Teddy & The Bully Bar

Came here for the first time during Restaurant Week, and was quite pleased. The décor is quite cool with historic looking pieces to mimic the «Teddy Roosevelt» era. I liked the wall in the bar that had mini Mt Rushmore’s carved out of it. Beware that the bar area is quite loud, but the restaurant is much quieter. The staff is very attentive and helpful. The menu has a lot of good choices, so we decided on the Restaurant Week fixed price menu so we could try several things. The squash and pear soup was unique and tasty (sort of like warm applesauce) as were the lamb meatballs (not too lamb-​y tasting). The roasted cauliflower was quite good even if you don’t normally like cauliflower. The main courses were next. The Porter Braised Short Rib was amazing with brussels sprouts just bringing the right amount of balanced crunch. Friend got the pork tenderloin and it was tasty too. The only problem was I was already getting full, and needed to save room for dessert. We shared the banana pudding sundae (amazing), and the even better pumpkin ricotta donuts (wow). I definitely would come back to this place to visit Teddy.

Went to teddys for restaurant week last night. I would give most of the food a 3 or 4 star, but the service was so awful I don’t feel comfortable giving it more. Food we loved, the lobster deviled eggs, cauliflower and donuts, things that we didn’t the lamb meatballs, short rib, it was chewy, and the banana pudding sundae. We had to ask for 2 of our courses and we also had to ask for bread. It took 45 minutes for our dessert course to come and then another 20 for the bill. The restaurant was slow so no excuse for this. Overall food decent, service bad, wouldn’t go back.

I was here for the Happy hour which seemed to be popular and bustling and it certainly seemed like a place that TR would come to, a lot of stuffed animal heads and a nice bar with a ton of drink deals. I initially ordered the strawberry mint julep, and it was fairly accurate to the original. I also got one of their happy hour beers at the end which was okay, but I tried some of Lady Outlaw, one of their tapped cocktails and it was definitely mixed better. The fries were also a good snack option, which we had. I’ve been by two more times since but they were both closed for private events, which made me sad. I really want to give this place more of my money.

Sunday Bottomless Birthday Brunch! 10÷18÷15 (Yes. I’m mad late with this review. Sue me.)
Honestly, one of the best brunches I’ve had in DC. Easily.
My group consisted of 8 people and I can say that all 8 of us were satisfied. We actually enjoyed the rotating menu meals over the stations. In fact, we underestimated how much food was about to come our way because we stocked up at the Waffles and Omelette stations first. Big mistake.
The only service we didn’t get was the basket of muffins and pastries. But then again, was it really needed after all we consumed that day? Not really.
And big ups to the waiter who made sure we never had empty mimosa glasses! Also, it was ‘80s Day so many of the staff members were dressed straight out of a «Let’s Get Physical» music video. Plus the ‘80s music was on point. So A+ for the atmosphere.
The price ($ 40) is definitely right for this Brunch.
Note: Parking is horrendous. Luckily, I used Über. But most of my friends drove and couldn’t find parking for shit.

Great spot for breakfast/​brunch if you’re in the DuPont area. Aside from the food itself, what I like most about this place is the atmosphere and décor inside. It really is one-​of-​a-​kind, and there’s no way to fully describe it in a Unilocal review – you really just have to visit this place in person to understand!
While they do offer an all-​inclusive package for brunch, unless you are extremely hungry (or are trying to drink a lot), the a la carte menu will get the job done, especially if you want to try out and share a variety of things with others and not break the bank.

Visited this place 03JAN2016 to ring in the new years with brunch.
I love brunch! I love brunch that also gives me unlimited mimosas. Which this place does.
What i dont like… is
1. The chicken quality tasted low because I could taste a metallic flavor.
2. Beef in the chow chow was half gristle.
3. Mimosas didn’t seem to have enough champagne on it. Or they weren’t using champagne. (Because it takes me 2 glasses to be done… I had 6 glasses and was still walking right)
4. Bloody mary didn’t have enough alcohol in it. (Couldn’t taste the vodka as 2 for my gf should have been enough and she had 3 plus mimosas).
5. The duck had no flavor.
So tips on how to brunch at this place.
1. Avoid the salad in the beginning (no useful calories and just to fill you up)
2. Avoid getting the omlette and waffle in the beginning.
3. Eat all the good parts of the dish and avoid the things that will just fill you (bread and potatoes). Cause really those items are to just fill you and they tend to give alot of it.
4. Save all the sweet stuff for the absolute end.
Dishes I liked.
1. Brussels.
2. Fish taco
3. Apple pie
4. Waffle syrup
5. Pancake
There are better places for bottonless brunch at their price but they don’t come with bottonless mimosas.

