High Velocity

First time here last night and I’m giving this place 4 stars! I’ve been to a few events at this hotel, but it was easy to see why hotel guests and many others pick this place for a Friday night. We had a 15 minute wait, but it was pleasant and comfortable seating. We also could watch the Finals while waiting –which is of course the main attraction there! We had a really great waitress-​she was super friendly and gave a great drink recommendation. I see why this place was so packed-​the atmosphere is comfortable, lively, but still feels somewhat upscale and not at all like a hooters or other typical sports bar. I’m not exactly around the corner from this hotel or bar but there was plenty of street parking and valet is available. I had a green apple martini, dirty Shirley-​my classic go to drink –and they did an excellent job on it. For bites I had a Chicken quesadilla with excellent guacamole and my friend had a veggie/​bean burger. I’ll be back sometime soon!

Very disappointed considering this place is in a higher end hotel. I ordered the tomato basil flatbread and what I received looked like school lunch pizza. Literally tomato sauce, what looked like shredded melted mozzarella, and the basil looked like 3 leaf clovers smh. The 1 star is for the very friendly hostess and waitress.

Pretty big sports bar with MANY TVs, which is nice. Customer service was great, we were greeted by everyone. Didn’t eat food this time, I’ll update the review when I do. The bar area gets pretty packed, so we had to sit at a table, but still got to watch a basketball game because there was a tv directly in front of the table. I ordered the chocolate cake with ice cream and a Manhattan. Everything was great!

This is my first and likely my last review on Unilocal.I was in DC for a business trip and the service I received from Steve and the rest of the staff prompted me to do this.
On my first night I was interested in trying a good local beer. Steve was very knowledgeable of the local selection and didn’t hesitate a second to get me set up with a couple of samples. I ended up going with a beer I never would have selected on my own and loved it.
I ended up coming here every night during my trip to hang out, watch sports, drink beer and local rye. (another solid recommendation from Steve)
Would highly recommend this place to anyone in town looking for a drink and a quick bite while catching up on their local sports team.
I could ramble on about 5 other great stories that led me to do this, but I figured you get the idea by now.

I would give this 0 stars if I could.
I needed vegetarian food to go, and was excited to find a falafel patty on the menu.
The hostess told me I could place a to go order by sitting at the bar — but that they would only serve at the bar from a limited menu.
And, no, they would not allow me to take the falafel sandwich to go.
She offered the salad with romaine lettuce and bacon and blue cheese dressing as my one vegetarian to go option. The one with bacon you mean? Yes, she said. So it’s just a bowl of romaine lettuce, if I want it without bacon? Yes, she told.
I practically begged the two women at the front to allow me the falafel or any vegetarian meal for that matter, but no go.
I told them I was struggling to find any food in the hotel and was willing to pay if someone will serve me vegetarian food.
No apologies, no alternatives. Just no.
I started tearing up, saying I’m just trying to find a vegetarian lunch so I can get back to my conference. It was humiliating to beg to pay for an item on the menu.
They didn’t even say a word, though, so I turned around and left.

I was not impressed with the service AT ALL! Our waitress had an attitude the entire time. She didn’t show any intrest in wanting to assist us. The drinks were just ok. After hearing some of my friends complain, I opted to not order any food. I don’t think I will be returning.

Where to even begin with this place? Shaw desperately needs a sports bar, and we are resigned to a place with TVs that has bad food and worse management. We ventured down here today to watch March madness, since high velocity had advertised March madness specials. They have decent beer on special (1 star) and a ton of TVs (2 stars).
However, a block of TVs is currently playing a cavs/​mavs game from several nights ago. I know it’s confusing, but March Madness is college basketball, not NBA reruns. Said TV could not be changed because management was in a meeting (–1 million stars; Unilocal wouldn’t let me do this, so it looks like I gave it one. I did not).
I ordered their tomato/​mozz flatbread advertised to also include fresh basil. I’ve included a pic of what I assume to be an Ellio’s frozen pizza on a Marriott red plate.
Go here if you must, but if you can stay in your living room, you’ll have an experience 10 times better without spending a dime. (My living room, btw, gets 5 stars.)

Sports wise & food wise, great.
But I don’t think I’ll ever be back here. The service was horrendous. We searched for our waitress the entire night. She was either patronizing with customers off to the side, talking to her co workers, or MIA. She never cleared the table; finally we asked her to. I waited damn near half an hour for 1 cup of coffee & when I asked the status, she had a severe attitude. (And 1 cup of coffee cost $ 5.00.)
When the bill came, she added mandatory gratuity. Still not sure why she deserves an 18% tip… She was the worst waitress I’ve ever encountered. Terrible, terrible service.

Excellent place to get a drink and watch sports. Very conveniently located inside the Marriott Marquis. Lots of TVs so you can watch just about anything, good food, good selection of beers and wine. Awesome bar tenders including Ness who always has a smile and ready to help you, and even converse with you if not too busy. I recommend this place if you want to watch the game with friends and even if you are alone there always people there to talk too.

