine by me.
The crowd didn't seem to have much soul, but it's DC so what do you expect.
To anyone who has given this place a bad review, the upstairs has TWO pool tables, TWO dartboards, foosball and one of those old school Ms. Pacman games that's a tabletop instead of the arcade version. If you don't like that, your opinion is officially meaningless.
A couple of previous reviews mentioned that this is a bar for Democrats. I guess that's a D.C. thing. If there were Republican and Democrat bars in NYC, there would probably be about 3 Republican bars near Wall Street, and everything else.
Stetson's was cool for my generally non-partisan group. When we first walked late on a Friday night it was a little too crowded and definitely too hot downstairs, so we headed up to the second floor and the parade of drinking related gaming, which made me very happy. We were able to grab a table and got some decently priced pitchers. It was a little bright for my drinking tastes, but I was here to just hang out with some good friends, so it was cool. The kitchen was open pretty late if I remember correctly, and the food was ok. Nothing great, but if you're ordering chicken fingers at 12:30am on a Friday night, what exactly are you expecting?
This bar was also where what was just a solid prank borrowed from a TV show was transformed into the greatest prank of all times, so there's no way it could get a bad rating from me.
I've been coming to this place for 2 years now, and it still is my favorite local bar in DC. The people who think this place is sketchy are probably the type who dress up and travel far to get to U. Street. Brian and Rosie are hands down the most genuine and nicest people around. Shawna and Angela are also great! Stetson's has a wide variety of beer on tap, and decent finger food (although I tell you, chicken wings are the best in DC)
I avoid Stetson's during meat market hours of Thurs-Sat, 10-2. I think you will appreciate this place more if you sit down with no agenda, just a good conversation, a tall glass of Heffeweizen and a plate of the best chicken wings in town.
Saturday night.
Second floor.
Warm, bright, and clammy.
A night at Stetson's is a chilling prospect. Advise your friends that Stetson's is not an acceptable meeting spot. There always seem to be besotted heavily made up girls who've "dressed" for the occasion (cowboy hats and blue mascara...hi-ho, silver!). That makes about as much sense to me as wearing a surgical mask and gown to visit the pharmacy at Duane Reade. Lest you think I'm singling out the girls for special treatment, there are many louts hanging about whose diet seems to consist wholly of fried meats and anabolic steroids.
Even trivia night was a soil in my heyday. A bunch of denim-clad middle aged snooze buttons who must have majored in pub trivia at George Mason in 1979. That, and kickball teams seem to show up here a lot.
This place sucks so bad. Well, at least the people that frequent it do.
On Election Night - Election Night! - some dipshits whose man was losing big started hassling me and mine because of how celebratory we were. They tried to pick a fight. I went over to the bouncer and told him what was happening, that some meatballs were looking to start trouble and that he needed to handle his business. What happened? He didn't, and I wind up getting coldcocked in the jaw by these dingleberries. Here's the thing: He wasn't even the dude who pulled me off of them... the firefighters from across the street came over and broke it up. Way to be, bouncer. You're really good at your job.
This bar sucks.
Stetson's is a place for beer drinkers. I'm not a beer drinker. It is hot and stuffy at the downstairs bar. It has an older, seemingly more sedate crowd. Also, it is hot and stuffy. Someone bought "Barbie Girl" on the jukebox. Did I mention it's hot and stuffy? Well, it is. I got elbowed every thirty seconds as waitresses, busboys and patrons hurried by while I was standing by the bar. Maybe they were going to get some air, because it was hot and stuffy.
I didn't see many attractive people and the fries were decent. And it's hot and stuffy.
I've never had a good time at Stetson's.
Trivia night is super fun!
8 rounds of trivia every Tuesday night. This is the first bar trivia I've been to that has multi-media rounds.
Haven't had the food, although wings smell great.
DRINKS:
Happy hours are good. Cheap domestic beer, and rail drinks are $3.50.
4 stars for Pub Trivia Tuesdays!!
Where can you go for 8 rounds of mind hurting questions ranging from history, to monarchies, to identifying short clips of random songs, to pop culture, to recognizing movie stills with the actors removed, to politics and sports??? STETSONS ON TUESDAYS!!