We ate their for Christmas dinner. They had a fantastic Christmas price fix. We started with a delicious appetizer, followed by a salad.
The entrée was buffet style, with a wide spread of sides and a carving station offering 4 types of meat and fish.
All that followed by desert.
The service was impeccable.
The restaurant is themed after Teddy Roosevelt and has a very unique and cool feel to it.

Vibrant, energetic, and fun.
We had a group of five and selected a number of items from the menu.
On the plus side, the Lamb Meatball & Ricotta Flatbread and Duck Pot Pie were awesome! The Gratinee Mac & Cheese and Lamb Shank Ragu did not disappoint.
On the negative side, the Crab Deviled Eggs were overpriced and nothing really special. I was expecting something more than four average tasting deviled eggs for $ 13. The Foie Gras Pâté & Waffles were also a disappointment. The «waffle» was nothing more than an rolled up waffle cone. The saving grace here was their basket of breads we ordered to take the place of what should’ve been an actual waffle.
The service was attentive, the wine list extensive.

Update: ½/​15
Around the time that I wrote this review, Teddy & The Bully Bar contacted my husband to find out about our experience. He told them how disappointed we were and yesterday, we received a gift card in the amount of our entire meal. I am really impressed that they listened to their customers and were right on the spot to make things right. While we had a horrible experience, I’m anxious to give them another try and hopefully change my review to more stars.
— — — —
Wow — what a Christmas letdown! I had heard really good things about Teddy’s so we decided to book our Christmas dinner here after reading their menu. Amuse, starter, table side carving, sides, and dessert — yes please! i had visions of lovely table side carts of meat and family-​served sides, however, when we walked in and saw a buffet set up, I grew immediately concerned.
You see, nowhere on the menu did it mention «buffet.» Nowhere. Not once. When we were seated and saw the line for «table side carving» snake through the dining room with one guy carving meat, I grew even more concerned. Add to that, the servers weaving through the crowds with heavy trays yelling «EXCUSE ME!» and I was getting livid. $ 60 bucks per person for this?! NOPE.
I really should have walked out at that time, but it’s Christmas and I felt pretty stuck. Our server asked us what we would like for our «Ah-​moo-​zay» (yes, really) and the meal went downhill from there. My amuse was a soggy gougere that was practically inedible. Next, our table had ordered salads except for my husband who ordered the bisque. As we waited, our server told my husband that his soup would be «right out.» No mention of our salads. Well, his soup came. and the rest of us waited. and waited. and waited. I asked twice where our salads were and at the one hour mark finally asked if we could just go get food. About that time, our salads finally came with another soup for my husband.
The main part of the meal was fine although reminiscent of a casino buffet. The poor guy at the carving station was slicing meat as fast as he could to keep up with the hordes of hungry people. He looks totally overwhelmed and I felt really sorry for him.
Finally, dessert. How can you screw that up?! Guess what — it’s possible. Only 2 of us ordered dessert and the other 2 got the «stink eye» for saying no thanks. My table mate had the chocolate mousse which came out looking like the inside of a (sorry) baby diaper. My lemon tart had no crust and was not at all what I expected. Par for the course this evening.
$ 200 later and I feel like I got a lump of coal in my stocking. So disappointing, Teddys. Way to ruin Christmas!

Can I have my money back? When you describe a «Christmas feast» with «table-​side carving» you imagine fine dining with a cart that would come up alongside the table and carve (perhaps they don’t know carving station vs. table side?), but no; alas we spent Christmas at a miserable buffet reminiscent of a buffet near an airport in Reno.
After arriving on time for our reservation we were told to wait 5 minutes and we would be texted when it was our turn to join the heard for food. We mentioned to the host we weren’t told
It was a «buffet» that OPENTABLE listed «feast» and nothing prepared us for buffet, we were shrugged off as if too bad, we already have your credit card. During the actual 20 – 25 minutes of waiting the dread of what we were hoodwinked into was realized as we watched line after line grow longer. By the time we were finally sat and served our soup the meats were dry, out of white meat and most of the sides were at the bottom scrapings. To finish off a dreadful meal they ran out of the dessert we’d order when we arrived and nothing else appealed so our server comped two espressos that had zero crema and were undrinkable.
After tip and our drinks we spent $ 200 for a disgusting meal. I couldn’t feel more cheated, Teddy’s ruined Christmas dinner.

