The Pinch

This has to be one of my favorite places in DC. It shouldn’t be labeled as a dive bar, because the food is phenomenal. The menu selection is incredible, so much that thought has been put into every dish that is served. The relaxed atmosphere offers a great neighborhood feel. There’s always artwork and entertainment on rotation. It’s also nice to know that the venue supports burlesque, which has really become a lost art in DC.

I’m only 40 minutes or so into my first visit but so far, I’m impressed. I had the jerk turkey burger with sweet potato fries. De-​Lish-​Us. The bartemder, Dan, who I also hear is the owner, is also awesome. Very attentive and nice.
Going down to the burlesque show in a few and will update if things go south, but I doubt I will be.
Finally, great chardonnay. And I hate the buttery California house chards that most places have in DC. Thanks for having a good one.

Pretty chill, laid back atmosphere. All three stars are for the garlic Parmesan crispy chicken wings! They are a garlic & chicken lovers dream! We weren’t a fan of the sweet potato waffles covered in duck, BBQ sauce, cheese & scallions. Something about all of the flavor combinations just didn’t agree with our taste buds. If I could give 3.5 stars, I would.

We really wanted to like this place based on the reviews. We ordered take out while visiting the area as my daughter really wanted a great burger. We were not very impressed with the food. The burgers were just okay and they were dry (maybe due to being take-​out). The fried pickle concoction was inedible and we tossed it. The donuts with honey were great but we didn’t go there for the donuts.
I totally got that it is essentially a bar with decent food. The young man who served me from behind the bar was great and very pleasant. My husband had to park at the gas station across the street and wait for me as there was ZERO parking! I imagine that it gets hectic when the bar patrons flow in. We went around 6 pm and the kitchen was just firing up and there were no bar patrons inside.

The pinch is a fantastic divey local spot. I was craving a burger and how could you go wrong with a patty topped with bbq duck, bacon and cheddar cheese?! Delicous! Plus they came with garlic Parmesan fries and a decent beer selection.

This place sucks. The service is awful. I came in and stood at the bar for 10 mins without seeing a bartender. Then when she got in there she helped everyone else first even though I was standing at her looking. I finally got my drink. Then she turned around and checked her cell phone. I went downstairs to watch the performance and the smell was unbearable. The amount of mold and brown spots on the ceiling– I almost threw up. At one point there was water coming out of the light fixture on the ceiling. The fries (only thing I felt safe to eat) came out lukewarm as if they were still frozen. Needless to say it needs to be shutdown to clean. Gross. Stay away.

I first noticed this unassuming place on a run through the neighborhood and added it to my mental list of places to check out. I came in around 6:45pm on a Wednesday. The place was virtually empty with the exception of a writing group that was clearly a regular fixture. Carl, the bartender for the evening, was a hoot. The place eventually filled up a little. Trivia night was happening on the lower level. I had the loaded sweet potato fries with duck, tried a few brews on Carl’s recommendation, and people watched. It was a great place to catch up with a friend, not too loud and good prices. My friend’s order (blue cheese burger with extra crispy bacon and parm fries) was mucked up a bit and they were slow to bring his mustard and ketchup, but the meal itself was tasty. I’m going back for the quack and Mac on Monday nights for sure!

The main props to this bar is the punk and metal shows they put on in the basement.
Otherwise for a bar in the dive category, with its location and interior/​décor, they certainly do have a good beer selection, but the prices for most of them are a dollar more than they ought to be. Then again they have invested in several flat screen TVs with cable access, so I suppose that costs money.
It’s just not a bar I would consider going to without the shows in the basement. And I don’t drink there during the show either. Just a matter of economic principle. They need a cool drink special, if only in the basement during show time for the punks and metal heads. $ 2 natty boh or something like that. Or a cheap beer and whiskey shot combo for $ 5 – 6.
Then again I don’t know if that show going crowd needs to be buzzed hard on cheap drinks.
Either way, averaging it all in I come up with 3 stars. Or 3.5 stars if Unilocal would let me.

Just came in for a beer and I heard that had great food, which you wouldn’t think by looking at it. Definitely a spot I’d hang in my younger punk rock days, but not nearly dive-​y enough, but now that I’m older that’s a good thing.
Great beer selection and I had one (or two) Bell’s Oberon on draught. For food the pulled duck sandwich caught my eye — never have heard of it. Came with their homemade hoisin sauce and it was fantastic; one of the top sandwiches I’ve had in DC. Such a great idea that I’m not sure why someone hasn’t thought of it before.
Very friendly bartender and an overall good vibe. Definitely recommend.

