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Ventnor Sports Cafe
Category: Nightlife Bars Sports Bars Sports Bars [Edit]
2411 18th St NWWashington, DC 20050
Neighborhood: Adams Morgan
(202) 234-3070
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 5 pm - 1:30 am
Fri 5 pm - 2:30 am
Sat-Sun 11 am - 2:30 am
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Music:
- Juke Box
- Best Nights:
- Tue, Fri, Sat
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Smoking:
- No
- Coat Check:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Good For Dancing:
- No
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
Dominique F. said: "Came here with a couple of coworkers on a Monday evening and appreciated the fact that the place was not super crowded. We got a couple of beers, the fried pickles and had fun convos at a table by the window. The fried pickles were…" read more »
75 reviews for Ventnor Sports Cafe
Review Highlights
"...super nice and fast and I love that they have free popcorn."
(in 12 reviews)
"This place is great place to watch a game."
(in 4 reviews)
"Scott was super friendly and funny and Kenny is my new..."
(in 8 reviews)
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75 reviews in English
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Review from Hannah C.
12/15/2011 22 Check-ins Here
How did I become a regular at a Sports Bar? Mom would not be proud.
Sorry, Mom, but I don't have a TV, it's close, and the staff here is really, really nice.
They make a point of trying to remember your name. I found that to be off-putting at first, but then I felt like I was special... My cold New England heart was melted by warm Southern charm... Ironic that that charm is managed by an Eagles fan.
Anywho, my first time ever meeting a yelper was here at the Ventnor when Mike T invited me to Trivia night years ago. I was easily won over by the free popcorn. After succumbing to their disarming friendliness, I eventually had more food here - the best of which is the breakfast burger - but let's not kid ourselves - you don't come here for the food, which is decent but not mind-blowing... and I recently discovered that they carry Duck Rabbit Milk Stout, which I love. There's always a short list of good brews on tap including local stuff.
If your sport of choice is playing anywhere, it's playing here. And if it's not playing here, just ask and they'll dedicate a TV to you. Man, I miss my TV. But the Ventnor makes me socialize, and for that I'm grateful that they get me out of my hermitage to lust after Ray Lewis once a week. God and Mom, forgive me. -
Review from Zac G.
Washington, DC
11/2/2011
My favorite place in DC to watch sports. Brian is one of the best bartenders around. He's a one man show to some degree on the weekends. The food actually surpasses most sports bars by a pretty wide margin. Epic tator tots.
Highly recommend watching football on the weekends here if you plan on vast amounts of day drinking. I think its like $13 for bottomless mimosas and bloody mary's until 5pm on the weekends. -
Review from R D.
Seattle, WA
1/24/2012
Completely laid back place with cheap drinks. And popcorn? Random, but okay!
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Review from Jim B.
San Francisco, CA
1/16/2012
This place ain't a bad bar, but considering all the turnover with bars in Adams Morgan in the last few years, I would have figured for sure this place would have folded. I would come over here to watch some other baseball games aside from the usual boring Nationals games. Sometimes this place gets overrun with college kids chugging cheap beer.
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Review from CHRISTOPHER F.
Arlington, VA
1/4/2012
Good place for cheap beer and games
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Review from Stephanie T.
Washington, DC
11/29/2011
Food is good (but for whatever reason it takes forever!!!) Its hard to get a seat during the game so make sure you get there early. Definitely try the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and Nachos!
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Review from Joshua S.
Southeast, Washington, DC
11/4/2011 1 Check-in Here
For a straight sports bar this place is pretty cool, nice and quiet. The chicken wings are way better than hooters and the barmaid is able to hold a conversation on sports, even though she's a Philly fan.
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Review from Aaron G.
San Diego, CA
7/31/2011
This is a review of Brunch Sunday morning.
I went to Vetnors on a sunday with a bunch of my friends. They have a 14$ bottomless bloody marys and mamosas on the weekends. There was only one server who also acted as a bartender. I have to give him credit because he did a pretty good job as a one man show keeping our drinks full. My only complaint was no celery in the bloodys. Order the tatchos which are like nachos but with tater tots. They come covered in cheese and bacon. They are pretty big and you could split them with another person and be full or order one for the table if in a big group. I also ate the vetnor sub which is a phily cheese steak with salam,i fried onions on a kaiser roll. The sub was filling and had a unique flavor. I would order it again if I went back..