Me and a buddy were walking in the Dupont Circle area of D. C looking for a place to have a drink, and came across Teddy & The Bully Bar and it looked like an inviting place to come in out of the cold (plus they didn’t seem too busy).
We sat at the bar, and I had a few pilsners. The bartenders were attentive and friendly. Originally we were just going to have a drink or two, watch some sports and head elsewhere to eat. We got comfy though and decided it would just be easier to eat there (bartenders were very persuasive also) .
I went with the duck pot pie after taking the bar staff’s recommendation. It was a small dish, but tasty and filling. I also sampled some of my friends dishes which were the deviled eggs and hush puppies. They were delicious also.
Sitting at the bar Teddy & The Bully Bar offers small dishes and meals, so keep that in mind (I’m not sure if table service is different). I mention it because this isn’t a pig-​out place. The dishes are good and well prepared, jut small portions. They also had a happy-​hour menu to choose from which was burgers and a few other items.
I was pleased with my visit to Teddy and the Bully Bar. Kind of a laid back friendly place. Not too busy when I was there. This was around 6-​ish on a Sat. so they may be more of a later in the eve. kind of a joint. I would return if I am in the area again.

Let me preface this with we REALLY wanted to try this place… Came later on a Sunday evening (8PM) and the place was empty… Like we were the ONLY people there (party of 2). So that was weird, especially for DC. And especially given they have a Raw Bar!
I was really surprised to see that the prices were so reasonable! The most expensive dinner item was $ 17 and that was for the NY Strip or the Scallops… More on this at the end. The beers were all $ 6 and a decent selection too. *(FYI: happy hour is Monday — Friday 3:00 — 7:00PM).
We were saddened to hear they were out of the Crunchy Brussels Sprouts and the Foie Gras and Waffles… we both had been craving to try them here all day! We opted to split the Southern Style Cornbread, the Mac & Cheese, and the Chicken & Dumplings.
Let’s start with the Southern Style Cornbread… It says it comes with Jam and honey butter. It tastes like the Jiffy Corn Muffin mix. We asked for the jam which was missing upon being served and our waitress said «well that’s what the menu says… I guess I can get that for you.» Umm ok?!
Now on to the Mac & Cheese… It’s a 5 cheese dish the size of a closed fist… For $ 10. It’s good, just as thick and rich as you would anticipate for 5 cheeses. Except for the size, no complaints.
The Chicken & Dumplings… Three cubes of chicken and a few tater tot sized Dumplings do NOT make for a $ 14 dish.
Now I see why the prices were «so reasonable.» They don’t give you much portion wise for your money.
Unsure what to think of this place… The portions are tiny and the items you get are just «so so» based on this visit. I will give one more shot, everyone deserves a second chance… And the ambiance is very inviting.

I’m surprised this place only has 3.5 stars! The décor and food at Teddy’s is fabulous. Honestly, those roasted Brussel sprouts with a pink-​ish yogurt sauce on top were seriously the best I’d ever had. If all Brussel sprouts tasted like that, I think people would be eating Brussel sprouts instead of cake for dessert!
And the scallops were cooked just the right amount of time even though I was at a group dinner with 25 people being served at the same time. I would’ve expected someone’s food to be under or overcooked, but instead, everyone was exclaiming how delicious their food was.
For dessert, I ordered the apple pear dessert, but I was a little sad that it was deconstructed. Apple pear pie is already delicious! Why did the chef feel the need to take it apart to up the fanciness level?
The only problem with the fancy «new American» food served here was that there wasn’t much food to eat. Since the scallops are a main dish priced at $ 17, you would think you’d get something that would fill a person up for dinner. Not so! The plate was basically empty. I received a giant white plate, with five spots on it — two spots were scallops, the third spot was a half-​dollar sized piece of cauliflower, the fourth was a bit of spinach, and the fifth was a streak of sauce. Seriously, who is going to feel full after eating 4 pieces of food?

