Zentan

Really loved this place. Everything we ordered was delicious and the restaurant has a nice atmosphere. I would recommend the lamb chop, black cod, pork jawl and the mochi.

I visited Zentan with coworkers during restaurant week and we loved it! The miso soup was light and delicious. I enjoyed the inclusion of tofu. The dressing on the beet salad made it even more delicious. These first two courses were pretty small so when our server brought out my Sake Bowl I was surprised. The portion was just big enough so that I was full for hours. All the food was amazing and the presentation was great too.

Went for restaurant week 2017, had never been before. Our waitress, Qili, was incredibly nice and very helpful. She gave great recommendations (My boyfriend loved the drink she recommended, back porch rising sun). We're both vegan, and the restaurant had a lot of great options, and was willing to accommodate. There was one mistake with one of our orders, but it was quickly fixed. As we both got the restaurant week menu, we shared a total of eight plates for the table, plus desserts, which were for the most part, well sized.

My husband and I were very impressed by our experience at Zentan. They serve small dishes and offer an "eat until you can't eat anymore" option where the small plates are served to you randomly for $65 per person. Each item we tried was cooked and served with perfection. The service was top notch. Definitely recommend! *Note* The negative reviews speaking to not getting enough bang for your buck seem silly. My husband and I aren't rich and we are very conservative with our money. If you are going into the city for a special meal at a classy but laid back restaurant, the costs of their menu here is fair and not unexpected. This isn't chain food bland stuff here, people.

Great sushi and food selection! Fresh and delicious--some of the best food I've had recently. Those that complain of small portions might not fully understand how an authentic Japanese menu works. Definitely worth the money in my opinion. If I would compare it to prices where I'm from in Wisconsin, I'd think it was a bad value, but if you look at where you're ordering and the quality, it makes complete sense. You can't expect a five star meal to be the same large portion size as your local $5 pizza or Chinese joint--the product is incomparable.

The longer I spend in DC, the lower the bar becomes for quality sushi. Unfortunately, I'd say this place is the best I've been to yet. The rice isn't the best quality and the raw fish itself is 'good'... Pretty much sums it up. The prices are a little on the higher side for the quality of ingredients. If you're visiting from California, New York or South Florida avoid sushi in DC period; it'll just disappoint you.

Zentan is one of the better places to go in DC for Asian fusion, although the service could've been much more efficient. Ambience: high ceilings, lots of candles - seems romantic, but you get a more "hang out with friends" vibe here. As for the decor, it doesn't really match the food they serve, but it looks pretty standard and classy. Service: Slow. We seemed to have multiple waitresses, which may have been an issue, but it took a long time for our food to come out too. When we were about to pay, there were no waitresses in the dining room for over 5 minutes! They did fill up our water glasses quite a bit, though. Food: this is where Zentan redeemed themselves. Definitely order the ramen - it is very traditional and filled with savory flavors. I would also suggest ordering the pork belly, which melts in your mouth. But it's paired with sliced pears to balance out the heaviness of the fatty meat.

Went on the last night before permanently closing. It's a shame they are closing because the food has always been consistent over the years. For DC, the happy hour was one of the best, food and value wise. The staff was super friendly and very attentive to our needs (we had a table of 18). We let the staff pick random apps for all of us to envoy and it was delicious. I'm excited to see the remodeling and change in menu. Zentan had been around for 10 years, I suspect the owners wanted a change of scenery. Bitter sweet ending for sure..

This rooftop sits on top on the Donovan Hotel and I actually forgot how much I love this place until I came here recently for a happy hour. I did one of my 30th birthday celebrations here some years ago (don't ask how many years) and all my guests loved the scenery. Most didn't even know this hidden gem existed! Over the years, I've been here several times during the late spring and summer months and yet I've never seen anyone use the pool. Maybe it's just there for the vibes?! Either way, it makes for great photos : ) The drinks are decent, but I can't speak on the food. Service was good overall.

Nice downtown rooftop lounge with a view. It's a nice spot to get together with friends for a drink or two. DNV is also instagram worth it to check it out. On the side note of food & drink, i think the menu can be revamped up a bit. Drinks are a bit on the higher end and there aren't many creative cocktails. If i am on a rooftop lounge, i want to sip on a fancier drink or perhaps something more unique than what i normally can get at any bar. DNV is a good spot to show off the first time visitors and a quick stop for a drink/ soak up the view of DC.

