Capitol City Brewing Company

Capitol City Brewing CompanyCapitol City Brewing Company
Capitol City Brewing CompanyCapitol City Brewing Company
Bar, Eatery

1100 New York Ave NW
Washington, District of Columbia, 20005-3934
United States

(202) 628-2222 | map
capcitybrew.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
3.53
Reviews:
57
Ratings:
92
pDev:
14.45%
View: Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ManekiNeko:
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Reviewed by ManekiNeko from Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +14.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Visited this place on a late Friday night, after the happy hour and dinner crowd had thinned out. Got seated right away (always a good thing) and an order of drinks taken shortly thereafter. The decor verges on Olive Garden in style (the yellowed al fresco murals, sorry) with some oddball pictures of pre-Prohibition breweriana thrown in for good measure. The booths are quite comfy and cozy, and the tables seem nice and large. The prices are quite reasonable for DC, in fact, I'd say below average for the area (which is a good thing). Selection-wise, you're limited to what the brewpub chain carries, but why on earth would they have anything else? The beer is not made on premises, but is made in either their Arlington or their Union Station locations. It's had a short trip, to say the least. There's usually about 8 or 9 beers to choose from. 4 are regular offerings and the rest are seasonals or one-time shots. The food is your standard pub fare, but make sure you get the pretzels with the sinus passage cleansing horseradish and mustard dipping sauce. It's now my girlfriend's favorite beverage. I don't have the chutzpah to drink it, but I suspect it would make dirt taste great. What really sets this place apart is the staff. The waitress was friendly, professional, and prompt. But the highlight of the night was that the general manager stopped by the table to ask how our stay was. Always a good thing when the chief mucky-mucks get their feet wet. I didn't mention BA, but I did ask some geeky questions (not like, "how many IBU's?," and such, more like "Why no tulip glasses for the Belgian beers?"). His answers showed that he knew what he was talking about and had a brewer with even more.
Nov 08, 2003
More User Ratings:
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Reviewed by chrisjws from California

3.46/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 3.25 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.25 | selection: 4 | food: 2.75
Sports bar type vibe. Large dining area, bar in the center. Many TVs and lots of noise.

Beer is there, kind of forgettable. There's a handful of solid guest taps. The food is not worth your time unless you're really hungry.
Yesterday at 06:42 PM
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Reviewed by SSGCujo from Wisconsin

3.51/5  rDev -0.6%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.5
Went here to grab a beer on a Thursday afternoon. Nice, modern place on the inside and out. The Kolsch was good. Not very busy. They didn't sell any swag, not even a coaster. The bartender said it was because of Covid. Pretty sad!
Oct 07, 2022
 
Rated: 3.75 by Needmorebeer312 from Washington

Mar 12, 2022
 
Rated: 3.6 by leprechaunandfatman from Ohio

May 16, 2020
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Reviewed by HoppingMadMonk from New Jersey

4.09/5  rDev +15.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.75 | food: 4.25
Really friendly outgoing staff/bartenders. Food was good, place had a friendly upbeat vibe
Beer selection was t mind blowing but it was varied. Only two on tap was there own but were decent.
If in DC it's worth to stop in and sample what they offer
Jan 02, 2020
 
Rated: 3.29 by midlifec from Michigan

Jul 17, 2019
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Reviewed by Tripel_Threat from Michigan

3.95/5  rDev +11.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 3.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4
Popped in on a Friday evening after walking around DC for a few hours. Hungry and thirsty, I showed in time for happy hour. The hostess was able to quickly find me a high two-top after walked around the bar and saw it was packed. I had three brews and the Amber crispy chicken sandwich over the course of my stay. Two house brews were on tap plus another ten from areas brewers. Nice variety of styles, extensive menu. Service was fast and courteous.
May 19, 2019
 
Rated: 2.28 by CreightonSM from New York

Jan 04, 2019
 
Rated: 3.33 by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

Sep 22, 2018
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Reviewed by smcolw from Massachusetts

3.46/5  rDev -2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.25
Large 2-storey bar on the corner of New York Avenue and H street. Quite busy for a Sunday afternoon in the middle of downtown Washington.

Full bar with seven house brews. I don't see any brewing equipment so I assume the beers are made at the Arlington location. Overall, the beers are middle-of-the-road with a couple of above average offerings (like Fuel and the dunkelweizen)
Mar 18, 2018
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Reviewed by Rjacquezjr from California

4.75/5  rDev +34.6%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4
Nice vibe had the capitol kolsch a good balance & quenching blocks from the capitol sat at the bar where more than one bartender was attentive disputed being pretty busy was offered bar snacks large pretzels while we waited for our order
Feb 11, 2017
 
Rated: 3.71 by BMMillsy from Florida

Nov 23, 2016
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Reviewed by RutgersBeerGuy from New Jersey

3.74/5  rDev +5.9%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4 | food: 3.75
We were in DC for a Friday night and with a lot of restaurants very full, settled on Capitol City Brewing. We waited 15 minutes for table and grabbed a beer at the bar while we did so.

The beer is solid, if unexceptional. A mix of staple styles (Vienna, IPA, Amber, etc) with a more adventurous choice tossed in ( a coffee stout, while we were there).

The food is archetypical brewpub fare. Sandwiches, pizzas, etc. I had bratwurst, which were pretty good.