I would gi,ve this place 4 stars however the food did take some time to get out and the atmosphere isn't all that nice for eating food. It is very dark, a little gloomy, and decor could be updated. So if your looking for a decent place to get drinks for brunch and eat this is the place to go however if I were just getting brunch I don;t think vetnors would be my first choice. -
Review from Jess K.
5/3/2011
My friends host an annual pirate party here on the Saturday night after President's Day weekend. It is a sh*t show. They reserve the upstairs but people can still go to the bar downstairs. The staff think it's awesome and we think it's awesome that they provide a venue that we don't have to clean up and that we can systematically destroy (think marshmallows shot out of homemade marshmallow guns all night long) for no extra fee.
My friends give out gold coins that people can redeem for beers. It is a great system. If people want to order something else they have to pay for it of course. By the end of the night there were fish bowls this year and that is NOT a good thing when you are already too intoxicated.
The bartender put on some pirate gear from my friends' treasure chest and she changed all of the tvs to some whaling tv show because it was the closest thing to something piratey she could find (other than porn...).
The party starts around 9pm and usually ends around 12am. We are getting old and get tired by then I guess! The bar lets my friends hang things on the walls and play dumb games like, who can get from Point A to Point B while sitting on a dolley and rowing with a piece of wood the fastest. Oy.
I can't wait to do it again next year! -
Review from s a.
Washington, DC
10/14/2011
I'll put it simply. This is the best sports bar in DC. Cue the Cheers theme.
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Review from Bif P.
Manhattan, NY
10/26/2011
Never heard of the place and was walking down the street and stopped in because I saw the TV's on. Well worth it. TV everywhere you turn and a nice crowd that knew their sports. Downstairs bartender was great and beer selection was very good. If in the area I'll be back. One of the best sports bars I've been to, a real sports bar.
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Review from J M.
Oxon Hill, MD
5/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
They give you free popcorn!!!!
lol drinks are GREAT! && Im def goign to visit again! -
Review from Russ B.
Washington, DC
4/9/2011
3.5 stars.
Great place to watch a game. I like the upstairs so much better, but for some reason its closed half the time. The upstairs is brighter and less claustrophbic than the basement. Much better.
Free popcorn in little brown bags at each table. Very good. Be careful because its addicting.
I havent had a bad thing here. I used to REALLY like the wings, but I feel like they have changed them. Not sure if they are using frozen wings now, but they dont taste as fresh anymore.
All the appetizers are good. Waitresses can be a little slow, but this place does get packed. Especially around a big game. -
Review from Osman J.
Washington, DC
1/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Came here for the AFC/NFC championship games. What a scene! The place was packed with sports fans!
Lots of TVs, good space with 2 floors. Really good food - wings, nachos, crab cake, burger, grilled cheese, potato tots! DAMN. The price was good, got alot of beer specials. Service was awesome, waitress was chill and friendly.
Definitely coming back for games! -
Review from Cara S.
Washington, DC
8/25/2010 3 Check-ins Here
Ventnor ROCKS! It's pretty much the only bar I go to in Adams Morgan, because it's totally chill, the food is good and reasonably priced, they play Phils games, and the staff is awesome. The bartender/waitress downstairs, Julie, made it a point to get to know my bf and I, and even put our names on the bar tab. It made me feel super important. Scott, the owner, is really nice and from Philly, which is a huge plus. Sure, the bathrooms might be small and the drinks specials may not be the best, but compared to the rest of the shlock in Adams Morgan, I couldn't care less.
Go to Ventnor if you want a low-key, friendly, non-Adams-Morgan-bar experience in Adams Morgan. And to watch Phils games. Because the Phils rock. -
Review from Southern Belle A.
Birmingham, AL
10/2/2010
One star for great flatscreen HD tvs. Good Sportsbar atmosphere. Awesome for watching on gameday.
One star because the waitress kept our water glasses full.
Food.... can't give them any stars in this category. I know it's "bar food" but even for bar food...blech. We all ended up with indigestion. And it took FOREVER to come. No silverware... had to ask for napkins. You get the picture. Service was spotty, except for the water.