This is a nice chill spot. It's not something I would be running to go to as far as rooftop spaces. It's great for choking with friends and having a conversation w/o having to yell. There are great views of DC. The set although great is tailored towards summer time in a pool and not so much for guests coming from outside. They make the food on a grill which is nice but a lil weird b/c the food set up is the same as a typical outside grill at an apartment. I didn't try the food and most people only ordered drinks or a burger. There are not a lot of drink options and doesn't seem to be a full bar. It catered more to the hotel patrons vs the public in my opinion as a spot when there's nothing else around or you don't want to travel far or at all. Con - no drink specials and the drinks barely have any alcohol in them. The food takes a long time to receive. Small space Pro- nice and intimate space. Great for a small group of friends or a last minute date night where you're not particular about the food or drinks

Color me unimpressed on almost every level... The view - okay. The service - eh. The drinks - more eh. The food - very eh. The portion sizes - extremely eh. The pool - laughable. The prices - absurd. The whole experience left nothing to be remembered. A TravelZoo deal ($55 for $100 of food/drinks) led us here, but I would hard pass on it if I knew what it would amount to in actuality.

This is my favorite spot in the city for a view! Drinks are great and door checker Kelly was very nice and social!

Rooftop experience here is soo amazing! If you're looking for a place to hang out with a nice view of the City, look no more, this place here is simply the best! And i like the fact that they have the swimming pool at their rooftop too (it's just for the hotel guests though, not for the walk-in customers who go to the bar). We didn't order foods since we just had dinner before coming here so i can't make a review for the food, but they claimed to be Japanese bar/restaurant so they serve sushi. They have burgers, chips, sliders too as i've seen from the menu. We were here for the drinks, the view and the rooftop experience which i am giving 5 stars for. Drinks are pretty reasonable, beers and drafts for $7-$9 and cocktails for $10-$15. Staff are pretty accommodating and attentive to your needs. We stayed until sunset and got a good view of it! I will be coming back for sure.

Stopped here during a weekend stay in D.C. it's not a huge venue but the view of D.C. it affords is pretty solid. You can get some good pictures for Instagram, if that's your thing. The crowd is pretty diverse and consisted of mostly young professionals. The drinks include tax and tip so don't be shocked when you see the prices. That makes the $18 price for a martini more manageable, though it's still kind of on the high end. You pay for the view and experience I guess. I'd recommend it for happy hour while catching the sunset.

DNV Rooftop Lounge is located in the Donovan Hotel. It had a great view of Logan Circle. Assuming weather permits, it is open nightly for bar service and on the weekends for brunch service. My boyfriend and I visited DNV Rooftop Lounge prior to COVID-19 pandemic. When we arrived, the lounge and bar area were packed. It was hard to get the bartender's attention to place a drink order. I don't remember which craft cocktails that we ordered (one was bubbly, garnished with an orange, and served in a tumbler and the other was bubbly, garnished with a lemon, and served in tall glass) but they were delicious and worth the wait.

Beautiful view and delicious mixed drinks. The service was terrible and they have a very limited menu. I had to wait over an hour just for a salad. When I finally inquired about my order with the bartender, 10 minutes later he leaves and comes back with about 3 different customer orders. I'm assuming he forgot about them.

Love this spot! This rooftop probably gives you the best view in DC, other than POV. Really sad they got rid of their old happy hour though, they had good food deals (especially sushi) There aren't really any happy hour deals anymore, but overall the bar is nice. It can feel really small though if it's crowded

They have average happy hour prices, but the two drinks I had here were pretty nasty, so I'm sure they're using bottom shelf liquor. There's no food on happy hour either. I ordered the drunken ribs, and they were just okay, but they got the job done. The rooftop's saving grace is the pool and the DJ that arrives later in the evening. The views are okay as well. All in all, it's a decent atmosphere, but there are better happy hours in the area.

Stayed at the hotel so I ventured up for a drink. First of all, the elevators are awful here, so it makes for a long wait to get up. Drinks are SO overpriced! $17 for a small weak cocktail and limited beer selection. View is okay but not spectacular (hence 2 stars).

