Rocket Bar

I want to give one star just because I use to like this place, it’s fun to go there and spend time.
But I’m not coming back, and neither of my friends will…
The bartender with blue hair I had last night was awful! She had no respect when she was serving drinks, and was giving altitude when we was closing tab after round of drinks. Because we closed it like 2 – 3 times. She was pissed about that… Really? It’s not her business that I want to close my tab every time after every round, or I want to keep it open. That’s her job to serve drinks and don’t ask me or any of my friends why are we not keeping it open. I’m working on the same job as this girl, so I know what are bartenders suppose to do.
I take my drinks, I pay my bill, I leave you always even more then 25% gratuity. And if I decide to stay longer I want to order another round. What is your issue with me closing my check whenever I want???
And when I ask security to call me a manager, he ask me why (why do I even get this question? If I want see the manager it’s mean I want see the manager!!!), so when I told him that I have an issue with bartender guess what he said– manager is not her, he will be back tomorrow after noon.
I mean seriously?! Manager is not here at Friday night? Should I believe this? Worst lie I ever heard in my life…
Or if that is truth I really don’t understand how you guys doing closing of the shift on Friday night without of Manager…
So that’s was total disrespect… no more
Totally recommend you to save your nerves and never come back!!!

Best priced Happy Hour in DC by far. You really can’t beat $ 4 drinks and Happy Hour doesn’t end until 8 for those of us who get off late. And with bunch of various games to keep you occupied it’s a good place to bring friends to waste time before a game or your dinner reservations. Only downside is there isn’t any food but with all the options right next door it isn’t really that big of a deal.

Eh. Decent place to hang out, I guess (pool tables, darts, etc). The bartenders aren’t the best: their knowledge seemed pretty basic and they weren’t the friendliest, but whatever. Would be better if they served food too.. . but at least they allow you to bring food from other places.

Has a nice selection of games and beer. Many of the games were in pretty rough shape though, one of the dartboards we were shooting had a lot of bounce-​outs from so much use. Upkeep your games!

When we walked into this bar, I admit, it looked sketchy, however, I’m glad we stayed. Great place to feel as if you’re in outer-​space (underground) while people watching, listening to good music and having cheap drinks. We were waiting to play pool (there are many tables) but were too intrigued people watching to get up from the corner couch. I likely would not revisit but it’s worth a first!

I’ve been here way more times than I’ve checked in. There aren’t many options for solid bars in Chinatown but I think that Rocket Bar is one of the good ones. Most people don’t realize that it’s actually bigger than it seems. There are two rooms: the darker one where everyone sees two bars and they think that’s it. Turn the corner on the left and there’s a whole other room where you can almost always find a seat and yet another bar with more activities.
They have happy hour until 8pm with varying drink specials. I used to not like the fact that they don’t serve food, but lately I’ve come to love this. Why not have people go to various restaurants around the area (some cheap ones where you don’t have to tip for your food) then come back to the bar to eat what you want, and only tip for your drinks? I think it’s great I can hit up the Chipotle across the street, then enjoy my meal with my beers at Rocket Bar. :)

If you’re looking to play darts, this is the only place in the area that has dart boards. If you’re prepared, you might even bring your own. Otherwise, at $ 20 an hour for shuffleboard, games don’t come cheap (though they are probably similar prices elsewhere).

A fun bar in Chinatown right across from the Verizon Center. Walk down the stairs to find a room full of games, even more so than Iron Horse Taproom: Pool, Darts, etc. Very crowded, popular bar that serves a few macros and a decent number of craft beers like Sierra Nevada, DC Brau, 3 Stars, Long Trail, etc. Hard to get an updated taplist anywhere despite the fact they are on Facebook, Twitter, and have a website. All three are not updated well regarding beer selection. A few years ago Iron Horse and Rocket Bar created their own beer with Sierra Nevada called Hop Syndicate, an India Pale Lager, which was a very nice and signaled to me that they were serious about beer probably.
Ambiance here is lively, crowded. Prices are decent. Bartender had no clue what 3 Stars saison he had on tap. He claimed it was the «DC Brau 3 Stars saison.» They have Happy Hour from 4−7pm daily and are always open until 1:30 am or later everyday.