Do yourself a favor. Go up the road and get empanadas from Julias for like $4. Best $4 meal you will ever eat. Then come here and order beer and watch the game. -
Review from Jeff R.
Washington, DC
8/10/2011
This place is great if you want awesome bartenders, decent bar food and the ability to watch your favorite game practically on every TV if no one is in the bar.
The only reason I wouldnt go back to this place is the Owner: Scott. Not only does he interject himself into conversations you are having with staff members, but also commonly uses inappropriate jokes, thinks very highly of himself and gouges customers for every penny.
So three stars for employing a great staff, having an excellent menu and extremely wonderful HD sports packages. And minus two stars because its difficult to give my money to a miserable miser. -
Review from Michelle P.
Fairfax, VA
12/31/2008
Like many people out there... i hate Adam's Morgan... particularly for their Friday and Saturday night crowds. But during the week? I can handle it. I was excited to check this place out for trivia.
I got there SUPER early to reserve a spot and it worked out well. We were the only people in the bar until about 730, but it ended up being packed! I was very impressed with the menu. It was bar food... but classy! I loved that they had pigs in a blanket as an appetizer and things like grilled cheese on the menu! I opted for the grilled cheese which by default came with tomato soup. My kind of place! The grilled cheese was on foccacia and grilled to bubbly perfection. And was loaded with tomato! YUM! The soup was surprisingly awesome, but i could have done without the gigantic pile of spring mix on my plate. Also i highly recommend the fried pickles.... they were AWESOME
Now the trivia can be summed up in one word... sucked. It started 20 minutes late, the guy that was running it made bad jokes and the people around us could not stop screaming. Plus it was hard and i don't know how we only managed to get 6th place... we were on a roll! I guess its because we didn't know all the random 30 seconds of music they played.
Needless to say, i don't need to come back for trivia (especially since we didn't get home until after midnight! Good thing i didn't have to work!) but i wouldn't be opposed to having their fried pickles again.Listed in: Last Call for Know it Alls
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Review from Alicia C.
Bethesda, MD
12/30/2008
Returned to Adams Morgan again for another trivia night, this time at Ventnor Sports Cafe. Like my previous AdMo trivia experience, got here early and the place was pretty quiet, Michelle and Jeff were already here so I joined them to get some food before the trivia started. Picked on the free popcorn while I looked over the menu and waited for others to get there.
I decided to go with the 1/2 priced burger special, got the Americano (bacon cheeseburger). The burger came out fully stacked... very tall... piled high with greens (the fancy kind, not just your typical lettuce), onion, and tomato. I had to remove a portion of the toppings to make the burger a more manageable size, but all in all, very good. The fries were a bit oily, but still pretty fantastic... so good I think I finished them all.
The food was definitely a good deal... $5 for a good sized burger and $12 for a pitcher of beer (split 4 ways)... made for a fun and food-filled, budget-friendly evening.
OK, so that is the good... now for some of the bad... not my favorite trivia spot. This place loses stars for a late start time, lack of score updates, and because it was sometime hard to hear the questions. Throughout the game it would have been nice to know how close (or not) we were to the competition.
So... while I don't think I'll find myself back here for trivia night, I wouldn't totally rule out a return visit altogether. The crowd seemed pretty decent, good service, and food/food specials were pretty awesome... it's all bar food, but hey, that's what makes it good! If I found myself out in AdMo, I might venture in again. -
Review from Jeff W.
1/2/2009
This is one of the first places I've seen where the trivia has actually brought down the rating. Overall I really liked the atmosphere here, and was surprised at how empty it was on a Tuesday evening. At 6:30pm we were still the only people in the entire bar, at least downstairs. Scenery is minimal, but there are plenty of TVs and they even have a Wii.
I really like that they have bags of popcorn on all the tables. It's so simple but is a really nice touch and gives you something to snack on without having to order a grand appetizer. The menu is actually pretty impressive because they have typical bar fare, but kick it up a gourmet notch. The grilled cheese is on foccacia and comes with a small cup of tomato soup; the burgers are all handmade and are beautifully charbroiled. They also have pigs in a blanket! The food was all great, particularly the burger. Burgers are half-priced on Tuesdays and ~$5 for a burger this good is a great deal. Plus you get your choice of fries or homemade chips.