Beautiful view but I'd rate their drinks a C-. The atmosphere would be lively if they decided to play something besides swing music at a low volume. First time here and I'm not sure I would come back because it didn't leave an impression on me.

A little underwhelming. Yes, there's a nice view but it doesn't seem like they focus on creating an experiential atmosphere. There wasn't any music and it wasn't the cleanest as you can see in the picture. I also ordered wings which still have feathers on them. I later checked other reviews and saw someone else had the same exact thing happen to them. I recommend rooftop at the Eaton Hotel.

My SO and I visited the rooftop lounge for a nightcap one beautiful early summer evening. Despite being quite busy, the noise level was manageable and we were able to chat, once we found a place to sit and relax. The view was spectacular. Service took a little longer than I would have expected and the bartender seemed to have better places to be - possibly with the hot young 22-year-olds taking Instagram photos at the other end of the bar. The menu was different than it currently is, which is a promising suggestion that the cocktails change with the seasons. Our drinks were tasty, but not phenomenal. I would definitely go back after a nice dinner out or for a fun girls night.

We fell in love with the place, mostly for the view and atmosphere. It wasn't busy (surprising for a Friday night) and we managed to find a relatively quiet spot at the bar where we were able to talk without shouting. Great place for a first date or anniversary. Lovely food, drinks to our liking, live music and fun servers. Golden stars all around!

My boyfriend and I went for after-dinner drinks here. We live in NYC and have enjoyed a few rooftop bars. This place has a great view. That's all it has going for it. We ordered two drinks: the Chou Chou (which is basically an alcoholic ice pop) and the handlebars (which came with a gummy fruit mustache). They were disgusting to say the least. My ice pop first tastes like a tootsie roll, but soon went down hill. It looked like a long piece of poop, and probably tasted like one. It was bad. My boyfriend's drink was overpowering and tart. Not what he expected at all. He loves whiskey and he has never had one that terrible. We threw our drinks in the garbage and left. Oh, did I mention the drinks we got were $27? And we still threw them away - which we never do. Want good cocktails? Head over to Lincoln.

You come here for the view and to drink at happy hour until you can't overhear the servers trashtalking customers. Live music was mellow but okay background noise. Bartender was more friendly and cycled through the belly-ups appropriately, but the Yellow River old fashioned was a little too unbalanced to repeat. Preferred the lounge chairs over the high tables, since the outlets in the outer ring weren't working anyways. I'll be curious to try the pork belly bao and cochinita taco.

Nice rooftop place in Washington, DC. Came after the sun went down on a weekday and there were a few groups of people on the roof, but not many. Drinks are good with funny names, but a bit pricey. The view was just okay. If it's a view you're looking for, you're better off going to POV. The place is probably better on weekends for day drinking.

I just love this place. Came here for a girlfriends getaway and enjoyed all the amenities including free upgraded suite, amazing concierge service from Chris and text messaging who was SO helpful To just text and ask questions and request. AND then Anthony at the pool was so accommodating and funny! He was so nice to assist with questions but also made sure the ambiance was great! All around Kimpton Donovan you are my new staycation

Trust me. I can swim. In fact, I can out stroke the hell out of most of you after years of pool ratdom, coaching diving and teaching swim lessons. So my fear of getting pushed into the pool here is only my inner diva poking her head to make sure that my inner clutz doesn't ruin her outfit. Whatever it is, they both work together to keep me far away from the pool, and much closer to the bar. I really enjoy Donovan House rooftop (ADC) parties after sun down. If the sun is still up, it's rather stifling since there are not many shaded areas for refuge and no one actually really gets into the pool here. But there is definitely something sexy about this place. Drinking a cocktail, pool aglow while overlooking Thomas Circle result in moments where you may feel as if you don't have a care in the world. Casual, trendy music offsets the scene, and is only a backdrop to the mingling crowd. At this very moment, the world is alright and time stands still for a second. Most of the parties that I've been to here are free, although some may require you to be on a list. Overall this is a great place to start the night, or enjoy a laid back evening among a well dressed crowd.