But be sure to get here early enough to get a table because you can only hear the trivia inside the bar so the outside patio area isn't okay if you are coming to try your luck at trivia! Also if you go for your first time here, which I did with a few other people, try not to get intimidated by the other teams who you can tell are regulars and come every tuesday. They know the bar tenders by name and can even predict the questions, so just go in ready to play!! Plus if you win you can get $50 off your bar tab for 1st place, $25 off for 2nd place and then sometimes there are random prizes for the teams that do the worst overall ha But definitely watch a few episodes of jeopardy or cash cab to prepare for these hard questions!!!
And the first part of trivia night is during their happy hour which means pitchers for only $17.50 of good beer on tap and FREE POPCORN!!! I know my boyfriend will be going back here for more trivia battle fun this week!!
I love Stetsons. After my move here from Boston I had the hardest time finding a good place to pub trivia. Stetsons definitely fits the bill. Its different than the trivia I did in Boston but always fun and its a great crowd.
My only complaint is that the service is horrible on trivia nights. They can't seem to handle the extra people that come in on these nights. Just some examples of how our orders have been screwed up on trivia night: 1. lost my roommate's debit card 2. charged us for 8 extra beers and 2 extra cocktails 3. forgot to give us a check for 30 minutes. In spite of all of this I keep going back, that says something positive right?
The outdoor patio is nice and probably one of the most empty in all of the U street area if you are looking for somewhere quiet to have a drink outside.
The patio area is much better than the dark, kind of depressing bar. The mice and cockroaches running around the near-empty patio kept us entertained.
I dont know what it is about this place but I couldn't really get into it. Its just an unexciting bar of sorts. I found the upstairs to be empty and the downstairs to be boring. It kind of reminded me of a dinner that sells alcohol. Both times I went on weekend nights I have been unimpressed. Not sure about the food or the happy hour scene. I have only been here in the colder months and while the outside seems to be quite spacious, it was cold and everyone was inside.
I have to say that I was very disappointed with Stetson's. This very small bar is a bad bad place to have a trivia night. To top it all off, they were having a bad night themselves.
Mary Kay was heading to save us some places for trivia night when she happened to come upon a line waiting to get into the bar (a line at 530 PM?!). Their Internet/credit card machines were down so they closed the bar for an hour. When she got in, she could only get a table for two (we had 10 or so people coming). After an hour of closing business, they still couldn't get their machines to work so it was a cash only bar. Goodbye business.
We got a drink before we left and the bartender was really cool about everything (the only plus). However, the waitress was not so nice to us. We had some empty glasses and she asked if we were going to stay for the Pub Quiz. We said we might be heading out soon and she responded with, "Well, we need to save these seats for Pub Quiz people only." What? I can't sit and enjoy the massive crowding in your bar?
With all that being said, we promptly bolted to another bar who would appreciate the business. Do not go here if you're claustrophobic. Do not go here on Pub Quiz nights (Tuesdays). If fact, I probably wouldn't eat/drink here again so I can't endorse this place to anyone.
When I was at NOI we went here on the Fourth of July after the fireworks show because "this is where the democrats hang," and we were expecting to run into Kerry, Edwards, or possibly even Cynthia McKinna instead the place was deserted except for us.
Having the entire place all to ourselves was pretty cool. The interior of this place kind of reminded me of maybe the entire two hours of Cheers I've ever watched in my entire life but with less character and charm.
The place was in this odd realm between being simple to preserve what might be assumed to be its historic look OR just characterless and boring. I switched between the two notions several times and I think had we all not been there I would have walked in and out of this place in about 5 minutes.
We didn't pay for the drinks (a crazy campaign manager did), so I can't remember the cost of the drinks but I'm pretty sure they had grey goose because I remember having a non grey goose and cranberry earlier in the night and leaving it on the table after one and a half sips.
The bartender was pretty chill and I remember by the end of the night i kept asking for water and ice and it got to a point where whenever she saw me waiting she would just slide one my way. I also remember thinking I would need cash for the taxi fare back to the GW dorms we were staying at so I went to the ATM (it was something like a $3 fee) and ordering a Coke just to get change but she didn't even end up charing me.
