I love me a good dive bar and this place doesn't disappoint. The dark colors and plain wood tables outside emphasize their focus -- the drinks! Â
Or is it??? Â You might be surprised to know that the food here is outstanding. Not only did I have one of the best bloody mary's in the city here (which I attribute to the right about of citrus), but they had a killer brunch to boot. I've visited twice more for the food - again for brunch and once for dinner. Â My favorite thing about brunch is that you can get half-sized portions, which according to my calorie-counting ap, is all you really need.
Gripe - the bathroom. A. It's all black and looks super skeevy. 2. It's co-ed, which doesn't usually bother me but... again, it looks so skeevy. Also the door slams closed if you don't hold it - BANG!
So hold it in, drink 'em down and eat up!
I come here for the wings. Â I like my wings very spicy. Â They have tried to make it as hot as humanly possible with the ingredients they have back in the kitchen but they still aren't hot enough for me and the chef always seem disappointed that I'm not crying. Â So, anyway the wings are good. Â The burgers are ok, but other people have said they are the best in the area. Â Personal preferences.
The beer. Â Well, they have a small selection and none are outstanding. Â I drink the brown ale because its the only one I can stand. Â They have large liquor bar and they are good at drinking most under the table.
The place is a dive, however its a local hangout and all the people that come here are alway friendly and most can have a decent conversation about anything, even religion and politics!
I suppose this is categorized as a dive bar, but I've been to places way divey-er than this! Elixir has that small, local feel to it without being overly trashy like some dives -- that can be a good or a bad thing, depending on your preference. In my opinion, this place strikes the perfect balance: 1 or 2 shady loners in the corners, a handful of regulars, and no bro's.
Happy hour prices are wonderfully inexpensive, the bartenders are super friendly and attentive, and they have a full menu of some of the best bar food I've ever had. Â Top that off with some great music playing on the jukebox (the new digital kind, not the old school one) and a few arcade games and you'll definitely have yourself a good time.
This place is pretty rad if you're down with the divey bar scene. Â The spicy Thai wings and street tacos might be the best in Sac! Â Food and drinks are served pretty consistently within a reasonable amount of time. Â Bartender Christina is great! Â She remembers our usual orders, makes suggestions about drinks she thinks we might like and is always fun.
They also allow dogs. Â My girlfriend and I haven't brought our dogs down there yet but it's always cool to see other dogs there. Â Plus it's nice to know that we could if we wanted to.
This place is a great, loud, punk rock, dive bar! Â We try to get down there at least once a week for tasty tacos!
I love everything about this bar!!!
This place is the awesomest bar in Sacramento: cheap drinks, great food, and kick ass people running the show!
The kitchen is exceptional. The Firecracker Burger, the Chicken Strips with a GIANT basket of fries, the Calzone or any of their pizzas are amazing. And during the weekend they have a tremendous brunch menu with daily specials with killer bloody marys and  bottomless mimosas.
As far as drinking goes, whatever you want they got and then some. Full bar, plenty of draft and bottled beer options and any or all of their bartenders (especially Curt and Christina) can get super creative. I went to Elixer for my birthday and Christina absolutely destoyed me with shot after shot, each one different from the last, that was 6 weeks ago...I STILL HAVE YET TO RECOVER!!!
Not really my crowd, but had a good time with friends. I feel like I was in a trendy biker bar with bikers and bros and metal heads. The bar service was meh, but the kitchen staff was on point. They were quick and on point, my friends and I ordered fish and chips and they both got chicken strips and fries. I wish I got the strips, they were rather tasty while my fish was a bit greasy. Their house made ranch dressing is heavenly. The fries were okay very soft, they needed salt, but couldn't find any. I'm dying to try their bloody mary.
Review Source:Hidden between Waffle Square and Fox and Goose, this bar has a decent crowd for Friday happy hour. We stumbled in here after we found out Old Ironsides had a $14 cover. It's a good alternative drinking spot and has a nice dive bar feel to it. The patio area is great for warmer nights on the town.
Review Source:My very good friend, Hong, suggested to go to this bar on this beautiful Friday night. I've never been, so I was very curious about this dive bar she likes so much.