Trivia, however, was a letdown. For starters, it began half an hour late which is a real pain, especially since they have a late start time to begin with (8:30pm). The variety in rounds was good, but some of the questions really ranged from easy gimmes to absolutely impossible. And the music round was all but a waste of time as they played maybe 3 total seconds of a song and we were supposed to guess the artist and song title. It was so difficult that it took the fun out of it. To top it off, the host was very irritating and kept trying to make stupid jokes, and had difficulty reading the questions and pronouncing everything. There were also no score updates until the very end which dampened the excitement of seeing where your team stood in the rankings.
Since the far superior Madam's Organ is just a couple doors up the road, I'll be going there for my future AdMo trivia needs. But, I wouldn't hesitate in returning to Ventnor if I was in need of a good burger or break from the usual bar fare.
4 stars for the food
2 stars for the trivia -
Review from Cadence R.
Washington, DC
1/7/2009
Up until high school my brother just called every form of lettuce salad. He would regularly say things like, "Make sure there isn't salad on my sandwich!" no matter how many times we told him it was simply called lettuce. He didn't care, he didn't want it in any form.
When my burger arrived at Ventnor Sports Café, I finally understood my brother's perspective. I would definitely classify what came on top of my burger a salad rather than the standard lettuce. It made my burger ridiculously high and unmanageable (please look at my burger picture to see of what I am capable of managing, and then realize how tall this burger was).
After taking off half of the salad, I was pleasantly surprised to find a decently quality burger underneath. And for half off! It was one of the better bar burgers I've had and I would potentially rank Ventnor as a 4 on that front.
Where they loose stars is on the main show: trivia. Awful, awful, awful. Especially the music rounds where they played a 2 second snippet of a song you've never heard by a band you've never heard of. Great! Oh, and don't forget, you have to be able to name both the song and the artist! Woo hoo?
There were good memories from the night though, and that is what counts. Howard the duck. -
Review from Chris K.
Baltimore, MD
12/7/2007 ROTD 8/22/2008
Stopped in on a Thursday night for the 'Skins-Bears game.
The Good:
- If you like cheap beer like I do, Natural Light cans start at 50 cents at 7pm on Thursday nights and go up 50 cents every hour.
- The mini-burgers and fries were tasty.
- Nice wait-staff. They were always around to get us more drinks/food.
- Free bowl of popcorn on the table.
- Mix of both older and younger people watching the game.
- The volume was on for the game. This usually is a good thing but listening to Bryant Gumbel all night was a little annoying
The Not-so-good:
- The waitress told us that the mini-burgers were the special of the night but it turned out that they were more expensive ($12.50) than anything else on the menu. Maybe they're meant for 2 people to split but I had no problem polishing all 4 of the little things off.
- My friend said it was uncomfortably cold in the bar but that's probably just because he's a 'Skins fan and therefore a sissy. -
Review from Katie F.
Arlington, VA
12/30/2008
I am not sporty, which accounts for the low ranking--this place just isn't my style and it is in Adams Morgan (that my friends = a loss of star in itself). However I joined my fellow yelpers tonight for the the pub trivia here. Trivia doesn't start till 8:30...or 9 because they were trying to feed everyone before it started. This was kind of annoying since we had had arrived at 6:30 (Jeff W at 6:00!) to secure a table for our group. We were seriously the only people here in significant number until at least 7:45 pm. So if there are only a few of you don't worry about showing up to early--though this is a holiday week so things may vary during "normal" workweeks.
Anyway, while I didn't eat a burger here the looked huge and tasty, at only about 5 dollars a pop on this night it is a good deal. A pitcher of beer, serving about 4 beers a piece ran 12 dollars, yet again another fair deal. Also there is free popcorn on each table for a filling treat.
Being a pub trivia virgin, I didn't know exactly what to expect as far as the game, but it was fun and laid back. There were 8 rounds total. One was a visual round consisting of 10 pictures to answer questions about, two rounds where "name that tune and artist", two were multiple choice, and three rounds were free response. The "name that tune" rounds are were we Yelpers came up the shortest---I suppose its because we more atuned to our sense of taste than hearing? In any case we didn't have a horrible overall showing, coming in 5th place. The one thing we wished for was more frequent score ranking updates.