First I’d like to say that I come to this bar more often than I’d like to admit since I live just down the street. Overall, great atmosphere with over 45 beers on tap. Happy hour runs from 4pm to 7pm, and while the prices aren’t that great, you can’t complain about the selections. Food has always been hot and delicious (definitely try the truffle fries!), and the bartenders are friendly and welcoming. Love this place, and I’ll definitely be back… probably tonight. :)

If I told you I ditched an orientation to come here for «lunch» (never made it back to campus because I was peer pressured into staying) would you judge me?
I don’t care. Yea, I did it… ditched a boring orientation to come hang out with colleagues, share a few small plates, and enjoy some libations. And I don’t regret it, not one bit.
We sat at the bar, a favorite of my colleague, and entertained ourselves by bothering the heck out of the bartender (he was really cool and attentive). 3.5 hours… poor guy. Velocity had recently opened and the staff were still working out a few kinks (shows you how long overdue this review is smh). The food took some time to come out, the drinks were a little weak and the waiters were trampling over each other trying to get order right.
As far as the menu goes, we played it pretty safe. Mussels, which tasted pretty standard, while the nachos were a complete disappointment. Sigh. Not that I order many nachos when I go to restaurants, but these were made with fake cheese and had few chips on the plate. The calamari was also pretty basic, having nothing particularly special to boast.
I went almost a year ago. Hope they’ve revamped some menu items and added more alcohol to their mules by this point. Overall, I’m pretty sure I would never go out of my way to come back, but if I’m looking for a spacious bar with a gazillion TVs that’s close to campus, I may make an exception (based on convenience).

Good spot to watch the game whether its Basketball or Football. For the black professionals if you’re tired of the day parties and usual clubs scene to view the games this is definitely the location. 4 stars given because service is either hit or miss

This bar is nestled inside the Marquis Marriott, just across the street from the Washington Convention Center. You don’t have to exit the convention center to enter the hotel. The guards can direct you to the underground access. That can be convenient, especially if there are crowds or the weather is unpleasant.
The bar is beautiful. There are several spaces where your group can visit. Some of the tables look like polished surf boards. My group hung out for about two hours and we didn’t feel rushed. You can order your food at the bar and someone will bring it to you. Sports enthusiasts will love this place. There are monitors on every wall. You can still fake interest in a conversation while glancing at the ticker tape along the screen.
The kitchen staff takes pride in plating. Each dish was decorative and creatively served. That beautiful creativity and the prime downtown location will increase the price of any item your order. I wasn’t that excited about my $ 15 hummus burger (with fries or salad included). It was too thick to bite. The hummus was tasty and somewhat spicy. I didn’t understand the giant lettuce leaf that unfolded as I lifted the bun. I gave up trying to take a bite and just cut the burger on the plate. When the bartender asked how I was enjoying my plate, I told him I wasn’t that impressed with it. He suggested I try the flat bread. That was much better.
The back area chairs are comfy. The atmosphere is relaxing and pleasant. We will probably return sometime during happy hour.

Really overpriced, in my opinion, but the food was pretty good and our waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu items.

I was staying at the Marriott Marquis and this restaurant/​sports bar is off the lobby. I was with a group about 8:30pm on a Wed night that was looking for a nibble, drink and something not too expensive. We wondered in and sat at a high top at the bar. It is self-​service because they are under-​staffed. If you sit there you must go to the bar to order and retrieve your drinks. The bartender was surly and had attitude and created an unpleasant experience for us, one of the people in our group mentioned she believes they are union employees.
We ordered bbq chicken nachos which were huge, but not very good and calamari which was also ok.
Within a few blocks there are a lot of better choices — Matchbox, Capital City Brewing, Baby Wale and others.

Rude and incompetent service! I asked bartender to turn a game and he actually barked at me. Another the waitress tried to change a channel, couldnt reach it, Gave up, and left w out an explanation! We thought she was retuning w the correct remote or something and sat there for 10 minutes wasting time. Also very over priced for what is, at best, mediocre atmosphere.
If the manager is reading this: the douchy and rude bartender was a short trolly bald guy.

This place is very average. I was at the Marriott for work and came here for lunch. It was completely empty but the staff was very nice.
My co-​worker and I both had the Mediterranean salad with falafel — the falafel’s were dry! The salad was just ehhh overall…
I’m sure that this place can be good for drinks as they have a great setup for it. I would come back here if I had no other choice, but in a city like DC, that’s next to impossible!

Located inside the beautiful Marriott Marquis hotel is High Velocity, which is a sports bar that you’ll need some luck if you have a particular game in mind you want to see. A buddy of mine was in town and we met here so he could watch college football and I could watch hockey. The ordeal of getting both games on the TVs at the bar was something else.
Before I go any further, my buddy, his wife, and I were the only people sitting at our end of the bar who cared what was on TV, and there were four or five of them in front of us. We just needed two. First, the football game was on one TV, but we still needed the Caps game on the one beside. Then, the Caps game was put on the TV beside the football game, but then that channel was changed to a Entertainment Tonight type show, which doesn’t even make sense in sports bar. Then, the football game back but the Caps game was gone again, and finally 30 minutes later the Caps game was back on. I’m giving this place 3 stars because of the amount of patience they showed in dealing with us, because it couldn’t have been easy.
However, later on my buddy’s wife who was trying to get service said «Hey» to the bartender who said «Hey» back, smirked, then kept on walking to the other side of the bar. It had to be one of the douchiest things I’ve ever seen a bartender do. Was he trying to be cool? or funny? Who knows, but it sure as heck wasn’t cool.
Anyways, we did order food, and the chicken quesadilla was really good, the wings were okay, and whatever else we got was forgettable. If you’re staying at the Marriott then it’s not a terrible option, but if you’re a local? You’d be better off going somewhere else.

Trendy, slick, sports bar inside the new Marriott Marquis. There are many different areas to accommodate you or your group with multiple TVs on steroids. We watched a Skins preseason game here. The bartenders were gorgeous, quick and friendly and our waiter was on point. I had the fish tacos and they were delicious. I look forward to coming back during the regular season.

Like other Unilocalers, but experience at High Velocity was nothing to write home about. While I love their Moscow Mules (prepared quite well), I can definitively say their food is not good. I mean, what sports bar has bad wings?!
The bartenders are very warm and welcoming, and there is plenty of seating. TVs all over the bar will probably be put to good use once football season starts back up. IN the meantime, the bar seems quite empty.
A good beer selection and fun cocktail menu may keep people coming back, but there are better bars in DC.