3.25 Stars.
In theory I should have liked Teddy and the Bully Bar more than I actually did.
Extensive list of brown liquor? Check.
No-​nonsense president theme? Check.
Chef/​Owner with known street cred? Check.
So why didn’t I like it so much? I can’t really put my finger on it. Maybe it was the décor, a sort of Warhol meets the wild-​west meets Georgia O’Keefe motif; not quite as dark and clubby as I would have expected for a bar named after TR. Or maybe it was the company I was in: largely non-​hard liquor drinkers. Who knows?
But back to my visit: I stopped in for happy hour (everyday at the bar from 3−7pm) when the Teddy Burger is only $ 7. The burger was fine, but the service was a bit lacking. The regular dinner menu claims to be locally sourced, and although you won’t find salmon on the menu, I think Peeky Toe crab and mussels may be pushing «locally sourced» a a bit far since both generally come from colder waters further north in New England.
Personally, I think it serves better as a place to knock back a few; there are 80 types of Bourbon, Scotch, Rye, Irish, and other whiskeys, and, as you’d imagine, quite a a fair number of cocktails using the aforementioned, but a few gin drinks as well. I had a Sailor Boy Martini made with Old Bay-​flavored vodka and dill Vermouth ($ 9 during happy hour); interesting, but I’ve satisfied that itch
Teddy’s is perfectly adequate, and maybe even quite good if you like whiskey, but not a place I’m raring to go back to unless I find myself in the area during happy hour.

I’m still not sure what a bully bar is but I’m definitely a fan of it! Me and two friends dropped by after watching the lighting of the national tree and were looking for something warm to put in our bellies (aka whiskey). The bar was packed when we got there (~7 pm on a thursday night). I would highly recommend to call early for a reservation if you want a table. However, we got really lucky with our table. We put our name down knowing that there was going to be an hour and a half wait, but the waitress let us sit down if we agreed to give up the table in an hour. DEAL!
Anyways, going on to the alcohol, we were obviously freezing, so when we came in, we «bully“ed our way to the front of the bar and ordered all the 4 of the 26 Day Barrel Aged Cocktails. All of them were amazing but I would recommend The Trust Buster. Something about bourbon really warms the stomach.
Tip: Definitely go during happy hour, this place is an american tapas style bar, the drinks are reasonable (~$ 9) and the food is very cheap (~$ 4-​$ 8) compared to the normal hours.
P. S. There’s Tito’s vodka on tap… #score
Our waitress was super knowledgeable about the menu, recommending some really delicious items (which ill go into more detail) and super attentive about refilling our drinks. She also pointed out different sections of the restaurant that had some historical reference to Teddy Roosevelt. Go You!
Here’s what we ordered:
+Teddy Cottage Fries — simple fries with housemade ketchup and a super unique coffee aioli. ($ 8)
+Crunchy Brussel Sprouts — I’m not the biggest brussel sprouts fan but this was really good. I think the apple walnut vinaigrette sweetened those bad boys. ($ 10)
+Tomato Flatbread — If you’re looking for something filling that is relatively cheap, this fits the requirement. Super good ($ 8)
+Butternut Squash Risotto — I was excited about this but was underwhelmed with the portion size (super small, even for tapas size). Flavors were there but not worth the price ($ 15)
+Pan Roast Salmon — Salmon was cooked to perfection. Pretty good size and there were these weird oats at the bottom of it. I wasn’t quite digging that… but that fish tho ($ 15)
+Whiskey’s of the World Flight & Cocktail Pairing — yumm, this makes you super warm and happy. A tasting of 5 different whiskeys (American, Scottish, Irish, Canadian, Japanese) along with a cocktail. My favorite was the japanese whiskey or maybe im a little biased. You’ll never know.
All in all, I would recommend Teddy’s! Definitely a great date spot and Definitely come during happy hour. You won’t regret it.
Remember if you can’t finish your whiskey drink. Teddy’s famous quote says «Believe you can and you’re halfway there»

I have walked by Teddy and the Bully Bar many times, having lived in Dupont Circle for a year. However, I came here for the first time on a date. The variety of breads was a nice change of pace from the usual bread basket. The biscuits were my favorite. For dinner, I had brussels sprouts and mac and cheese. The brussels sprouts were tasty but the mac and cheese lacked flavor. I had the pumpkin spiced donuts for dessert, which were yummy.
The prices are a little high for some of the portion sizes, such as $ 10 for a small mac and cheese. While I enjoyed the brussels sprouts and donuts, I was not blown away by my dining experience.

