Alliance Tavern

This is not a place we would normally go to, and it’s WAAAAY off the beaten path from our usual digs. Metro made it fairly easy to get to, though, (we got off at Tenleytown Station and caught the bus). I wish I could say it was immediately memorable and unique from any other bar/​restaurant we’ve been to, attempting to serve above-​average ‘pub-​grub.’ Alas, such was not the case as far as the place itself goes. The surrounding restaurants (Cactus Cantina and 2Amy’s) looked more interesting — AND busier! Hmmmm… maybe if they get permission from George Lucas, they could add a few STAR WARS tchotchkes and call it «The REBEL Alliance Tavern!» Maybe open an «Imperial Emporium» next door…
At least the food was pretty good, and thanks to our LivingSocial coupon (YES, those things again!) not too pricey. The Roasted Onion Dip with the homemade cottage fries was DEADLY (in a good way), so I’m glad I had the garden salad to distract me, along with the Tavern Burger (which would’ve been the capper, had the kitchen not been out of BACON!!!)
The service was more than adequate and the place pretty low-​key for a weekend (we went on a Saturday night.) I wish I could say the dessert menu tempted us, but we were more intrigued by the ice cream place next door, which we could see from where we sat on the back patio, (the name of it escapes me now, but the frozen yogurt there is to die for!)
All in all, just an okay place with some pretty good food if you’re hungry and only a little picky, plus some good drink to wash it down with. The highlight, however, was getting to walk around the fantastically funky neighborhood where the Tavern is located. Gave me a bit of a sad but sweet nostalgic feeling for the D.C. neighborhoods of old, when every place you walked felt a little like this.
So that’s the word I have to the owners/​managers of the Tavern: make the atmosphere and the menu match that «homey» feeling, and I think you will have a winner on your hands… and a place that will steal some of that thunder from across the street!

Service is horrible… food is ok — burgers are great. Bar is good. Other than typical Georgetown crowd. Great space — Mon hh $ 4 rail drinks.

We live right down the street and were initially excited when this place first showed up. Unfortunately, it’s multiple incarnations under the current owner created only aesthetic ambiance. The attitude of pretension which waves down from owner to staff is blatant and sours any experience (even more so than the overblown prices, even for this neighborhood). The owner has served us at the bar numerous times — both at Alliance and it’s predecessor Enology. He is consistent; condescending and indifferent. A friend summarized; «think of the last person you’d want to see in customer service. That’s him.». I’ve also seen him treat well intended and attentive staff poorly. The menu is fine. Lackluster. A waste — this place has such potential minus it’s seemingly egocentric owner.

I was so happy when this place came in place of the stuffy, pretentious wine bar that was here previously. They have a great beer selection, and pretty decent food. I came here on a Sunday, which is apparently all-​you-​can-​eat pasta sunday. Two choices, pork and veal bolognese, or clam linguine. Both very, very good for pub fare. I would definitely come back!

Drinks are strong, and not fruity the way I like them to be. Had to water down my gingered pear sidecar with cranberry juice. Tried the dark and stormy, not a fan. Did like the inappropriate though. Props for their naming technique.
This place is across the street from 2 Amy’s. Too bad they were closed bc pizza always helps my reviews.

Work in progress. The space is good. The drinks are good but the food needs major work. Service needs a little work but I’m happy with it.
The place is really suffering from growing pains. It’s trying to establish and differentiate itself. It’s trying not to be the old Enology but not trying hard enough.
It needs to fill the gap Café Deluxe, Cactus and 2 Amy’s doesn’t fill — a nice, casual, fun place friends can chill, go crazy or relax and enjoy the nite — so the folks around need not go elsewhere in the district after a nice dinner at Café Deluxe, 2 Amy’s or Cactus.
Keep everything simple especially the food. Founding Farmers is a good example of simple food with great taste.

My friend and I wandered in to Alliance Tavern on a night of poor luck. It began with us trying for happy hour at Jaleo, being deterred by the crowd, wandering from there to Georgetown where we attempted to go to Café Bonaparte which was closed for a private event, then to Café Deluxe which was closed due to «electrical issues,» and finally to 2 Amys where there was an hour wait. We had waited long enough.
We decided to place our names at 2 Amys and grab drinks and an appetizer at Alliance since the wait was more manageable – 20 minutes. We sucked it up and scored a seat at the bar. I had a delicious Gewürztraminer which was so good and so soothing.
We shared the Chesapeake dip, which was a let down. We ate every crumb and morsel because we were starving after wandering DC for 2 hours looking for a nice quiet place to drink and gossip, but it was extremely bland. No spark at all.
All the same, Alliance Tavern served it’s purpose for the night. I wouldn’t mind finding myself escaping to it again.

Awful service and mediocre food.
We went on a beautiful Saturday afternoon to sit outside. Granted, they were slammed, but the lack of attention of even apology from the waiters was ridiculous. It took us 25 minutes to order drinks, over an hour for our food, and they never bothered to refill our water.
I can appreciate that they were busy, but the owners weren’t even there to help.

The beau took me for a date at 2 Amy’s and we stopped in for a drink before dinner. What a lovely time we had? The bartender made me a wonderful Gimlet with real lime juice and the happy hour is pretty good too. We also met the nicest couple; everyone was so friendly there! I like Cleveland Park!
Happy hour is until 7 M-​F and standard $ 4 rails, beers, etc.