Great views of the city, nice atmosphere!! All around good spot to come have drinks before a night out in DC

Donovan House Rooftop is a pool, bar, lounge area located at the Rooftop of the Donovan House (Kimpton Hotel) - http://www.yelp.com/biz/donovan-house-a-kimpton-hotel-washington#hrid:jA_IHbNLMhUCl4pjSkmfHQ In a few words: - Gorgeous views - Pool (smaller than expected) - Bar (pricey drinks) - Open to the public at night (5pm onwards on weekdays and 7pm onwards for weeknights) - Lots of gorgeous people and eye candy - Dressy attire

This might be the most underrated place in DC. Most people I know never heard of this place and people mostly go to POV. This place is better. It's like a club, but you don't have to deal with the lines or cover charges or crowds. It's a smaller venue on the rooftop of a boutique hotel. There is a cute little swimming pool in the middle. Everything is kept clean and looks new. You can actually talk without shouting, enjoy the outdoor breeze, and have room to sit or stand without bumping into people. I love the view here. You can see DC and all the cars driving around Logan Circle. It's great place where you can just talk, have a drink, and enjoy DC nightlife!

Very nice Rooftop with sub par food and HORRIBLE drinks. All the drinks taste just like juice. If you're coming here bring a flask.

This place has a great view but that's where the good stuff ends. Have been coming here for years, but after tonight's experience we're never returning. A bartender named Isaac insulted my friends, called us dumb and was extremely rude because we asked for the heat lamp to be turned on. Their drinks are awful and overpriced too. Good luck, keep hiring idiots and I'm sure you will prosper.

I came to DNV Rooftop on a Friday evening, as a part of the DC Passport Program (2 for 1 drinks!). I don't think I would have found this gem otherwise! It's technically the rooftop bar of a hotel. We had to go through the hotel lobby and up to the top floor, passing rooms on our way to the bar. Half of the rooftop was blocked off, I believe for a private event, so it was a bit crowded in the public half. The closed off section appeared to have a pool and more seating, so that would have been fun. But there's a great view of the city from up here. We could sit by the glass partition and watch as the sun set by Dupont circle. The drinks were also very tasty. They sell boozy popsicles, which are definitely a unique twist! My friend ordered one of those. Other drinks for the group included Orange Rush, Anesthetic, Sunrise in Ha Long Bay, Vincente in Veneto, and the Las Tres Emes. I don't always like Aperol, but in the Anesthetic, it helped mellow out the sweetness. I tried a sip of my friend's Sunrise in Ha Long Bay, and this one was very good, but a bit on the heavy side, with coffee and cognac, light on the coconut. My favorite was the Vincente in Veneto, which was light and perfect for a summer day. The group drink also sounded really good. I'll have to come back with a big group, and when I'm not using the Passport. A DJ started up a little while after we came here, making it a little loud up there, but fun! We didn't try any food, but it looks like they serve typical bar bites. Since this is technically a hotel bar, it can get a little pricey. But I don't think it was too out of hand for DC cocktail prices, and you're also paying for that view! A nice spot for an evening happy hour!

Great view and dj but super slow service. Ended up canceling our second round of drinks after waiting more than 20 minutes.

Came here after happy hour to check out the scene and try the cocktails. I like the location, overlooking logan circle. They have a cute small pool near the entrance, and a DJ spinning at the table. The thing I enjoyed was actually the creativity of their drink menu (cocktails). I pretty much wanted to order the drink with the weirdest name rather than looking at what is actually in it. So I started with a cock and whisky, then moved on to the NSFW, then the Too long; Didnt read. The NSFW was pretty good. It had angels envy bourbon (delicious), and some fruity puree, lemon juice, and ghost pepper tincture. The Too long; Didn't read should have been a No thank: don't try. It had koloa dark rum, meletti amaro, shrub of season, and coco lopez and lime. Very funky taste and texture (kind of grainy like fine sand). Or I felt like I was drinking a poorly made alcoholic protein shake. Overall, nice location, nice staff, and 'ok' cocktails with hilarious names. Not a place I would come back often.

My girlfriends and I had an amazing time at this rooftop pool bar. One of the most beautiful, scenic, and classy places to go for a drink. If you're feeling adventurous try some of their unique cocktails!