Prices are fine, considering that you're in a major city. Service was a bit slow, especially after we requested our check, but not offensive. It's a totally reasonable place, with reasonable beer, and reasonable food.
Oct 04, 2016
 
Rated: 3.67 by qcbrewer from North Carolina

Sep 21, 2016
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Reviewed by SaisonRichBiere from Michigan

3.6/5  rDev +2%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3.75
Decent location if you want to grab a beer with a little flavor in the City Center area. Beer was pretty mediocre, but more enjoyable than macro swill.
May 02, 2016
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Reviewed by timmy2b from New York

3.61/5  rDev +2.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.75 | selection: 3.5 | food: 4
Large Round style bar with lots of seating. Lots of seating for Food as well. Menu for beer is small, but variety was good (8 styles, 8 on tap). Beer was only mediocre, but still drinkable. Service at the bar was quick, food service at table behind us at the bar was slow. Food was reasonably priced and was delicious (4 of us, 4 different meals, all satisfied). Good stop after a lot of walking around DC. Would return.
Apr 03, 2016
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Reviewed by cbdouglass from Maine

3.14/5  rDev -11%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 3.25 | service: 2.25 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3.5
Had beer and late afternoon dinner Friday night before ACC basketball semifinals. Their amber ale is very drinkable, not too hoppy but plenty of flavor & nice color. Fish & Chips and burgers were good. Server brought food too quickly when I said to wait until I ordered another beer. Lot's of basketball fans enjoying brews and games on big screens.
Mar 11, 2016
 
Rated: 3.88 by NeoClassicist from New York

Oct 19, 2015
 
Rated: 3.79 by Jason from Massachusetts

Jul 04, 2015
 
Rated: 3.45 by Emersonio from District of Columbia

May 09, 2015
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Rated by MUTINY from Virginia

4.13/5  rDev +17%
vibe: 3.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.25 | food: 3.5
This place is always fun.
Apr 28, 2015
 
Rated: 3.31 by DbbC from Illinois

Apr 10, 2015
 
Rated: 3.61 by lorenwhite7 from Virginia

Mar 28, 2015
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Rated by Chris_Baumgart from Indiana

2.53/5  rDev -28.3%
vibe: 3 | quality: 2.5 | service: 1.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
Good food. Good beer. Service left something to be desired.
Mar 24, 2015
 
Rated: 3.86 by KWolf from New York

Mar 14, 2015
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Reviewed by ChicagoJ from Illinois

2.84/5  rDev -19.5%
vibe: 2.5 | quality: 2.5 | service: 3.25 | selection: 2.5 | food: 4
3/10/15 - Good food, great free pretzels, service hit or miss (sometimes excellent, sometimes poor - depends on the luck of the draw). Crowded during happy hour, folks file out afterward. Beer isn’t very good.
Mar 13, 2015
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Reviewed by AdamTebbs from Oklahoma

4.58/5  rDev +29.7%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5
Had beers here before and after the Marine Corp Marathon, awesome place to get pretty decent brews. Service was a little slow but not a reason not to try this place out. They had a great pumpkin beer.
Feb 13, 2015
 
Rated: 3.69 by TrilliumFan from Massachusetts

Dec 30, 2014
 
Rated: 3.28 by LADaveBN from California

Dec 14, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by spycow from Illinois

Nov 08, 2014
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Rated by micromaniac129 from Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +6.2%
Busy place with decent beers and good food. Was really too crowded to enjoy but I liked it.
Nov 07, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by kevintaraross from Maryland

Sep 01, 2014
 
Rated: 2 by misternebbie from Pennsylvania

Aug 29, 2014
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Reviewed by ONovoMexicano from New Mexico

3.4/5  rDev -3.7%
There are a lot of good places to grab a beer in DC, so I would not call this place a must-hit stop. But if you're in the area, particularly around happy hour, come in to try one of their brews.

I had the kolsch and found it pretty average. It wasn't bad, just didn't have anything notable about it. In general, this is a tough style to make good and interesting, but if you're used to a tame beer, dislike hops, and/or just want something light and easy-drinking, this is the beer for you.

Now, the doppelbock I had here. That brew was a gem. It was much more memorable and was very much a good representation of the style. It was a big beer, thick, malty, sweet and heavy on bread-like flavors. It was a meal in a glass as any good doppelbock should be. The serious beer drinker should ask for this if it's available.

I didn't try the food here, but I wasn't keen to, as this place resembles a chain restaurant or generic Irish pub. This place is less for the beer geek and more for the hard-slamming beer drinker.
Aug 17, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Shootpassbeerme from District of Columbia

Aug 02, 2014
 
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Reviewed by coldriver from Texas

3.38/5  rDev -4.2%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5
I previously visited Capital City back in 2008 when I was first getting into craft beer and thought the place was great at that time. I've come along way since then and I must say my June 2014 visit was a disappointment. The beers are basic and bland and it's same with the food. Atmosphere was not that beer-centric vibe that most of us crave, rather it was dominated by tourists and young political types drinking cocktails after work. I asked our waiter if I could get a flight and he stared at me blankly. I patiently explained what a flight was and he finally said, "Oh, you mean a sampler." When I mentioned that "flight" is a very common beer term he said he wasn't interested in beer so he really didn't know...
Jul 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by BarleyHunter from Pennsylvania

Jun 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by Sound_Explorer from Washington

Jun 20, 2014
Capitol City Brewing Company in Washington, DC
Place rating: 3.53 out of 5 with 92 ratings