Please stop playing sports; ruins the whole vibe. I absolutely love the drinks at Black Jack especially the Velvet Hour and the Blue Vein but it pisses me off when I go in there with my boyfriend and we can't watch something a bit more picturesque.
Aside from that, this is a great eclectic bar to visit at any time for any occasion!
Great bar - interesting cocktail menu and setting. Lots of dark furniture and brick walls - very cozy! We had some bar food, which was also good. All of these elements are great, but I will come back because the service was amazing! Other reviewers have noted how friendly the staff are - from the guy checking IDs at the door to our bartender, everybody was super nice and welcoming! Sadly, I feel this is a forgotten art of customer service, so it was much appreciated and I will be back!
Review Source:Really nice place to get drinks while waiting for your table at Pearl Dive (Black Jack is one floor up from the main restaurant). Â Drinks are real good, but on the expensive side. Â I had some kind of pink drink (stop laughing), which was good, but not too strong. Â They have a limited bar menu, which looked good, but I'm glad I saved my appetite for Pearl Dive.
The bar's got a trendy vibe and was very roomy and comfortable. Â However, I'm sure it gets jammed later on at night.
I would come back, but only to have drinks before dinner.
Avid readers may recognize the interior of Black Jack as something of a cross between the covers of Sara Gruen's "Water for Elephants," and Erin Morgenstern's "The Night Circus." Those who do not troll the aisles of bookstores for fancy paperback covers may liken the ambiance to a watered-down Moulin Rouge. For anyone tired of my dumb attempts to sound cultured, this place feels a bit like a seedy carnival, but in a high-class way, like a burlesque dancer who's too modest to show you her pasties.
Still with me?
Black Jack is a cool space. It has a very warm feeling to it, tons of red and black, lights strung across the ceilings evoking a garden party. The back of the bar is exposed brick, upon which they project movies on mute. The wallpaper in the bathrooms is hilarious, if only for the graffiti all over the images of old-timey sideshow performers ("SLUG LIFE").
Drinks are good. Fairly lengthy beer list and creative cocktail menu, although most concoctions are very, very sweet. Food is standard "upscale bar" fare, wood oven pizzas, mussels, artisanal sandwiches and such. Nothing crazy. Nothing terrible.
For dinner, Black Jack is kind of meh. It's much better suited for drinking and socializing/drowning sorrows. My best experience here was early in the week right at 6:00, and I met a friend right after his break-up. The bartender brought consolation in the form of wise words and whiskey shots. We were in much better spirits going out than coming in.
Whaaaaaat?!!? 12 oysters for the price of 6? Done! Originally wanted to check out Pearl Dive for some oysters, but they were packed. We were told by the hostess to try their upstairs bar which ended up being Black Jack. Walking up the stairs you feel like ur about to enter a club, when u turn the corner you see a bar that looks like some sort of magical stage. Red curtains, circus lights, dark and moody color schemes and the best freakin mascot on the planet ( a red winged monkey wearing a top hat)... They had 80s rap playing and a movie projected on the brick wall behind the bar... It was the Nutty Professor, weird right? Well that's what I loved about the place. It was an eclectic mash of crazy with amazing oyster specials. I'll take it! I could've hung here all night. It kinda felt like that bar in Shrek were all the bad guys would hang out. Oddly enough... I liked it! Oh and the oysters were Pearl Dive quality, meaty, healthy and perfectly shucked. I'll be back.
Review Source:This place was recommended to me from a friend of a friend. Â I was looking for places with no cover that had good drinks. Â
First off.. it didn't seem like this bar was near any other places. Â If you are out here.. you may be out of luck if this place is busy or you don't like it.
I didn't love this place. Â Front area is a bar area.. but it is only busy until like midnight or 1 am. Â Then it gets really emptied out.. wonder where everybody goes.
The back area has skee ball which confuses me a lot.. in addition to stadium seating. Â
The tequila drink I heard was good but I dunno.. not my scene. Â It doesn't fall either as dive-y or hip. Â
Bathrooms are also annoying. Â One person bathrooms in this place.. so when there is a line, that's a nightmare. Â There is another one person bathroom downstaris in the Pearl Oyster place.. but what a pain.