Idk if I went at the wrong time, or if the atmosphere was always like that but this place was wack!! It was my first night in DC and I wanted to hit a rooftop up, that oversees the city so I chose this one. When I got there it was like a ghost town. Weather was great, about 70 and no one really was there really. Time prolly was about 9:45pm-10pm when I arrived. I guess DC nightlife begins later or this spot isn't just popping. Nevertheless I wish the business well! That was my experience; hope yours will be better

This place is terrible. Plain and simple. CONS - The drinks. I am comfortable with paying high prices for well-prepared, thoughtful drinks, but these drinks are expensive are poorly-conceived. "The Donovan" cocktail -- seriously, whose idea was it to combine Japanese whiskey with cava? What a waste. - The service. I saw multiple people get into arguments with the bartending staff, which was curt, inattentive, and surly. One of the individuals, named "Issac," had no qualms dropping f-bombs when I brought to his attention how rude he had been. I see he's been name-checked in other reviews for his attitude problems, so I guess he must have friends in management. The waitstaff also cleared multiple drinks that people in my group were still drinking. One reached forward and asked if I was done with my drink *while I was still holding the drink in my hand in front of my face.* I was poised to imbibe! C'mon, guys. - The ambiance. There isn't any. It has the charm and decor of a standard apartment pool paired with the energy of morgue. The bland music did nothing to ameliorate this. PROS - It's on a roof. There are other roofs in DC. Go literally anywhere else.

Came on a Wednesday night so can't fully speak for this place. But, I do love the location and the view! Provides a beautiful view of Thomas circle and even has a pool! Will come back during the weekend and update my review.

View is nice but food service is VERY slow and of poor quality. We decided to leave after waiting one hour for an entree that never showed up. We really wanted this place to work out but we will not be returning. Not recommended for a happy hour spot after work.

We stayed at The Donovan while we were in Washington, DC. The weather forecast was predicting only one nice day during our visit with rain on every single day except our first so we made sure to take advantage of the DNV Rooftop. They opened at 4:00pm and we got there around 4:30pm and grabbed the last available table. The rooftop is tiny and the pool takes up much of the space (maybe they should get a glass cover for it so they can fit more people? It was a warm, sunny Friday evening so the place got packed with the after work crowd and a large bachelorette group that had sort of taken over the hotel that weekend. They had some very interesting cocktails and drinks on the menu but they were priced at hotel prices. The available food options were just ok and the service was confusing. We had a round of drinks and appetizers and moved on to another spot for dinner.

ADC (Above DC) is the hip new rooftop pool lounge in the Donovan House hotel. If you don't know where it is, then you aren't cool enough to get in. This place has the highest views of downtown from a bar, outside of the newly renovated W hotel. And you can't get in here unless you are a guest of the hotel...or you talk yourself in....you need a room key to get to this rooftop lounge. The design is totally LA, complete with pool for lounging around with a very hip, international crowd. You will forget you are in DC - which can be a good thing on a hot summer night.

Experience an amazing view of DC. This rooftop is worth checking out. It was pretty packed when I went with limited seating, so I suggest getting there early. Rooftop, awesome view, plus a pool is destined for an awesome time for the hot summer months.

Stay away! If you need reasons, read on. Everything about this place disappoints, so I can't decide where to begin. First off, there's no service, so you have to order at the bar, which wouldn't be so bad if the bartender weren't so rude and full of himself. When we asked if he would add a dash of orange bitters to our gin martinis (trying to replicate the best martinis we had ever tried), he snapped, "I don't add orange bitters to my martinis." What service! *His* martinis . He whipped up a couple of bad warm martinis in plastic glasses, which we tried to consume while overlooking the Washington Plaza Hotel. The olives were terrible, spoiled it seemed, and therefore inedible. Thankfully the lovely view helped take my mind off the bad taste in my mouth. On to "food": We had empty stomachs, so we ordered (at the bar) mahi mahi tacos to go with our drinks. They sounded tasty enough, and now I wish I had taken a photo to accompany this review, but I'm sure you can picture our dish: two store-bought hard taco shells containing a few pieces of gray, over-cooked fish.The sides of mango salsa and cilantro cream sauce rescued the entire dish from the garbage. The decor is cheap and not at all well considered. It felt like we were at a college party on the roof of someone's cheap condo. Just so you know, we have never left half of a martini unconsumed, but that's exactly what we did because we were so eager to escape. Caveat emptor!