The burgers, fries, crab cakes, etc. are A+ tasty af. I’ve eaten there numerous times before, during, and after shows. (The burgers don’t come with tomato though, just sayin.) Some of the bartenders are really nice, especially Mark. The drinks are pretty cheap and strong. The outdoor patio is dope to chill at, and parking nearby is never a problem if you didn’t take public transit (it’s a short walk from Columbia Heights metro, just be prepared to get catcalled or smell some dank on the way). They also don’t charge performers to use their space, so you can see local bands, comedy/​poetry, or burlesque shows fairly cheaply, or participate in game nights.
The bad news is they are still working through the kinks of a uniform scheduling system and seem to have too many hands in the events management pie, so set performances may get cancelled or rescheduled regardless of past approval, which is obviously a problem for acts just starting out or those that have sold pre-​sale tickets. Additionally, they allow a creepy dude to do the AV for their shows, so if you don’t bring your own AV person, he’s there manning the system like it’s his first born. He goes by «Dick A Little» in his emails (wut?) and hits on any non-​male performers relentlessly, lingering downstairs after they’ve made clear they don’t need his assistance and coming behind the back curtain when they’re changing. The Pinch is also fairly uncleanly and stinky (I’ve picked up bandaids or broken lightbulbs off the floor), especially downstairs, but at least they’ve gotten rid of the dilapidated couches! Also note there is NO disability access to the basement because it’s just a staircase.

We went here around 5:30pm and it was empty.. . probably we got there too early. Anyhow, after a lukewarm reception, we decided to go to 11^th street instead.

I have been coming to The Pinch for 3 years about once a week and I have always loved it.
The bartenders are always attentive and friendly. They have a great beer selection and are always generous with their pours. They always greet me as I walk in and we chat as I watch whatever sport is on TV upstairs.
The food is sometimes hit or miss and varies greatly in quality due to different cooks coming and going over the years but I will rate it based on the quality of food I’ve had lately. The Quack n’ Mac on Monday nights is FANTASTIC. It is a bar original and is a star of their menu. The quality varies from week to week as the cooks like to experiment with their flavors but is almost always between 4 star and 5 star except for the weeks when they burn the melted cheese on top (2 star). The burgers are always well-​cooked and juicy made from high quality beef. Their wings are large and meaty and every sauce from the ghost pepper buffalo to the honey BBQ are always good (my favorite is the garlic parmesan). I tried their brunch once and it was an unspectacular mix of bacon, eggs, sausage and home fries. For the price, I would expect something a bit more exotic than what I received but it was a decent meal for what it was.
Lastly, they do a great job at promoting local artists in their downstairs space from punk/​metal bands to Burlesque and indie theater companies, you can always find an event their a few nights out of the week.

This hole in the wall style pub is a great place to great food. Ben was a great bartender. He was friendly and helpful. The beer selection is your standard craft beers with a few hidden gems. Do not skip this place. Get adventurous. Walk in. Order a burger and a beer. Enjoy.

Had the potential to be a great brunch. 15 $ bottomless mimosa Bloody Mary or screwdriver. Luckily, at 1pm on a Saturday my group of 4 was the only party to occupy tables in the restaurant. The bar was full. Relatively small space. We all ordered bottomless drinks, waiter took 20 minute to take our order. After that, he did not check on us once. Had to flail him down several times for refills. Then ran out of champagne??? Very mediocre, poor customer service.

Good news first.
Nice and chill staff, during our experience.
We had fun as a large group with board games.
We showed up for trivia night just last Tuesday and there were not enough people to play (there were 10 willing players). The hosts kindly ‘made up’ for it with a free beer for each of us.
Many, many beers listed were not available.
The bad part — I should say, the awful part — was the food I ate there. I ordered the sweet potato fries with barbecue sauced pulled duck (just as pictured on the front page) and cheese = $ 12. I have never eaten anything that tasted so much like what I would imagine canned cat-​food tastes like. The duck was obviously very processed or frozen or similar with a horrid texture and no taste. The sweet potato fries themselves were probably fine, but I was unable to tell as they were soggy and lost underneath the cheesy, barbecue muck.
A friend ordered fried pickles — never had one before — it was whatever.

3.5 Stars
The Pinch is one of those places that went to instant dive status as soon as it opened (and became the immediate neighborhood bar for northern Columbia Heights to boot). What it lacks in Joe Englert-​style conceptuality it makes up for in authenticity: they took a former Salvadoran disco, made some minor (but key) changes, et voila, the Pinch was born! One of those key changes was to add draft beer. They have 10 taps which have included Great Lakes Alberta Clipper, Evolution Brewing’s Special 608 Belgian Amber, and Champion’s Stickin’ in my Rye IPA. There are 50 more in bottles and cans including $ 4.54 PBR tallboys. They also serve pitchers, an unusual sight in DC these days.
Upstairs you’ll find patio seating, a 12-​seat sticky concrete bar, and a jukebox that was blaring the Red Hot Chili Peppers on a recent visit. The basement (which contains another, smaller bar) is set up for live music, games, and trivia. The whole place smells like the Raven, which I find vaguely comforting. The food runs from typical pub-​grub like wings and burgers, to more ambitious pulled duck sliders and beer battered buffalo shrimp.
A great place to visit if you’re tired of canned beer at the Red Derby, to stop in for a nightcap after Thip Khao, or just to chill if you happen to be in the area.