I arrived before my girlfriends, around 8:30pm, and headed straight to the bar. It's a pretty small space: they have one bar, a few seating areas inside, and a patio with additional seating. It was very chill when I got there, but I wasn't greeted until a sweet, petite asian woman approached me, asking me what I would like to drink. I got a gin & tonic, which was only $4. After waiting several minutes, my girlfriends showed up and started looking at their menu; after I tasted the garlic fries, I was pretty hooked and had to order myself some food. I ended up getting a garden burger with blu cheese, fried egg, and a side or sweet potato fries (all up charges keep in mind). I have to say I was pretty satisfied and full, considering how messy it was to eat. Purchasing the burger and another gin & tonic came out to $16. Overall, I spent $25 at this location, which is pretty great!
The staff was pretty on it, clearing off any empty plate or cup they saw. The only thing I could possibly complain about is the restrooms. First of all, it was hard to find; you wouldn't know where it is unless someone guided you. There are no signs indicating where the restroom is and seems a little unkept, which, I guess, works with the whole vibe. Other than that, I had a good experience and I wouldn't mind going back with a few friends to eat and have a few drinks.
I've been here a few times....awesome little hole in the wall. The bartender, Christina, is amazing, and coming here for birthday celebrations is always a treat because she whips up the best birthday drinks, with tons of whipped cream, cherries and flames. The sampler platter is seriously the best thing to satiate drunk munchies, and the drinks are pretty strong. The bathrooms are terrifyingly dirty, but I don't care about that... Not a whole lot of seating inside, but that's ok, because the patio area is the best place to hang out at. All in all, a great place to hang out with friends - low-key, friendly, and with a great mix of people.
Review Source:I come for the Stout, I stay for the food. The Deschutes Obsidian Stout, pulled on Nitro. pretty standard pricing.
Love the garlic fries enough to have gotten seconds. The only reason I stumbled here is because F&G will close before Elixir some nights, and you just want something kinda divey.
Add this to you next bar crawl.
4 times out of 5, we usually end up going to Elixir first and staying at Elixir or going somewhere for a split second and then heading over to Elixir. Â
We love the bouncer. Â He no longer needs to card us. Â We love the owner. Â She gives us hugs and makes us amazing shooters. Â And when we get a disgusting tasting shooter, it's okay because we'd been drinking her other amazing shooters before that one. Â
The crowd varies night by night. Â Some nights you'll get a bunch of dirty hipsters. Â Other nights you'll get a crowd listening to rap or grunge metal. Â Still other nights you'll see a crowd of AZN people hitting it up by storm. Â
Their burgers are amazing, and not just when you're drunk wasted either. Â And their garlic fries are so good and garlicy, you won't even care that your breath is indeliberately man repelling for you the rest of the night. Â
Bottom line: if you want to have a good time with good friends and good drinks, you need to treat the bartenders good as well.
Decided to try this place on a whim, based on other's reviews.
The burgers are yummy, and there are not many places I know that serve a fried egg on a burger. Dinner was also served quickly.
The atmosphere is definetly one of a run down bar. There were two other patrons as the time, both loud and drunk. Which at least made for interesting people watching.
Now that I've been here for brunch, happy hour, and a Saturday night, I finally feel qualified to review.
Brunch - holy balls, guys.
I've been noticing a pattern in which their food kicks ass all the time, but their breakfast was better than most places in Midtown. I got the basic breakfast (two sunny side up eggs, house potatoes, english muffin, and sausage). Boyfriend got some kind of omelet with peppers and tomatoes in it.
Everything was good, but the potatoes really shined. They use some kind of mustard seasoning and the spuds were done perfectly. Big chunky pieces of onion complemented the taters awesomely. Their sausage was good in flavor, but has a weird ground patty texture that I wasn't crazy about. I'm sure it's because they make their sausage there, but it was a little weird. Pretty sure all breakfast items were under $10. Plus, they do brunch from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on Sunday so hungover hot messes like me can make it out.
Also, I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say they have the best Bloody Mary in town.
Happy Hour - totally fun.
Met up with a few friends for beers on the patio. Shared some sweet potato fries (omg so good gimme moar) and shot the shit.
Saturday Night - I loved it, even though I didn't want to.