I was not expecting much at all before I came. It was one of the closer restaurants to the DC Improv so we were here on a Friday night around 815.
Not busy at all. Very beautiful restaurant. A extremely clean and the décor was a blend of modern and old timey. The ambiance in itself was a beautil experience. Our server came around and said that every single thing in the restaurant relates to Teddy Roosevelt and his likes in some way. That was very interesting.
We started with some cocktails. Bourbon is very big at this place. The server said the Trust Buster was popular so bf and I got it. I love how the cocktails here are not watered down by any mixers. It is purely the alcohol, some herbs and a liqueur, so be prepared to enjoy the alcohol. They are very strong.
We got the cheese meat plate and the Brussels to start. The Brussels were criispy and flavorful. The meat/​cheese plate had a lot more meat than cheese and they only give you 2 slices of bread fyi. They also give you free bread which is amazeballs — it is banana bread, white bread and a biscuit, with butter and ham. All are insanely good.
All entrees are a bit smaller, so we had to order a few more. I got the kale salad, we shared Mac and cheese and bf got the sausage flatbread. All were great but I wasnt a huge fan of the flatbread, I thought it could have more taste.
The only thing that was a downer was that it was not busy and our server was pretty slow.
The restrooms were very clean, each stall is like it’s own room. Beautifully decorated and you feel like your in a home.
I will absolutely be back.

**DOES NOT INCLUDE FOOD**
My friends and I came here to day drink after someone recommended the strawberry mint julep! It was July 4^th and pretty empty at around 5pm. Upon entering, everything was very patriotic, with Independence Day party favors sitting on the tables and the walls were decorated with anything Teddy Roosevelt-​related. I actually really appreciated the restaurant’s concept, and how unique the interior design was (bathroom was so classy and presidential-​looking)!
So we only ordered the Strawberry Mint Julep, which was served in a tiny, chilled, copper cup with shaved ice and topped with mint leaves! Presentation was beautiful and I couldn’t help but photograph it. Since it was a speciality cocktail, and we drank at another bar before that, I did NOT expect the drink to be that strong. Not a bad thing given that I wanted to socialize and enjoy the holiday. The strawberry flavor didn’t outweigh the actual liquor (ratio was excellent), which was perfect for me since I like my cocktails alittle more on the strong and bitter side.
The whole staff from the hostesses to bartenders were super polite and friendly. Nobody looked like they were bored with how slow business seemed that hour! Even the manager came up to strike up small talk and make sure everything was okay! They gave us the July 4^th party favors which I am so grateful for cause they were fun to play around with (the staff definitely saw us take photos with our party favors/​sunglasses/​hat). For a bar, it was a fun and welcoming experience and I would definitely come back another day!

So yes, brunching in the District is a lifestyle.
That’s why I’ve been to Teddy’s twice in the last couple of months for Sunday brunch, and honestly, I think I’ll be back again soon.
For 40 dollars (per person) you can get bottomless mimosas or bloody marys as well as endless amounts of food. There’s even an omelet station. The food on the brunch menu includes tapas size portions of several dishes.
My favorites were:
— French toast with marshmallow
— Kale salad
— BLT flatbread
— Macaroni and cheese
— Chicken and waffles
Note: Brunch ends at 3 pm, so plan accordingly. I suggest making a reservation before 2 pm. Happy eating!

Teddy’s huge Bully Bar comes packed with noisy happy hour revelers. It also has an adjoining dining room with a separate room in the rear.
Eight of us came for dinner and we were seated in the adjoining room. While there are large windowed doors to close off the space from the bar, inexplicably the restaurant chose to leave them wide open. The noise from the bar was uncomfortably loud and we could barely converse at the table. Even the servers had trouble taking our orders.
Generally I found the appetizer portions meager for the price point. Not too much was memorable.
The Amish Oven-​baked Biscuit Fried Chicken entreé disappointed my colleague and didn’t even seem like an expected fried chicken. The 12 oz. Creekstone NY Strip steak was a tasty medium rare, but came sliced so the juices ran out and was a bit dry.
The wines did not disappoint. The Ponzi Vineyards Willamette Valley Pinot Noir 2012 was exceptional. I need to find that again. The wines were the best part of the dinner, so maybe next time we’ll stick to the Bully Bar.