Venu N ordered some friend pickles at the last minute, and while I am not traditionally a pickle fan of any type they were really tasty.
Lastly this place has something rarely seen in Adams Morgan----like Bigfoot or the Abominable Snowman----a truly clean ladies room. So to the Ventnor Sports Cafe--you hit a home run for me in the restroom department. -
Review from Rohan P.
Washington, DC
Updated - 12/15/2009
I went back to Ventnor last weekend to watch the ACC Championship because I had a birthday party to go to in Adams Morgan later that night. Despite being outnumbered 10 to 1 by rowdy Big Ten fans, we got setup with a nice little nook so we could quietly watch our game on a couple of TVs.. Our server took a liking to us, and adjusted the volume on our TV when asked, and really kept the drinks flowing all night.
I also found out that Ventnor will hook up your laptop to a TV, because I saw a couple in the back doing exactly that. This is important because now you can watch your game that is only being streamed on the internet, like on ESPN360, on a large flat screen TV! ESPNZone won't even do that. For ESPN360. I know because I called them.
Anyway, with all this good news about Ventnor, why not bump it up to 4 stars? Well, my team lost in the 4th quarter again, and my chicken fingers were really burnt. The former maybe totally out of the control of Ventnor, but the latter is not. And I'm talking set off the fire alarm burnt Chicken fingers. So it remains a solid 3-Star Sports Bar in my sportsbook.Listed in: Be True to your School...
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/18/2009
Ventnor fills the "Good place to watch a game" niche in Adams Morgan. Which is important because… Read more »
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Review from Michelle B.
Fontana, CA
5/17/2010
Dive bar! YAY! :) Scott was super friendly and funny and Kenny is my new buddy.
It's a very relaxed, kick back spot. It's definitely not a place to go if you want to be seen. It's a place to go to relax, watch a game and BS with the patrons. My friends and I watched the Lakers beat the crap out of the Phoenix suns tonight. (mwahaha)
Decent prices, drinks are a little on the weak side, so I switched it up to beer. I'd come back -
Review from Jake K.
11/22/2008
I met a small crowd of die hards to watch our Vanderbilt Commodores hand Tennessee a win and settle on a crappy bowl game. Should I be disappointed? No - the alumni all know the phrase, "same ol' Vandy."
The bartenders were friendly, attentive, and talkative enough. I also remember that the bar wasn't overly packed like the Penn Quarter Tavern and you could sit with ample elbow room and not have others jostling you while you were trying to cheer on your alma mater.
Otherwise, the setting is a bit of a dive - but that's part of the charm in AdMo. Oh - and their nachos are great - tons of cheese and it's baked cheese. Not the soupy crap that gives you the runs like you just ate a jar of Cheez-Whiz. I swear they emptied a whole bag of cheese on my nachos today...I'm still paying for it. -
Review from violet c.
Washington, DC
11/14/2010
Saturday night. 7pm-1030pm. 4 people. One order of tator tots, BLT bites, nachos, buffalo chicken tenders, one buffalo chicken salad and 6 pitchers of Yuengling. Total: $148.50. Won't be going back anytime soon.
The bartender/waiter was very nice, he changed the tvs on the channels to what people wanted to watch. Food service was quick and presented well although they were out of the pigs in a blanket. Total boo!
A decent sports bar, draws a varied crowd but much more expensive than we were looking to spend just to watch a football game. -
Review from Billy L.
Brooklyn, NY
6/16/2008
I wish I knew this was a Phildaelphia Phillies Bar before entering as I could have avoided so much pain, though the laughter that ensued was pretty much worth the wait.
Ventnor's is pretty cool if it's not crowded and the bartender is kind enough to put on a game you care about. Unfortunately, I've also been there with a group of rowdy guys who did not get to see the game they wanted, then proceeded to throw the flag (rolled up paper napkin for you MacGyver's out there) and irritate every person in the bar. Be forewarned: Wisconsin fans are sensitive!
If you're not a college sports fan, don't go during college sports season asking to put on a ball game, otherwise, an ok sports bar and an above average sports bar for the area. -
Review from Craig R.
