Star & Shamrock

I’ve never seen any place like this, it’s literally a Jewish pub. There’s an awesome shamrock Star of David sign hanging out front, and menorahs inside the pub. The cocktails all had funny Jewish names. I had never had an aged barrel cocktail before this place, and I was a bit hesitant. It was one of the best cocktails I had ever had! I highly recommend them.
The only reason this place isn’t getting 5 starts is because of how the bar tender treated us when we first walked in. He wasn’t the most welcoming at first, but made us feel right at home once we realized we were all of age and not trying to mess with him.
I highly recommend this place if you want to watch a game or just chill in a pub setting.

This place… is not great. Sad too because it is in my neighborhood and I think the service is pretty decent. The problem is, the food is bad and overpriced. My #1 suggestion here is to get a reuben, or do not eat here at all. Here are the things I have tried:
Hank’s Reuben Rolls– these are pretty good
Ellie’s Knishes– not a fan
Noodle Soup with matzo ball– one of the worst things here
Seasonal Pierogi– THE worst. SO much oil. It was a puzzling dish
Meatloaf Sandwich– had potential, but something didn’t quite work here. Somthing off with the flavoring. Onion rings that came with this dish were good tho.
Reuben– best thing here. If you are hungry, get this, or leave and go somewhere else
As you can see, I have given the food here a shot. The only reason I am giving 2 stars instead of one is because the service here is always good.

I sadly don’t get here much anymore since I moved out of the neighborhood, but this place is one of my go-​tos whenever I’m in the area. The sandwiches they offer are fantastic overall — I’d never been disappointed by one — and though I tend to stick with Guinness, they have a good range of beers on tap.
My trips to Star & Shamrock most often involved brunch. (With generous Bloody Marys.) I’m a little bummed that they dropped the Hash Wraps from the menu. That’s not to say that I don’t like their other brunch offerings, but those were my favorite. (A pic of these beauties are on my Instagram.
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Perhaps my favorite thing about S&S is that even when they’re busy (read: Friday/​Saturday nights and football season), I never feel uncomfortable. (I’m not big on crowds.) I rarely have to wait for a table. I have no problem recommending this place.

We had such high hopes for this place, we are a blended Irish/​Jewish family, but this place head the death stink all over it. They didn’t have the locals night, like advertised on their website. The server stuck her finger in my wife’s drink, the burger was so salty it made the pickle and chips taste bland. We also saw the kitchen staff step out for a smoke after our order was placed, and then take half an hour for us to get or food. WE WERE THE ONLY TABLE GETTING FOOD!
On the positive side, the wings were good and they had a good selection of whiskies.
Go to the pie shop next door, their stuff was great!

One of the only places open late on a Monday
The bar tender is spot on, helpful nice and makes great drinks. Anything from an old fashioned to a scotch on the rocks
Well done

Lots of good things to say about this bar, but lots of bad things too. The concept of marrying Irish and Jewish food and drink isn’t new, but it’s the first I’ve seen in The DMV. A friend and I came here after a show at the Atlas. We were greeted well. Even though it was close to 10pm, we were told the kitchen was still open. There is a nice selection of beers and flavored Jameson whiskies (we stuck to beer that nite).
We found lots of interesting and appealing choices on the menu, but opted for two appetizers (buffalo wings and hummus) and a sandwich (hot pastrami). This is when our troubles began. The wings and sandwich arrived pretty quickly. The wings were fine — tasty and hot. The sandwich, however, was neither. The pastrami was lean (not always a good thing) but dry and tasteless. It was a good thing that the sandwich was not overloaded like you find in good Jewish delis — who wants parched lousy pastrami in big quantities? Halfway through the wings we noticed we were missing the hummus. We quickly brought this to the attention of the bartender who apologized and ran off (hopefully to alert the kitchen). Alas, this was not the case because 30 minutes later as we asked for the check, the hummus was still nowhere to be found. At least we weren’t charged for it, and it seemed futile to mention it to the staff. I also noticed someone further down the bar had ordered a salad. She took 2 – 3 bites of it and gave up on it. Nice to know my friend and I were not alone in our disappointment with the food. If I return, it’ll just be for drinking — I know I don’t want to take a chance on the food again.