I just have to say that I love the fact that Alliance exists in my neighborhood. When in previous years I’d have the option of sub-​par sushi, sub-​par mexican, or wait an hour to eat pizza… I NOW have a place to go for good food and an excellent wine selection.
The themed food specials is nice and creates a good variety to the menu. The wines are all fantastic. The cocktails are also quite good and inventive.
Glover Park hasn’t always had a lot to choose from in terms of bars and restaurants. I think Alliance is a welcome addition to the neighborhood

My friend and I went to dinner at Alliance for the first time last night. For 6:45, the place was quite busy. The décor subtly screamed «hip bar/​restaurant» concept and music played that was pleasant, but not too loud for conversation. We were seated right away and the waiter patiently waited for us to put in an order (we hadn’t seen eachother in awhile, so we much catching up was needed).
The menu features standard gastropub fare. Unfortunately, Lenten Friday meant I couldn’t try any of the meat dishes. I settled on the smoked salmon plate while my friend got a cheeseburger.
Neither of us were «sent» by our meals. My salmon came decorate with sliced tomatoes, onions, capers and a side of chive cream cheese for a pile of crostini. It was nice, but not $ 11 nice. My friend commented that her burger was just ok. We both agreed to meet there again… as long our tab only included alcohol.

I normally only Unilocal about places that excel beyond my expectations or that provide a terrible experience. In this case, the experience was middle of the road.
Service was very friendly, but very slow (and it wasn’t that busy). The food was filling, but plain. I also found my meal (chili and mac and cheese) disproportionately priced for what I received. My friend who chose the fish and chips said the same regarding her meal. Cocktails were also very expensive ($ 9) in relation to the amount of alcohol/​liquid in my glass.
Overall, not bad, but not worth going our of your way for.

I never went to this place when it was Enology. I went to the «new» Alliance Tavern for happy hour on a Thursday. The atmosphere is nice, modern and cozy and the bar staff was very friendly.
However, the food was not very good. My wife got the crap dip and it was just OK. I got the turkey club for dinner and it might have had two total slices of turkey, it was essentially a BLT. Also, I don’t know if it was just the night we were there but there were a ton of families and screaming babies, which I guess is the norm for this neighborhood but annoying nonetheless.

after its transformation to enology, i wasn’t really feeling the vibe of a ‘tavern’. but i unfairly misconstrued it to be more dive-​y than it is. i actually found the ambiance to be quite nice… instead of the stark white of enology to the earth toned brown of a tavern.
the food itself surprised me more than the ambiance. i went in expecting bar food and was delighted to find a well-​rounded (though still fairly average) menu. the fried chicken and fixings (their tuesday special) was well-​made and tasty… but i wouldn’t rave too much about it.
since i live in the area, i can see myself making more frequent visits, but i only give it three stars because if i didn’t live nearby, i doubt i’d make a special trip just to eat at alliance.

This should probably be more like 3.5…but I rounded up to boost its ratings a bit.
It really is a decent place. The happy hour specials are great for the area – $ 3 Bud lights, and other select beers.
My one complaint would be the quantity of food for the price. My boyfriend and I went there a couple weeks ago. We had gone to Eunology a couple times and basically deemed it overpriced and not worth it, but we wanted to check out the new place (under same ownership). We were starving so we split some fries as an appetizer. We received a bowl of shoestring fries (which i love) and a side of ketchup and truffle mayo. The fries were good, but it seemed like quite a small serving for the $ 7 pricetag.
For my entrée I got the naan pizza with mustard cream, mozzarella, and bratwurst. The pizza was AMAZING, but again, just not enough food. It was only half a pizza. I would definitely get it again, but not if I’m starving. My boyfriend got their fish and chips special. That was also good; fish was crispy, big steak fries were well seasoned, but we both left not feeling completely full.
I’d go back again for a happy hour or something, but probably not for a meal when I’m really hungry

We had NO idea they changed their name from Enology to Alliance Tavern! Completely threw us off guard!
Out of all the wine bars my bf has taken me in DC, this is the only place we made a second visit. Both visits were on weekends but it was never too loud or crowded compared to the other wine bars. The style is casually modern with low-​dim lights. I’m not too thrilled how it went to «Enology» to «Alliance Tavern» but our server said it was because they wanted to «fit into» the location. Oh well…

Alas, here is the old Enology adapted by same owners to the new Alliance Tavern. Now, I’m not playing any tiny violins for Enology. It was the kind of stark white hippish spot where the «feeling» of being there outpaced actually being there.
Alliance Tavern is now brown, not so white, «warmer» in its décor, but still darn cold in the winter due to all those windows. It seems like a great place to drink, and the drink/​beer/​wine menu is awesome. The food left a little bit wanting.
I wanted to avoid the unhealthy options (I think the code word here now is «comfort food») like chicken fingers and fish & chips, and burgers. I chose a turkey club, and given the environs, I just figured it would be good quality. Well, it was grocery store deli turkey on toasted quasi-​white bread with decent bacon. Problem was bacon was cooked hours before, so was hard. Turkey was actually still refrigerated, so made for a snack-​bar type quality in the sandwich. Gosh, it was lame. Fries were good.
One guy in our party picked the Thurs special BBQ. He had a GREAT dish, made the right choice, so pick that if you have a chance.
Go here to drink and hang out. Don’t go if it’s under 40 degrees. Oh, and Alliance guys… you have great sense of taste and style… find some decent turkey or other options for a sub 2000 calorie dinner so we can imbibe in both food and drink with you … frankly the absence of acceptable food always was the beef with Enology as well. I think this is curable, and I’d love a great option when 2 Amy’s wait is too long or I’m looking for an option between the homogeneity of bethesda and the parking chaos of downtown DC.

Adequate but nothing special. Went here for a Friday happy hour, and the food was above-​average bar food but nothing to write home about. The crab dip was pretty bland, but my friends liked the pizza. I suppose if I lived nearby Alliance Tavern, it would be a decent place to meet a friend for a football game. But otherwise I didn’t find it to be noteworthy enough for a return trip.
No complaints about the service: our waiter was was helpful and didn’t disappear the way some do during busy happy hours.