$ 3 PBRs. Big Buck. Beautiful.
Hole in the wall. Smells musty, but that can be ignored when DJing the touchtunes jukebox for sure. Great pre/​post Verizon Center activities. Always #1 option when trying to get a little lit up in Chinatown.

I’ve always had a good time at rocket bar, even though it’s in a basement. I love it! They always have any drink I could imagine on hand, and the draft beer selection has always been great. It’s definitely my go to place for cheap drinks and shots before heading into a game at the Verizon center.

Rocket Bar is in a dingy dark basement and is has a few games like skeeball/​shuffleboard, a small bar, and not much else. It’s probably more suited for grabbing drinks during a night out — I came here once on a Saturday night and was impressed how crowded it was (probably because of no cover). I’ve also been here for happy hour, which runs until 8pm on weekdays and has some decent beer/​wine specials. I’ve never seen a large crowd during happy hour at all, probably because there are a ton of nicer happy hour bar options in the area.
The biggest upside is the 20% off with a Unilocal check-​in — if you have a large tab, this can really save you money! The downside (or maybe upside for others) is that they don’t have a kitchen, so if you get hungry you can order food for delivery. There’s a ton of options in Chinatown, but it is an added hassle.

Although this place may be easily missed, it’s worth your time. Rocket Bar is a dive bar — emphasis on the bar. Plenty of beer and drinks available, with decent happy hour specials, but no food is served in here. They allow you to bring in and/​or order food, which is not hard to do since this place is located near Gallery Place/​Chinatown and Penn Quarter, so there are limitless options. They offer billiards, shuffleboard, and skeeball to play, and there are several TVs set up around the bar showing various games. The place itself is a little dark, and I’ve heard it gets crowded at night, but it’s a good-​enough place to grab a few drinks with coworkers or friends.
If you check-​in at Rocket Bar through the Unilocal app, you receive 20% off of your tab. Pretty great deal on top of everything else!

The epitome of a dive bar. I go to Gallery Place/​Chinatown all the time and I never noticed this place until I had to (aka I was meeting some friends there). It’s easy to miss if you don’t know what you’re looking for.
Rocket Bar lives up to the name. It’s a bar first and foremost and it has at least one rocket and astronaut painted on the wall. As the other reviewers have noted, this place doesn’t serve food so bring your own. Fortunately there are plenty of places to grab something in Chinatown. There are two bars, several tvs, pool tables, darts, and skee ball if you want to play. There was nothing wrong with the service, but there was nothing extraordinary about it either. The ambience seems kind of dirty; I’ve had better experiences at other bars so I will probably be taking my happy hours elsewhere, to places where they have more to offer.

This place is very fun! It’s a great low-​key bar to hang at. My friends and I go every now and then and it’s always a reliable fun place. They have a ton of games you can play (shuffleboard, etc). It gets suuuuper crowded after Caps/​Wizards game though with long lines! But fun reliable bar in Chinatown!

So you’re in DC, Chinatown to be exact. You just found yourself enjoying an awesome Capitals game, and you’re still thirsty… you’re night is not done… you need somewhere to go to expend some of that pent up hockey energy… go to Rocket Bar.
— Yes, there’s plenty of beer.
— Yes, there’s multiple bars, so you’re not waiting for that drink.
— Yes, the ambience is… eclectic.
— Yes, there’s bar games.
— Yes, there’s women. They can talk hockey, so that’s a plus.
— Yes, it’s damned close to Verizon Center. Walk 40 steps. boom.
If you’re there, there’s where you are. If you’re not there, there’s where you should be. Understand? Good.
Eat. Hockey. Drink. Hockey. Life. Hockey. Happy.
Have fun, ENJOY!