I'm not going to lie: after accepting an invitation to meet up here with a family member, I felt a mild sense of dread when I looked through the website. From the Capuchin devil monkey in a tophat click-through welcome page and bartenders in ironic fedoras to the windy paragraphs extolling the virtues of their speciality "mixology," I worried I was in for a Portlandia-esque levels of insufferability. Â I was shocked, and VERY pleased, to discover this wasn't the case. The decor is kitschy old-world-circus-brothel (not sure how else to describe it, with its strings of lights and red velvet accoutrements) but in an utterly charming way. The noise level isn't overwhelming, and there's plenty of comfortable seating. The pizza is pretty great for bar pizza (I recommend the Green Goddess) and the service almost smotheringly friendly. They offer a range of tasty cocktails at a premium - everything is $12 - but from 6-7PM, it's all half off. And for a place that posts what appears to be a proscuitto-spiked Old Fashioned on their website, it's surprisingly unpretentious/unfussy.
Verdict: Kind of pricey for the neighborhood, but I will DEFINITELY be back during Happy Hour. Pleased to have discovered it!
Met a few friends here for drinks last Saturday night, had never heard of the place before, but was pleasantly surprised. They had a decent selection of beers--when my wife ordered one of the bottles on their list, the waitress said they were out of it and then came back about 10 minutes later to tell us they actually did have it in stock, and proceeded to give us that beer on the house because of the confusion, very kind and definitely the way to treat and gain repeating customers. There is even a small game room in the back with shuffleboard. They are located just above the Pearl Oyster Bar, so will need to try some oysters next time we go for drinks. Worth checking out.
Review Source:Currently one of my favorite places to spend that glorious time between 6 and 7pm when bars lower their prices and I can partake in frosty, delicious beverages and ooey, gooey food at a fraction of the cost. The ambiance and swanky red velvet belies the awesomeness of this happy hour (literally an hour), but do not be deceived! Good things await you!
I'm sad it's only an hour, but the beer selection is great and the pizzas (which are huge and half price) are delicious. It gets crazy busy at the end of happy hour, so that's when I usually make my exit. I can't handle the sardine feeling that goes along with that many people in a fairly small space--I've usually had my fill of $3 beers by then and am ready to go home and relax on the couch.
I've tried most of the pizzas and you'll have good luck with all of them. We also tried their french fries which, as other reviews will attest, are great. They used to serve pork belly nachos which were definitely worth the fat-kid feeling, but I think they're not on the menu anymore (bring them back!)--but I saw duck confit nachos when I checked the menu last time; those are probably equally as awesome.
I've also had brunch here, and besides some kitchen timing issues was really pleased. Definitely on my list of repeat-visits.
While I'm not sure if the drink that grabbed our eyes with "what the hell is in his beer?" was necessarily ordered as what this guy called it but we found out it was A Dirty Peroni: a pint of Peroni with two olives in it. I have searched near, far, and into the depths of the internet and I haven't seen anything reported on it. I mean, who the hell is so drunk that they want olives in their Italian beer? This kid. Or was it a pure joke by the bartenders? Or, did he order a Peroni, and in his bored stupor, notice the bar garnish kit, and do it himself? No matter the mystery's origins, I witnessed it here.
"They were you we thought they were!" "It is what it is." The neologisms either drawn from or elevated by sports often finds themselves into culture, and my head. When I walked in here both of those phrases came to mind: a way to packed bar where I'll have to fight my way to the front but it just so happened that the service was on it, and that our group found an open nook near the back.
Like mentioned in the Pearl review... the deli number system they have for the tables downstairs is so pragmatic and comforting for guests that I want to bring it West as fast as I can say "there's a bocce ball court, and stadium seating in this bar in the back while the front is overloaded with white people groping each other."
Stay away from the $9 draft craft pints and head for the $5 tall boy pint cans of High Life, PBR & Schlitz. They served their martini in a rocks glass. Some say blasphemous and others say wise as it needs to be held through the bumper car throngs.
Black Jack is a total sexy beast of a bar. OK I'm exaggerating, but it's pretty damn great.
Here's what you need to do to have a good time there -
1. Figure out a way you can get seating in their closed out spaces because this bar is tiny, and always crowded on weekends. I have a crush on those gorgeous leather chesterfield sofas that I plan on stealing someday.
2. Ask for any of their signature cocktails. I highly recommend the El Dorado (Tequila, lemon juice with spices) or Makers Mark Bourbon drinks.
