MiG Bar

ok, i’m not sure why i do not have the ability to update this review at the moment, so i will simply edit it as if this was an update.
i was contacted by the urbane and jocular owner of the MiG Bar and i was notified of a few inaccuracies of my last update of this establishment. let the record show:
a. the owner did not *decide* to shut this bar down. the landlord threw them out.
b. the owners will open another version of this place somewhere else — just not at this location. so, if you are reading these awesome reviews and have come to the conclusion that you would like to check it out — don’t. it ain’t there no moe.
c. my name is not bozo.
d. the owner apparently makes an awesome knuckle sandwich, which may of may stem from the fact that he hails for the land of knuckle sandwichdom.
e. i have no idea if he is planning on creating a knuckle sandwich truck.
f. the owner’s message to me was so awesome that i’m bumping this review up one more star.
g. oh, and i need to go easy on the syllables. apparently.
yours in Micville.
MiC
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i’m taking this place down a couple of stars due to the fact that the guys who own this bar decided to shut it down.
the MiG Bar is no longer in business.
what a bunch of inconsiderate assholes.

Maybe I’ve not been to enough dive bars and maybe I showed up here on an off-​nite for a Friday, but this place left me cold. I thought the people hanging out here were self-​absorbed hipsters and the bartender didn’t seem too inviting either. No thanks.

can’t go wrong with this small dive bar. Great music and the bartenders are phenomenal. Good Happy Hour prices and I like their hours of operation.

LOVED this joint. Went several months ago and have been meaning to run it back. Loved the tunes playing, strong-​cocktails being poured, and overall vibe.

Yo check it! Me and my gurl was rollin round Adams Morgan the other night and we couldn’t find no place that was chill and tight. I remember this spot from way back when – it was somethin different, so I wanted to peep it yo. We rolled in and it had a cool local vibe and just what we wanted!
No amateur hour at this joint. No way. The bartender named «Van» or «Chad» or whatevs was fun to talk to and wuz keepin it real all night long! I make sure to tip big cuz they got a small space, small business, but they keep the vibe real nice.
Seating and space is limited, tha music was good, the beer cold and the drinks dope…
Check it out. Roll up, chill out, don’t be douchey!

Cash only.
No food unless you order from the place next door.
I love the décor upstairs. Paintings are vibrant and artsy. They have silent movies playing and participate in some sort of shadow puppet festival.
The bartender was extremely nice and advisable on good drinks. Limited, but good, beer selection. Cheap!
Seating upstairs and downstairs but I prefer upstairs. Polaroid picture wall upstairs… I may or may not have a picture there :)

When I hear «dive bar,» I can’t help but make a mental stinkface. But MiG, you’re aight. Way to exceed prematurely low standards.
I managed to snipe parking half a mile away, which is pretty good for AdMo. Through the patio, up the stairs into madness. Dimmed mood lighting can’t hide the fact that the goods were odd, even by drunk standards. Equal parts graffiti and art grace the walls, plus propaganda for Flying Dog that probably passed screening with flying colors thanks to Ralph Steadman. Props for finding room for the telly.
Friendly and watchful bartender mans the fairly small bar. Basic bar stools are spaced appropriately to keep the area from being too crowded. Good music, enough space to make a small dance floor for yourselves. Separate single-​occupancy bathrooms in the stunted hallway in the back, which is home to the wall o’ Polaroids… including one of a fella fisting his own mouth. Projector is acceptably blinding when stuff is actually playing on it. PacMan table transports me to the GHut vibe. I typically loathe the inconvenience but cash only is forgivable when a place is this baller. I’ll be back when I’m not triple-​booked.