This spot is good as gets a dive bar, kind of a sketch neighborhood, the only way I remember it is it has barred windows on the corner. The beer list is great with many varieties to chose from. The service is attentive and very friendly. I had the chicken wings and they were huge! The size of the wingettes and drummies were they size of my palm — they were a nice greasy smothered in not an overly spicy hot sauce with blue cheese dressing on the side. They were really tasty and super messy at the same time. I have never been for this but I know they offer live music and burlesque show certain nights. Definitely not the typical place you’ll find on 14^th street in DC.

3.5 Stars, but rounded up to a 4 because the bartenders/​servers were super chill and friendly.
Went her one Saturday afternoon with my siblings and I’m not going to lie… we were pretty shocked when we walked through those doors. You know when places are labeled a dive bar, but that usually means it’s some trendy «dive» bars that’s actually pretty nice? WELL, this is not one of «those» dive bars. This is a legit, run down dive bar that seemed to be filled with regulars.
We walked in pretty confused and were honestly considered going elsewhere, but we decided to not judge a place by its covers! (The Pinch isn’t located in the best looking neighborhood either). We weren’t sure whether it was a place to sit ourselves or wait to be seated (I really hate that at places because I stand there so awkwardly and everyone can tell I’ve never been there before). Anyways, we sat at a table in the back and an employee came and handed us the menu. The kitchen hadn’t opened for dinner yet, I believe they were still transitioning from their brunch menu (at I wanna say, 3pm?). Also, they were closing early for a private whiskey event. No biggie. He took our order and said it’d go in as soon as the kitchen was open.
Drinks: Wide selection of beer on draft, which is always a plus in my book.
Food: Ghost Crispy Wings — From the name you should know these would be spicyyy from the ghost peppers. They definitely had that kick to them, but it was really good! Not too spicy where you couldn’t feel your tongue. The wings were HUGE too. Really great portion size.
Loaded Sweet Potato Waffle Fries — Yummmm! I don’t even eat duck and I thought it tasted really good. Everything worked together really well and the waffle fries were sweet and crispy! They did not disappoint at all.
The environment seemed like a great spot to just chill at and get to know the bartenders. They all seemed to be having a good time working there. They did check on us a few times and made sure the food came out perfect.
I wouldn’t mind returning here! Although we only ordered two items, I’m sure everything else tastes just as great!

Maybe it was a bad day for the pinch but our brunch was awful. Service was eh, but whatevs — it’s brunch. But the food was horrible! It ALL came out cold! For serious! I’m not exaggerating! They had to have held it for at least 10 mins to get it all that cold.
All the eggs came out fully cooked — not poached.
The Boston cream French toast looked nothing like the photos featured here and tasted worse. It was like something out a freezer box.
The bacon was also bad, and I don’t even know how that’s possible. It dissolves into grease in your mouth — no chewing required.
The coffee was crap! I think it may have been instant. I couldn’t drink it.
Silver lining: bottomless mimosas and ok bloody marry.
Overall, I wish I had stayed home. Come here for drinks and fried appetizers — not brunch. At least I was with good friends…

I’m sooooo torn. There were some really great things here at brunch — and some things missed by a mile.
I’ve wanted to come to Pinch for months, drooling every time my companion Sophie would describe what she was noshing on on her many visits. I just wish more of what I had today lived up to those dreams.
First — the incredibly good
The donuts. Oh the heavenly donuts. You simply must try the donuts.
You also should indulge in the sweet potato fries. Don’t do like I did and forgo them only to have to beg a few from your friend. Outstanding.
Then — well the not so good
I got the Spinach Bacon Benny. I’m a freak for eggs benedict and will have it whenever the opportunity. I wish I’d ordered pretty much anything else from the menu. This is a horribly ill-​conceived dish. I don’t mind different but it takes a chef with some basic culinary knowledge to pull off something successful. They’ve forgone the traditional english muffin in favor of a biscuit. All this means is the extra liquid from the spinach makes the biscuit completely fall apart. One of the eggs was near on raw (yolk running good — white runny VERY BAD). It was all just so disappointing.
The other irritation was my drink never came. I can appreciate that the bartender was doubling as the only waitstaff. But this is hardly the first time The Pinch has served brunch. Even if the scheduled waiter/​waitress called in — maybe have some way to get a backup in or don’t scheduling yourself that lean to begin with.