Tuesday 19th of November 2013 08:39:24 AM

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One of the best beer bars in America. Period. The draught list is so well curated it's scary, the breadth of style, origin, and taste is world-class. 40+ taps and over 500 bottles, yep. Incredibly knowledgable servers will guide you through the list if you're feeling at all lost or more likely overwhelmed. The atmosphere is chill and it resides in an vibrant neighborhood with many great dinner options which is great because Churchkey's food menu falls a little short and does little to complement the beers. But, we didn't come here for food. We came here to get tanked on the best beers in world and stumble down to the natural history museum. I was fortunate to visit on an event day, the Great Franconian Gravity Keg Day and has the pleasure of tasting a dozen rare and etherial beers of Franconia including the Benedictiner Zwickel and Weissenohe Monk's Christkindl, awesome, just awesome. If you are in DC and love beer, you have to go to Churchkey.

Sunday 28th of July 2013 03:58:35 AM

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Churchkey is located on the 2nd floor above Birch & Barley restaurant, with an orange awning along the street. It is located in a bustling neighborhood of DC, and I suspect most patrons here are locals. After driving around a while, unsuccessful in finding metered street parking, I resorted to parking in a nearby garage. Ascend a metal staircase, and inside the decor is black and dark colors with deep red trim. Dim lighting and eclectic music create a happy and relaxed atmosphere. On one half of the restaurant is a very long bar with enough comfortable chairs for about two dozen people. On the other half is a row of comfortable booth seating. In front of restaurant are large windows that look down onto the street and more dining tables. Bisecting the place is a small overhead refrigerated room which holds their kegs and tap lines running down to the bar. Behind the bar are many refrigerators full of bottles, and you're sure to find many new and interesting craft brews. The have about 50 excellent beers on tap and about 450 bottles ranging an incredible variety of styles. The draft beer is offered in full size glass or in 4oz half pours. The service is friendly and attentive. The food menu includes salads, flatbreads, cheese, and several simple plates. In conclusion, Churchkey is one of DC's best beer bars, but I wish the location was more accessible.

Friday 16th of March 2012 08:23:56 PM

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This person needs 3 or more reviews on the site for their scores to start counting.

THE place to to get a craft beer in DC. Probably the best beer bar in the Mid-Altantic as well (sorry Max's!).

This is the only place in the city that I consistently walk into and see 10+ beers that I've never had (or even heard of!) on the menu. The draft menu is kept up to date, and there are always 5 casks on. I could go on and on but this is a place you need to visit at least once if you're visiting and frequent regularly if you're a serious beer drinker living in the area.

Tuesday 15th of December 2009 12:35:37 PM

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This is flat out the best beer bar in Washington DC. With 50 taps, 5 casks, and 500 bottles, there's simply nothing to compare in the area. Beer lines are scrupulously cleaned and the beers are maintained in excellent condition. The food is excellent both in the upstairs bar and the downstairs restaurant, Birch & Barley. You'll be hard pressed to find a bar on the East Coast that can bring you the selection of interesting and hard to find beers that CK brings, save perhaps for Max's in Baltimore. The experience is not cheap, but worth every penny. The place is regularly mobbed from opening till around 9pm, so if you'd like to actually sit down at the bar, your best bet is Sunday and Tuesday eves...or to arrive as they open the doors.

Friday 13th of November 2009 10:51:58 PM

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I finally made it to the place after two attempts. Attempt one resulted in arriving on a Tuesday night (shortly after the grand opening) to find a packed bar, and that the restaurant (Birch & Barley) not taking "walk-ins". Attempt two I showed up at 3PM ET when the bar was supposed to open at 1PM (according to their website). Others made the same mistake, although they updated their webpage the same day, probably after many people informed them of the error. Anyway, I was turned away, so I wandered around DC for an hour and went in about 4PM (3rd attempt). The bar already had several people, not sure when they started accepting people. Maybe 3:30?

The place is located close to both Dupont Circle (Red Line) and McPherson Square (Orange/Blue Line). Depending on where you're coming from, either one is just as good, and about the same walking distance. It's close to a neighborhood which seems quite, but not sure what the area is like.

The atmosphere reminds me of a tea room, with it's mustard yellow cloth and the shape of the furniture, along with the lanterns. All that's missing is the hookahs. The bar area is a little more typical, with about 30 (very comfortable) seats, along with plenty of LCD HDTVs playing sports or maybe daytime TV.

The selection of this place is amazing. Close to 50 taps, five of them are cask (best I've ever been to). Many of them very rare (and also pricey, but reasonable for what it is). There are tons of bottles (didn't count), accompanied by a little binder listing all of them.

The service is spotty in my opinion, even when it isn't crowded. There have been several apathetic server moments, and sometimes it takes a while to get attention of a server, even when they look right at me (again, even when it isn't crowded).

The food selection is somewhat slim, and a bit overpriced in my opinion. The burger is not worth $14. It's good, but not that big is not that great. The downstairs menu is probably a lot better.

Best selection in DC, one of the best cask selections in the US, and probably one of the top bars in the country overall. Recommended.