Libertine

You should definitely try absinthe once in your life, and this is a solid place to do it.
Libertine has a reputation for being a bar in D.C. that serves absinthe. The décor is unique and French-​Creole in a cool sort of way. The ambiance is definitely shooting for a sort-​of-​upper-​end appeal, though other patrons in the bar were pretty loud/​hammered.
You will hear from people in other reviews that Libertine serves «safe» absinthe — that is, absinthe absent of thujone. That seems to be accurate, though normal absinthe (according to various studies) doesn’t contain enough thujone to cause psychoactive reactions (if it does at all) to begin with. Needless to say, those who complain that this place isn’t «authentic» are a bit misguided.

The bartender was cool, very nice and down to earth. I think she was from LA. Ok so two of my friends and I went to this place for HH after work. The food was not anything to write home about. Won’t be back

I hAd an amazing time with Carlos on Wednesday night. His knowledge of cocktails was phenomenal and his service was superb! Good beer list as well! I had a great time

Is there a worse bar in Adams Morgan? I say no. I’ve been to almost every bar in my neighborhood and have never had a worse experience. First, the cocktail I ordered for my girlfriend was very poor; and the bartender was very rude when I asked for an improved drink. When I tried to close my tab it was impossible to get the other bartenders attention. Avoid this bar at all costs

The steak was overcooked, while the salmon was not cooked enough, and there was a taste in the salmon saying it was not very fresh.

I’ve never posted on Unilocal but after visiting libertine I figured I had to. The drinks and food I had were delicious but most importantly the bartenders were amazing. Charlie and Carlos knew what they doing and provided an amazing experience. They made a good experience most excellent. I would recommend to anyone and everyone.

Definitely a great people watching spot in Adams Morgan. It was pretty dead on a Thursday night. I ordered a cocktail with gin, but can’t remember the specific one. It was pretty good and strong. The steak and frites were recommended by my friend, but the steak was pretty tough, and I missed the rich buttery topping as I’m dairy free. The frites, however, were quite divine. Crisp and moist and perfectly salted. Great service as well.

I was looking for a place to try absinthe and this place was perfect. Our bartender Andre was knowledgeable and charismatic! He was able to give good suggestions and we enjoyed ourselves. We also had a few items off the menu and everything was delicious. My friends and I will def be returning.

Cute place, good cocktails and I enjoyed my shrimp banh mi! Our bartender/​waitress was very nice as well. I’ll definitely go back!

As a bar, this is probably a good place. I mean, who doesn’t love absinthe? As a restaurant, not so much. On a Thursday at 6:30, it was completely empty.
I didn’t get our server’s name, but I think it was his first day, because his menu and bar knowledge was extremely limited. He couldn’t name any of the bitters they had, and he had to check on the $ 5 gin special (they don’t have happy hour) that was clearly written on the chalk board. Our gin drinks were fine, but I had one with a spicy bitter, and there was no heat whatsoever.
Food was underwhelming, at best. Calamari was too chewy. My mussels with the white wine broth were small, both in size and quantity; there was grit and broken shells; and some mussels were empty. Plus, the broth was not all that tasty and neither was the bread. My friend found her gumbo bland.
I was really looking forward to Libertine, but maybe I’ll try it as a bar. Perhaps I’ll have a better experience then.

We met some friends to catch up, on a warm early spring Friday night. The place was just opening up for the evening. A few people sat at the bar and some outside. We sat inside at a table. The very attentive staff explained Absinth and kept us lubricated. The crab cakes are hands down best in the city at the moment.

First things first, I love drinking and mussels, so full disclosure, this review is going to be pretty singular — hence the «a-​ok» score. It’s only about mussels — and drinking.
*Danny Brown voice* drinkin’ and mussels, mussels and drinkin’
So, I’m a huge fan of the décor — the combination of vintage kitsch with the modern low-​key delivery make sweet love to the sense. From posters, artifacts, books and trinkets, to the small intimacy of it — it pulls off a great vibe without seeming try-​hardy or fake.
Service: can’t say much since I came here on a Tuesday (club goin’ up) and was literally one of three couples there. So we had a girl come to the table at a reasonable rate, and that was fine and dandy for a fine dandy like me. She was super helpful when choosing absinthe and talking about the process — I had an amazing drink that was both delightfully herbal and sweet and would gladly spend the money to have another if was not a Tuesday (not really goin’ up).
Food: everyone at the table got a variation of mussels save my lady who went with the oyster po’boy. So I’ll start with that. Her oysters were meaty, fried perfectly well, and seasoned in a very nice Cajun blend. The bread was hard and delicious and the fries were fries. Just regular ol’ fries. The mussels were all fantastic — large portions, great sauce variety (I highly recommend Appalachian), and presented in the same large cast-​iron pans in which they are steamed — very cool and adds to the rustic nature of the place.
Overall it’s a pretty tight place that seems to have a killer menu, and I would love to come back and try it when it’s a bit busier and eat a bit smaller. But, until then, I’ll settle for it being a perfectly passable place, reasonably priced, and provides excellent shelled delicacies and distilled potency.

Met a friend here for absinthe tasting.
We had a tasting of four. The smell was amazing
Clandestine– 53% alcohol. 106 proof. Smooth and licorice tasting. This one was my favorite
Rouge– more fruity. Stronger perfume smell. Flowery
Roquette– more earthy flavor.
St George made in the US and brandy based. Medicinal tasting
Great music.
Ate the Bahn Mi sandwich. I thought the menu said grilled shrimp but it was deep fried. Sandwich was good but hard to handle.
I will be back.