3. Soak in the general cool-ness of this place. They have a 1920s Moulin Rouge meets DC's latest fascination with "Prohibition Era" style.
4. Play some Bocce Ball to work up an appetite for some of their fantastic food
Seriously, don't think too much about this place. Go here. It's currently one of my favorite bars and with about $20 for a cocktail you're most likely not going to run into drunk college kids, which to me, is a treat.
Surprisingly awesome lounge. My wife and I were going to the Pearl Dive and the wait was supposed to be an hour. So, we decided to head upstairs to have a drink while we waited. Everything is crazy expensive but that is to be expected. The cocktails are inventive and really good. I recommend the Maple Derby and the Sazerac.
The decor reminded me of an old dilapidated 1920's speak easy that was resurrected by just adding some new lights. It has really cool feel to it. Very unique. We loved it.
I went to Black Jack last Saturday. Â I was originally going to Pearl Dive, but the wait was over an hour and I was hungry. Â The atmosphere of Black Jack was pleasant enough in the early evening hours, they have two indoor bocce courts in the back room and unique stadium style chairs that give the area a unique feel. Â That being said, the decor is just about the only positive thing about the place. Â
I ordered an oyster po' boy sandwich which was tasty but was about half the size of what you would find anywhere else. Â Seriously there were about 3 oysters on the sandwich! Â Accompanying the sandwich was a pile of "homemade potato chips" that had a nice consistency and probably would have been tasty too if they weren't doused in salt. Â They were disgusting and I couldn't even finish them even though I'll eat almost anything!
Black Jack has a nice cocktail menu with some pretty cool concoctions but frankly $12 for the smallest margarita I have ever had wasn't worth it. Â Speaking of prices, the place is horribly overpriced in general. Â $5 for a can of Blue Moon??? Seriously???? Â Also, don't bother ordering any special shots or anything at the bar it appears that some of the staff simply don't know their craft. Â For example, I had to tell the bartender how to make a "Red Headed Slut" shot when I ordered a round for my party.
Lastly I have to mention that this place gets PACKED. For example it takes about 10 minutes to get from the back room to the bar and 30 minutes to get to the front of the restroom line once you realize you need to go. Â There are better options in the Logan Circle area and I will not be back.
There are tons of restaurant/bars along the 14th St. corridor, which makes me wonder why Black Jack always so crowded. Not that it isn't a cool place...it does have an indoor bocce ball court...but every time I go, I feel like I'm crammed into a sardine can of people. It works on occasion, but other times I just don't want to have to wait 10 minutes just go wrestle my way to the bar to order a drink. However, beyond the sea of people, I actually like the feel of Black Jack quite a bit. When you are able to grab a table or a spot by the bar, the bar food is decent and there's plenty of alcoholic libations to choose from.
So I guess for those still unsure, either pick an off day and give it a go or just be prepared to be jostled around by patrons trying to make their way from the bar to the bocce courts.
Probably my favorite bar right now. No joke this place does it all right. My favorite drink in the world is Maker's Mark on the rocks with a dash of bitters and splash of sprite and this is the ONLY place I've gone to in DC that made it to perfection and I didn't get some funky ass look from the bartender. The folks behind the bar respect the alcohol and I respect them for it.
If that weren't enough the food is on point. I live for the mussels. Actually, I live for the broth and the griddled bread to sop it all up with after the mussels are done and gone. I don't know how much anything in here costs because I am usually three sheets and looking for some fifty shades by the time the check comes but whatever it is...its worth it!
Who knew this bar was here? Â Well, apparently everyone but me. Â I'm not sure why I don't explore my neighborhood more since I've lived here for close to 2 years, but I just haven't taken the time to check out all the great bars/restaurants in the area. Â Anyway, I digress. Â Fortunately, my buddies were at Pearl Dive for drinks and I wandered upstairs to Black Jack and found this massive, yet somewhat hidden bar right above.
What I like about this place is that it's so large and hidden and cheap and just awesome. Â But what's also cool is that if you want to get away from dark crowded bar, you can always walk downstairs to Pearly Dive which is a little less intense, so there's actually a bit of a variety.
Anyway, i'm a fan and will definitely be coming back, especially on Sunday because apparently they have a pretty sick happy hour.
