I came in with my sister excited to get drinks with her in DC because I was visiting- it was not busy at all inside, maybe 10 people, and we had to wait 15 minutes before we left because we still had not gotten served, even after asking the bartender to take our order. When we asked for our order to be taken he gave us a "hold on" finger and continued to ignore us. My sister says this is one of her favorite bars usually and felt incredibly insulted. The bartender was wearing a Holy Cross cross country shirt with a man bun- very upset about our poor experience. read more

Really nice service for really bad food. The chicken tasted as if it was 10 years old. Dry nasty over cooked and old. If this is their best effort I don"t expect this place to be around much longer. What would a fresh half chicken cost them $3.50?? They could have gotten take out from Nando's with better results. What they plated for me must have been sitting in the kitchen for a couple of days. Nice service but I won't be back read more

Typically come for the bar here- which is usually pretty good. Nice beer selection, manageable crowds, and good live music. Came by for brunch and was pleasantly surprised by their selection. Went with the hot mess- a sort of hash with peppers, onions, fried chicken and egg. Really good- but small! Probably could have eaten two. Pretty conventional brunch, not sure if I would stop back again but wouldn't mind trying their lunch or dinner. read more

Roofers Union - Hot mess - Bars Near Me - Washington, DC, District of Columbia

This place is experiencing an identity crisis post-Reef. I'm not sure what to make of the place. When my boyfriend asked if I'd go back I was like, "Eh, can get the same food just about anywhere else, but I don't think every dining out has to be an amazing food experience." The restaurant has super high ceilings which makes it loud even when not full on a Saturday night. On one wall hangs blue collar factory uniforms from back in the day and on the other far wall some strange metal sculpture. There are two TVs hanging over the bar and two more TVs mounted to support beams overlooking the restaurant (and more directly, two tables). I don't know the purpose of the additional TVs, is Roofers Union a sports bar or a restaurant or both? The only redeeming factor to the space is the large floor to ceiling windows, which fortunately we were seated next to. We split the grilled asparagus and onion rings. Well, we hardly ate the onion rings because in addition to the overwhelming sweetness they were over battered and fried. (Our waitress felt bad and comped them, totally unnecessary since we didn't complain.) He ordered the prawn skewers, said they were delicious but not enough to eat for the average person. I had the black bean quinoa burger with sweet potato fries. The bun was way way too small for the burger and was the plainest saddest white bun I've had in forever. The heaping of fries was enough for three people to split, easily. The burger itself was tasty and the avocado was a nice addition. There wasn't anything on the menu that wowed me as a vegetarian (shocking), but I don't think anything stood out as something my boyfriend couldn't get elsewhere. Who knows if we'll go back, probably not. read more

I'm not sure why the ratings are high. Let me just say, the ambiance is chill but the food is what matters. Below average food. Service is absolutely terrible. I would not recommend this place to anyone. My friends and fiancé thought it could have been better. If you do go the mimosa deal was ok 15 for bottomless for two hours. Also, my boyfriend thought the fried chicken thigh sandwich was ok but wouldn't come back for it. I would also recommend hair nets for the staff! They took off my friends entree due to the hair in the dish so that was appreciated. All in all wouldn't recommend! read more

I had such an amazing experience here!!! The entire service staff at Roofer's Union was great! From the host to to the server to everyone else, we had nothing but warm attentiveness all night. I was especially grateful as my party and I rolled up as a reservation for 11, which, sorry, I know it's really not ideal for anywhere, and ended up extended it to 13. (sorry again) Roofer's Union was so nice about making room for everyone, adding chairs, etc. Our server was then a superstar! Everyone was able to continuously order drinks and dinner was pretty timely! The restaurant itself is three floors, the first is an indoor bar, second is the dining are and third is the rooftop. I've visited the Rooftop previously and it was very pleasant. The dining has high ceilings and huge ceiling to floor windows that were really nice. The food is very decent and well priced. Drinks off the cocktail menu were hit or miss, and they have a great beer selection. Overall, would definitely come back here and especially recommend it for larger groups. read more

We had an amazing time! Erin is the best bartender ever! She was friendly and sassy. She knew how read her customer's and figure out the best choice for those who were undecided. I highly recommend the Naughty and Spicy. read more