In the end, I think if you make a night out of this place with a large group of people it can be fun otherwise I'm not too sure.
I can't figure out if the seeming lack of pretentiousness is what kept the Democrats away from the place that or is what apparently makes them want to come here so often?
Ahhh. Stetson's. This was my go-to bar after college. My friends and I spent far too many nights sucking down beers/margaritas/nachos/burgers on that greasy patio. One of my friends was in love with the cute-but-stupid waiter, and life was really, really good.
Fast forward to my most recent trip to the S, when the waitress decided to make our margaritas with OJ because she doesn't like sweet and sour mix. Well guess what sister, I don't drink SNSM by the gallon either but OJ is not really a replacement. They were disgusting. To her credit, she did make us another round, but it was just a sign of how even the good-bad things can just get bad. Hubby's burger was good, but the fries were disgraceful. Next time, I'm drinking beer and bringing my own salty snacks.
This place is fun, although people get very disappointed because there isn't much in the way of cowboy paraphernalia here, despite the lasso on the front of the building.
Every time we drive by this place, someone comments about how Stetson's isn't a "real" cowboy bar. I am guessing that to be an authentic cowboy bar, there has to be a mechanical bull.
I lived in the Deep South for about a year, and there were plenty of authentic cowboy bars there -- complete with actual cowboys and live country music.
Maybe this is a matter of taste, but I would take a fake cowboy bar in D.C. over a real cowboy bar in Milledgeville, Georgia any day.
Sometimes there is a line here, and I'm confused about that because it's just a regular bar that happens to be in a trendy neighborhood. It's actually a wonderful place to hang out when you're just looking for something low-key.
Nice patio out back, wasn't overly crowded, two floors- sit down and bar down stairs, and pool/darts and mini bar upstairs. This is an average midwestern cowboy bar, although the upstairs really has no indication of its cowboy feel like it does downstairs, and even there the feel is a bit sparse. It's sort of like they try to make it different with the name and the basic cowboy toys, but it's really nothing special.
I'm not aware of any of these special nights they have like trivia, but they sound fund and I'm willing to give those a shot.
Their bathroom was pretty gross but I guess finding a decent bathroom on a Saturday night just isn't possible in this city.....
Shiner Bock on tap!!!!
Warning: pitchers cost $17.50 (?). To keep the tally straight, that was 4 stars for Shiner, -1 for cost. Oh, and the food's not bad if you keep expectations no parallel with your surroundings.
Stetson's is casual, gritty, and yes, it has Shiner beer on tap. It's a small place with rough floors and friendly service. Don't go in there wearing stilettos and sequins - you most definitely won't fit in. Jeans, Western garb, and reeeeall casual attire is what Stetson's people wear.
Similarly, the folks there are friendly and casual. I actually met new friends there - a rarity for DC bars - and despite my usual snubbery of local dives, I actually liked this place.
Famous? Laughable...
This place sucked.
This place is another one of those inexplicably popular bars. Well, I've had fun a couple times, but that's because I was with some good friends who distracted me from the nastiness. What nastiness? Well, for a good year there it smelled like vomit. Having finally rid itself of the vomit odor, there is now a rodent problem. I was there a few weeks ago and watched the waiters capture and release two (!) separate mice from inside the place. The little fellas were just running around the floor by the bar searching for cheese, gummi bears and whatever else the staff has left lying around since 2003.
The patio out back is also like hanging out in a dirty, depressing little alley. I guess I had only been there at night before, so didnt notice, but having now seen it in the daylight , I can honestly say it's like my derelict uncle joe opened up a moonshine garden out behind the doublewide and invited all the neighbors to come drinking.
If you come down with something after drinking there, don't say you werent warned.
I was disappointed in Stetson's. Some people would call it "unpretentious"...I would call it charmless. There weren't many people here, the Thursday night I came...just a couple of Midwestern girls smoking cigarettes at the bar. Whatever. My friend and I ordered some drinks and we struck up conversation. It was ok. The girls were from Colorado, they lived in the area, and Stetson's had become their neighborhood bar. A relaxing, but dull conversation, and as soon as we finished our drinks we were headed out the door to Local 16, where a livelier vibe prevailed.
