Laughing Man Tavern

I have been here twice now, both times during happy hour, and I have enjoyed it! There is plenty of seating available (head downstairs if you doubt me).
Both times the same bartender was working. She was helpful, polite, and seemed to always be on top of things. My first visit to LMT was a quick one. We grabbed a drink and a quick appetizer and headed out. We were able to be in and out in under 30 minutes — yay for speedy service!
My second visit we stayed several hours in anticipation of the impending blizzard. We sat at a table downstairs. Our friends were easily able to find us. To my surprise there were several larger rooms downstairs as well. One was reserved for a private party, and the other had a bunch of televisions and shuffle board tables. Of course, we had to play! The bartender and our waiter were kind enough to open the room back up and take the cover off a table so we could play. We were the only ones in the room, but our waiter was happy to pop in and check to see if we needed more drinks!
The food is ok. Nothing i’d be craving, but pretty good for food from a bar. I am a fan of their cheese sticks. I tried the buffalo chicken wrap and side salad. The veggies were fresh, always a coin toss in a bar, so I was pleased. My boyfriend’s fries tasted like they had been stored open in the freezer and picked up that flavor — but again, it’s a bar.
If you are looking for a good space to kick back, maybe watch some sports, I’d say this is a good spot to go!

Indeed the worst customer service I’ve had in awhile.
Came here on a Saturday night because it was a place where we didn’t have to wait for a table. We weren’t greeted at all when we walked in so had to ask how the seating worked and then chose our own table.
Our waiter was sociable and offered a beer special and asked about where we were from, but after our initial drinks he rarely came by. We ordered nachos which were pretty good and they came with really fresh jalapeños. So when I ran out of water, I was waiting for 10+ minutes while my mouth was on fire. I even pushed my glass to the edge of the table hoping SOMEBODY would see. A waitress walked by our table several times, I even saw her look right at our table several times, standing by the bar not looking busy. Nobody came by to refill our drinks until we ordered our meals.
Pesto chicken was not very good… had a rubbery texture that really put me off. On top of that, I only had a butter knife and couldn’t cut through it. I asked for a better knife during one of those rare occasions when the waiter walked by, to which he mumbled something about «not being allowed to bring those out» and said he would be back with one. Never came back. It was ridiculous. When we were finishing up, he offered to refill my water. Never came back with the glass.
This was an irritating, unsatisfying dinner experience. We found this place after leaving a restaurant with a 1.5 hour wait but I wish we would’ve just waited.

I helped host a large group happy hour here, and it was an excellent experience. Our server, Joe, was very attentive when getting our attendees drinks and working with me on logistics (ordering food, how close we were to budget, etc). Even though we had over 40 people, I heard many compliments on the ease and speed of getting drinks through our server.
Beyond the superior service, Laughing Man has very good Happy Hour specials and good, reservable space for groups. Plus the location right downtown near Metro Center makes it easy to get to. Laughing Man and Joe were key in deliver a fun evening for a great value. We will definitely host another happy hour here!

Solid spot for happy hour in for Washington D.C. They host trivia on Tuesday nights which is always a ton of fun if you have a group of friends together. Food is also pretty delicious. I’d highly recommend the nachos and buffalo chicken wrap.

I’ve been here a few times. The place is huge. The downstairs has three separate rooms. It might be too big for it’s own good, because I’ve never seen it even remotely full.
Laughing Man has some outdoor seats on the sidewalk, which is nice. Limited though. I’d be surprised if more than 15 people could sit out there.
Ambiance is mediocre. Sports games going on in the background. Décor is nothing you’d remember. Crowds are weak.
Happy hour is average. $ 4.50 for a beer. $ 7 appetizers.
They have District Trivia come in on Tuesdays. They sit in the far back room though, away from the bar. It’s incredibly awkward.
Honestly, this place is just blasé.