This place was unexpectedly fun. My friends and I stumbled in here (figuratively and literally) to end off an evening of bar hopping and we hadn’t had high expectations going in.
The bartender we had was great. I was bummed because I didn’t end up checking in until right before we were about to leave so we used the discount on one final drink for the night and the bartender was really cool about it and actually felt bad that we hadn’t been able to apply it to our entire tab.
Eh, it is what it is but this place was fun! The setup is a tad dingy so that’s why it gets 3 stars, but I definitely recommend at least passing through during an evening out.

For a fun night out with a group of friends, I’d suggest a trip to Chinatown’s Rocket Bar. Rocket Bar won’t provide you with the best version of any drink, but it’ll provide space for you and your friends to play pool or shuffleboard and enjoy some drinks.
Also, Rocket Bar is a great place for a planned work happy hour. They have a large space that can be closed off to the public. They don’t provide catering, but they allow you to bring whatever food you’d like. I just ordered a bunch of Matchbox pizza’s and sliders and it made for a great night.

Inconspicuous bar located in the heart of Chinatown. At first glance, you could easily walk past the entrance and not realize that this place is even a bar. Don’t be fooled by the subtlety, Rocket Bar is well-​known and worth checking out. Once you walk down the stairs you are transported into a huge basement bar (perfect for those who hate sunlight or being above ground) with numerous pool tables, arcade games, and other diversions. There is plenty of space for lounging, hanging at the bar, and to talk to friends. Rocket Bar has several rooms each with a large bar. It has a retro feel with murals and lava lamps. The drinks are cheap, the crowd is fairly eclectic, although borders on a younger clientele. They have several tvs throughout the bar that play any and every sport on tv (yes — there was soccer, cliff-​diving, and football all on).
I’m glad I stumbled across Rocket Bar and will definitely be back with a group of friends.

Service:
Our bartender was super fast! He literally could remember all 9 of our orders and how to separate them all by just looking at our couples in the group. Now that is pure talent. He was super nice and helpful — us girls tend to stare at the menu like we aren’t just going to order what we always order, it’s true: we never know what we want. Anyways, he got to the point, was super helpful and also let us use our coupon on our entire order plus two free shots!
Ambiance:
This place is a bit dark, however, it sets the mood for the «space» themed walls and décor that hangs from the ceilings and walls. They also have some cool painted walls too! In this place they have ski ball, pool tables, shuffleboard and darts. The music is also controlled by the customers via a downloadable app.
Price:
We came here on a Saturday night before the Wizards game played at the Verizon Center. We weren’t expecting to have deals or be hooked up, however, PBR was on special. Even though it was not happy hour when we went, they seem to have a pretty darn good one: 4pm — 8pm $ 4.00 rail/​wine/​beer of the month and I saw some posters for buy one get one.
Food:
They do not serve food here. You can order food for delivery or go and get something to bring it back. We walked across the street to Chipotle and a few girls went to McDonalds.
Extras:
Unilocal provided a 20% off coupon to use here! It was off the entire check! It was the best =)

I’m a fan. Truth be told I wouldn’t see your standard Unilocaler going here unless you appreciate dives such as myself. It isn’t the dirty sketchy kind of dive that looks like it needs a health inspector to come through, but rather the kind that ‘light-​hearted, easy going kind of folks who don’t have a care in the world and you know all the bartenders’ type of joint that have the basics down.
You’re not going to order a fancy mixologist drink here. You’re going to order a beer on tap or vodka cranberry or along those lines. Keep it simple for them and they will keep it simple for you.
Food is not served here. They do allow you to bring food from the outside or you can order food for it to be delivered to you at the bar. The bartender, Rodney, showed me a couple of take away and delivery menus they have for those who need to feed the need. I stuck to drinks. No one under the age of 21 is allowed.
Guess what?! The bathrooms are clean. Just thought I should point that out. No nasty used toilet paper in the floor. Everything was well kept and I didn’t have to worry about contracting a STD from the toilet sit even with toilet paper being placed on it. That’s always a good thing.
This is located in a basement and can be quickly missed if you are not paying attention right across from the metro in Gallery Place.
They have pool tables and darts! This is a fun place and I totally utilized that. It was a great time and I will return. It’s my kind of scene.