This place is great for a big group. They accommodated my request for a reservation of 20 people on Saturday night (at 6 pm) for my 30th birthday and we all got food within about 15 minutes of each other (we were put at 2 separate tables). The Brussels sprouts appetizer and the cauliflower appetizer were fabulous, both in flavor and texture. You really can't go wrong with either of them. For dinner, I had the porcini pappardelle pasta. While it delivered on the mushrooms it promised, something tasted a little off, which is why I can't give it 5 stars. I still ate the whole thing. My husband's hamburger was also pretty good, but with a bit of a kick from the chipotle dressing. A friend got the fried chicken sandwich and said it was good, although a little spicy. I got a complimentary scoop of their chocolate ice cream for dessert, since it was my birthday, and it was divine. It was somewhere between an ice cream with chocolate flakes and a creamy fudge. Overall this place is great for groups and very accommodating. read more

I do not recommend this restaurant. The service was horrible. My steak was over done and it took over 15 minutes for the waiter to come back and check on our food. He stood over talking to another waiter instead of doing his job. They brought me another steak and it tasted horrible and was almost raw. They didn't take off any for the steak even though I had to wait so long to get another steak. Our bill was over 80.00. Spend your money some place else. There are too many other great restaurants to pick from. read more

The menu can be confusing if you haven't been to the restaurant before. One dish listed as Chicken Sausage under the lunch fare section, for example, turned out to be a sandwich when we asked about it. We didn't order it, and opted to go for the Hot Mess, which seemed to be a lower carb option, since the description referred only to "peppers and onions, fried chicken, sausage gravy, sunny egg." It's actually about half potatoes by volume, which are served pretty thoroughly mixed in with the gravy and peppers and all the other ingredients, so that it's nearly impossible to avoid them. We regretted wasting so much food, and wouldn't have ordered it if it had a more accurate description. It's a good restaurant with friendly staff and a nice view, though. read more

I appreciated the service at Roofer's Union, specifically our server named Georgia who handled our party of 10 incredibly professionally!!! I highly recommend Roofer's Union for their incredible service!!! read more

Homemade pappardelle pasta is surprisingly fabulous. Very good black bean burger as well.

Went here last night with my sister and nephew. It was pretty good food. I had the burgers and fries, which was slightly above average. While I had a beer, and didn't notice, everybody else had sodas which were both flat. Other than the flat sodas, the service was good, and the rooftop was top notch. For bar hopping, this place is perfect with a nice view. For food, it's ok. I would definitely go back, for drinks. read more

Good food, fine service, would go again for a Saturday brunch. Ate the hash browns which were

I was so impressed by Roofers Union! They did an excellent job accommodating with allergies and our waitress Gabby was fantastic! Also the food and drinks were superb too. 10/10 experience and I'm looking forward to coming back. read more

It's restaurants like these why I love Adams Morgan. Clean, modern space with super friendly service and delicious hits the spot breakfast. Reasonably priced too. Skip the $35 brunch spots. Come here, order the Hot Mess and go home happy. read more

Server gave horrible service. He had too many tables and I sat with an empty water cup for 10minutes. My mimosa was less than a half of a glass. read more

I love going out to Roofers Union because there is usually live music, but just recently checked them out for brunch. The warehouse vibe is awesome, and the floor to ceiling windows provide lovely natural light and views of Adams Morgan. The food was good and the waitress made sure our mimosa glasses were never empty. I also like that not everyone has to participate in bottomless, as I have friends who are allergic to champagne or who prefer bloodies. I only wish the roof was open during brunch. read more

Started off good with drinks on the rooftop bar. Then we decided to move downstairs and get dinner. We were seated at a table and got waters, and menus. Then we waited, and waited some more. Then we asked a busser to see where the wait staff went. He disappeared in back. After a few more minutes we got up and left to go somewhere that would serve us. read more

Where do I start. Life in a city can surprisingly be lonely. Full of hardship, budgetary issues, and overall anxiety. Roofers has be come a refuge. Not because of the amazing hot mess brunch or the outstanding Sriracha honey chicken sandwich. It comes from the hands of an angel sent to make our lives better. If you are lucky enough to have Sara as a server your life will become what you always dreamt it would be. The food is enough to change your life but the service from Sara is enough to make you come back every single week. Thank you Sara for all you do and thank you for impacting me and my friends life for the better. Know you are loved and shaped us into the young professionals we are today. God Bless. read more