If I were a celebrity and actually LOOKING for a low-key place, then Stetson's would be perfect. It might be good for a date. But the beer is still $5.50...what are you paying for? Definitely not the ambience.
Maybe it's better on the weekends...
Thus far, Stetson's is the best spot in the city for wings! The downstairs is usually crowded so I opt for the upstairs. Not only is the upstairs far less crowded on Wednesdays, but the bartender is one of the greatest. Wednesday is 25 cent wing night, and I declare they have some of the greatest buffalo wings ever made. The sauce is good and spicy yet flavorful. The only thing I love more then Stetson's' Buffalo Wings are their Chili Garlic Wings, if they were a regular fixture on Stetson's menu I'd go back more often; even on the nights when they weren't a quarter. If they were on the menu permanently they'd probably also get five stars!
Stetson's is a longstanding bar for Democrats, I've heard, so I feel nothing if not comfortable here. Their Tuesday night trivia is not to be missed: it is the best I've been to in D.C. The questions are tough without being too esoteric (cough Wonderland cough). An example: what's the only American flag that flies 24-hours a day, is never raised, never lowered, and has never been saluted? (Let me know if you want the answer). Also, they include a music round in the order of name that tune. Their trivia M.C. is pretty hilarious too. Aside from Trivia, Stetson's is a good place to lay low and avoid pretentious seeing-and-being seen; the anti-Smith Point, in more ways then one! I recommend.
In the seven years I have lived in DC, I have never been treated more rudely by DC bar staff than tonight at Stetsons.
A little background first-- I have LOVED Wednesday wing night's at Stetsons for a very long time. The staff is sometimes not the friendliest, but that is more than understandable because the place can get busy. And I'm forgiving, because it has always been a cool, chill venue. Despite years of good memories, I had a bad enough experience tonight that I can say with confidence that I will never go back.
After ordering less than two dozen wings with a couple of friends, the wings had still not arrived after an hour. One friend had to leave early because it was taking so long. In the hour we were waiting for the wings, I asked the bartender one time if they were coming soon. She seemed offended at the idea that I would even ask the question.
When my remaining friend and I decided to give up and find dinner somewhere else, I asked the bartender to cancel the wings order so we could pay the bill for our beers. She told me that she could not cancel the order because, "the wings are right here, they are ready." I went back to my seat, pretty annoyed but starving and willing to eat the wings. Then five more minutes passed. We insisted on getting the bill. She gave it to us-- un-itemized and including the wings. The bartender refused to take the wings off the receipt and then brought them out to us even though we were leaving. She said that we "entered into an agreement" when we ordered the wings (more than an hour earlier) and that we "should have known it was going to take long." She also overcharged us on three of the four beers, charging the regular price on the beers we ordered during happy hour and the happy hour price on the beer we ordered afterwards.
Horrible service with an attitude. No thanks, I can go somewhere else, anywhere else next time and so should you.
Definitely BYOP (Bring Your Own People) and it's a little sketchy and small on the inside but the vibe is still friendly. I mean it's called Stetsons so use some sense...lol. Me and my buddies LOVE the turkey burgers there as it's not a patty and ground and seasoned very well. Since Clydes no longer has a turkey burger this was moved up to the top of my list. Too bad I don't do poultry anymore but don't let that stop *YOU*! Good happy hour specials and SURPRISINGLY good margaritas. If you're stumped on where to hit happy hour...round up some buddies and try Stetsons.
It's a laid back dive. I don't understand all the people complaining about the place being "grungy" or "sketchy' or where "people who live in doublewides" hang out - it's like they've never been in a dive before. And anyway, this place isn't that divey. It's not the 18th Street Lounge or McFaddens's, it's a place where you can meet some pals, hang out, have a Shiner. Chill.
Go for trivia on Tuesdays. Best trivia in DC, although its gotten a bit too long lately. They get downgraded cause they removed Miller HighLife from the tap.
A $4 BLT and free popcorn are just two of the things that make Stetson's an enjoyable atmosphere for Tuesday's trivia night. It does get crowded and loud, but that's part of the fun (unless you're agoraphobic).