Btw, I know this review wasn't very useful, but they can't all be great...;)
This place reminds me of Bangalore. Hmm, that will probably come across wrong. Black Jack is an exquisite bar yet comfortable and homey feeling; it's nothing like India. Here's what I mean: for months I wanted to go to Bangalore when I was living a short train ride away in Hyderabad. I always viewed it as the place I'd get to when time was short. It was the one place I didn't have to convince people to go with me because everyone wanted to go. And it was the one city I didn't have to work into my long-term travel schedule because I "knew" I'd get around to it. Then I left India. And I went back! And still didn't go. No Bangalore. Rinse. Repeat. Again, still no Bangalore.
I've been dating Justin for 10-ish months. I'm pretty certain he told me about about how great of a bar Black Jack was on our first non-date date. We were on H St; didn't go. I'm 100 per cent certain he pointed to its backdoor from his balcony the first time I visited him at his house. I metroed home; didn't go. Ten months later, still no Black Jack. This bar is my Bangalore. Rinse. Repeat.
Walking hand-in-hand down 14th Street I often sound like a parrot. We walk past Cork: "still haven't been there." We walk past Estadio: "still haven't been there." We walk past Black Jack: "Still haven't been there. Haven't been there....haven't been there." It took a beautiful fall day that started at Crafty Bastards art and craft fair, a good Italian sandwich for lunch followed by Novemberfest day time drinking, a long, refreshing nap, drinks with friends at Hank's Oyster Bar, and wrapped up at Black Jack and ChurchKey to finally get me here. Maybe the stars aligned or maybe my bad karma was over from never having fulfilled my quest to see Bangalore. Whatever it was, I got here and I think Black Jack will be seeing a lot more of me in the coming days.
The bar itself is already proving itself more than worthy of my patronage. Though the Sunday all day happy hour which includes half priced draft beers (Bell's Kalamazoo please), half priced pizzas (the swine lover's is amazing) and other exciting halvsies like the burger and some Virginia oysters is enough to make me a repeat customer, it's the quality of everything in this joint that makes it a shining star. The food is really, really good quality and goes above and beyond bar food. The cocktails are supposedly great, but I won't know until I go on a day other than Sunday because if there's half priced beer, why would I not be drinking it? The beer is a decent selection of mainstream craft breweries. The service is helpful, attentive and they really treat locals like they're something special, like they're the bread and butter of the place. It's a great atmosphere with great food and great service. Throw in a giant TV to watch my 49ers win and my first pickle back (nod to Nicole C.) and there are great memories to be cherished and plenty more to be made.
*****Upon my second visit to Black Jack I realized the mischievous red monkey that is the Black Jack logo or mascot of sorts, with his top hat and drink, actually does remind me quite a bit of India. Interesting...
Bocce ball in the back? Â Heck yes!
I deducted a star because on the Saturday night I was there, the fire alarm kept going off. Â It was annoying. Â But, it also meant that a lot of people left so we had the back room (and the bocce!) all to ourselves. Â My friend tried chatting up the manager, he was polite :)
I really like this place, especially for happy hour. In fact, this might be one of the best happy hours in DC. Half priced beer (gooooood beer, not that bud light nonsense) and pizza can bring me in anywhere. The front half of the bar is more intimate, with the lounge seating. In the back, there is cool stadium seating with a bocce court, which is awesome and gives you something to do if the conversation stalls. Everytime I've been here, there's been a decent amount of people, but it's never been too crowded. But then again, I've never been on the weekend, which means I need to take another trip here to check it out!
Review Source:I had a Gilt City coupon for two pizzas, two cocktails, and six oysters at Black Jack, so I invited Carol W out on a Tuesday night date for dinner. Â We'd only been to Black Jack for drinks, which we both enjoyed, so we were looking forward to the full Black Jack experience. Â We weren't disappointed.