We did happy hour here after work last Friday. In addition to an annoyingly raucous crowd, the bar services was pretty slow. It’s definitely a divey dive bar if you are into that sort of thing. There is limited outdoor seating but you had better get there by 4pm to claim it.

Laughing Man is a pretty standard bar, and also the cheapest option in the immediate area around Metro Center. The upstairs area has a small bar, bar tops near the windows looking onto the street, and some tables and booths towards the back. The downstairs
Area has a larger bar and some tables as well as a room with a ping pong table, shuffleboard, and arcade games. The ping pong and shuffleboard have been free every time I went.
The bar is fine if you just want some basic drinks and to watch some of the TVs spread around the bar. The food is pretty mediocre, and the prices are normal for downtown. The free bar games are a nice bonus, and I had a nice conversation with a bartender, Jim, the other night when the place wasn’t very busy.
Long story short, it’s fine if you want to grab a drink in a clean and spacey bar, just don’t expect upscale cocktails and the most attentive service.

Best ceviche ever, great atmosphere, friendly service and great prices. Great venue to watch soccer games. Great American Outlaws headquarters.

My friends and I came by for dinner and drinks. We walked and and stood by the sign that said please wait to be seated. We stood there for over 20 minutes without a single employee acknowledging us. The servers would walk past with their heads down to avoid eye contact. I understand that places get busy (I’ve worked in a restaurant before — things get hectic I get it) and its not always possible to sit someone right away but its incredibly rude to not even say «hey sorry really busy be with you in a few minutes.» We went to the bar to try to get the bartenders attention. He said he’d talk to a server. We waited another 10 minutes. He never said anything when the servers came for their drinks.
We came in at 630 to try to get in some happy hour prices before 7. No one came to us or asked us how many in our party by the time happy hour ended. We finally left.
If you are looking for the bare minimum of customer service this is not the place to go. Youd get the same customer interaction as a vending machine.

A very nice spot to grab some drinks. Despite being a bar it is actually pretty quiet here. Not a boisterous place full of young people who can’t hold their liquor. Downstairs is very nice on a hot day like today to relax and cool off. Downstairs has the feel of a study as they have a collection of books. Plenty of televisions to catch sporting events.

Okay, many of you have come to expect my reviews to be based solely on the food, service, and decorum. This review is the exception. While the food leaves a lot to be desired, the bar chick makes the experience memorable. Pleasant, funny, and knowledgeable about her craft. Additionally, her knowledge of the culinary arts helps you successfully navigate the restaurant’s menu. I will say that this place makes a mean bar steak. For these reasons, I recommend that you give them a try. Don’t forget to ask for bar chick.

Laughing Man was pretty «Meh», as the 2 star description says. First, gentlemen, maybe not the best spot to take a first date… not exactly the most romantic of spots. Even still, taking it on it’s own as a sports bar, the top floor bar was very small (like 10 bar stools max) and everyone was sort of vying for the bartenders’ attention in this crowded space. The beers on tap were your standard fair, with nothing particularly exciting. Twice when we needed a bartender, no one would look at us, which is always fun. I ordered the chicken sandwich, which was actually fairly decent, but had to wait a few minutes before I got silverware to eat it.
I wandered downstairs after eating, which was a little bit cooler. It was occupied by a few (civilized) kickball teams at the time. They have a big room dedicated to flip cup tables, ping pong, shuffle board, and some arcade games. The bar downstairs is a lot bigger and they have TVs. For a Wednesday night when every team in DC was playing, though, it was pretty dead.
Won’t be rushing back to Laughing Man, but if you need a not-​so-​interesting sports bar downtown, this is on the list.