Hands down one of the best food brunches I’ve had in the area. Their brunch entres range from $ 5-​$ 15 and then serving sizes are… Well… Look at my pics. The only reason I’m giving 4 instead of 5 stars is because there’s no bottomless mimosa option which is sacrilegious for brunch and their mimosas are $ 8 each when the area standard is around $ 6. But the food… Omg the food… Get your ass down here and eat a real man’s brunch… My eggs pics WERE THEIR Sides… In closing if you want the best /​most affordable brunch in the neighborhood… Eat here

This could be the worst pastrami sandwich ever Meat was so tough I could cut even with a knife and fork. Beer was okay but lucky not touch by S or Sham

We had 2 cups of soup; one chicken veggie and a beef veggie. Both were very good though not hot and took 40 minutes to get them. We will return for another test of better service.

Just another dive bar in H St corridor, enough said. Nothing special about this place. Good to know that they serves kosher beer!

First, let me start by saying the drinks were great & admittedly some of the best pickle juice I’ve ever tasted (with our Jameson pickle backs)!
Now, let’s get to it… (Sigh) how the incompetent woman behind the bar ever became a bartender, who knows… A simple check splitting request (2 ways, mind you — nothing ridiculous) became a horrifying ordeal when she took my card but then proceeded to either 1. Set my card down within reach of another customer or 2. Gave my card back to another customer. My sole card. My vacation card… After not receiving my card for several minutes, we come find she had used the wrong cards to allot the tab and then couldn’t find mine. There ensued much denying, lying and crying by said «bartender» until we finally gave up — thinking I’d have zero chance of ever finding my card at this point. But no… Wrong again! On the sidewalk outside there it was, bent in half laying beaten and abused… Obviously handed back to the wrong customer and ran on the wrong check!
I implore Star and Shamrock to fire this incompetent women or, at the very least, maybe she should lay off the drinking — she was obviously drunker than most of the patrons– until she can handle such a simple task as taking a credit card, running it and then handing it back to the CORRECT customer.
Bill the doorman was exceptional during the entire process so I feel like that needs to be stated. Interestingly enough… The next morning I received two dick pics via text from a DC area code phone number (FYI I had originally written my name and number down for the staff to call if and when they found my card). CLASSY Star and Shamrock. CLASS-​Y
Annnnnnd lastly… My girlfriends card was charged twice… My friends card as charged for his tab and half of my tab… I could go on but, well, I think you get the gist of this place!

Great Beer selection, Great food, nice vegetarian selections. Always a good vibe and easily a top spot on H. St. They have great homemade bagels but get there early as they always sell out!
Bartenders have some interesting cocktails that I am sure you will enjoy. Ask them!

Jewish food and Irish food. And they do both of them right.
We came here to celebrate our loss at the Escape Lounge across the street. There were 8 of us, but the servers and bartenders were great at working with our large party. I had the papadelle, my husband the Rueben. My pasta was nicely thin and the vegetables tasted great, but I might have preferred if the sauce had a little more flavor to it. The rueben was excellent. A friend commented that they served her the best brisket she’d ever had.
Prices were reasonable, atmosphere is pleasant.

Sub-​par food and inconsistent service overall.
My husband and I were in the neighborhood for a play at the Atlas Performing Arts Center and were quite hungry after the play ended. We saw the ad for the Star & Shamrock, were intrigued and decided to venture down a few storefronts for dinner.
When we first walked in, we were confused as to what we were supposed to do. There was no one waiting at the door to tell us to sit, the bartender pretty much ignored us. Finally we sat down, and looked around the table for the menu, thinking perhaps it was that type of place. No menu was found and eventually the waitress came over and asked if we wanted menus.
Once the menu arrived, our food choices were determined not by what we were interested in, but by what they still actually had available. The burger was out and the chicken pot pie was out. I settled for the brisket and my husband got the reuben (which was half off) — nice deal on a Wednesday.
Unfortunately, the food was just not good. I was hungry so I ate it, but the brisket was not very flavorful, there were large pieces of rosemary that I needed to pick around and that overpowered the dish. The spinach was bitter and barely edible. The asparagus was so raw/​tough that I couldn’t eat most of it. My husband was underwhelmed by both the reuben and the beer that he got.
As others have mentioned, our water was not refilled and the service was variable.
While I appreciate the logo & the mix of Jewish and Irish, I will not be back. There are too many other good options on H Street.

