Dragonfly

Ah Dragonfly. Minimalistic and Modern in design and décor. It was cool the way they had projectors playing movies and images on the walls. The Sushi was excellent and the highlight of my stay there. At night it turned into a club which was good. The DJ’s played some tight stuff. The regulars were a bit bougie for my taste. They were pretty much the upper crust of DC who had nothing better to do with their money. It’s closed now, too bad cause I liked the food. Laters to the people! Staff was classy though!

By far my favorite Bar in DC. Nice staff, cool place with no cover in South Dupont, which is rare.
Too bad it closed…

5 STARS IN MEMORY OF MY BELOVED D-​FLY!!! :(
It was a venue that once had great sushi, super strong drinks, a beautiful crowd, and a fabulous set always spinning. I can’t believe they shut it down… right as the summer was starting off right.
Rumor has it that it was bought out by the owners of Fly, and they’re completely remodeling the place. I’ll give you one hint as to the new theme: BOAT. It will never be the same. It can’t. But we’ll see.

I’m sad to see this place go. Goodbye Dragonfly, you given me many good memories. I went the last night it was open after maybe a one year hiatus. Everything was like peak of it’s success. Great music playing. Fresh sushi. Quick drinks. Hot girls all around. No thugs roaming around. It was like it was two years ago.

Dragonfly is a flexible night spot. Come here early for an average-​tasting sushi dinner and drinks with friends. Stay a bit later for some deep house in a lounge atmosphere with minimalist décor on the first floor. Wiggle your way upstairs later in the night for more club-​like antics.
No cover policy means it’s always really easy to get in. With the exception of the upsairs addition, this place has been consistently reliable for years.

The best night I had in DC was a night at Dragonfly. Reggae on the bottom floor was fun, but the house on the top floor was fantastic. Great people watching, strong drinks, good music. I have no complaints about my night at Dragonfly and I’m looking forward to going back on my next trip to DC.

It should go without saying that any review on here is biased in some way based upon the type of person the reviewer is. So let me tell you what I’m like:
I love sushi. I love bars. I love booze. I love women.
I don’t like clubs. I don’t like being ripped off. I don’t like arrogant dicks hanging out in the same place as me. And I don’t like pretentious girls who like the aforementioned dicks.
This being said: I don’t like Dragonfly. The place looks like my father’s garage, only there are a bunch of meatheads and goombas runnin around trying to show off how much money they have in front of the frail, but modelesque women who hang out there and drink for free on the tab of these meatheads.
Enough about the crowd, I went there for the sushi – and as a rule of thumb, i don’t mix sushi with drinking or bars… so this place breaks my thumb… but anyways, I have to say taht the sushi was tasty and a decent size, but you pay through the nose for it, and ordering a japanese beer makes you think you’re at a Nat’s game or something…$ 8? c’mon now…
I suppose if you’re the type of person who likes to «be seen» and «be cool» and follow the «trend» you will like Dragonfly. Myself… I’ll take the inconspicuous Yosaku for Sushi and follow it up with drinks at the old Malt Shoppe or Millie and Al’s.
As John B. Said «[Dragonfly] is overpriced and lamely pretentious,» a statement with which I could not agree more. That being said, unfortunately I don’t think it will go out of business because that strip (1223, Five, Dragonfly, etc.) pours for the «ultra-​chic» of DC and they salivate over every last drop.

The fruit martinis and sushi are excellent during happy hour. But, it does feel cramped inside, so probably not the best bar to mingle and talk with others.

A tad pretentious,
but no mouth-​breathers around
Pretty girls I’ve met

You know this place is kinda weird in some ways. Certain nights this place is a gay bar, others it isn’t. Accordingly, it’s been a gamble every time I’ve walked through the door!
The sushi is pretty good and the whole modern edgy feel with heavy base pumping out house beats can be cool. Look out for Guido at the bottom of the stairs holding back people from going up to where the cool people hang out… HA!