We got to Black Jack a little after 5 pm so the place was largely empty.  Rather than sit at a table, we opted for the bar.  While looking over the food menu, we opened up with cocktails.  I had the Sassafras made with Bowmore Single Malt Scotch, Clear Creek Kirschwasser, Black Burch Gomme, and smoked cherry ice.  It was complex, boozy, sweet, but not overdone, and smoky aided by the essence of smoke slowly released by the ice melting in the drink.  It was an exquisite drink and reminded me of the "Smokin' Cherry" I had at RN74 in Seattle. <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/rn74-seattle#hrid:GU-TeXVsyWDh_dWRwnPFmg/src:self">http://www.yelp.com/biz/…</a>
For our six oysters, we chose to have three Pacific Orchards from British Columbia, and three Naked Roys from Washington State. Â Since it was happy hour, we decided to also get the happy hour priced Chesapeake raised Barcats. Â All of the oysters were fresh, clean, and juicy! Â A quartet of sauces, a cocktail sauce, mignonette, yuzu-mirin, and their signature "Dive Juice" accompanied the oysters. Â I love Pacific oysters as I love their briny but clean, sharp flavor. Â That said, the local Barcats were nicely creamy and delicious, too! Â While the oysters went great with the sauces, they were perfect au naturale. Â For our pizzas, we had the Kennett Square Mushroom topped with mushrooms, mozzarella, truffle essence, and rosemary; and the Pie of the Day, which was all-meat pie with prosciutto, soppressata, and a couple of other cured Italian meats. Â While definitely possessing contrasting flavor profiles, both pies were satisfying, although I wish the thin crust would've been a bit crispier and perhaps charred ever so slightly. Â On this day, the Kennett Square was our favorite pizza. Â I closed out the meal with their Sazerac made with Rittenhouse Rye, Kubler Absinthe, Peychaud's Bitters, Lemon Gomme. Â It made for a happy ending!
Black Jack does fresh oysters and elevated bar food extremely well. Â Black Jack does cocktails extremely well. Â Black Jack is a very cool space. Â While it may not be the best place in each category (well, perhaps the Pearl Dive/Black Jack combo is the best place for oysters in town), Black Jack is a triple threat and certainly has to be in the discussion as the best overall bar/restaurant in DC.
A ton of fun.
We went in here just on the off chance. We had actually planned to a get a drink at Pearl Dive, which is down stairs, but it was so crowded with the post work happy hour crowd it just didn't even bear worth thinking about it, so we went upstairs instead.
Black Jack is associated with but not wholly the same place as Pearl Dive - or that's how our waiter made it sound. They share some menu items but seem to be largely independent. The atmosphere was great The booths are intimate, whilst the bar and sofa area are better for groups and anyone looking for a mingle.
I also liked that they have a TV, but it's projected on to the brick wall behind the bar, so you can check the score, but it's not intrusive and it doesn't detract from the ambiance. Don't get me wrong this is meant for serious sports viewing but it acknowledges that you might want to look at the score from out of the corner of your eye occasionally.
We had beer and were happy with the selection on offer. We also had snacks, the oysters (fantastic) and the duck confit nachos which were the kind of thing I have dreams about - hot, crunchy, meaty, sumptuousness. The pizzas also looked good and the mussels smelt out of this world.
They have a bocce court in the back which looks like a good time waiting to happen and the happy hour specials are a very decent way to start off the evening. I'd recommend this place over and over again to anyone.
Two experiences to review here:
About 3 months ago my girlfriend was getting her hair cut at Bang so I wandered around looking for a place to wait out the 2 hour ordeal. Â I stumbled upon Black Jack. Â I walked upstairs, found a nice seat at the bar and watched The Big Lebowski (they were showing it on the brick wall behind the bar). Â A very nice asian (I only say this because I really wish I had gotten her name since she was so good) bartender asked me what I would like and since I was a little undecided, she helped me decided on a manhattan (not on the menu, but she said she makes a mean one anyway). Â Since I love manhattans and have had many of them at any number of high-end bars in varying cities, I said why not. Â She knocked this drink out of the park!!!!! Â Friendly, fun, amazingly skilled (she made it just as Dale Degroff would have!!!!) and pleasant. Â I couldn't ask for anything more. Â
I enjoyed one or two more when my girlfriend joined me. Â She loved the decor and the drinks as well. Â We ordered a bacon sandwich (the Admiral? Â or something like that) and it rocked. Â The food was great. Â Service outstanding. Â And such a nice laid back vibe....
Fast forward to two weeks ago. Â My girlfriends birthday was coming up so I planned a little get-together at Black Jack. Â Again, amazing service, friendly staff, great drinks, food...amazing. Â BTW....we had one in our party who could only eat protein. Â Since they didn't really have anything that was pure protein on the menu, they offered to go downstairs to Pearl Dive and get her a plate of grilled shrimp. Â Not only did they do that for her, but they did it for another couple in our group who wanted shrimp!!!! Â Above and beyond. Â Thank you.