While the mix of Jewish and Irish tradition is a cute concept, Star & Shamrock does not live up to expectations.
Food: Very disappointing. The portions were very small so order an appetizer as well or expect to be hungry. The matzo ball soup was particularly unimpressive. Nothing but watery broth for $ 7. The pastrami and corned beef are browned in the cooked sandwiches instead of keeping their distinctive red color. The knishes are more akin to hush puppies than actual Jewish knishes which is not necessarily a case of bad food as it is false advertising.
Ambiance: Your typical Irish bar with a few Jewish themed items hung up including menorahs and stars of David. Cute and corny. Good music but pretty crowded.
Service: The bartenders and servers were very nice but two of our orders were forgotten and we had to wait for them. Halfway through the meal, our waitress was nowhere to be found for long stretches and our water was never refilled. Lots of room for improvement.

As a Jewish girl born on St. Patrick’s Day, I consider myself honorary Irish. So when I found out about this Jewish/​Irish bar, I was psyched.
I’ve not eaten here, and perhaps my review would be different if I had, but no matter, I still would like to try the food here. However, as a bar, I love this place. It’s super chill and casual. Any mixed drinks I’ve had have been strong, and while their beer list is not huge, it offers some good brews.
I’ve always had friendly service, especially on this most recent St. Paddy’s Day, as I couldn’t make up my mind. Also on this day, I forgot I was not in Boston, and figured there’d be no way we were getting into this bar at 4 p.m., but I was wrong. So I’ll keep that in mind for next year. But, it can definitely get packed on a Saturday night.
Oh! Two more things: they sell Crunkcakes and they let Bullfrog Bagels share their space. How awesome is that?

Went to Star and Shamrock for a few drinks after brunch on H Street, and overall, this is just a normal bar pub with not much selection.
I had vaguely heard of this place before going here, but don’t really bar crawl this far down on H St. They didn’t have any drink specials for a Sunday afternoon, and while I can’t say I blame them, a lot of places do. Doesn’t seem to be that much competition for pub-​goers in the area.
The food here is typical, and the mozzarella sticks came right from the freezer. You get what you pay for, I guess, but considering all the random gastro pub eateries that are opening up in this area, I was surprised.
There really wasn’t anyone here while we were watching the game, so not really sure if that is a sign that people don’t really go here. I don’t think I’ll be back unless someone else has an event here or something like that.

They pour Mimosas in a PINT GLASS. A PINT GLASS. It has to be the best volume pour that I’ve seen in the DC area.
Went there to meet with a friend and watch a bit of football. While I wasn’t drinking myself, it appeared that they had a good amount of booze ready to rock. Their sandwiches here are no joke either, huge and very delicious. When it comes to sports there were plenty of TVs for you to catch whatever game.
Bonus: The day I went was NFL playoffs and the Cowboys were playing. There was only one obnoxious Cowboys fan in the place, and I think that’s worth mentioning.

Why do I like this place? It’s not only the possibilities of kitchiness from the combination of Irish drinking and Jewish food (which they totally play on), but it’s the food and drink itself. They master pub grub and have great beers on tap, in the bottle, not to mention their fine selection of spirits (booze, awesomeness, whatever you want to call it).
The staff is always friendly, ready to recommend things based on your personal tastes, and is very knowledgeable in the ways of the drink. You should definitely head in here when in the Atlas district. Just look for the star surrounding a shamrock hanging outside.

Good beer meets good deli, that’s roughly the idea at the Star & Shamrock, at least according to my friendly bartender Robbie, and I concur as a new fan. Lots of drafts and classic sandwiches on the menu plus matzoh ball soup, but no latkes anymore.
16 taps but only 11 lines so there are repeats lol, from $ 4.50 for miller lite up to $ 8 for Kilkenny Irish Cream. Others: Harp, Brooklyn Brown, Guinness, Blue Point lager, and the rare He’brew Hop Manna IPA, an exceptionally bitter & hoppy brew, I loved it.
Fantastic Reuben sandwich just $ 11 (plus $ 2 for fries instead of chips). Very tender beef, just enough kraut and cheese, perfectly toasted bread, excellent! Fries? Forgettable argh, maybe chips are the better bet.
Shares kitchen and floor space since late 2014 with Bullfrog bagels, a valiant attempt to bake good bagels far, far away from NYC. $ 3 for a cream-​cheese bagel, haven’t tried em yet sorry, can’t rate.
Vegetarian rating: 2 stars, the options are fries, a kale– romaine Caesar salad, Bialy pizza, or a hummus & sprouts bagel. No schmaltz for you :)
Definitely not kosher, there’s cheese on the Reuben and you can get bacon & egg on a bagel.
My only complaint — volume way way loud on the 4 TVs. Ok I know people want to watch but does it have to drown out conversations?