Dragonfly?
I like this place!
I always feel welcome here!
A lot of good memories in this place!
I hang out here recently after the other party on Halloween night!
I had a blast! Make a memorable Halloween! Fantastic!
The things that I like about this place is no hassle to get in.
No drama, no hustle and bustle!
For me, so easy to slide in!
The place modern, minimalist, edgy, funky and fun!
What also sweet about this place, It is close to my home, and it is close to my work! It’s just a walk a way!
Love the sushi and sashimi!
Love the sake!
Like the music! It keeps me groovin’ baby!
It use to be my third place, like Starbucks you know.
Hang out there after work for a happy groovy hour!
And make some connection with the management and some legend employee here, they are pretty cool!
Even I didn’t hang out as often as before in this place, because it’s time for me to spread my wings and broaden my horizon for other place and other experience, I still keep this place in my heart.

Let me start by saying I loved the projector-​style images they had lining the upstairs walls. The grand canyon, time-​lapse orbit of the stars, high above the clouds, and a satellite image of earth… I had a good enough time zoning out on these pictures… but then again, wasn’t I supposed to be having fun?
Which brings me to my point: This night spot is NO FUN at all. I was sitting there with my roommate, who had resorted to smoking cigarettes just to suffer through until he finished his beer and we could leave. He commented that Dragonfly looked kind of like a New York bar, only pathetically lacking in stylish clientelle. Not to talk shit about the clientelle, you understand – only to say that Dragonfly is out of place among DC nightlife. People in DC expect to have fun for a good price when they go out. At Dragonfly a bottle of beer is $ 7. Maybe if I were drunk I would be having a great time… but then again, there wasn’t a single person dancing, and there were no cute or fun-​loving single women there. Then I realized that everyone I was with, including my roommate, is a transplant from New York. Good God, I am glad I have never worked on Wall Street.
One Star: it is overpriced and lamely pretentious. I predict they will be out of business within a year.

I loved it in the late 90’s and I still like it today. This is a one stop chill shop. They have great weekly parties. The sushi is fairly decent. And dancing on top of the bar isn’t a bad way to end the evening. If all else fails… go to Dragonfly.
Unfortunately Dragonfly closed its doors forever in May 2007.

Dragonfly is a lounge /​restaurant in the mold of something you might find in Los Angeles. The all-​white décor gives the place a clean and modern look. Japanese animé plays on the walls downstairs. You can find a larger dance floor upstairs, although it usually opens up on weekends, and only then after 11pm or so. One of the big bonuses is that Dragonfly never has a covercharge to get in and rarely has a line. So while its neighbors 1223, Five, and Play have lines around the block with their bouncers guarding the red ropes, you can sneak into Dragonfly with no problem. I also highly recommend the sushi there. Coupled with a saki bomb, what more can you ask for?

there was me, that is alex, and my three droogs, that is pete, georgie, and dim, and we sat in the korova milkbar trying to make up our rassoodocks what to do with the evening. the korova milkbar sold milk-​plus, milk plus vellocet or synthemesc or drencrom, which is what we were drinking. this would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-​violence.
sprinkle some animé and a rabid pack of shiny shirts and you’ve got the makings of one king-​hell of a mushroom trip.
JCTSFR: 7.22

i’ve never had a meal here so only commenting on it as a bar/​lounge. i used to hate this place until they got a second floor b/​c now it’s not as crowded anymore; they don’t charge cover, they aren’ t super pretentious about a dress code as you would think, and you can choose to just hang out downstairs and get some drinks with your friends or you can go upstairs and get your dance on (they play mainly house music). but even when you’re upstairs, you can still lounge on the couches and chairs to take a break. you can also reserve the top floor sometimes for a two-​hour period or so as some of my friends have done when expecting a large party.

Taking on that minimalist approach with videos projected on the wall, the all white décor sushi resaurant and bar didn’t fit the bill. Trying too hard perhaps? Their $ 9 cocktails didn’t match the quality of the drinks, staff attitude, and service. Not from the DC area, so not sure if pretentious attitudes are common in DC, but attitudes were a turn off. I did not have dinner there, so can’t comment on the sushi. There is a dimly lit bar upstairs, which I prefer over the downstairs area. There’s nothing special about the drinks, so why $ 9 per pop. I do have to say there matches were cool, but who goes to bars for there matches. Go somehwere else.