I'm a big ol' grump when it comes to Second Saturday. Generally I hide in my house and hate everyone. A friend of a friend had an art show at Elixir this last weekend so I figured, hey - maybe it's far enough away from the main Second Saturday craziness that it won't be that bad. You know what? It was not only not that bad, it was totally rad.
The beers are cheap. The drinks are stiff. The patrons seem to be either friendly or into minding their own business. The bartenders are totally nice. It's not creepily quiet, but not so loud that you have to scream to order a drink. We kept ordering snacks like sweet potato fries and gyoza.
This is a great bar, and I will be back at all odd hours of the day, for all kinds of reasons.
Dirty, run down bar. We went in at 1130 am on Saturday. There were only 4 other customers in there. We ordered our drinks and food at the bar counter then went to sit down. We sat for an hour and the bartender never said a word to us about our food. So we got up to tell him we wanted to pay for our drinks and leaving. He told us he only had one cook in the back and that it will only take 2 more minutes. We ordered biscuits and gravy and a veggie omlett....took them an hour! We took it to go. (As we were standing there waiting for our food to go - another couple who were waiting at the bar commented "We been waiting for 45 mins too...It's not like its extra busy in here!"
When I got home, my omlett didnt come with toasts (like it said on the menu). I counted exactly 6 pieces of zucchinis and a cup of sun dried tomatoes! That was my whole omlett! Then when I was eating it, I got a mouthful of eggshells! OMG this was the worst breakfast I ever had. I dont know how everyone else even gave them 4 and 5 stars. YOu must have been so drunk to even know I guess. Â This place should be inspected by the health dept!
This is definitely my spot. It is everything I expect a dive bar to be. Not so pretty looking but it has cheap drinks and good food. The BF and I always makes this our last stop of the night when we go bar hopping. The security guy always remembers us and is actually really nice.
This place is a hit or miss. Sometimes it's packed and other times it's not. I could care less as long as I can get a seat at one of their shaky tables with dilapidated bar stools. The drinks are good but the food is great!! Everyone must try their garlic fries, burgers and pizzas! Totally fulfills my late night cravings.
Pretty much one of my favorite bars in Sacramento.
First off... The bartender was super sweet on Friday night! The drinks were good and cheap, which I love. This is a little hole in the wall bar, tucked away in downtown.
The best part of this place is the FOOD! We had the garlic fries, chicken strips and fries, and the wings! Everything was delish!
I will be back
I've been to Elixir a couple of times....once at night for drinks and once on a Sunday for brunch. Â The drinks are cheap and the food is good. Â It's a hole in the wall dive bar and totally casual.
The bartender mixes up a KILLER bloody mary!!! Â OMG... we couldn't get enough and he kept 'em coming fast while we were eating our huevos rancheros with chorizo. Â SO GOOD!!!
You should know that this is kind of a self-serve spot. Â I waited for 10 minutes before I decided to approach the bar and ask if we seat ourselves and then another 10 before I went back to the bar and asked for menus. Â It was a little weird not having a waiter. Â There was only the chef and the bartender. Â You even pour your own water and grab your utensils at the end of the bar. Â Luckily, it was a lazy Sunday afternoon and I wasn't in a hurry.
The food was so worth the wait and I will be back for more bloody mary's.
I got introduced to this place by Angelo, who has some kind of trivia obsession there. Â The trivia is fun, I'll say that! Â This place is a straight up dive, nothing fancy, but it's pretty chill.
YOU HAVE TO TRY THEIR SPICY THAI WINGS!!!
Now i'm not a connoisseur of chicken wings, with all the buffalo sauce etc. Â They actually seem a bit silly to me, so little meat, sucking on bones, and so much fat. Â That said, i tip my hat to the bugger who thought of marketing a once waste product.
Nevertheless, these wings have to be the tastiest in Sacramento. Â Bar none! Â
It's worth putting on your dirty clothes and dropping in to try them. Â The drinks are good too and the staff is super friendly.
And if you're one of those peeps loads with useless information, drop in for the trivia on Wednesday nite. Â You'll like it...
I arrived a few minutes before my companions, and during that time I couldn't help remembering all those 5 star reviews in Yelp and wondering if perhaps I was in the wrong place. Â I mean this is a DIVE, the genuine article and not some imitation one disguised by some restaurant conglomerate. Â I wouldn't take your parents or in-laws here unless they are very laid back.