The only thing cowboy about Stetson's is the name. Inside, it's a very basic neighborhood bar known for it's complete lack of pretension -- much like Toledo Lounge on 18th Street. The second floor has two pool tables and a couple of dart boards. The first floor has a projection TV that often airs sporting events. Stetson's reasonably priced pitchers of beer are only available on the first floor. The fenced-in back patio is a nice place for groups who want to sit and drink cheap pitchers of beer (in a less crowded environment). The atmosphere is more raucous on the weekends, but equally eclectic and unpretentious. In fact, Stetson's is so un-hip that it occasionally attracts celebrities who are looking for a low-key place to hang while passing through DC. Some of those spotted in recent years include Lauren Hutton and Kevin Spacey.
Hmm..a bar for dems? I don't know what makes a bar lean to the left or right, but I had a great time here. I didn't hear anyone talk politics on this Saturday night, mostly just about the game that was on the big screen. Selections on tap was good and reasonably priced. While I wouldn't wait in line to go here, I would definitely check out the happy hour and trivia night.
There's a little bit too much going on upstairs. I felt torn between ducking flying darts and avoiding the cues at the pool table. There's also a foos (sp?) table, just in case darts and pool aren't enough. And that's all in one small room that also holds tables and the bar. The drinks aren't overpriced and it's not too hard to find somewhere to sit. The music spans the broad spectrum from disco to grunge to classic rock. So if you want a chill night, this place isn't so bad. Definitely hot in the summer though!
"Famous Bar & Restaurant" I know this place has been here before the beginning of time, and is sooo much cooler than any snooty bar in DC, but let's be serious $11 pitchers of PBR, and has anyone ever ordered anything from the kitchen? This place has been priding itself on being everything every other DC bar is not, but at the same time brought their prices right up with every other DC bar. Admittedly you will find a friendlier crowd here, and some nice service as well, but let's stop pretending this place is a hidden hole in the wall that is sooo far from the DC scene
The name is somehow reminiscent of a gay bar. Perhaps it's a Brokeback Mountain association? Regardless, it's not. But, they have trivia, which packs the house on Tuesday nights (with weird rules that make it hard to obtain a drink.) Beer selection is good -- they have everything from Yuenling to Sierra Nevada to Shiner Bock to Linenkugels. A pint runs about $5.50 a pop, which is a tad high. The $.25 cent wings on Wednesday make up for it -- they also have 1/2 price burgers on Mondays and offer good happy hour specials until 8 pm. Ultimately, this is an easy, comfortable, local destination. Like Zeki's in SF, with food, but uglier, but somehow better. Lower standards?
Four stars, as long as you don't go on Fri or Saturday night after 10:30...then it gets too crowded! But, it's a great place to grab a beer after work and maybe a burger. I enjoy the outdoor patio, too!
Overall, i's a solid neighborhood bar with very good people (except for late nights when there are too many young drunks that made it down from Adams Morgan...)
When my friend pointed out that we should try this bar because it's "a long standing hangout for democrats," I already had a bad taste in my mouth....But I like to think that I don't let my political affiliation taint my willingness to try new things, so I gave it a whirl. My first question is, "why is this place called Stetsons?" There's really nothing "Western" about it. It's got a bunch of tables crammed together on the first floor where you really have little room to do anything. Upstairs there are some couches, stools, and an awkwardly placed pool table. As far as Ambiance is concerned, this place really doesn't provide much of one. The bars are located all the way in the back, and on a busy night they are a pain in the ass to get to, as are the bathrooms. The tenders aren't particularly pleasant, and the crowd is nothing special. God help you if you're right-leaning and mention that....
All in all, I don't think that there is anything special about this bar and I won't go back. Why go here when you can hang out at Local 16, a much "cooler" bar? On the positive side, they look like they have a great grilled cheese sandwich...
Neighborhood: Capitol Hill/Southeast
Category: Restaurants
Neighborhood: U Street Corridor
Category: Music Venues
Washington, DC
Category: Sports Bars
Washington, DC
Category: Sports Bars
Neighborhood: Adams Morgan
Category: Sports Bars
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