I can’t express how irritated I am with this place! It looks so cool, the menu sounds delicious and I live so close! But it’s erratic and unpredictable hours have made it completely inaccessible. It’s become a bit of a running joke with my friends. I have attempted to go to Libertine FIVE TIMES NOW, and all five times it was inexplicably closed (despite saying it would be open on their website.)
The last time was Monday, ¹²⁄₁₅ at 7:30pm. If you’re closed Mondays, that’s fine, but try putting it on your website.
Seems like a great addition to the neighborhood, but definitely call before showing up.

I know many people mourned the loss of Toledo Lounge, but its replacement deserves your patronage. DC’s only Absinthe bar, the Libertine has a cozy, adult feel to it (maybe this is why it wasn’t particularly crowded at prime time on a Friday night). For those who remember Toledo, the new, 18-​seat bar has been moved to the other side of the space.
In addition to 24 varieties of absinthe (yes, 24!) with multiple absinthe fountains so that multiple customers can enjoy the «green fairy» at the same time, they have 12 draft beers (although nothing particularly local) which included Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale. There’s also a specialty cocktail list with such non-​absinthe drinks as London After Midnight (Bourbon, Campari, Aperol, Cointreau, house-​made blackberry shrub and fresh lemon juice.)
While I didn’t eat anything on my visit, they do have a full menu that includes your typical pub grub burgers and wings, and more ambitious fare such as mussels and a banh mi sandwich.
I’m always happy to see more mature options in Adams Morgan.

I’m giving Libertine an enthusiastic 5 stars. The staff is friendly and wonderfully accommodating, they have some seriously legit creole offerings and top notch mixology. Every thing we ordered was amazing, but most especially the truffle mussels and shrimp and grits. If you’re in DC, just go. Don’t miss it. And, if you can take the heat try the Bad Hombre cocktail.
Check out my Zap Video Review

Oh my dear Morgan,
You are always there to listen to my endless stories… you spot me from far away, suggesting to sit down with a welcoming gesture, asking kindly which drink it will be today… Luckily for me, your fantasy never ceases to impress. Bitters, egg whites, burnt orange, rosemary bushes, or christmas holly — what will it be today? As it goes on a weeknight, the bar is half empty — a perfect background for a quiet, lazy chatter about places I’d rather be. But you know it too well, I’ll stay and have another drink. The place is just too welcoming and the October wind is too damn strong outside.

The night started out great, quickly went downhill, but then the restaurant redeemed itself… so I’m giving it 3 stars. Let me explain.
It was supposed to be a nice night out on the town. Because of all of the great reviews on here, I figured, we cannot go wrong here. We arrived a little late; however, the restaurant still had a cute «reserved» sign on the table for us and the waiter quickly got in our drink orders. Delivering it, on the other hand, took a bit of time. We let that slide. I mean, it happens. Even at a restaurant that doesn’t get full.
He then took our food orders. We ordered appetizers and entrees. The entrees came out on time. But then… we just sat there… and we just sat there. Like, WTF? It’s 2 HOURS! The waiter didn’t even ask if we wanted a drink refill (he refilled our waters though). I kindly inquired if we were getting out entrees. He quickly responded yes. Alright, buddy, I hope you mean soon.
Another 15 mins went by and I’m STARVING. I finally had it and asked the waiter to give us the bill. The manager finally stopped by and apologized. Within minutes, he showed up with our steaks (REALLY? Where did that come from?). He said he was really sorry and wished this matter was brought to his attention sooner and he would like us to have the steaks, if we like. I offered to make us dinner at my place but since it was here, we decided to stay.
The food and drinks we had were quite good. The food was fresh and I could see why there’s such good reviews here. The grits and fried oysters were quite good! The steak was more rare than a medium but still quite good as well. At this point, I’m too hungry to send it back for something a bit more cooked. I ate it. I liked it.
When we asked for the check, the manager adjusted our check to not include the steaks. How nice. He apologized again and told us that he had gotten new waiters who didn’t know any better. Ok, understandable. Thank you very much for showing us you care about the customers. We (errr, ok, just me) would probably return.
Ambiance — A
Food — B+
Service — D
Manager’s handling of situation — A

Pretty damn good Cajun food.
I tried the Gumbo and the Shrimp and Grits. Both were tasty and well spiced. The gumbo was a darker, more red color. It had some heat to it, had plenty of andouille sausage in it. The shrimp and grits were served with andouille sausage as well, and the grits were cheddar grits.
The drinks were okay. The Mocha Manhattan fell a bit short for me. I thought the coffee liqueur made the drink too sweet and syrupy. However, I very much appreciate that they used a brandied cherry instead of a maraschino. My special friend had the Bad Hombre. I enjoyed her drink more. It had a nice balance, wasn’t overly sweet, and I liked the use of a whole jalapeño as a garnish.
I liked that they serve cucumber water.
Service was swift and friendly.
I’d recommend sitting outside with the breeze on a warm day.

There was something about this place that makes you feel very cozy and comfortable. a bit dark inside but an old black/​white film playing on TVs provides certain ambiance.
Yes they have cocktail on tap but I tried regular vodka cocktails on the menu. A simple ruby made of vodka and grapefruit juice was clean and well balanced.
So many different kinds of Absinthe so if you are looking for Absinthe drinks, you should check out Libertine.
Come by after dinner or after work and have a drink with/​without food. They do have quite a few food items.
PS: Happy hour 5 till 7:30 pm. Three kinds of Gin drinks and $ 4 potato wedge dish.