I can probably count the number of times I consume alcohol a year with just one hand. I definitely don't go out drinking often (I became a grandma the moment I graduated college), so DNV was a nice way to shake up my normally tame weekend routines. The best thing about DNV Rooftop is...well, the fact that it's on a rooftop. You get a great view of the city, and if you're up there when the sun's setting, it's super gorgeous. There's also no cover charge, which is a major plus. Drinks are $$$, but it's DC, so you can't really expect much. Though this is my first time frequenting a rooftop bar, I feel like DNV is smaller that most. The pool (which closes at 5PM) takes up about 50% of the entire space, so there's some seating along the edges, but once people start pouring in, you'll most likely have trouble grabbing a place to sit. DNV also serves up some food, which is mostly Asian-fusion like the restaurant in the lobby. All in all, I had a pretty good experience, but then again the number of times I frequent bars is close to zero, heehee. 3-stars for now until I get more rooftop bar experience :)

Please check your bill if you do go to DNV! My bill didn't add up, the bartender never bothered to explain to me the discrepancy until I asked. He said there was an up charge for my drink! If there was an up charge, why wasn't it noted on the bill??? I ordered a drink from the menu, why isn't the drink written on the receipt? Usually if there's an extra charge or the tip is automatically included, it always show on the receipt. We asked to talk to the manager and all he offered was a free drink. I DON'T NEED A FREE DRINK! I just need my bill right. The bartender and the manager...ALL RUDE! The manager literally said they would need to change the whole system to get my bill right! Ridiculous! Now that it has been a few days later, I check my credit card statement and DNV had the nerve to add an extra $10 to my bill! I never signed for the $58 in the first place! Why would I give or sign for $68?? I have never felt so mistreated...we all go out to have a good time, dealing with bartenders trying to make a few extra dirty bucks is unnecessary!!!! Never will I go back and I'll let everyone know about this matter, I have pictures and videos of the manager being very unprofessional as well!

I like the concept and I love the bar, and the fact that it hasn't been completely "douchified" like some other rooftop bars...(In another hotel downtown...). They had a pool there, but no one was swimming. I'm not sure if it was open only to guests or not. The drinks are expensive, which is expected, but happy hour wasn't bad. It was, though, really annoying that one of the bartenders told us the wrong drinks for the HH special...She told us all the drinks that weren't on special. Ugh! We were able to snag a cabanas for a big group, which was fun! Would probably only return for happy hour on a nice evening.

I am always a sucker for rooftop bars and when I was walking down 14th street I noticed the sign and thought to myself I am definitely gonna come back here. Some friends of mine were also in town and I thought it would be a good idea to check this joint out before dinner or maybe even have dinner here. We came up and the people at the door of the roof was pretty cool and told us to have fun. Its not a very big space and they have a little swimming pool here. Most of the seating was taken are party of 5 went to the bar. Not sure if the people behind the bar pay too much attention to who was at the bar first but a couple of people we were ahead of were served first. I had some female friends with me and they were ordering sweet drinks in which the bar could not accommodate. I'm like its summertime; how do you not have any kind of flavored rum. We ordered a few things they could not accommodate actually which is a little disheartening for a rooftop joint. We grabbed a seat by the ledge and it was a really nice view, but we were also by a speaker where some country like music was playing. Not really rooftop friendly music, but at some point we started hearing some top 40 like music which was much better. Our table still had trash on it from the last party that was there and it sat there for quite awhile until we flagged someone down to clean it up. They also were pretty slow to come around to get an order for our 2nd round of drinks...frustration grew and we decided to go to the bar and order some shots and just go somewhere else. Service is obviously quite strange here. We decided not to eat as they were taking too long to come to our table to get our order. The view here is nice though.

My friend stayed at the Donovan this year for his birthday extravaganza. I will keep this review short and sweet. To preface this is my first time being to a rooftop bar. I am definitely a fan of it and need to find similar places in the area. Pros - Conveniently located (near McPherson Square metro station) - Nice view of Logan Circle - No cover fee Cons - Pricy drinks ($15 for mixed drinks and $7 beer) - Limited area in terms of seating - Long lines when it gets busy

A solid-place that I frequent in the summer. Could be better. Pool is a little more than half the size of liason and def has some signs of aging. I suggest caution if walking the old wooden deck in bare feet, there are a couple exposed nails and corners of boards. $7 beers are no issue since clearly you're paying for the pool and view. I like the early 4pm HH. My gameplan is to hit this place 4-5pm to beat all the evening rain. It's worth taking an hour off work to chill and swim and I have never seen it crowded in that time frame. The issue is they kick out of the pool at 5pm and they re-design it for the night time drinking. As such after 5pm I think Liason is a far better option. bigger/newer and you can swim until 8pm. DNV still has the better scenery though .