Customer Service - AMAZING. This is a great example of how a server (Xris) and manager (Daniel) can completely alter your dining experience, for the better. A group of 10+ girls and I did brunch here and we were expecting average. We arrived excited to finally all get together and ordered not long after. While the conversation filled the time from ordering to receiving food at the table, we were left waiting for 2 ladies' meals almost double the time. We then found a mistake with one of the meals. We were not too displeased because we were having a great time catching up, yet the server knew our experience w/ food, drinks, etc had been sub-par at best. He took it upon himself to see what him and his manager could do to leave us with a smile. They came over to the table, sincerely apologized for the inconveniences, and comped ALL our drinks. While this was almost unnecessary, it was above and beyond and makes me want to come back. Thank you for taking care of us like family Roofers! read more

I've only had drinks here on a Friday night, but the food we saw looked delicious. The drink menu was innovative for sure and we were treated to live music which was unexpected and nice. The place can get packed very easily and staff doesn't really do a good job of making sure there is room at the bar to order, so if you are shorter like I am, make sure you bring a taller ally to help you out. I will be honest, the clientele can have an attitude problem, but this has zero to do with the establishment itself. read more

Ate ate Roofers Union for brunch recently. Food was mediocre, bottomless was mostly orange juice. Server basically shoved us out the door even though we had full drinks and there were other open tables. I'm not inclined to return for that reason alone. Brunch is about the experience, and the servers and Roofers Union ruined that. read more

Service was great and the bottomless mimosas for $15 is a great deal! However, the food was average at best and they couldn't split our checks because we had a party of 7. The location is great though and our waiter was really on top of refilling coffee and mimosas. read more

Honestly, decided to try this place for brunch because the wait at another restaurant was too long. I'm so glad we left the other place! The food here was fantastic and they had $15 all you can drink mimosas. SOLD. I ordered the farmers breakfast. Yum! Also, do yourself a favor and order the doughnut holes. Holy crap, delicious! read more

Best rooftop ambience in DC, excellent selection of craft brews. Well done RU!

We just went to the rooftop - very nice view of Adams Morgan area and her good frozen hibiscus margarita's!!

Roofers Union (which apparently is not an actual Union Hall) recently added some ball-slapping flavor to the AdMo scene - replacing that aging giant, Reef, with a much-deserved upgrade in both food and drink. Gone are the fish tanks and whale tales of Reef's sordid past, and the good people behind Ripple have ushered in a new era of upscale(ish) food and drink in a clean and stab-free cocktail and dining zone. The lower bar is completely unrecognizable. Even though no one (meaning me) ever saw Reef's downstairs bar in the sober light of day, the change is amazing. No more fish net and fake rock in the grotto. Now, clean exposed brick and a modern bar grace the downstairs of Roofers Union, creating an intimate (without being claustrophobic) space below the main attraction - upstairs. On the main floor, these good people didn't even have the decency to keep a single fish tank (or offer to sell me one). Rather, they have gone with the whole "Extreme Restaurant Makeover" route and gutted the space. Now, an open floor plan and floor-to-ceiling windows make for a lively (but not overcrowded) dining room. For food, be prepared for a Sausage Party. By that, of course I mean their three-sausage combo ($21). Having tried the spicy and savory flavors, I only wish I could have fit more delicious sausage into my mouth (too easy?). A host of small plates give your table the chance to share a variety of surprisingly innovative dishes (especially considering they kept the same basic kitchen that Reef had?!?! WHAT?!). The fish tacos are also notable for their light breading and fresh taste. When it came time for dessert, I hoovered down everything in sight - not knowing what they all were - save for the fact that they were delicious. I hear tell the rooftop will eventually open as well, but didn't make it up there during the soft opening. Overall, I give it 4.5 stars. Minus a half star for not keeping at least one fish tank - you know - for old time's sake. read more

I really wanted to like this place. It was recommended by Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post, and the chef is from Ripple, a terrific Cleveland Park restaurant. We booked a table for our twin daughters' 18th birthday Unfortunately, we had lousy service and mediocre to just plain bad food -- all served up in a cavernous, noisy space. My husband had dry, stringy pork butt. My daughters had tasteless vegetarian burgers. I had the siracha chicken thigh which was tasty but the salad tasted like someone swapped water for the dressing. We could only talk to the person directly across or next to us because of the noise. This place is not worth the time is takes to find parking. Actually, we wouldn't return even if there was free parking around back. read more