Truth in disclosure: Â This review is based on a 1PM visit for Sunday brunch. I have NOT tried any dishes from their weekday menu. Â
Their brunch menu is one of the more eclectic I've seen in Sacramento, it's more reminiscent of one you might expect in NOLA, San Francisco or Austin, TX.  There is one menu offering for the non-adventurous, the basic two eggs any style with choice of breakfast meats plus potatoes & toast.  Then you come to a couple classic brunch dishes like eggs Benedict or huevos rancheros, though once you read the menu descriptions you realize these will be anything but ordinary, as their talented chef has a unusual twist or two  planned for you.  I sampled my friends huevos and they were delicious with a nice spicy kick.
There are a couple of dishes I'll call "Asian fusion" cuisine for lack of a better term. Â The one I tried, who's name eludes me, was a ground pork and scrambled egg number, flavored with ginger, garlic and scallions and mixed with a very generous helping of fresh spinach. Â It was without a doubt the tastiest and most unique breakfast I can remember eating. Â There was also a fried rice dish with spam and eggs, something any Hawaiian would love and you might as well.
Other vegetarian offerings included a huge fresh veggie omelet with home fries as well as oatmeal. Â
We all enjoyed our meals and are planning a return visit soon.
I have to say I am a bit torn with my rating for Elixir. Â On one hand, I am just not a fan of the stark decor and the limited beer selection. Â But on the other hand, they do get some major points for their food. Â It's more than a 3 but I'm not sure it's quite a 4 but I will be giving them the benefit of the doubt.
On this evening, our group decided to drop by here before a final destination at another bar where we'd be meeting some other friends. Â My beer of choice for this trip was Deschutes Mirror Pond Pale Ale - pretty standard beer that you'd easily find in any supermarket - it's a crisp, lightly bitter, lightly hoppy beer. Â I'd have preferred something with more kick but this was okay. Â
Our group of 4 ordered a carte blanche of appetizer food. Â The Salt and Pepper Wings were flavorful and nicely fried. Â Not oily at all and very crisp. Â The Thai wings had a sweet and spicy kick to them - a bit messy and not my fav. Â The mozzarella sticks were awesome - also masterfully fried. Â Regular Fries were okay - I think they might have lacked some salt. Â Garlic fries had just the right amount of garlic.
Individual Ratings:
Salt and Pepper Wings    5/5
Thai Wings              3/5
Mozzarella Sticks         4/5
Reg Fries                3/5
Garlic Fries              4/5
Elixir to me is exactly our trip this evening. Â It is not exactly on the top of my mind when going out as I definitely prefer going to other bars, but the good food and cheap drinks make it a worthwhile 1st or 2nd pit stop in a nighttime outing.
The 10 Second Takeaway:
+Masterfully fried goodness (Salt+Pepper Wings, Mozzarella Sticks, Garlic Fries)
+Cheap Prices on Beer
-Beer Selection
This is bad. All bad. Bad because I just went to Elixir, which is a block away from my office, for the first time in years and tried their food. Before I ordered I checked to see what yelp had to say and it seemed the garlic fries and the salt and pepper wings were the items getting pumped up.
Thank you yelp. I expected some Costco wings that possibly tasted ok and were cooked well. Looking back these might be some of the best wings I've eaten. I've tried a lot of wings. I can go through wings like a tsunami. These are some damn tasty wings. Maybe a little salty, but they're called salt and pepper wings so it's excusable. They have such a perfect crisp to them I had to ask what the batter consisted of. And they were cooked perfectly. Not overcooked and dry like some places tend to do.
As for the fries I would say most garlic fries out there don't have nearly enough garlic. Why? I'm not sure, maybe because chefs are afraid of over powering the dish. Kind of like when a waiter tells you something is spicy so be careful. How often is it really that spicy? Rarely if ever does a dish provide that kick the waiter warned me about. Well these fries pack a garlic punch. I've just brushed my teeth and I still taste the garlic floating around. This isn't a bad thing.
So I guess I found a new spot to start bringing friends to and to have it so close to me is just a damn shame. Be ready for the chicken holocaust. Bad for me and bad for chickens.
HOLE IN THE WALL!
I love hole in the wall places, best food, best drink deals, and great service.