Saint Louis, MO
9/11/2007
Ventnor Sports Cafe looks like it has a pretty awesome crowd. Now, I'm a baseball enthusiast. Whenever you walk into a bar and you see baseball on every screen downstairs (with volume!) and everyone watching the game and drinking... you just have to feel like you're in heaven. Unfortunately for me, we weren't there to watch the game (yuck to the Yankees/Red Sox, I'm a Cardinals fan). We were there for their trivia!
Both the downstairs and upstairs were a bit small so it gave you that crowded feeling, but it was different than the crowded feeling that Stetson's gave me. This had a great small bar atmosphere. I cannot comment about the food as we only had drinks while playing. They didn't have any specials going on (that I was aware of) during trivia, but everything was reasonably priced. The bartenders were nice and the trivia was a lot of fun.
They had a pretty diverse trivia game. There were audio rounds as well as picture rounds. They even had multiple-choice (everyone knows you guess C)! Most of the trivia nights we had been frequenting only have one/two picture round(s). So needless to say this was a nice change. The only downfall was that they didn't have a PA system. The trivia guy had to yell over everyone to get the questions out (and he took forever to tally the scores).
I had a great time here and I would love to come back to check out the atmosphere during other sporting events. The baseball image is one thing that will stick in my mind for a good time to come.Listed in: Pubs with Trivia
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Review from Laura M.
Washington, DC
9/3/2007
Great place to watch the big game!
Went on Saturday night to check out the Tenn-Cal game and I had a really fun time. The place was packed, the football was good, and the service was top-notch.
I'll definitely be back! -
Review from Rachal L.
Aldie, VA
5/21/2007
Went here for a bacheloretter party this past Sat night and we ended up having a lot of fun!
It loses points for the grumpy dj in the corner playing a few cheesy 90's songs like Whitney Huston and George Michael, but no worries people were diggin it and sang along...and for the preppy polo dudes thinkin they are gods gift, but hey it's dc what do you expect?! ;)
All in all we had fun and danced and hung out and the drinks were very reasonable! I got four beers for $12, sweet. Also we did meet a few guys that made up for the previously mentioned polo dudes and the bartenders were pretty cool and amazingly efficient.
Grab some friends and go mingle! -
Review from Carolyn P.
Washington, DC
10/15/2007
A real "bar's bar" with dim lighting, tons of TVs, free popcorn, $1 cans of beer, and a killer jukebox, Ventnor Sports Cafe has great waitstaff who will gladly throw back shots with the patrons (if not knowing most of them by name).
You don't go to Ventnor for the food (stay away from the chicken tenders, which should actually be called chicken chewies if they're naming them on physical properties), you go because it's a fantastic sports bar. The crowd is super chill and they keep the volume on during games, which I love. The crowd is always fun and super laid-back. The other night we were there watching the ALCS (Go Tribe!!!) and definitely enjoyed the $1 beer until they ran out. (Game 1 of the ALCS, as a Tribe fan, had me switching to whiskey in, oh, the 4th inning.)
Ventnor is a great neighborhood bar where you will always find a good spot to watch The Big Game. -
Review from Erika S.
Barrington, IL
9/16/2008
I went to Ventnor's this past Sunday since the Bears game was on at the same time as the Redskins game and on the same channel. When I got there at around noon, it was fairly empty, but quickly filled up before the 1:00 games. The bartenders are super-nice - I lobbied to get the Bears game on the TV right in front of me instead of over in a corner somewhere. They're very attentive too, keeping up on your refills and such.
Food was decent, but I wasn't really expecting gourmet. The menu is not exactly extensive, but has the main bar-food staples (burgers, wings, chicken sandwiches, etc.)
I don't know if it's all Sundays, but when I was there for the games, Miller Lite drafts were $3. Either way, they usually have a special going on on game days.
Being that there were a good amount of Bears fans there and the specials were good, I'll probably be coming back every Sunday!Listed in: Game-Time Goods
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Review from Evan K.
Washington, DC
12/23/2008
Had a very uneven experience.
Very good --- attentive staff, easy-going, very friendly. Full TV package so I could watch an out-of-town basketball game even during Monday Night Football, no problem.
Less good --- prices aren't fitting the place. $9.00 burgers? $5.00 Yeungling draft? In a basement?
Very bad --- a very specific thing that is not cool. The Specials sign outside said: "$3.00 Miller Lite, 35 cent wings."