**** 3.5 stars ****
I was on my way up 18^th Street on the way to MiG Bar when a gentleman approached me from the side and asked if I could do him a favor. At first I brushed him off, then after repeatedly asking I finally told him I was listening, for a moment. He told me about a restaurant up ahead, and that he needed something taken a friend inside. He assured me that he only wanted me to deliver some coffee bags. I never found out what was in these mysterious bags… coulda been drugs, coulda been explosives, coulda been the severed finger of a girl held hostage… thankfully I had reached the intersection MiG lies on, and had a reason to leave this desperate soul in need of assistance behind. Who knows, he may just have a fear of walking through doors.
That brief interaction provided an interesting backdrop for my night at MiG. It seems trips to Adams Morgan are without adventure, even if they aren’t the traditional kind you expect in this former cesspool which is slowly turning into a more adult playground. Actually, that’s not the fair. The neighborhood is quite nice, and 5 nights out of the week it’s a decent place to have a casual drink, but Friday and Saturday, when the DC interns and soon-​to-​be grads are trolling the streets you’re better off hiding in places like MiG where they’ll never find you, because there is no sign.
Inside, the anonymity quickly fades, and you’re assaulted with randomness at every angle. Music videos that seem so 80’s and yet somehow even beyond that level of awful are playing, which thankfully don’t actually correspond to the track list beating heavily from the speakers around you. This is one of the last places I would expect to find a DJ playing, but at least he was pretty decent. The volume level however was entirely too much for such a confined space, and even after leaving I could still hear it down in the streets. The rest of the area is basically filled with a bar, a single hightop table, and a sedentary Pac-​Man game. If you want to visit this bar expect to stand… OK with me, but maybe not the girl you bring in heels. Actually, I can’t imagine a girl in heels coming here but you never know, some people like juxtaposition.
The bar itself it supposed to be a play on the famous Russian fighter jets and there are a few allusions to that effect if you look closely. They offer a MiG-​tini whose ingredient list consists of «??? ??? ???» and promises to «break you» a la Ivan Drago. Unfortunately I only had a couple of decently mixed Moscow Mules before I had to depart for another party, so I never got to try this quizzical concoction. The other nods to Russian heritage can be found in the graffiti adorned walls both in the bar itself (a pretty sweet pencil-​drawn style fighter jet) and in the bathroom, where a pilot has been customarily defiled.
Drink prices are OK, I don’t think they’re quite as cheap as many reviews lead you to believe. There are a couple drinkable beers offered, but I advise sticking with the liquor here as the pours are thankfully quite heavy, evening out the prices to be pretty reasonable when compared to other bars. Unfortunately it’s a cash only bar, which is usually enough to steer me away from returning despite the value. I actually like MiG a decent amount, just not enough to run «coffee bags» through Adams Morgan to make a return.

Start ramble — Solid spot. Music was a bit loud last night for the small space. Cool people. Ms Pacman and pinball. The Migtini will let you experience the same feeling as when a Russian fighter pilot blacks out. Go for the Moscow Mule for a tastier drink. A good option on18th that will take you south of the insanity. Do it.

Spent my New Years Eve here after being coerced by a friend whose friend was DJing. It was definitely a good idea! Drinks were easy to get, it was crowded but not overly so and everyone was cool. We all had a fantastically drunken New Years. It was pretty awesome that we got to dance the night away, celebrate, and we didn’t even have to pay a cover!

In Mother Russia artsy Dive Bar drinks you!!!
Rad:
Lack of signage, overbearing communist theme, and accessibility only through the back part of Ethiopian restaurant make this a great bar to take a girl you are trying to «get to know better» out on a «date» to.
Dim lighting, industrial strength mixed drinks, and a couch in a dark corner help further said agenda.
Co-​Owner Van is hella rad and answers negative Unilocal reviews as such:
«
Van, co-​owner/​bartender here… The «creeptastic douche» that hurt your feelings is in ZERO WAY associated with our joint and, in fact, I escorted him off the premises and put him in a cab to Loose Tooth City about three seconds after you finished your Bahama Mama. «
Bad:
Accessible only through back part of Ethiopian restaurant.
Needs $ 2 crappy beer night for those times of the month when I’m broke and don’t have any money (aka always).

My favorite bar in the area. Really good prices and great atmosphere. Last time I went they had a double feature date night, with $ 3 white russians and The Big Lebowski. Perfection!

Good beers, small space, inexpensive compared to it’s neighboring Adams-​Morgan bars, great staff, interesting clientele. Soviet theme (obviously) complete with a mig 15 hanging over the bar and some nice soviet propaganda posters to round it out. Met both of the owners as well as the owner of the hookah bar downstairs who gave us a half price hookup on hookah. Did shots. Blacked out. Went back the next night. Rinse. Repeat.
addendum. I lost a bet about the quote from Rocky 4… Drago says, «I must break you,» not «I will break you»…take note. Or you’re buying the next round. These aren’t francophiles, tovarich.