FOOD!!!
I've had their garlic fries, royal burger and fried chicken sando. All awesome!
BAR
fast and friendly, cheap and strong!
I would highly recommend this place to anyone who wants to just chill and have some good food and drinks.
Elixir is full of surprises. First of all, if you don't have a keen eye, you're likely to miss it. It's not a hole in the wall, per se. More like a hole in a...parking lot. But of all the holy holes in the whole world, it's hole-acious!
Erm. Let's try again.
You'll find Elixir nestled in the cleavage formed by Old Ironside and Fox and Goose. While it may be small and dark and odd, it pleases. And surprises. Not necessarily by the set of beers offered on tap or bottled, or the traditional well, or the casual service. What really makes you take notice?
The food.
Yup. Late night grub, lunch and especially the weekend brunch. Someone back behind the swinging door knows what they're doing. From burgers and fries to eggs benny to something called "breakfast fried rice," all morsels have been tasty and satisfying. The home fries you get with morning fare--crispy potatoes mingling with green onion and red and green bell peppers--are particularly good.
So check out Elixir. It may not look like much but it's a great little place to eat, drink and be surprised.
It's taken me a long time to write a review of this place, mostly because I don't want one of my absolute favorite happy hour spots to get lame reviews by dive bar haters!
Elixir has what every great dive bar needs: Â plenty of beers on tap and by the bottle, attentive bartenders that will make great drinks and suggest drinks that you wouldn't know you would like (cherry limeade? SOLD!!!), not too big (5 tables inside), good food (even sober), music, and of course cramp and barely passing inspection bathrooms.
Their happy hour menu is cheap (where else can you get $3 drinks and discounted appetizers), and the outdoor seating area is plentiful, which is great for the summer time. I would strongly suggest the salt and pepper wings, any of the burgers (especially the one with a fried egg), and they give you plenty of fries (garlic fries are awesome!). Â They know that the kitchen closes early at Fox and Goose, so you can buy Elixir food and bring it over. =)
They have some of the best bartenders in Sacramento (SN&R awards on the wall prove it), and I hope Elixir stays open forever!
Had seen this place multiple times while visiting Old I's and Fox and Goose but never really gave it much credence as it looks like a dump from the outside.  So I set up a pub crawl and put Elixir as the second bar on the tour.  My first taste of the bar came from its decor.  Pretty simple but  yet it was everything you could want.  They have some interesting crap on the walls to look at when conversation dies down, a juke box, and a terrific outside patio for you to enjoy on those lovely Sacramento days.  My second taste came with my gin and tonic.  I'm not a huge fan of gin or tonic... so it was a rough drink, but that was the drink that was required for the pub crawl so I drowned mine in lime and slugged it down.  Not a bad first impression... 3 stars.
Then my good friend told me about this bar's food and one night a group of us met up and tried out several of their burgers. Â Wow... excellent. Â I had the western burger which is basically similar to the Carl's Jr kind... but WAYYYYY better! Â My burger was even a little burnt on the bun and even that couldn't detract from the wonderful taste of everything this plate had to offer. Â Then I had a couple bites of their wings. Â I am not a wing fan... except if they are Elixir wings. Â Crispy, juicy, tongue tingling... what more could you want?? Oh, maybe some homemade ranch!? Â Yes, they've got that too. Â Damn, my mouth is watering just thinking about them.
I have also tried the pizza and the calzone, both of which are delicious and unique. Â The calzone is HUGE! Â Be prepared to stuff yourself with this inside out pizza. Â The pizza was also pretty big. Â The great thing is that they make their own dough and sauce. Â The dough makes for a crunchy crust until you get to the handle and then it softens up. Â The sauce is nice and thick so you get that great tomato paste taste in every bite. Â I think I will ask for extra sauce so that I can dip my crust in it.
Finally, drinks are inexpensive and they have a decent selection of beers which is great considering that a lot of bars in Sacto have similar beers while this one provides a little variety. Â
Four stars because I don't really want a whole lot of new people to go here and make it crowded.
I've been going to Elixir for years. I'll spare the details but trust me on this: The determining factor of a thumbs up or down at this bar is:
1. Who you are
2. Who you know
3. What you do
Somedays I fit in just fine, and other days the record stops when I walk in the door and everyone stares at you like Pretty Woman in a high end clothing store.