I have been to the Donovan quite a number of times for work related happy hours or just simple leisure times with friends. I have always, found their small plates enjoyable as well as their cocktails and wonderful views of the city. But now, I'm sorry to say my perception has permanently changed as it relates to the service my work group event received lastThursday evening. I was forced to deal with an extremely unprofessional manager (Ben) who said that I could not bring celebratory cake unless we hit a minimum of $800 as a food and beverage minimum with the addition of signing a contract to be permitted to eat the cake on their establishment. Which was fine! So we verbally agreed first. Our group arrived at 4pm before the establishment was busy (not till 6:30). Then this sneaky so called manager (Ben) tried to take advantage of the situation. We continued to drink and eat and rack up over $1100 check. When it was time to get the cake, Ben said we could not consume the cake cause it's too late to sign the contract, and furthermore, he said we could not sign the contract even though we had agreed verbally when we initially arrived. Our group, incidentally, did not even take any lounge tables, we were all standing in the common bar area. Very disappointed in this Washington DC instituition and its unprofessional manager BEN!!!

I loved this rooftop. I was almost not going to come because of the poor yelp reviews but I had a great experience. Staff was friendly. Atmosphere is great.

This place is amazing!!!!! We came here on a whim after a work conference and honestly Erin and Sam are AMAZING!!!!!!! We had every intention of leaving but after meeting Erin and Sam at the bar we stayed here for hours. Such amazing customer service!!!! They are genuinely amazing. Their drinks are great. So festive And Delicious! No joke, one of the BEST services I have received. Anthony the security was amazing! Such a gentleman and truly great! So happy I came across this place!!!!!! IF YOU'RE IN TOWN YOU MUST COME TO THIS PLACE! Service: THE BEST. THIS IS WHAT ITS ABOUT! Ambiance: Amazing! Drinks: If Erin is making them their are out of this world!!!!!!!!! Great job guys! Keep it up!!!!!

DC doesn't really have a skyline due to government restrictions but a rooftop bar is always nice, especially in the summer. The space at DH is relatively small. The pool is about 10x10 if I were to guesstimate. There is one bar in the far left and is average size. You have a nice view of Thomas circle, which is usually pretty empty unlike DuPont, but this adds to a more peaceful atmosphere. There are tables to reserve but I've never seen any of them occupied. The music can be very diverse here. From house/electronic to top 40. The volume of the music is pretty tame. It's loud enough to get you going but low enough for you to chit chat. Drinks are really cheap here. I bought 3 shots of ciroc and 3 ciroc red bulls and it came out to $56. Compare that to other places around the area and you'll pay close to $80-90. The bartenders are very friendly and the bar does not get too crowded. The crowd at DH is much classier than W hotel. If you've ever been to the W, you'll know what i'm talking about. Most people are dressed up, girls in lbd's and guys in blazers. The line to get into the place can become very long if you get there late, btw 1030-11 is a good time frame. Anytime after that expect to be in line for 20-30 minutes. It's close to all the other k street clubs, so if this isn't your cup of tea, you are within walking distance to other spots. Hope this helps!

Have you ever had dreamt of what could be, but only found what is? DNV Rooftop was a bit like that for me. Did it keep me from going when I lived close by? No. But as the weather's gotten colder and I've moved toward Blagden, I haven't found myself back. Why? Well, while this spot fulfills my rooftop fetish, it just never seemed to vibe with people I'd run with. It's wonderful to come with friends and lose yourself in the lights from the pool, but otherwise I'd always feel separate from my fellow drinkers. The menu itself has some fun names and novelty drinks - go for the Selfie Sticks in the summer - but it all can rack up quite the bill for standard cocktails. And while there is a view, it's of Thomas Circle, aka not the most picturesque scene in DC. I love rooftops so I'd rec dropping by here, just make sure you bring your crew!