The night was filled with bocce, great drinks, good food, stellar service and good times. Â Black Jack, you went above and beyond for us. Â Thank you....we will be back often.
I finally set foot on this place earlier in the month and I really enjoyed the experience. The decor and vibe of the place it's really dark and sexy, but relaxed enough you can bring friends. It could also work as a great first date, though. The bar offers really nice cocktails. Although a little bit slow, the overall service was good. There was only one server that night and she managed to keep a smile on her face. I value that.
After thoroughly enjoying a half dozen oysters, we picked the Kennett Square Mushroom and the Spicy Grilled Shrimp pizzas. The server was good helping us making our oysters selection and we had nothing to complain about. I love how thin and flavorful the pies were. They were filling but not to the point that you have to unbutton your pants. We still had room for another half dozen oysters, which we ordered.
The Colonial was my cocktail pick for the night and it was so nice, that even my friend switched from his pick, the Maple Derby. Winna!! :) I definitely need to come back and try some of their other cocktails this fall.
Sitting around, sick with a fever, and all I can think about are the DUCK CONFIT NACHOS at Black Jack. Â These nachos simply redefine comfort food and then take it to the next level... heaven? Â Last time I was there I had the Green Chile Cheeseburger, medium. Â One of the best burgers I've had, ever, anywhere. Â I can't remember if it was the bartender or my boyfriend who called it a sleeper burger, but that's exactly what it is. Â We hoped for a decent burger before a long night of drinking, but this was absolute perfection. Â The best part? Â When I was finished, there was a strip of overboard bacon waiting for me. Â The cocktails were also amazing. Â Not the best I ever had, but if Churchkey is packed, I come here.
Lovely staff, cozy lighting, great music, lively/friendly crowd.
We went to BlackJack on a whim with a Groupon.  Tried the Maple Derby, Velvet Hour, El Dorado, and Blue Vein.  For those of you who like real cocktails, this place is awesome. Didn't think I would like the el dorado, which consists of jalapeño tequila and habareno (with lemon, pineapple, and orange bitters) but I was amazed at how much I liked it.  Upon initial sniff, it had a repelling spicy jalapeño smell, then upon first taste, it has a sort of spicy, yet slightly sweet flavor...and mysteriously you want to keep sipping over and over again to figure out the distinct flavors.  The velvet hour was also interesting, as it included flavors of clove, mango, ginger, something called goslings float, and a few exotic liqueurs that I have never seen mentioned or tasted before.
Love the sense of risk involved in creating these drinks via the use of exotic liqueurs and flavors that are likely to appeal to a niche crowd. Â They have successfully done it right!
We also ordered two pizzas, the Kennett Square Mushroom pizza and the Green Goddess pizza. Â Both pizzas were delicious and were thin cracker crust style. Â The green salad pizza was crisp and refreshing with flavors of broccoli, artichoke, provolone, and some pesto. Â The mushroom pizza was more delish and creamy, with flavors of truffle oil, rosemary, and a few types of mushrooms I can't remember. Â
Very happy with my meal and date there!
A little hidden gem of DC that is so awesome!
No sign except the word "bar" on the door: make your way up the stairs, and you get transported to this 1920s, Moulin Rouge, vaudeville lounge. Definitely a very vintage feel that still is casual yet classy.
My friend and I came here during the week, and it was still hard to find a seat. They have a room to play bocce ball in the back (which was kind of cool), but there is limited seating available. We however, manage to snag a two seater in a great spot and right in front of the bar (where we were able to watch women's volleyball win gold! U-S-A!). It is a little loud, so while I really liked the environment, I found it to be a little difficult at times to have a good conversation with her because I felt like I had to shout at certain times. On the bright side, all that noise allowed us to drown everything out, so it was like our surroundings did not even matter to us. I want to come back here for a Friday night, to just hang out with friends. They also have a downstairs portion, which is much quieter, but I just prefer the upstairs so much more--more lively.
Our waitress was outgoing and attentive, and was very honest in her recommendations, which I appreciated. We ordered beers around $3-4 (they are usually around $5-7). While there is a large selection by the can, I wish they had more beers on tap.