This place gets one star for each time I've been there in the past week. Considering my ADHD when it comes to eating, that should say plenty about this place... but I'm a long-winded person, so let me continue.
I've heard about Elixir from various people over the past few years, but never made my way there until sometime last week. It only took one bite of their chicken wings to sell me on the place. In the past six days I've eaten the following:
Salt & Pepper Chicken Wings
Amazingly crispy and juicy. That bit of cornstarch they add to their batter elevate the wings and the person eating them to another plane. Eat them with your choice of Frank's Red Hot, homemade ranch, homemade barbecue, whatever. If you come here, order one of these to nosh on while you wait for your actual meal, you can't go wrong.
Royale Burger
The burger that has won Elixir its awards--and with good reason. Adding an egg and bacon to a burger isn't uncommon, so I didn't think I'd be as impressed as I was with the first bite of this burger. Everything about this burger is perfect. Bite into it and let the yolk drizzle out on top of your fries so the eggy goodness lasts even longer.
Grilled Cheese
Perfectly fried with a bit of garlic butter and three cheeses. Simple, yet on a whole different level.
Cheese Steak (a.k.a. Steak Sandwich)
I actually ordered the "cheese sticks," but I tend to mumble so I ended up getting two sandwiches that night. BEST MISTAKE EVER! This is hands down my favorite cheese steak in Sacramento. I'm a simple man, so I don't need no bellpeppers messing up my cheesy, meaty, mushroomy goodness. Instead of detracting from the savory cheesy goodness, that hint of teriyaki ties everything together so well, you'll finish both halves of your sandwich before you remember to reach for a french fry.
Garlic Fries
...that is, unless you ordered their garlic fries. Now, this place has fan-frackin-tastic fries. They're those perfectly crispy and skinny fries that everyone who isn't an idiot loves. That's right, I'm calling all you steak/fat fries lovers out, skinny fries is where it's at. If you get the garlic version of these fries, you can more or less guarantee you're going home alone, but they're so damn good being forever alone never felt so damn good. The garlic is evenly distributed and infused  into each and every fry. None of that garlic bomb shit that you get when a place dumps minced garlic on top of your fries... this is the real shit. Did I mention that they're damn good?
Corn Dogs
These are about the size of my thumb and tastier too. The batter almost reminds me of the skin of a eggroll or something. I'd recommend getting them as part of the sampler, rather than going all out with just this menu item.
Onion Rings
Tasty and crispy. If you like donut onion rings, then this dish is not for you. These are the delicious flaky onion rings that go well with anything... like beer or a tub full of ice cream. Also part of the sampler.
Gyoza
/shrug. They're gyoza. Really hard to improve or mess this one up. Also part of the sampler.
Mozzarella Sticks
These were delicious. If you're a cheese stick connoisseur, do yourself a favor and try some of these. The breading is tasty, the cheese is soft and tasty. When you bite into them you'll feel like the cheese stick just violated your mouth, but in such a good way you'll actually swallow. Also part of the sampler.
Chicken Strips
Standard chicken strips. If you like chicken strips, you'll like these. Personally, I'm more of a wing person, but this place has enough sauces to make me enjoy each and every bite. Also part of the sampler.
Western Burger
If you're allergic to pineapples, kill yourself now. Life simply is not worth living if you can't enjoy this wonderful creation. The pineapply tanginess of their barbecue sauce, mixed with the aforementioned onion rings, plus some nice fat and juicy bacon makes this a real contender for the royale. I enjoyed both burgers immensely, but this one really blew my mind. I've had many iterations of this burger throughout my life, so I didn't think there'd be much room for improvement. Especially with such a "heavy" type of burger, but Elixir proved me wrong... so deliciously wrong.
Chicken Sandwich (special)
I left my credit card at the bar the night before, so I used it as an excuse to return the next day. I told the chef to make me whatever he wanted, so he made me that day's special: Grilled chicken, brushed in a lemon aioli, with heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil, on a delicious bun. Just because you're at a dive bar downtown doesn't mean you can't eat some classy, locally grown food. THIS IS WHY SACRAMENTO IS AWESOME!