In search of a light dinner, beer and a rooftop; myself and four friends sought out Roofer's Union. Having successfully dined there before, I knew this spot had everything that we needed. Checked in with the hostess to get a table for five we were promptly seated...off to a great start, right? Think again. As soon as the waitress (a blonde) saw our table of five, she ran back into the kitchen to send the hostess to our table. They instructed us that they "do not serve tables of five on that half of the roof" and our we "needed to vacate the table immediately." Embarrassed and annoyed, a few passive aggressive words were said as we b-lined to the bar. While waiting to order, I hear and see the waitress mocking and speaking ill of our group. As if being kicked out of your table wasn't awkward enough. This unfortunate experience will deter me from returning. read more

I was there for Sunday brunch, and it was unbelievably disorganized. The service was terrible, and it was in fact unclear who our server was. The food was mediocre. I can tolerate bad service if the food makes up for it, but in this case, bad service plus mediocre food equals I won't be returning. read more

So sad to write this review since we were really hoping for a great new spot in the neighborhood. The food was a huge let down: Arancini: taste was great but there was no dipping sauce for the fritters, only smeared on the bottom Chicken sausage, spicy Italian and corn dog were very flavorless and the sausages both were very dry. The corn dog was far from what one is; this one has a thing greasy casing, not good. Brussels sprouts were ok; very simple Cauliflower: was served cold and the only flavors on the actual cauliflower that came through was the mint. Steak Frites: ordered is medium, came out med rare. The steak itself was good/ok, but for that price, the steak should have been a little more flavorful, the fries on the side should have been warm and seasoned. Sundae: the 'hot fudge' was cold and hard on the ice cream and there was barely any on the dessert Not how I would picture a hot fudge sundae We went on a Tuesday earlier this week. I don't buy the new excuse, there should never be an excuse for those prices and those flavors. read more

There's a weird, awkward downstairs bar that smelled like fish when we walked in, so we headed upstairs to the restaurant and sat at the bar up there. First off, they don't have any happy hour specials upstairs. Lame. Food was disappointing. I got the Italian, which I wasn't even really sure what I was getting, since the menu description wasn't very specific. It turned out to be a sausage, peppers and cheese on a pretzel roll. Sounds good, right? Well, it wasn't. Not sure how you can mess up those four ingredients, but they managed to do so. I got a specialty cocktail with grapefruit syrup, which sounded yummy, but it, like everything else here, was disappointing. I might give it another try, since this place appears to be pretty new, but I don't have very high hopes. Overpriced and just kind of gross. I'll give it another shot once the roof opens. read more

I was a big fan of The Reef, especially when compared to the other crappy Adams Morgan bars, but Roofers Union is a huge upgrade. Much less divey (don't worry, Millie & Al's is still next door) and a very solid beer list to boot. Went to the 1 Year Anniversary/Birthday party last week and the food in the form of free appetizers was really tasty too. Definitely a new go-to spot when I venture north of Dupont. read more

The only reason it isn't five stars is because I'm currently throwing up as a result from last nights debauchery here and like to think I'm not the only party to blame read more

Went for brunch and will definitely be back. All you can drink mimosas for as long as you'd like for $15. I recommend the french onion dip, brussels, and the shaved veggie salad. I heard the eggs benedict was great, and the fried chicken and waffles. I'd skip the side of sausage, it had an odd texture. Ask for Genevieve, she was great, and even brought us a bunch of different fresh juices for the mimosas. read more

I've been to Roofer's Union a few times now - once for dinner and twice for breakfast. The service has always been wonderful and the food has been delicious. The Farmer's Breakfast is pretty basic bacon and eggs, but the potatoes they add to it are delicious! One thing that really made a difference to me was that the servers are always knowledgeable about which dishes are gluten free and which ones I need to avoid. I definitely recommend checking this place out! read more

Great beer and cocktails. The bartender will steer you to the right drink, she even gave me a few of their funky beers. Having a cask beer tonight. Coming back tomorrow for the mussels! read more

The bar has 3 levels the top is the best with a nice roof bar. The views are cool from up there. It's also nice the tables are high so the rail does not obstruct the view. read more

Fun place with a nice view on the rooftop. We watched the bike cops arrest people for no reason- very entertaining. The feel is really chill. Good for a fun but calm night out! read more