My friend ordered the fries while I ordered the mushroom american pie. For some reason, I kept thinking that the american pie would be some sort of shepard's pie, but I realized that it was going to be a pizza when it came out. Regardless, the pizza was good--a lot of mushrooms and mozzarella. It was nice because it was so thin, and thus I was able to eat about 4 slices without feeling super full (just perfect). I also had some of the fries that my friend raved about here, and the fries offer 3 sauces. To be honest, not terribly great, and I prefer just regular fries and ketchup. The next time I come back, I do want to order the mussels because they just looked oh-so-good.
Visited Black Jack on a weekday night this week, and this is clearly DC's best kept secret, for now. The ambience of this place is remarkable, as it almost feels like vaudeville, and a bit like you've stepped into Moulin Rouge that's also a sports bar! Great big TV in the main bar area, comfortable couches on the side by the window, for having an intimate conversation, and a bocce court with TVs and old style football stadium seats in the back. The music was also very nice.
I can't report on the food, but the Velvet Hour frozen cocktail is the best cocktail I've had anywhere except The Gibson in DC: rum, mango, ginger, and a bunch of other delicious flavors. At $12 it wasn't cheap, but it was worth every penny.
Great location, a great addition to the Logan Circle neighborhood. A good place to come on a date, and also a good place to come by yourself if you want to cozy up to the bar and watch their massive TV. This is a new favorite!
This place is a hidden gem. How does it only have 24 reviews?
Happy hour is a definitely steal and it runs ALL DAY on Sunday. OMG UNBELIEVABLE. Great food, but maybe only adequate service. But honestly, if you're in good company, the food could take an hour, and as long as I wasn't starving, I'd probably put up. They've got interesting beers on tap and $1 oysters during happy hour.
They've got Bocce ball, a decent cocktail list, a few obscure brews on tap, and a very polished sense of whimsy decor - altogether a solid place - maybe, particularly for those days you look nicer than not.
This place was great! I came here for Happy hour yesterday and absolutely LOVED the ambiance. Â The food probably gets a solid 3.5, but the setting gets a 5. Â Anyplace with Boccie ball courts is A-Okay with me! My bf and I tried quite a few things:
Green Goddess: Tasty, wasn't really expecting a salad on top of my pizza, but it was good.
Kennett Square Mushroom: the Rosemary and truffle oil added a nice twist to the pizza.
All of the drinks were great: The Colonial and The Velvet Hour (my fave)
The dessert Peanut Butter pie with salted caramel and the fried pickles were ok.
The service was also great. Â I only wish the server knew the reasons behind the names of the pizzas. Nonetheless, I left pretty satisfied!
Cool decor and good happy hour prices - pizzas were $6! Â They had some really interesting cocktails - I got one that came out of a slurpee machine with a mint sprig on top. Â Soooo good, I wish I remember what it was called. Â Boyfriend got a drink with rye and bitters in it and that was pretty good too, if strong! Â 1/2 price for the cocktails, though they weren't exactly cheap.
As for the pizza, boyfriend's margharita pizza was amazing. Â I also liked my mushroom truffle pizza though it was very strong and rich. Â It actually didn't sit well with me, and I ended up throwing up after eating my truffle pizza leftovers because it was just too rich for breakfast. Â I am actually not sure if I would get it again, even though it didn't taste bad.
It was a little dark up there, but I generally liked the decor with the red velvet curtains and I like their monkey logo. Â Unisex bathrooms are also a plus. Â We also checked out the area in the back, which is a "bocce" court. Â I don't really know what bocce is, but the theater-like spectator seats were interesting. Â I just wish someone was in there playing so we could see it!
In the end, the bar is a solid "I like it" though it is not my favorite bar in the world. Â Its also hard not to compare it to Pearl Dive downstairs, which I liked better. Â 3 stars.
Pretty good happy hour at Black Jack, though for drinks (particularly wine) and oysters, I prefer Hank's as a similar destination better suited to my taste.
We ordered a dozen oysters for the table, priced at half off for HH, though we were limited to one type of oyster, which makes this place slightly less exciting than Hank's. They were delicious, but all of the brine had been drained out of them, making them less slurpy and less flavorful. The mushroom pizza with truffles was quite good, the margherita was far less satisfying. At $5 a pop, though, nobody was complaining. Wine was also priced at $5, but you are again limited to one choice each for red and white.