I'll be trying out their pizza sometime within the next few days... or next few hours. They serve food 'til 1am.
OH YEA! I totally forgot that the drinks are pretty cheap here and the bartenders are awesome and super friendly. Totally forgot I was reviewing a bar for a second there... totally.
I'm ashamed to say it, but up until a couple weeks ago I had never been to the Elixir Bar. It's location set back off the street in an area of town I rarely visit made it a low priority. Fortunately some friends convinced me to go here after another raucous Humpy Hour UYE - this time at Old Ironsides.
Elixir keeps it simple but provides everything a dive bar connoisseur needs. They've got some decent beers on tap, a well-stocked jukebox, pinball and an outdoor seating area. Visit on a weeknight and you'll never feel crowded or pushed aside.
The food is a step above your usual dive bar fare. Maybe I was just buzzed or maybe it was the sound of Phil Collins singing "Sussudio" in the background, but their grilled cheese sandwich and fries tasted absolutely fantastic.
Ang C and Ms. Bartender, Christina, informed me that they are now opened at 9am for Sunday brunch. The menu will be created around seasonal ingredients. Those of you fiening for bottomless mimosas, fear not, you can get them here too with a purchase of an entree.
On a side note, if you just need one drink as a night cap, try Christina's Minderaser. I thought I was warming up for the evening when I had this monster and I was pretty much dunzo afterwards.
Elixir, I finally got a chance to check you out. Â You are really comfy in an unfortunate bachelor pad kind of way with an awesome happy our and friendly service. Â Overall, I proclaim this place a comfortable place to drink.
Also I totally dig the spicy Thai wings. Â The sauce is like 5 parts honey, 1 part red pepper flakes, one part sriracha, and 10 parts delicious. Â It's totally the kind of thing you crave while inebriated. Â Your shirt and pants crave it too. Â It's hard to keep the sauce off them.
The sandwiches looked good too, but I didn't try one. Â
Cool, affordable place for an after work game on TV and beer. Â Do it.
Back in town for the weekend, I decided to venture out with some friends to Elixir. To my surprise, Elixir was quite the hit with a good mixed crowd. It now has a soft spot in my heart since it was one, a place to run into old time buddies, two a nice hang out with good friends, and three the diverse blasting music took me back to my college days.
Elixir is an average sized spot with a full bar (no pitchers of beer), and late night eats (always a hit with late night drinking!). Busy on a Saturday night, the bartender that seemed to be working alone was great handling the drunkies ordering. A little long, but be patient (she was workin hard!). Â The food wasn't bad, especially if you've had a few drinks (nothin' like some yummy crispy fries & mini corndogs!).
The patio was a nice spot to hang out on a clear night. Only downfall, the yucky unisex bathroom. Watch for germ bugs :) Â Aside from that, I had a blast and won't mind returning for some Elixir bar fun!
So call me an arrogant bitch when I live downtown but have not really ventured past Q street to check out other local haunts and hangouts of the natives. Â Maybe Old Ironsides, but that was with a musician friend and anything for artists!!
I've driven by this establishment several times but due to the location and the somewhat nondescript way it is tucked away from the road made me ignorant. Â It was not until a midtown native and friend of mine dragged me out of the hushed somewhat anal area I live in for a late night crawl. Â I took off my sleeping cap and put on my shoes.
Not a dive bar, but my suspicions were erased the minute I entered the bar. Â Mellow, with a bunch of locals. Â Or at least people who did a good job of not looking like tourists. Â I ordered my usual, Bombay on the rocks with a splash of lime and my friend just stuck with beers of whatever they had on tap. Â My drink was strong. Â I forgot how bad I was with drinks in my old(er) agedom, so I asked for a splash of tonic water. Â I know I know, should have ordered a gin and tonic, dumbass!
It was loud, fun, and I liked how I did not feel like fodder for groping hands or roving eyeballs. Â Nothing worse than feeling the waves of men scoping out their bed for the night. Â Good thing my friend was with me. Â Or maybe they thought we were lesbians ;)
Great bar/lounge.....good strong drinks, and apparently, there was a menu as well (typical finger foods......great way to layer your stomach before delving off into alcohol land). Â But the drinks were good enough to put me to sound sleep. Â Plus, the bartender just had to have tattoos....hot hot!
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