Went here for Happy Hour on a Friday with co-​workers and had a good time. They definitely handled our big group well.
We ended up having 15 – 20 people come through at various times. Our server was great! She split everyone’s checks as she went a long, was really quick, and had a good attitude for dealing with so many of us.
Best part? We had their back basement room all to ourselves. This room has board games, skee ball, ping pong, and a bunch of TVs. It was perfect for us. Plus none of us have played Connect Four in years, so we got a kick out of it.
Their beer and food selection for Happy Hour isn’t that great. It’s $ 3.50-$ 4 for a beer, $ 5 for wine and rail drinks, and $ 7 for a few of their appetizers. Nothing special, but I had fun and will probably be back at some point.

I love this place. If you walk by, the size of this great pub is misleading. The inside is much bigger than the tiny outside patio leads you to believe. I attended Women of Washington’s Draft Bash. It was a blast. The bartenders were nice. The bouncer was easy going and friendly. The upstairs area is cramped in the front but it extends to a back area. The downstairs is roomy and even has a game room. There are tons of monitors all over the place. This is the perfect spot to view a sports game. The food was good. I could see using this space for a girl’s night out, a celebration or a fun sports night with friends. They even have wifi. This laughing woman enjoyed the evening!

So I’m in a love hate relationship with Laughing Man.
1. It’s convenient as all get out. Right off of metro center stop. So I find myself there a lot.
2. Happy hour is pretty good. I’ve gone for a couple UCLA basketball games and it’s been pretty good.
3. Damn good food! I had the most amazing shrimp cocktail and chicken tenders.
4. The service stinks! It’s always the one bartender I get with the attitude. Or the very slow server.
I’ll deal with the shitty service but I’m not happy about it!

Foods good and so are the drinks but it’s funny that I’m a few hundred feet from the White House and haft the people including the bar tenders don’t speck English ;) hahahahaha

Laughing Man Tavern is the American Outlaw DC soccer bar and is a great place to catch USA soccer games (or any other, really).
The atmosphere during the games is great. There is a back room with a huge projector and it gets packed for USA games.
The food is pretty good and the specials aren’t bad. I will continue to come back to watch the USA soccer games.

The Laughing Man Tavern is the dive bar that you didn’t really need, yet probably come to more often than you’d like. Unlike other dives, Laughing Man doesn’t bring any character, it’s just very plain. In fact, the Unilocal rating of «Meh» is the perfect description.
If anything, their downstairs space is open enough for a very informal gathering with cheap drinks and bar games (i.e. skee ball). Having nothing really going for their upstairs space, their downstairs space does add some level of dimension with pub quizzes and DJs.
Overall though, there really isn’t anything about the Laughing Man that would make me want to suggest it as a place to go for anything.

Instead of Unilocal’s standard «Eek! Methinks not.» rating for one star reviews, this is a one star review that should read «Ew! Methinks never again.»
To its credit, the Laughing Man Tavern does not pretend to be anything that it is not. A bit of a dive bar where food is a bit of an afterthought. The beer is cold, the food pretty crappy and the service spotty, at best.
Two stars maybe two and a half depending on the day.
That is until I watch our server drop the wet rag he kept on his waistband on the floor, accidentally step on it, and without missing a beat, pick it up and use it to wipe down not one, but two tables. Only to then tie it back to his waist for future use.
Blech!
I am not one easily grossed out, but as I sat there looking at my silverware resting on what I now knew to be a extremely dirty table, I thanked my lucky stars that I had ordered their crappy, but no fork needed, nachos.

Went this evening for happy hour and trivia. The trivia is run by District Trivia, for those of you who are familiar with the scene. The service was less than desirable, with seemingly one server dedicated to the entire room of trivia players. I get that maybe someone called off, but, I work in the industry and even I felt a little neglected. We ordered beers from the limited Happy Hour menu (only about 4 beers available at a discount) and we got a few apps and two burgers. I wasn’t overwhelmed by my burger, the BBQ Bacon burger, and the fries kind of tasted like the ones at Burger King. Maybe that’s ok for a lot of people, but I hate that kind of French Fry. The mozzarella sticks also seemed like they came straight out of a bag.
The trivia was great though, the host was really nice.