The camera follows two figures exiting the cockpits of F-​22 fighter jets on the flight deck of a U.S. Aircraft Carrier. One is a tall, handsome fighter pilot (Alex M.), the other is a tiny, secretive bar in Adam’s Morgan, played by 80s Val Kilmer (MiG Bar). The camera pans in as Alex M. and MiG Bar smile and approach one another.
MiG Bar: You! You are still dangerous.
Me: Haha, you can be my wingman anytime, MiG Bar.
MiG Bar: Bullshit, Alex M., you can be mine!
Music blasts Highway to the Danger Zone… AND…
— — -END SCENE WITH FROZEN AIR HIGH FIVE — —
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Oh, you’re still reading this? Didn’t I just end the scene with a mid-​air high five? Isn’t that enough for you? No? Fine. I can tell you the following about MiG bar if it helps, but this is all CLASSIFIED, so if I tell you, I’ll have to kill you.
1. MiG Bar will break you! (With strong rails and awesome movies a few nights a week)
2. The data on MiG Bar is inaccurate, since I saw it do a inverted G4 dive and it is upstairs from a restaurant.
3. You probably have to kiss a few butts to get in here, but all of them are distinguished, especially the owner, Van. His butt is extra distinguished. (and soft).

LOVE IT.
It just dawned on me that I may have a thing for the color red, as all of my favorites in DC are completely red. Anyway, MiG Bar is a small little place right about Rendezvous Lounge. As per the name, it is Soviet themed but in a cool way (that made sense, right?). It can be as cheap or expensive as you want. If you’re cheap like me and my friends, you can drink $ 3 Natty Boh’s all night, a cheap mixed drink, or a nicer mixed drink in the $ 7 – 10 range.
It also helps that this place manages to completely avoid the usual AdMo crowd (aka frat boys, douchebags, college kids, etc) and it doesn’t get too crowded. The staff is super cool and will talk to you as much or as little as you want. If you get hungry, they encourage ordering from Rendezvous downstairs.

Awesome, tiny laid back bar, super friendly bartender/​owner. Don’t be confused about the location — it shares the same doorway as the Rendezvous Lounge; it’s just up the stairs. Drinks are cheap and this is anything but a meat market. The décor is oh-​so and if you’re a hipster in denial, this is somewhere you won’t feel out of place.
Bring your own friends though, or risk spending your last night in DC getting mired in a conversation with an attractive white (i.e. privileged) woman who is against gay marriage but yet cannot conceive of a world in which gay people are maltreated [who also has smooth enough social skills to insinuate that you aren’t attractive, gee thanks]. That may or may not be an incentive, I guess.
…let’s just say that was the perfect capstone to a place I’m more than happy to leave. At least it was entertaining.

The bar seemed like it had the potential to be cool. Too bad someone associated with the bar (he seemed in charge of the bartenders? a manager of some sort? random douche?) called me a «faggot» then started to ask a bunch of creepy questions about my background. Not sure what his angle was, and I wouldn’t ordinarily trash a bar based on a single patron, but he seemed to be an owner or manager, but regardless the bartenders should tell their creeptastic friend to stop calling people «faggot» and asking them about their religion.

A great treasure in adamas morgan. small cute, cozy, friendly and affordable. Almost a classic NYC dive bar.
This is definitely recommended by me for a night out in Adams Morgan.
tip: it’s on the second floor so walk right up the stairs.
The bartenders are very friendly and this is one reason for the extra star.

After Dan’s we wandered down to the MiG bar to meet with our friend’s friends ( Unilocalers, actually). I only had one drink here, but it was only $ 4 and it was uncomfortably strong (not complaining, just saying). Really nice staff, and not too crowded. For drink specials like that, I’d definitely return next time I’m in DC.

Although it would take a serious kidnap plot and some roofies to ever get me to go to Adams Morgan, I did end up here on a Saturday night after it opened, lured by word of mouth and with a Russia obsessed individual.
For a bar right on 18^th Street, it’s very not Adams Morganish. While inside I could hear people, there were no crying 22 year old girls, no frat boys, I wasn’t sticking to the floor, and no one threw a punch. Just a chill place to be. It’s a cash bar (at the moment) that is Soviet themed. The drinks are cheap, but the selection is nothing to write home about (PBR, and the other standard issue beers). They offer $ 3 beers and for a dollar or two more they offer rail drinks. I heard you can get food from Rendevous downstairs and bring it up, if you get hungry. If you want to escape the crowds of AM, go here, if you ever unfortunately find yourself in the neighborhood.
Na zdorovie, damy i gospoda!