So I went inside, had some beers, and ordered a dozen wings. They have 5 types of wings. I ordered a Spicy Thai Peanut wings. They were good. Then the bill came, and I was charged $9.50 (regular price) for the dozen wings. Wait, I said, what about the 35 cent wings?
The 35 cent wing price only applies to the BBQ flavor wings, I was told. There was no mention of this on the sign outside, and no mention of this when I was discussing which wings to order from the bartender. The bartender gal offered to comp me a couple beers (very nice of her), but the owner dude wasn't having it (not so nice).
It isn't the money issue (trivial), but it is the principle (very important).
Imagine if the sign instead said "Special: $3.00 drafts!"
Then you go inside, have a blast and drink 5 draft beers, then the bill comes and it's $30.00. They tell you "it's only Pabst that cost $3.00." Now you're confused, right?
UPDATE: I heard back from the owner dude and he agreed it was a confusing policy and said he'd make it up to me. Good to know they're paying attention. Now I go to 3 stars. -
Review from d e.
Washington, DC
8/6/2008
Ended up here Tuesday night for the trivia, but it was the 1/2 price hamburger deals that were the star of the night. The burgers (normally about $9) aren't exactly half price (they start at $4.50 and then you get charged a quarter or .50 per topping) but still quite a deal - they were huge and well-topped with solid slices of tomato and onion along with the lettuce, and the cups of ketchup and mayo for the burger and the well-crisped fries were far, far too big for one person. Along with $12 pitchers of cheap beer, the menu was fine with us.
Trivia was not as great - the MC lost the crowd at times stumbling over words and accidently skipping questions. Not too bad, but it was hard to hear when people started grumbling. And because there is a pre-printed answer booklet, scores aren't tallied until the end, and I'm not even sure they are then - we didn't bother waiting around to find out.
I might come back here for sports watching, although the long, narrow design of the bar might mean it gets super-crowded super-quickly. -
Review from Odochi I.
Washington, DC
5/2/2011
One word...FISHBOWLS!!! $24.00 for a FISHBOWL of delicious Alcohol that comes in Blue or Green (or a murky mix lol) I also had nachos YUMMY and to top it off the best thing since sliced bread....FRIED OREOS!! My first time having them and it was FANTASTICO! They also have free popcorn but it was kinda stale but my friends ate it up lol
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Review from Matt T.
5/5/2010
The waiters and bartenders at Ventnor are friendly and they have a nice array of televisions downstairs. I'm not in love with the atmosphere, but hey, it's a sports bar and doesn't advertise itself to be anything more than that. The crowd is usually pretty fanatic--which is a plus--and a bit on the younger side (mid-20s on average).
If you go, make sure to ask about the food specials (great) and drink specials (weak). Half-price burgers on Tuesday nights are hard to beat. Very thick burgers with lots of nice fixings and your choice of fries or pasta salad. The wings are also good. I'm withholding a star because their drink specials could be much better and I've had a couple of draft beers here that tasted a little flat.
Overall, a good sports bar that does not pretend to be anything more than that. -
Review from Robert W.
San Francisco, CA
2/8/2010
The $5 burger is an okay deal, but the burger itself is so thick, that it tastes more like meatloaf on a bun. It tasted like the beef had been mixed with onions and worcestershire sauce only adding to the meatloaf comparison. If you do order, get at least medium done since it's so thick.
As far as I can tell this place doesn't do pitcher specials - $12/pitcher of miller lite. And be wary of the free popcorn - they over salt only adding to your thirst.
Came her for the trivia night, maybe I'm bitter that we came in fourth, but trivia subjects etc. are much better elsewhere like wondlerland. -
Review from Ryan D.
Ontario, CA
5/26/2010
After walking around Adams Morgan a bit, we stopped by here with a few friends for drinks and to watch the Lakers-Suns game. I loved the atmosphere in this sports bar. The rest of the customers were nice too and it was fun cheering for one team and the other with the other customers.
I can't comment on the food since I didn't order any, but the drinks were good and the bartenders (Scott and Kenny) were great and friendly. I'd definitely come back to this place to chill. -
Review from Gautam C.
Washington, DC
4/14/2011
Great bar. Great staff - always attentive and friendly. Lot's of cool beer, and a fun sports decor.