From what I've experienced so far, Black Jack and Pearl Dive are a fun place for drinks, but not an exciting culinary destination. I haven't yet checked out the bocce ball court, however, and I will certainly come back if only to give it a whirl.
I was taken here by a coworker and some other coworker friends on a Friday night and while it was mad crowded, I was told it was totally worth it. And indeed it was!
Let me take a quick second to beat a dead horse: the bar gets crowded. This, and every other DC bar that is even remotely decent. While Black Jack is definitely a step above the rest, take it upon yourselves, Yelpers, to get there a little bit early, stakeout a spot and kick it.
When I popped it, it was stop #2 of the night at around 11pm/ 11:30pm. We were able to snag a spot near the bar but close to the art vending machine (!) which made for good people watching (drunk Italian dude, trying to make out/ dance with all the ladies at the bar). The service was the only downer, but what can you expect on a Friday night? Instead of ordering a simple draught beer, I ordered a negroni. While I wasn't exactly trying to test the barman's cocktail making skills, I can attest that the negroni was made right. Kudos, sir.
When the bar started to clear out, we slowly made our way to the bocce ball courts. If you get stage fright, best not to play bocce when it's busy, as there is "spectator" seating on that end of the bar. What's also nice is that there is a mini bar setup near the end of the bocce court with Black Jack ladies slinging beer. Quite convenient if you're only drinking beers and would rather not venture back out to the main bar area.
I've been to Black Jack several times on different days of the week and have always enjoyed myself. It gets crowded on Friday and Saturday so I recommend getting there early (before 10), grabbing a good spot near the bar or at one of the few tables, and starting your night off with one of the signature cocktails that come with super fresh ingredients  that you can see lined up on the bar.
If you don't feel like one of the cocktails, which can be pricey, Black Jack has a decent beer selection as well as your typical full bar.
I love how this place is decorated, from the flashing red G O L F sign to the classic movies streaming on the exposed brick wall above the bar. The crowd is pretty diverse because of the newness factor of this place - I'm interested to see how it ends up.
Much like every other bar in DC, the crowd can get quite massive here. I absolutely love the decor and ambiance - it's just fabulous.
The beer offerings are pretty decent.
And there's two bocce ball courts in the back. The back also includes a couple rows of stadium-style seating, so you can truly enjoy being a spectator of the bocce games.
And there's a server who takes orders from those in the back, which is nice.
Didn't try the food aside from the fries (which come with three, yes three, dipping sauces!), but the fries were yummy and the other food being brought around looked delicious.
Aside from the crowd, this bar is a definite winner of repeat visits.
Incredibly nice, helpful, and engaging staff to include our waitress and the manager who came by to chit chat with us about drinks that might not have been perfect at first and such... And they replaced the drinks with other really great drinks. Â So 5 stars for great staff, service, and drinks.
Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by the crowd. Maybe it's me. Â I'm not a fan of coked up gentlemen or gold-digging ladies, and I really don't care if the guy from Lost is here. Â Although to be fair, he was very cool while giddy school-girls blinked stars at him. Â But the place gave me a very look-at-me-and-how-important-I-am kind of feeling that I get when I'm in LA. Â I hate that feeling. Â That's why when given the option of living in LA this year, I turned it down. This name-dropping, drug-using, self-important and self-indulgent vibe is unsavory at best.
Anywho, I thought I'd give the place a 1 star review, as I never plan on coming back, but most of the downside was stuff that management couldn't really change and probably doesn't want to change as long as the coffers keep getting filled every night. Â Just because I'm more of a speakeasy kind of girl and this place isn't that kind of place, I shouldn't hold it against them. Plus, maybe I just ran into the wrong people that night.
One thing they could change... The place was a little too packed. Â Although the broad-shouldered Brazilian at the door did a good job of limiting the number of people going in, to include simply rolling his eyes at the arrogant tipsy bottle-blondes incessantly whining and huffing at him to let them upstairs, once I got upstairs and had to wait in the line for the one-seater bathroom, I started to wonder about fire codes.
No matter where you were, you were running into people. Â The bathroom line curled into the main walk-thru to and from the bocce ball area, and you couldn't stand there waiting without getting constantly run over by people. Â Said differently, you couldn't get from one room to the next without running into people waiting for the bathroom. The bathroom was thankfully quite spacious once you were inside it, though. Â I sadly treasured that quiet moment.
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