The grandfather among the hip eateries of the Atlas District, The Argonaut is H Street’s true neighborhood gathering spot.
The Argonaut is part English tavern, part San Diego taqueria, part neighborhood coffee shop… It hosts family night, science night, trivia night and live Bluegrass, and was also voted one of Washingtonian’s top 75 bars in 2009 and 2013. It is known for it’s no-frills-yet-delicious Thursday through Sunday brunches, as well as being one of the most family-friendly restaurants in the District.
With its dark décor, flat screen televisions and fried appetizers, you might at first think this is a sports bar. You couldn’t be further from the truth. If there’s a theme here, it’s all things coastal, the décor taking from a ship with globes as lanterns and a bar stocked with some really good rum. It goes for the food, too, which is inspired by classic dishes of coastal towns like New Orleans, Nantucket, and Havana. Chesapeake crab cake, anyone? Fish tacos? Ale-battered cod?
And while there are televisions, you probably won’t be watching them – you’ll be discussing anything and everything with your new found neighbor or friend. Perhaps they’ll even treat you to a drink from the list of 12 microbrews, poured out of antique draught towers, or a similarly-themed selection of domestic bottles. They’ve also got some great wines, specialty drinks, and probably the largest selection of tasty and uncommon non-alcoholic beverages you’d find in a bar.
Funky